Ground Report

“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” — Samuel Johnson.

There is indeed always something to do or see in London. When visiting the Capital, as a tourist or not, it may sound easier to just focus on the usual routes from Buckingham Palace to Westminster, from Trafalgar Square to Oxford Circus. What about starting the day with something really different?

It is 11 o’clock. Our meeting place: Barbican Tube Station. Our destination: the Barbican Centre. Our first visit of the day: the Conservatory. Cost of the visit: Free.

The Conservatory at the Barbican Centre is some kind of hidden treasure in the heart of the Capital. Most people know the Barbican for its exhibitions, concerts, library and everything cultural. However, you may rarely find anyone (even among Londoners!) aware that the third floor of this grey soviet-looking building is the set of the most unusual natural environment, the Conservatory.

As you enter the Conservatory, you are immediately hit by the superb of that place. Look around and see over 2,000 species of tropical plants, trees and flowers. Apart from the unhidden walls and tubes, here and there, that remind you where you are, it is very easy just to forget that you are in London.

Only the big birds’ twittering and the alligators may be missing to make you fancy yourself as Indiana Jones or Tarzan. No big birds, yet some finches and quails. No alligators, but some exotic fishes.

If you want to impress your partner, why not have a seat on a romantic bench and propose in what would definitely be the most romantic and memorable place?

If to you, the Amazon Forest is a no-go, the Conservatory is a fantastic place to take your children on a Sunday morning before having a lunch in Covent Garden, our next destination.