A city of unique secrets

London is a city which has kept residents who can boast to have lived there all their lives surprised as it harbours the prospect of revealing something completely different and exciting pretty much every day of the week. Taking this into due account, it can be safely said that if one wishes to see attractions which do not appear in travel guides such as Lonely Planet, London has the propensity to give him or her a significant amount more than what he or she bargained for!

The first place one should head to in London if one has made his or her mind up to seek out attractions which are odd and definitely not run of the mill is the pseudo incarnation of the Prime Minister’s residence. 10 Downing Street’s doppelganger is at Number 10, Adam Street, which is located just off the Strand. This place is so accurate in its depiction of the residence of the most powerful man in the United Kingdom that pictures taken just near the doorway will almost definitely leave one’s friends convinced!

The second odd attraction one can come across in London, though one which does warrant some searching out is the weird window which is installed at the church of St-Martin-in-the-Fields' is quite in contrast with the beautiful stained glass one would normally expect to see at a normal place of worship.

This unique feature is something that was used to augment the church’s design and was added to it in a renovation which took place in the year 2008. Interestingly, the person who came up which the weird window is not of British origin at all. The window is the brainchild of Shirazeh  Houshiary, a well known artist from Iran and a nominee for the valued Turner prize. If one wishes to look out of the window; maybe along the lines of the Lady of Shallot, one should head to the area around Trafalgar Square.

The next on the list of out of the ordinary attractions which are to be seen while the visitor is in London is the road in London which openly defies and is the anti thesis to British driving regulation and convention. The road being spoken about is the road which leads to the entrance of the famed and historic Savoy. The reason why this road flies in the face of conventional driving practice is because in earlier days, a lady would generally sit behind the driver of the car she was riding in, as was general practice in the days of yesteryear. The special road was created so as to ensure a lady did not have to walk around the car to enter the hotel and had a direct path to follow, instead.

If one is on a tight schedule and has many a thing to do while in London, perhaps it is well worth one’s while to check out the Neal’s Yard Clock. This is a unique attraction and is quite innovatively built, as well. Though not fully functional today, the clock used to ring every hour and proceed to fill water in to the containers held by the five figures; four of which would proceed to water plants and the fifth would tip, and obviously, drench a passer by who experienced the misfortune of walking past at that moment.

Just like the red buses which are seen around the entire city, the red telephone boxes of London are quite distinct as well. Perhaps they grew in fame due to their depiction in Banksy’s work outside the GCHQ [Group Communications Headquarters] in Cheltenham. As interesting a mausoleum as one is likely to find, they have been incorporated into that Sir John Soane, which is located in the church yard of Old St. Pancras and the telephone box looks quite nice in its stone incarnation.

In a world motivated and bent on thinness, it is interesting to come across the house which probably holds the record for the thinnest house in the entire city. Though it may not boast great floor space, it is said to be worth more than two million quid by general estimates as it is located in the tony Knightsbridge area of London. The house can be found on the corner between Thurloe Square and South Terrace.

Taking in all these odd attractions in London also warrants the right choice of hotel to stay in while the traveller is visiting the incredible city. The city can boast of many hotels but a great hotel in London, which also scores high on convenience and the quality of the guest’s stay is shaftesbury premier London Paddington, the decision to stay at which being one that will not be regretted.