Make this summer one to remember. Join Kovels Antique Trader in London on a trip of a lifetime.
Working with professional tour operators in Europe, Kovels Antique Trader has launched Antique Adventures to create unique travel experiences centered around our hobby. The first stop: London.
From August 29 through September 5, editorial director Paul Kennedy and fellow editor Kele Johnson will play host to an unforgettable antiquing experience across the pond. The tour includes stays in four-star hotels, incredible antiques and collectibles shopping, visits to amazing museums, stops at breathtaking and historic palaces, and a lot of what makes London a true city of the world.
The London tour promises a grand yet intimate experience, with space limited.
The tour includes antique fairs, flea markets, and well-known London favorites such as Grays Antique Market, home to one of the world’s largest and most diverse collections of fine antiques and spectacular jewelry, and Leadenhall Market, one of the oldest markets in London, dating back as far back as the 14th century. Located in the historic center of London’s financial district, Leadenhall Market played a starring role in the Harry Potter films, making it a rather magical place for a bit of shopping.
While hunting for bargains in merry old England is great fun, you can’t go to London without taking in the city’s fantastic landmarks.
You’ll visit Westminster Abbey, an architectural masterpiece and one of the most important churches in the world. Westminster Abbey has been the setting for every Coronation since 1066 and for numerous other royal occasions, such as 16 royal weddings – including the 2011 marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, as well as the wedding of William’s parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.
You’ll walk in the footsteps of kings and queens at Kensington Palace, famously the birthplace of Queen Victoria in 1819 and a royal residence for more than 300 years. Speaking of royals, we’ll also take in Buckingham Palace, one of the few working royal palaces on earth. As a matter of fact, Buckingham Palace became the official London residence of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
While the 830,000-square-foot Palace is filled with history, perhaps the most well-known bit of pomp and circumstance takes place outside: the famed Changing of Guard. The formal ceremony at the Palace’s forecourt has been around for centuries and is not to be missed.
The week will also include tours of the Tower of London, an incomparable medieval fortress and home of the Crown Jewels, and the British Museum, an architectural wonder and home to some of the world’s most noted antiquities, including the Rosetta Stone.
London is filled with so much history that you can drink it in while sipping a pint of Guinness, which is what you’ll do one evening at the Mayflower Pub on the River Thames. The Pub’s proprietors say that from their establishment, you can see the original 1620 mooring point of the Mayflower, the ship that carried the Pilgrims from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts.
From antique shops to flea markets, palaces to museums, incredible food to new-found friends, the London tour promises an unforgettable chapter in your life’s story.
To learn more about Antique Adventures and the complete itinerary for the London Tour, click here.
Related:
Uncovering the Charms of Grays Antique Market
Exploring the Eclectic Collections of the Sir John Soane’s Museum