where to stay:
Artist Residence Hotel - an elegant hotel owned by Charlotte Salisbury, conveniently located near Victoria Station
Domus Stay - on the pricier end, this is a selection of beautiful luxury holiday homes in neighborhoods across London
where to eat:
breakfast
Where The Pancakes Are - three locations in Battersea Power Station, London Bridge, & Fitzrovia
Luminary Bakery - pop in for a pastry and coffee in Hackney (or schedule a baking class). founded upon the vision of supporting and creating jobs for disadvantaged women, all-female run!
Aries Bakehouse - sourdough, coffee, pastries in Brixton Hill
lunch
Prawn on the Lawn - if you like fish (esp fried fish) / in Islington
Rosa’s Thai cafe - owned by Saiphin Moore (multiple locations; you can probably find one near wherever you’re staying!)
dinner
Naughty Piglets - maybe i just like the name, i don’t know. lovely and delicious bistrot by Margaux Aubry.
where to drink:
Lady of Grapes wine bar - in Convent Garden. they have a wonderful selection of organic wines (+ plus good snacks) and they choose to mainly source from female winemakers. feels very cozy and Parisian.
The George Tavern - a pub AND a legendary venue (Phoebe Waller-Bridge first performed Fleabag here!) found in Stepney
Bookbar - a bookstore and a wine bar that hosts many a book club
The Flowerhouse Pub in Marylbone
what to do:
LICK events - a ‘no men allowed’ nightclub. a womxn and non-binary people-only space ~ not a club for cisgender or trans men, regardless of their sexual orientation.
re:lax skincare studio - get a facial in East London
Alexandra Soveral - get a massage (or another facial??) in Paddington
where to shop:
Portobello Green Market - the famous outdoor shopping market that has many a female vendors ~ Sunday flea market and Friday vintage ;)
Nordic Poetry - curated vintage by Ameli Lindgren in East London
Pennie’s Vintage in Islington - 1920s dresses and vintage wedding gowns
The Tate Modern Museum - as of 2023, the Tate is run by a woman, director Frances Morris. climb up to the top to get a drink before or after whilst overlooking London (you can see the Millennium Bridge and St. Pauls from this bar, among other sites)
Whitechapel Museum - here in 1893, Kate Hall became the first ever woman to take the position of museum curator in England. it is now curated by Laura Smith.
East End Women's Museum - various exhibitions dedicated to the lives and art of historic women
some famous women to know in London:
Boudica - a (literal) queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe who led an attempted uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61
Kate Hall - mentioned earlier ~ Kate Hall was the first woman to became the curator of a museum (the Whitechapel Museum) in 1893.
Ada Lovelace - technically one of the first computer programmers & one of the first to ever understand the actual potential of a computing machine. in 1843 she made a bunch of notes/designs that described a computer before computers, but she called it an Analytical Engine.
Pauline Boty - Boty was an artist & a pioneer of the 1960s' British Pop art movement, and actually the ~only~ female member of the group. her paintings and collages were known for expressing female sexuality and critiquing the male-dominated society in which she lived. her Cromwell Road apartment was a central hangout for other artists like Bob Dylan, David Hockney, and Michael White. her pieces are now featured in the permanent collections of the Tate Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Noor Inayat Khan - the Muslim princess who fought nazis. a pacifist-turned-radio operator-turned WW2 spy, helped organize the French resistance to Nazi rule. although tragically executed after being sold out by a double agent, she launched one last daring escape mission. there is a statue and a blue plaque in Bloomsbury dedicated to her.
Virginia Woolf - legendary author of feminist classics like A Room of One’s Own and Mrs Dalloway. her former home in Bloomsbury is now a museum dedicated to her life and work.
enjoy London xx
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