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If you were going to London England....
If you were going to London, England what you want to go see and visit sightseeing wise. I'd like a response from those of you who live over there in the UK, if possible. Of course, I'd like to hear responses from those whom have gone and come back to the US as well.
Please feel free to suggest stores, shopping areas, resteraunts and of course, attractions. I've been to London once before breifly and tried to hit the high points of the city. Tower of London, Royal Jewels, Parliment, Westminster Abby and of course Harrods. What would you suggest? Also, I'm only going to be there 5 days. Thanks. |
London is one of the most amazing cities in the world. :)
Go shopping at Fortnum & Mason and at Liberty. Go by Buckingham Palace (see the changing of the guard if possible) and take a walk through St. James Park. If you have the $, go to the Ritz for afternoon tea (you will have to make a reservation, and dress up - men need jacket and tie). Enjoy! |
Well, I'd go to a soccer game, but that's just me.
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Cut and Paste from the SK Europe Alumnae Chapter website
I've only been to Mexico.
But these travel tips are from women that live in Europe. http://home.ix.netcom.com/~sigmakappaeurope/ United Kingdom London: make sure to a buy a TimeOut to find out everything that is happening in London. Consider purchasing the London Pass before arriving - it offers discounts at almost all the attractions and gives you a discount on your tube fare - plan what you want to do, how long you'll be here and then see if the London Pass is worthwhile for you. Go on the London Eye - book before you arrive because tickets can be hard to come by - it's a great thing to do at the beginning of your trip to get a feel for the city. Take a London Bus Tour - there are three bus companies that provide a hop on, hop off service and point out all the sights in London - The Big Bus, The Original Tour and The Frog (which combines land and a boat trip on the Thames) - people say it's great for a quick trip to take in all the sights See The Tower of London and Crown Jewels - the queues can be long and the price is about £12 ($18), but the Beefeaters tours are fantastic - when you get into the main gate, ask when the next tour is; they're free and you'll enjoy the Tower much more having a tour with them. Go on the Jack the Ripper Walk - this commences outside Tower Hill tube station, where you get off for the Tower of London, and is run by The Original London Walks - the guy doing the walks is usually the author of a book all about Jack the Ripper; the critics say his theories are the most plausible. It's great to take the walk at dusk, or as it gets dark, as it enhances the experience - check TimeOut for the times St. Paul's Cathedral - This is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married - it's a massive church and very pretty inside - Tube stop: St. Paul's St. Martin's in the Fields Church - located in Trafalgar Square - pick up a brochure on your way in for the self-guided tour - You may also want to pick up a list of their upcoming chamber music concerts and come back in the evening - Downstairs in the crypt they have an amazing gift shop, a fun stone brass rubbing centre and a fantastic café with reasonable prices for the amount and quality of food Dennis Sever's House - 18 Folgate Street, E1 - near Spitalfields Market - Dennis wanted to create a house from the 18th century, complete with antiques and furniture, as well as food! Entering it is just like the family ran out for a pint of milk down the street - it's amazing, but it's not always open, so check out the web site for times and book in advance Buckingham Palace - no trip is complete without seeing the palace - you can enter the palace in August, but it's like any other palace, if not more ordinary, and way too expensive - to see the changing of the guards, you'll need to walk to Whitehall, through St. James Park - while at the palace, go to the middle of the round about and face northeast away from the palace for a spectacular view of Big Ben Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament - Coming from the palace and walking through the horse guards where the changing of the guards takes place puts you on Whitehall. Take a right and you'll run smack dab into Big Ben - from there you can walk along the outside of Parliament and go into Westminster Abbey (Tube: Westminster) head to Tate Modern, and then enjoy lunch or dinner at Tas (a nearby Turkish restaurant) wander through the Egyptian rooms at the British Museum see daffodils welcoming spring in St James' Park go to the Borough Food Market - Friday and Saturday - located at London Bridge Tube Station off Southwark Street under the train railways - if you have access to a kitchen, pick up dinner here, otherwise just nibble all the samples, such as boar sausages filled with Chianti and shallots, fresh fruit and veg, cheese, ostrich steaks, homemade breads and pies, and gourmet delicacies from around Europe - keep an eye out for Jamie Oliver - the celebrity chef wander through Spitalfields Market, one of London's largest, on a Sunday (underground: Liverpool Street) and when you are done, wander up to Brick Lane and the Colombia Road flower market (but the flower market is only open until 2 pm) go to St James' Church, place of William Blake's baptism, designed by Christopher Wren - there is also a cute market in the courtyard, and you can follow a visit with afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason (underground: Piccadilly Circus or Green Park) for a really special meal when you don't mind spending about $130 each, head to Gordon Ramsey's at Claridges for more restaurant recommendations, pick up the TimeOut guide to eating and drinking Around the UK: Hampton Court - well worth a visit, especially in the summer or on a sunny day when you can spend the afternoon walking through the gardens and labyrinth - this was Henry VIII's residence and they've left it just as he would have lived in it at that time - to get there, it's best to take the train (check the train timetables - departs from Waterloo) - you can also take a boat from Richmond, but it costs more and needs to be pre-arranged because it takes about 2 hours to get there ride a hot air balloon over the British beach town of Bournemouth head to eastern England to the town of Aldeburgh for the Benjamin Britten festival be surprised by how small the stones at Stonehenge are in reality! A good general website to visit about the UK: www.visitbritain.com |
Madam Tussauds
The Tower Hampton Court Buckingham Palace Hyde Park The Natural History Museum The Royal Albert and Victoria Musuem Picadilly Circus The Globe Theatre If you are going elsewhere: WestCountry (Devon and Cornwall - there you will find Stonehenge and Tintagel) Isle of Wight Portsmouth |
Thank you everyone! Those were great sugestions and I will try to see at least some of them. I'm getting excited my upcoming trip!!!!!
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Great topic! I leave Sept. 30 for London
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Take the bus tour and get off and on a lot! Also, catch a musical in the West End.
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Everyone took my suggestions. Oxford is another good place to visit. :)
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You asked for it.....!
Lisa,
I don't know how long you'll be in London (you may have said, but I don't have a lot of time to read on the 'net these days!) - but PLEASE, if possible try to get OUT of London for at least a day or two - yes, it IS a great place, but the countryside and small towns/villages here are breathtaking, too! Here are some sites to check out: www.astraltravels.co.uk - I highly recommend the "Culture Vulture" tour (Castle Combe is soooooo gorgeous!!) and also the "Stonehenge Special Access" tour - the one that lets you in AFTER the tourists have gone home. I really didn't understand the big deal about Stonehenge until I went on this tour last year. www.walks.com - this is the site for London Walks and the Jack the Ripper walk. Their pub walks are great, too, and an interesting way to meet people! www.timeout.com/london www.bigbus.co.uk - I really think that this company is, by far, the best to offer the "double decker bus tours" - it's a "hop-on, hop-off" service too. When I worked at the US Embassy, these buses would drive past all the time, and the guides actually looked like they enjoyed their job. They offer live commentary, whereas a lot of the other companies just have a taped commentary with headphones (kind of boring). I don't have time to post anymore at the moment. If you want more ideas about restaurants etc etc then PM me and I'll see what I can come up with (be patient - I don't have a computer at home, so may not see any message until next week!). HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME! Caroline |
Go to "Church", but at this church there is no praying, no preaching.,..only beer drinking. I didn't get to go because we drank the night before and were told that because we already drank, that there was no way we could survive church as it is quite a sunday morning festival in an old, abandoned church. Everyone I met that lived there loved doing it.
There's an area around Oxford Circus that reminds me of what I envision SoHo to be like, it was a really cool area with cool ass little shops and even more cool people. Go to the Eye of London because they have exhibitions there from time to time, I got to see a Salvador Dali exhibit while I was there. You have to hang out some in Regents Park, and there are generally performances in the small playhouse there. Visit the Brittish Museum...you can take photos inside and that's where the rosetta stone is, countless mummies from Egypt, a truly great museum....I went there with this Spanish girl whom I met there and had gone to Egypt earlier last summer who said their museums had nothing and that it was obviously all in the Brittish Museum....also you can see the Magna Carta, tons of stuff. I had to go to Lillywhites, but you'd only enjoy that if you're a sports fan. If you go pubbing, try "The Volunteer" by Regents Park...I had family and some friends working there and it was a cool place to go......if you're going out though, go to "Backpackers", it was a really fun, really cool place with a band and all that jazz...and killer snakebites that will put you and all your friends on your asses pronto. |
Re: Cut and Paste from the SK Europe Alumnae Chapter website
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Well, everyone mentioned everything there is to do in London, but I just wanted to add The London Dungeon (pretty scary stuff)and Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum (you'll swear some of those statues are real!).
Also, if you're into vintage clothing or antiques, Oxford Circus and Picadilly Circus both have really nice shops. I got some of my best pieces there. And last but not least, how could you guys leave out Harrods??? You just can't go to London without doing a little shopping at Harrods! |
Harrods wasn't left out, it was mentioned by thr threadstarter.
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I would go to the North End and check out Championship Vinyl.
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I'd take a day trip to stone henge! And see Austin Powers pad. Yeah baby. I wish I could remember what i was going to say.
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Ooh, I'm so excited for you - London is one of my favorite cities! There's so much to do and see, and the Tube will take you anywhere you need to go. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend taking along a Rick Steves tour book. I spent a summer in England, took another trip back to London, plus two trips to Paris with Rick at my side, and he has never steered me wrong.
Ok, enough plugging for that. Here are some things I love to do in London (some have already been mentioned): Westminister Abbey - SO MUCH to see in here. Don't fly through - take the time to talk to the curators...they're very knowledgable and can tell you all sorts of neat stuff you never knew existed. I would especially ask them questions about the room where the Knights of Bath meet (sorry - can't remember the name of the room). They'll tell you all about the carvings on the pews (including some of the naughty ones) and what the different flags mean. I could easily spend two hours at Westminster. Cabinet War Rooms - If you're into history, this is a really neat place. It was from these rooms that Churchill led his country during WWII. Imperial War Museum - not as bellicose as it sounds. I loved it, but I was a history major, so this sort of thing is right up my alley. I didn't get a chance to see the Blitz exhibit, but I heard it's very good. Harrods - Check out the food halls on the bottom level. The quantity and quality of food available will blow your mind. To be honest, I think the rest of the store is over-rated, although the Egyptian atrium is pretty cool from an architectual standpoint. Fortum & Masons - Beautiful old department store. Can't really comment on it too much, as I just ran in here to buy some tea. The area around it is very posh - great for window shopping. Harvey Nicholas - Now this store, I like. It's not as touristy as Harrod's and they sell some really unique things. If you really want to buy somethng at a big department store, stop by Harvey Nix. St Paul's Cathedral - This is where Princess Diana and Prince Charles got married. If you have the time, climb up and walk around the dome. Also, visit the American Cathedral at the back of the church. Find your state flag in the stained glass window. Piccadilly Circus - What Times Square is to New York, Piccadilly is to London. Stand in the middle and have someone take your picture. :) Pubs - You can NOT go to London without going to a pub! Find one that isn't in the middle of tourist central, and order something besides the fish and chips. Above all, do not order American beer! You didn't fly all that way to have a Budweiser! Ask the bartender what his favorite is, and give it a try. If you don't like beer, have a cider. Covent Gardens - Great for people watching, and even better for theatre. Go to the official ticket theatre ticket booth in Leister (sp?) Square (beware of copy-cats) and score some cheap seats for a show that night. Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park - Go here on a Sunday afternoon and listen to democracy in action. It's like walking through a market of ideas - people of all ages get up on little ladders (or boxes, or benches) and start telling anyone who will listen what they think. Very, very interesting. Tower of London - ogle the jewels, see the beefeaters. Kew Gardens - if you have a green thumb, definitely visit Kew. I'm not really interested in gardening, but I found it enjoyable. If you're looking for a good restaurant, I like Maggie Jones in Notting Hill. They serve traditional English food, but the staff is really young and slightly crazy. We went there on New Year's Eve and had a blast. Also, make it a point to have afternoon tea at least once. Don't ask for high tea - that's later in the day, and doesn't come with the yummy meal that afternoon tea has. If you have some time for day trips, I recommend Oxford and Bath. Both cities have a lot of history and a lot of beautiful buildings. If you go to Oxford, don't ask a local where the university is - they'll look at you like you're crazy. The main part of town is made up of university building mixed with commerical and residential buildings. It's nothing like our universities in the States. I'm going to stop here...I think that's enough for one posting. :) Of course, there are many other things to see, like the British Museum, Museum of London, Victoria and Albert Museum ("the V and A"), the London Eye, Trafalger Square, St Martin-in-the-fields, and on and on. Have a wonderful time, and give us a full report when you get back! |
Oh yeah....if you don't like beer too much then get a grolsch shandy.....it's really good, I think....it was my morning drink....half beer, half lemonade (sprite).....can lift your spirits when you're feeling a bit pekkish.
that resturaunt in Notting Hill is good....there is a ton of cool resturaunts that are holes in the wall.....you should also go to the worlds smallest pub...it's very central london just off of the regents park underground stop. |
Go to Sherlock Holelms Pub on N Umberland betwqeen the Thams and Trafilgar! They call it a street ans is just a lane!
Tru a Half pt of Lager for the lady and a full pint for the gent! Scotch Eggs are the best! Go upstairs and have a Fantastic dining room! Most have told you the best unless you go to Statford and see where Willie Shaeakspear is laid to rest! Oh Hell it is all good! Find a Freemans pub if not look for Wartneys Beer! My best! |
Now it is my turn to go to London here in couple days :eek:
But anyway, good thread and good suggestions. Questions though: How to get outside London? Should we rent a car? With driving at the left side of the road, it might turn out to be great experience. Or is there any bus going to these country side places? Or tourist bus (I would avoid this if I could). I really want to go to Cornwall and Scotland, and of course Stonehenge. But since I am a student and I am going with student budget, I want to get as cheap as possible ;) So any more suggetions, my fellow GCs? Navane, you live there, maybe I should PM you then. :D |
qeequec, I heard the best way to get around outside of London is by train.
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I must say that I thought the Tower of London (except for the jewels) and Stonehenge were over-rated. I've been to both twice, and neither time I was very impressed. Of course, they are places that you may want to say you've been to.
I loved the Tate. You could spend a few days in there. I also liked the Victoria and Albert Museum. If you are going anywhere else, I strongely recommend Bath. I'm a big Jane Austen fan, so I loved it there. There's tons to do there too. |
All these recommendations are good... but one thing I have to make sure I plan to visit is Freemason's Hall, the home of the United Grand Lodge of England. Yes, they do offer tours and if you're a Mason, they'll put you in contact with a nearby lodge so you can visit -- don't forget to wear coat and tie (dress is much more formal). Afterwards, they usually have a 'festive board' where dinner is served and beer and wine (and sometimes mixed drinks) as well (US Masonic lodges for the most part are dry.)
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Go to the markets... Like the one's on the streets... You can find unbelieveable items as souvenieers, for WAY cheap.
Get cheap Doc Martens, if you like that kind of stuff at the outlet. Kew Gardens!!!! The best in the world, they have every type of garden immaginable, from Victorian, to Feng Shui, to just wildlife. It costs to get in, but I spent days there. Word of advice, you can never take too much film with you. On a 21 day trip, I took 22 rolls of pictures. |
The Jack the Ripper walk is excellent, I went on the one by "Ripping Yarns' which is led by a Tower of London Beefeater.
http://rippingyarns.8m.com/ If you like slinky undergarments, I recommend "Rigby & Peller", who are the corset makers to the Queen. They have beautiful things there! One is on Hans Road, close to Harrods. http://www.rigbyandpeller.com/ |
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Not to be nitpicky, but Stonehenge is in Wiltshire and Tintagel is in Cornwall. If anyone has any questions about The West Country. PLEASE feel free to ask me - after all, if you look to the left under my screenname, it does say that my location is "Southwest England". ;) I, like UKAXO, highly encourage people to try and get out of London at least for a day or two if you can. Yes, see London, but also understand that London is not representative of a "regular" English life. :) .....Kelly :) |
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But if I really want to see the countryside, can I still do it by riding a train? And thanks a bunch with What-To-See in London. But still my questions unaswered, HOW to get outside London? By plane? By car? By boat? Which one is the cheapest one (except by walking around, yee-haw) CutiePie2000, thanks for the recommendation. It surely is helpful. ;) Like, how to get to the Kew Garden? Or Stonehenge? Or Cornwall? |
i lived there for two months and just took the tube everywhere. it's very convenient, you can get pretty much everywhere on it. i think you can get weekly passes for it.
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Hey queequek,
Getting outside of London is normally fairly easy. The trains are pretty good, though people complain about them not being on time. With that said, I've never really had a problem myself. They can get kinda busy during commute hours and they cost a fair bit of money. London to Bristol is about 1hr 45mins and costs about £60 (~US$90) return. Currently we're having a bit of trouble with the trains. They closed down Paddington Station over Easter for some signal repairs and it took them forever to re-open the station. Since Paddington is one of the main terminals and THE station for travelling out west, that was a real nightmare for everyone. So, if you're taking the train, you'll need to beware of that kind of situation. The "bus" I hear is a pretty good choice. There is a coach company called National Express (http://www.nationalexpress.com/) which has loads of coaches going to and from lots of destinations. To give you an example, a coach from London to Bristol will take 2hrs 30mins and cost about £20 (~US$30). I'm pretty sure that you can get them most anywhere in the UK. I must admit that I'm a travel snob - I always take the train even if it costs more. I simply don't like riding a bus for that long. Either way, you'll get really nice views of the countryside. Hiring a car is probably not the best idea. Yes, it offers freedom, but it'll be expensive and you may find it difficult to drive on the opposite side of the road (especially in rainy weather). If you're going with a few friends to split the cost, it may be worth it. Getting to Cornwall is not an easy task. I mean, just look at the map and you'll see why! :) Train, bus or car, that'll be one LONG journey from London! If you really want to go there, let me know where in more specific detail and my boyfriend and I might be able to help you put together a game plan. Also, Stonehenge is a bunch of stones in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere. Therefore, it's not exactly easy to get to. However, since it's a tourist attraction, there are firms which offer day trips to Stonehenge, Avebury stone circles, Silbury Hill, Wiltshire White horses, Castle Coombe village, and Lacock village. These are normally with 12 people on a mini-bus and shouldn't really cost more than £20, but it depends on the company. Most of them depart from Bath and I think a few leave from Bristol. Finally, Kew Gardens is fairly easy to get to as it's on the outskirts of London in Richmond. Take the Underground (subway) District Line and get out at Kew Gardens Station. :) I believe Richmond is in "Zone 3", so you'll need to be sure to get the correct ticket. Sometimes people get tickets for Zones 1-2 and then didn't realize that they need to get somewhere in zone 3. Simply look at the colour-coded map in the station to check. Hope this helps! .....Kelly :) |
I really love London. But they may not want me to come back.
The trains are good -- as is the subway system. But the last time I was there a couple of years ago, we took the high speed train from Heathrow to Paddington Station. About three weeks later, there was a multiple fatal fire and accident on the same line. While there, we visited the BBC Television Centre on business. A few months later, a terrorist bomb went off just outside. (IRA? I think they thought) So, enjoy -- just be sure I haven't been there lately. By the way -- I haven't. Have a great trip. |
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WHOA .... :eek: Those are really encouraging for me ... :eek: |
Find a friend, pen pal, etc, as is more unfriendly than New York City.
If i was going, I'd crash at my friends house and never leave or pay rent. hahaha. |
Hi again,
Please, can we not scare people with information that isn't even updated?? When I first lived here in 1997, there were some problems with the Northern Ireland conflict as far as terrorist threats. HOWEVER, the governments that be and the "terrorist" groups involved have been trying to work things out these past few of years. Recently all sides have spoken of, ceasefires, disarmaments and disbandment - and the IRA even apologized to the "non-combatants" they've hurt. I can tell you that I haven't heard of any bombings or terrorist threats from that whole Northern Ireland issue since I've moved back in July. The only terrorist threats we've gotten recently were from Mulsim extremists regarding the Middle East...and yeah, the US got those threats too. That's the price we pay for living in free Western societies. The trains are pretty good, but let's not get carried away. Just because a terrible accident happend a few years ago, that does not mean that every British train is likely to explode into flames or anything. I mean, many airplanes have crashed in the United States, does that mean people should beware of flying in America? queequek, I think DeltAlum was simply trying to share a personal story. Please don't take it to mean that Britain is a dangerous place to visit. DeltAlum, just as a side note, I live a few blocks away from the BBC-Bristol complex! I pass it almost daily. :) It is the headquarters for all of the BBC's west country operations, television and radio shows. :) .....Kelly :) |
I highly recomend u visit the greatest structure in London:
The Highbury. http://home4u.hongkong.com/sports/so...y/highbury.jpg |
[QUOTE]Originally posted by navane
Please, can we not scare people with information that isn't even updated?? queequek, I think DeltAlum was simply trying to share a personal story. Please don't take it to mean that Britain is a dangerous place to visit. Absolutely, I'd go in a heartbeat. Tomorrow! This afternoon if I could! London is one of my favorite cities in the world! On that same particular trip, though, we walked around the corner from our hotel and there were about 200 Harleys and lots of people in black leathers sitting in front of the London HardRock. The All England Harley Davidson Club was meeting there or something. Of course, all of those sinister folks dressed in black were middle aged doctors and lawyers. They're the only people who can afford a Harley these days. |
Hey Richard,
hehehe yeah...sounds like you're not a fan of the bus either. ;) I only mentioned it because queequek implied that he wanted some cheap options....and trains can get pricey sometimes. But, like I said before, I *always* take the train over the coach. I hope I didn't sound like I was knocking Stonehenge - I think it's cool! I was only trying to make the point that it is in the middle of nowhere and there isn't exactly a train station running along side the car park or anything. :) Also, will you be back in London or will you be in Notts for the summer term? .....Kelly :) |
I would want to ride around on the top of a Double Decker bus and snap photos!
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We once took one of the sightseeing trips. Just be sure you get off and on often -- you can get on the next bus that comes by. We bought a ticket that included a tour of the Tower, then a boat trip from the Tower to Parliament. Then caught the bus again there. On the way, it passed the theatre where I had tickets for that evening -- so, instead of taking a taxi, I just jumped on the bus again. Then took the taxi home. Maybe the neatest part of that particular trip, though, was coming back from a business meeting in Nottingham (sp?), the company we were visiting flew us back on their company helicopter -- landing at a heliport on the Thames. FANTASTIC! All of the beautiful estates, etc. As I said, I can't wait to go back again. |
Definately ride a double decker bus.
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