A Virtual Weekend Vacation in London

As the travel bug makes us itch, we’re starting to dream of places far from home. Foretunately, the sounds, sights, and even tastes of London are easy to access from the comfort of your couch. No jet lag, no lines, and few worries about exchange rates. Tourism and entertainment organizations are hurting. For many, donations are appreciated as these vital institutions struggle to survive. (Thinking about visiting the Big Apple but not sure how to do it safely? Check out our Virtual Weekend Vacation in New York.)

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During your trip, be sure to immerse yourself in the sounds of London. The website Londontopia has culled the aural atmosphere of the London Underground, a double decker bus and a neighborhood street from the BBC’s thousands of hours of archival sound.

You’ll need some snacks for your trip. Fortunately, if you plan a few days ahead, you’ll be digging into such English staples as prawn crisps, Cadbury Flake chocolate bars, and Jaffa Bars.

Related: 40 Foods That Americans Are Missing Out On

Time for truth: I’ve never taken the Buckingham Palace tour, because I couldn’t stomach the lines. Now you don’t have to. The palace has plenty to see on its website, including the Throne Room, which is not open to the public. 

Related: 19 Virtual Tours of Famous Homes

Buckingham Palace lets you see stately rooms, but for a deep dive, you can spend a few minutes (or weeks) plunging into the Royal Archives. Here you’ll find Queen Victoria’s journal — all 141 volumes of it. Dig into Queen Victoria’s detailed virtual scrapbook, which includes such gems as the 1844 duties of the housekeeper at Buckingham Palace (among other things, she took attendance of the household staff at morning prayers).

The British Museum reflects the collections, or plunder, of the 23% of the Earth’s population once ruled by the British Empire. Through Google, the museum has offered a musical three-dimensional timeline that explores art and artifacts organized by century and continent.

It’s a 100-minute drive from London to Highclere Castle, where "Downton Abbey" was filmed. For $3, you can arrive instantly, led on a tour by Carson the Butler (actor Jim Carter). The app includes 360-degree tours, interviews with the current Lord and Lady Carnarvon, and a behind-the-scenes look at dinner at the castle. Lady Carnarvon maintains her own blog and podcast about life at the 19th-century mansion, built on the foundations of an estate that dates to the 9th century.

London has its own collection of celebrity chefs. Now you can learn to cook like Gordon Ramsay without being yelled at (although there is some cursing), if you’re willing to splurge on his Master Class for $15 a month. Ramsay teaches how to prep, cook, and plate mouth-watering-looking dishes such as crispy duck with red endive and spinach.   

Related: 11 Online Cooking Classes to Sharpen Your Skills While Stuck at Home

From a modern perspective, English gardens show their meticulous planning, but when they were pioneered in the early 18th century, the rolling landscapes were a reaction to the more geometric and formal French gardens. Find your own moment of zen with a video wander through Hampstead Hill Garden and Pergola. It’s seven minutes of gentle breezes and natural sound. For an aerial view (and a New Age soundtrack), rise above it all with a drone.

Related: In Full Bloom: Photos of Gorgeous Botanical Gardens in All 50 States

The only thing better than a know-it-all is one spouting facts confidently while hoisting a beer. Pub quizzes are a London mainstay, and with pubs closed in the city, they’ve taken to the internet to continue the tradition. Americans will find themselves joining in during daytime hours. Check out Brewdog for their Friday night (London time) pub quizzes, and be sure to register early.

Tour guides, along with other travel providers, have been hit hard by closures, but that isn’t stopping some of them. Blue Badge guide Katie offers live, in-depth tours of London each Monday on her Instagram. Catch up with the ones you’ve missed on her website. So far, she has visited well-traveled spots such as Covent Garden and uncovered little-known and sometimes sordid history in Borough and Smithfield. Kick in a donation if you can.

For nearly 60 years, the National Theatre has been home to the most prestigious actors, directors, and playwrights onstage. From its founding artistic director Laurence Olivier to recent performers Tom Hiddleston and Billie Piper, the National Theatre is the prestige stage of Great Britain. While its house has been dark since March, the theater is offering up a new full production every Thursday through July 9 on its YouTube channel.

Related: A (Virtual) Night at the Opera with Rock & Carolyn

With more than 2 million objects, the Victoria and Albert Museum is the world’s largest collection of applied and decorative arts. It is particularly renowned for its South Asian, East Asian, and Islamic arts collections. Already, the museum is curating artifacts related to the coronavirus pandemic. If you’re looking to escape current events, Google Arts and Culture has assembled 5,000 holdings from the museum that allow you to wander through the history of fashion.

London is steeped in history, and King’s Cross goes particularly deep, believed to be the location of the battle of Celtic Queen Boudica against Roman invaders. It’s said she is buried beneath Platform 9 of King’s Cross Station, and of course, at Platform 9¾, Harry Potter and friends catch their train to Hogwarts. An oral history of the area, recorded between 2004 and 2008, allows railway workers, artists, and activists, among others, to tell their stories.

There has been a Cathedral of St. Paul at the city’s highest point for 1,400 years, but the current incarnation is decidedly revolutionary — despite being nearly 400 years old. It was designed by the renowned British architect Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London, and it was the first cathedral erected after Henry VIII divorced the Church of England from Rome. In-depth video tours let you see closer than is possible in person, and bring viewers into the details of this cornerstone of British history.

First the royal palace and later an infamous prison, today the Tower of London draws crowds to see the crown jewels. Learn the history of such famed diamonds as the 530-carat Cullinan I and the ill-fated Koh-i-Noor, and marvel at the 5-pound crown used in coronations.

Sixties London was all about style. Kings Road offered striped pants and miniskirts, while Twiggy, Jane Birkin and Mick Jagger set the tone for visuals. Do a little time travel through CNN’s photo album.

Want to take a tour of the United States during the same time period? Check out 29 Destinations That Defined the 1960s in America.

The Beatles may have begun in Liverpool, but at the height of their fame in the 1960s, they called London home. London Music Tours offers a virtual tour of the Beatles’ London via Zoom, with a maximum of 12 participants per tour.

Related: 22 Locations From Famous Songs That You Can Actually Visit

London’s newest architectural landmark is The Shard, designed by Renzo Piano and, at 1,016 feet, it's Western Europe’s tallest building. It was inspired by both the city’s church spires and the masts of tall ships. The tower also offers sweeping views of the entire city. Take in St. Paul’s, the Tate Modern, and the London Eye via Will Pearson’s gigapixel panoramic view, and zoom in close enough to see people standing on Tower Bridge.

The jellybean-shaped capsules of the London Eye have attracted tourists since the giant ferris wheel opened in 1999. Take a spin and try not to get dizzy as you peer into other cars and zoom in on a labeled 360-degree view.