Don't be a Tourist in London

“In this abridged extract from Don’t Be A Tourist In London, Vanessa Grall suggests a few places to start a conversation in London… and one place to go and listen.” - Londonist“Discover the capital’s secret spots with Vanessa Grall’s new book.” - Country and Town House“The cliché says that when one is tired of London, one is tired of life – but I think this book might help some to rediscover the joys of both.” - Amateur Photographer“This book will encourage the wanderer within. It is a true traveller’s companion as much as a beautifully designed collectable for your bookshelf.” - Polo LifestyleFeatured in London 2025 Guide. - London 2025 Guide“This book will encourage the wanderer within. It is a true traveller’s companion as much as a beautifully designed collectable for your bookshelf.” - New Design

London-raised, Franco-American writer and creator Vanessa Grall (aka Nessy), signs off her emails as the “founder/ janitor” of Messy Nessy Chic. The personal blog turned cult online wunderkammer is an editorial vault of inspirational content and travel secrets, described by Conde Nast Traveler as “a trawl of fascinating places and people, past and present”. Her media brand has built a significant social media presence of well over a million followers across Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok, and averaging 1.5 million monthly views. For Nessy, tourists are not the enemy - but rather, she strongly believes that we’re all capable of becoming accidental roaming detectives; seekers of stories and collectors of local secrets. On a mission to reprogram the way we travel, in 2017 she wrote her first book Don’t be a Tourist in Paris which became an instant best-seller, followed by the matched success of Don’t be a Tourist in New York. For the third instalment of the best-selling Don’t be a Tourist series, the author takes us to her hometown of London. Nessy has an eye for the iconic, the intriguing, the off-beat and beguiling. Whether it’s your first time in London, your second home, or you are yourself a Londoner, this book changes the rules.