Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Discover the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park quite literally on your toes by walking around on this. Get an idea of the behind the scenes of this place; its existence, the ideas that went into planning this, how it panned out, everything from bits to how it came into being. Earlier, it was just for the Olympics, it’s only later that the park has opened its gates for the public. The park also focuses on themes of biodiversity, sustainability, wildlife and even artworks.

If the idea of walking around in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park doesn’t sound exactly like your cup of tea, then consider this idea of boating and viewing this entire place. You see the entire park in a span of three hours; from the Olympic Village to the ArcelorMittal Orbit, the Copper box Arena and all of these places with an extremely knowledgeable tour guide who will explain to you everything about these places in detail.

This is the most eccentric and unique way of going around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and exploring the hidden gem; the London Aquatics Center from where the boat tours also start. One thing you must keep in mind before booking this one is that this ride is only offered for a few months of the year and on some public holidays, hence, you must plan accordingly before opting for this ride.

As the name suggests, these canoe boats are painted white in color with black dots over them, making them look like cows on water. The speed of this tour will entirely depend upon you as to how fast you move those canoes. The Moo Canoes are mostly found in Hackney Wick, Limehouse basin and Poplar Union.

The London stadium earlier called the Olympic Stadium enjoys a huge fan following of both football enthusiasts as well as music lovers. This place in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has footage of races, concerts and matches which you can watch and relive the moments that took place there. A combo ticket of ArcelorMittal along with this tour is also available.

For larger groups, there is another custom-designed tour that is led by Blue Badge Tourist Guides. These professionals have been leading these tours since 2008 and are witnesses to the growth of the surrounding area. They cater to a variety of different groups like the schools, colleges, clubs, societies, and even corporate clients.

The themes that the tour focuses on are architecture, park’s history, sustainability and even rebranding along with an hour’s commentary that suits your personal choice, interests and even their nationality.

Taglined as one attraction that offers three different experiences; this wonder at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park includes an abseil, a slide and an observation deck. This observation deck is actually a walkway at 114.5m height. You can view the entire city at a glance along with a mesmerizing skyline. If you are up for adventure, then opt for this spine-chilling slide which lasts for about 40 seconds by taking its visitors through unexpected drops, twists and turns for a total of 12 times. It’s also the world’s longest and tallest tunnel slide. Moreover, the abseil is sure to leave you with an adrenaline rush as you step into a red ride that will take you to the ground covering a distance of about 80m.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is considered one of Londosn’s most flexible arenas due to the variety of sports activities that can be practiced here and that too, indoors. There is a gym where you can lose or add more pounds depending upon which shape you want your body in. Also, you can practice sports like wheelchair-basketball, gymnastics, fencing, netball, volleyball and even badminton in this world class sports hall. Several events also take place here with a seating facility for upt 7500 people where boxing matches take place. It's also a meet-and-greet venue and is often filled with people just having a gala time there.

An olympic venue that is open to the public to practice is one of those rare things that are only found at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The center aims to foster newbies with their skills in the right environment and hence provides guidance by opening its doors to one and all. The auditorium can seat up to 15,000 people in case of international events and big competitions while 3,000 people can enjoy a smaller-scale event. There are ten tennis courts; both inside and outside and two hockey pitches along with a clubhouse with changing rooms and a bar. The place has hosted many notable events like Wheelchair Tennis, Women’s Hockey World Cup and many more such events.

Velo is a French word that means ‘a cycle’ and this destination in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is the first place in the entire world where four varied kinds of cycling can take place. This open-to-all venue welcomes with open arms both newbies and professionals to come and practice there. Moreover, they also provide you with the equipment which you can rent there and then get hands-on learning.

You can practice track cycling, road racing, BMX as well as mountain biking. There is a one-mile road circuit that helps you get back on your bike, if it has been time. There are also 8km tracks that are traffic-free and hence allow you to practice smoothly without any interruption. Or head over to the Olympic BMX track which has over 30 berms, jumps and bumps.

This center forms a significant part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which has a spectacular reputation and rightly so as it has been designed by the world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid who is known for her out-of-the box designs.

A training ground for Olympic swimmers like Tom Daley as well as a place where Ellie Simmonds; a British paralympian swimmer, set her record too. London Aquatics Center offers a plethora of group activities like family sessions, community swimming sessions and other swimming related things too. A seating of about 2500 people has also been made plausible so that further events can take place in the future.

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This place has served as one of the best hosting venues for both the sports world as well as the musical world. During concerts, the performers get the chance to lift the roof of the venue and leave their audience spellbound. If Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park had to designate one place as the most famous area in all of it, then this multi-purpose stadium would be the place. One more interesting thing about this venue is that everytime West Ham United Football Club wins, the sound of bubbles rings out in the entire stadium.