How about a trip to the UK and London in May-June 2019? Now you can visit but not break the bank! Check out these really great cheap flights to London from Chicago on United and American for just $419 RT, good for selected flights with May and June departures. Here are the departure dates for 7-10 day itineraries (click on departure date to see calendar) with the lowest airfares for 7 or 9 day trips (as an example) we have found so far:
Sample dates:
10th-20th May
11th-21st May
11th-22nd May
12th-21st May
12th-22nd May
12th-23rd May
12th-24th May
13th-22nd May
13th-23rd May
13th-25th May
14th-23rd May
14th-25th May
16th-25th May
16th-26th May
16th-27th May
16th-28th May
17th-26th May
17th-27th May
17th-28th May
17th-29th May
18th-30th May
20th-29th May
20th-31st May
21st May – 2nd Jun
22nd-31st May
22nd May – 2nd Jun
22nd May – 3rd Jun
27th May – 9th Jun
Check out all the Chicago flight deals HERE
Here are our favorite London things to do…
Free London Attractions
London has some of the best free museums. My favorite is the Imperial War Museum, which has a truly devastating Holocaust exhibition; the National History Museum is also great. Aside from that, one of the best things about London is that there’s always something going on, a festival, a celebration, a protest, the Olympics… what’s even better is that you won’t pay a penny for lots of them. Recently I’ve seen awesome street art at a festival in Greenwich and been to the annual Thames festival.
Buildings, Sights & Museums
There are so many sights to see in London. My favorites include Greenwich, especially the view from the observatory on top of the hill shown below, the tower of London, secret corners of Covent Garden like Neal’s Yard (below left) and the London Dungeons – touristy but brilliant!
We also love Buckingham Palace. One of Britain’s most iconic buildings, Buckingham Palace is also the scene of London’s most popular display of pomp and circumstance, the Changing of the Guard. Drawing crowds at 11:30am in every season, this colorful and free display of precision marching and music also takes place at St. James’s Palace where you can follow the band along The Mall as they march between sites.
Buckingham Palace was built in 1837 and has been the London residence of the Royal Family since Queen Victoria’s accession. If you’re wondering whether the Queen is in, look at the flagpole atop the building: if the royal standard is flying day and night, she’s at home. On special state occasions, she and members of the Royal Family may even emerge on the central balcony.
The Parks
There are many great parks in London, the one we love the most though is the one closest to where we usually stay –Dulwich Park. It’s the best park for sunbathing, table tennis, running and dog-watching – oh, and it’s absolutely stunning.
The Markets
We used to stay in East London and the markets there were brilliant; cheap and full of proper east-enders heckling and trying to swindle you. My favorite is Borough Market though, which also happens to only be a 10 minute walk from work; yes, I really lucked out on office location.
Pubs
I couldn’t finish this list without mentioning one of our favorite local pubs. We love it for the fact that it’s independent, the barman is crazy and it’s called The Hob (as in the Hunger Games, cool, huh?).
