NEW SPOTS
Stay fit with tastemaker Alex Eagle
28 October 2019
Last weekend I went to London to discover this new hotel and lots of other great places to go!
We arrived at London St Pancras International Train Station by Eurostar, the best way to travel to London from Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Why? The train drops you in the center of London, you feel better (more energetic) when you arrive by train and it’s also a good way to travel if you care about the environment.
From the train station it was a 20-minute taxi drive to the brand new hotel I was staying during my trip. You can read my review here, but it’s a great place to stay if you love food, views and art. Why? Well not only does the hotel has an amazing sea food restaurant on the 14th floor, the surroundings also count a lot of great places to eat. I’ve told you about Caravan Bankside before, you’ll get the best Bao’s at Bao London and the owners of this Petite Passport favorite just opened Flor, a brand new bakery at Borough Market.
A seven minute walk from the hotel brings you to the Tate Modern, one of the most important museums in the world for contemporary art. Until January 5th you can visit the exhibition by Olafur Eliasson, a Danish-Icelandic artist who makes impressive installations with a connection to nature. There’s a big moss wall for example in the exhibition, a room where the water comes from the ceiling and you can see all different shapes of the rainbow and the foggy hallway is an intense experience. What if it’s so foggy you can only see 1,5 meters in front of you? What does it do with your senses?
And Southwark lies alongside the river Thames which makes it a good destination for people who want to walk or run with a view. You can also cross the river to St Paul’s Cathedral and walk to this restaurant for example or have a coffee at the Royal Exchange Grind.
I’ve also made a little detour to Coal Drops Yard, a lovely shopping destinations with stores like Bonds, A.P.C. and American Vintage. They also have a COS store there where they sell the Petite Passport Magazines (and guides) and lots of other books, design, art and beauty products. From this week on the magazines are available at the Top 25 COS stores in Europe and it was an honor to see them in this store already!
Another recommendation is the Tandoor Chop House in Covent Garden, an Indian restaurant by the owners of The Hoxton. I would highly recommend you to order the winter truffle & cheese naan (so good!) and share all the snacks and try one of their tandoors. They also have a Nutella naan as a dessert (too good not to share!).
