This one is easy. You’re living in the UK’s biggest city; arguably Europe’s capital for sheer variety of events, groups, museums and exhibitions. Paris might have the art, Italy the food, Germany the… okay, I’ve exhausted my reserves of pretending-to-know-anything-about-culture. But in any case, London is pretty damn exciting.

Markets

With that in mind, it can be a bit daunting knowing where to start. A quick glance over the pages of Time Out reveal almost too many things to do. In last week’s edition alone there was a bar that sold thermodynamically cooled ice cream and an exhibit of art made by penguins with paintbrushes strapped to their beaks. (I may have made one of the latter items up, but I wouldn’t be surprised).

Like anything else, the best thing to do is get out and try some of it.

Elephant & Castle boasts a ‘weekend market’, occupying the same spot that the day traders use surrounding the local shopping centre. This normally consists of a jaunty hat store, some suspect-quality fruit ‘n’ veg, and an apologetically-titled “ETHIOPAN [sic] COFFEE” store. It was with mild trepidation that I headed over there on a Saturday morning to see what was going on.

Culturally, it was, well, half-hearted. There were a few more exciting stalls, namely a Hungarian ‘deli’ (some dusty looking cooked meats) and a table of Caribbean foods including plantains and saltfish. The rest was slightly less inspiring, with one bloke sitting on the ground alongside his wares, which consisted of ancient-looking hifis and LPs that Oxfam would have rejected. So it goes.

Just a mile up the road is the world-famous Borough Market, the high-quality but highly-priced menagerie of fancy cakes, pastries, cheeses, meats, fish, fruit, vegetables, and everything else in between. It’s a food nerd’s paradise, but a costly one. It’s also extremely busy, but well worth the crowds. I queued for almost 20 minutes to spend £5 on a cajun prawn/cod tortilla wrap, but the fish was incredible and well worth the price.

Eating Out / Curries

Next up on my culture trail was a visit to the East End, in the shape of a curry on Brick Lane. This street features a huge majority of London’s Asian businesses and is famous for its curry restaurants. Wandering along the street was an experience in street marketing, with eager waiters and door staff attempting to enticing us into their venues. Apparently it’s common practice to haggle and agree deals before entering – our well-informed friends who met us at Monsoon has agreed a deal that got us any starter, any main, rice, a naan bread and 2 beers – all for £8. Of course, this was very no-frills: a waiter came over and swiftly removed my side portion of rice upon noticing that I’d ordered a biriani (which contains rice), telling me I didn’t need it. Probably true, but more upmarket venues wouldn’t do this. Still, for £8 I wasn’t complaining.

Theatre & Stage

London’s theatre industry is something that a more well-versed blogger could tell you more about, but from my limited perspective there’s still an enormous amount on offer. Shakespeare’s famous Globe theatre on the South Bank sells a limited number of tickets for just £5 (although these are standing only), and we managed to get near-front row seats at the Old Vic to see As You Like It for just £10. If you’re lucky enough to be under 26 then the Arts Council are running a promotion for young people to see plays for free – check it out.

Arts & Green Space

The aforementioned South Bank has already seen several visits from us since moving to London: it’s a short walk from the flat and features the famous London Eye if you’re that way inclined, along with a variety of street performers (some of whom literally beg for money, particularly embarrassingly, before performing their final acts). There’s even a regular book market with a huge collection of heaving tables laden with second hand books – I still haven’t given this its proper attention yet. Further along the Thames is the Royal Festival Hall with its free art and performances, and the Tate Modern. Just wandering along here once I was lucky enough to stumble upon a free exhibit of the work of Storm Thorgerson, the artist behind famous album covers for Pink Floyd, The Mars Volta, Biffy Clyro, Muse, and tons more.

We also visited Battersea Park, which although situated in a rather ugly bit of South London, was absolutely gorgeous inside. We checked out a free comic exhibition that was genuinely interesting and moving, and watched a Greek/Turkish band play jazz fusion outside the picnic area. Kids were cycling round on those crazy recumbent bikes and people rented out pedal boats for £8/hour on the big lake. London might be an enormous, monolithic city, but it has plenty of green space when compared to other British cities.

In conclusion…

So what’s the lesson here? Mainly that I’ve barely scratched the surface of what London has to offer culturally. Expect more posts on this topic as I expand my palate! But in my new-to-the-city notes, the definite conclusion is to try as much as you can and to keep active. London’s critics moan about its high prices, crowded streets and moody citizens. Prove them wrong and find the free stuff – Time Out has a great list – connect with people, look at interesting, strange things. You’re in the right place for it.

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