London glues on party hat for September

There's a 95 percent chance Senior Editor Christine Sarkis is thinking about travel right now. Follow her on Instagram @postcartography and Twitter @ChristineSarkis.

Christine Sarkis is an SATW-award-winning journalist and executive editor at SmarterTravel. Her stories have also appeared on USA Today, Conde Nast Traveler, Huffington Post, and Business Insider. Her advice has been featured in dozens of print and online publications including The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, and People magazine. She has also shared travel tips on television and radio shows including Good Morning America, Marketplace, and Here & Now. Her work has been published in the anthologies Spain from a Backpack and The Best Women's Travel Writing 2008. She is currently working on a travel memoir.

The Handy Item I Always Pack: The Trtl Pillow. It's easy to pack and comfortable, and makes it so I can actually sleep on flights.

Ultimate Bucket List Experience: Seeing the Aurora Borealis from the comfort of somewhere warm, like a glass igloo or hot spring.

Travel Motto: Curiosity is an amazing compass.

Aisle, Window, or Middle Seat: Aisle all the way.

Email Christine Sarkis at editor@smartertravel.com.

See recent posts by Christine Sarkis

In addition to nice weather and fewer crowds than at the height of the summer high season, there’s another reason to visit London in September. And that’s “Festival Season.” VisitLondon has a list of all the festivals and events during the month, including film festivals, a river race, the Greenwich Riverfront Jazz Festival, and an open house weekend that offers the public free glimpses into 500 buildings of architectural interest, and many others.

Many of these festivals and events are free. And judging by recent sales, airfare and vacation package prices are coming back down after an expensive summer. So there it is: London, festivals and events, and fall prices. It’s your information now, do with it what you will.

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