I'm going to London for the first time for about 2 weeks (business) in the Spring. Don't know exactly where I'll be staying yet, as we don't know exactly where our meetings are taking place, so other than hotel recommendations, any tips/tricks for London?
Definitely check out Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park on a Sunday. Picadilly Circus is cool on a Friday or Saturday night.
Don't know how long your staying, but get familiar with the mass transit system before you go and then use it. It's very good. So are the taxis. If you end up renting a car for a trip outside London, get outside of the city and pick up your car there, don't rent one by your hotel and then attempt to drive out of the city... you'll got nuts. I made that mistake... once! Have an umbrella, but buy one there. If you're going to the theatre (you should!), you can get tickets, if available, for half price the day of the show at a booth in Leicester Square. Google it. We saw a terrific mystery with Anthony Quayle that way about 20 years ago. The really hot tickets should be purchased ASAP, before you leave. Just a couple of things off the top of my head.
Tower of London is a pretty cool attraction. It wasn't too expensive. IIRC once you get in, there is a free tour every 30 minutes, which I highly recommend. I also recommend taking a double decker tour bus, which will show you all of the sights, plus give you a good idea of the city's layout. If you like Indian food, London has tons of good choices. If you like going to the theater, there are many shows to see and tickets are half price the day of the show.
Dude, you are nutz. I would never rent a car. The Brits drive on the wrong side of the road It s crazy! Seriously, I have always took the train to get around the UK. Very doable.
I was there for a semester back in the early 90's. I'll say the coolest place I went was the British War Museum. Recreated a WWI bunker and had a subway station in WWII. Was just really cool. But I'm into that kind of thing. http://london.iwm.org.uk/server/show/nav.207
Get a day pass and just take the train around. But maybe not during rush hour. Definitely visit hyde park.
British Museum. And it's free too. I think I spent two full days there. In addition to amazing exhibitions from the UK, much of the stuff they pilfered from around the world during their glory days is on display there.
On the museum front, I'd also suggest the British Museum. It has the actual Rosetta Stone (among a ton of other stuff) plus a really cool architecturally assembly hall area. Was not a fan of the Tate Modern, but that depends what you like. I'd agree with the theater suggestion. Unless you absolutely hate that kind of thing.
Have some Fish and Chips but make sure its from the smaller mom and pop type of restaurants where you eat it off waxpaper or newspaper.
Lived in London from 05-07 for University. So I pretty much, walked, tubed, and been around almost every part of that city and loved every minute of it. Things to do: - Tate Modern - British Museum - Natural History Museum - London Eye - South Bank - Liecester Square - Camden Town Market - Covent Garden - Tower of London - St. Paul's Cathedral There's pretty much pubs everywhere, grab a pint and have fun.
I'm not sure about their schedules, but I'd recommend going to see the boys choirs at Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral in the evening. Anyone can come in and it's free. It seriously sounds like angels singing, especially with the acoustics. They don't let you roam around at all, but you can still get in and see a portion of each building without having to pay the expensive entrance fees during the day. Another free thing is the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, which is a pretty big ordeal...can get crowded. Not sure if you're interested in any nature stuff, but the white cliffs are a pretty cool and unique thing to see. It's not too bad of a train ride, but it is a ways out. You can definitely see them in Dover, which is a little more commercial. I went further south to the Seven Sisters area, and it was amazing. I took a bus from Eastbourne and then hiked back north about seven miles along the cliffs. Here is a picture I took. Spoiler
The standard sights... British Museum Big Ben and Westminister Abbey Tower of London Picadilly Circus Hyde Park - watch the debates on the park benches Greenwich Park - go see the clock! Shakespeare Theatre The Tube: learn It, live it, love It. Get the day or week pass, and travel all you need. It's the fastest way to get around. Also, tons of pubs everywhere, but they close early. Make sure you grab some curry or fish and chips there.
I'm going on the company dime, so I have no problem paying for other people to drive me around (taxi), or hitting the tubes, so no problem there. Probably not going to bother with a car. Somebody at work told me the bus tours are actualy pretty cool and that you can get an on/off pass for the day so you can actually get off at the various places to check them out. My biggest problem is I'll probably only have one weekend to myself to try to fit in the touristy stuff, other than going out to eat and hitting pubs in the evenings on the work days. Thanks everybody!
Yeah: British Museum Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard Tower of London and Tower Bridge Piccadilly Circus Harrods if you want to shop Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park Go to the theatre, definitely. Tickets can be had cheap. Trafalgar Square and the art museum there....sorry the name escapes me Any river cruise along the Thames The London Eye will give you an AWESOME view of the city St. Pauls Windsor Castle etc. etc. etc. There is literally so much to see an do we could be here all week and most of next and won't be anywhere close to finishing. Check out a pub for a traditional English meal: fish and chips, shepherds pie, that sort of thing. The tubes are really easy to navigate so Google a map and familiarize yourself with it as it can look more intimidating than it actually is. And just go ahead and buy yourself a day pass. Thank me later. I love London. Have fun!
The only reason we rented that car was that my mom flew over to travel with us for ten days and wanted to drive around Britain. It was insane! I was the only one willing to drive and everyone else was petrified, at least until I got used to it. Eventually, it became fun. Drove up to York, on up to Scotland, east to west from there and then down into the Lake District. Just stunningly beautiful. Ended up going to out of the way places we wouldn't have seen by rail, etc., although that's the way we usually travel over there, outside of the cities. My mother really got into the pubs, pub food, and the amazing beer. We made frequent pub stops, lol! Visited Castle Howard, where they filmed Brideshead Revisited, which was really cool. Hadrian's Wall. Drove through herds of sheep on tiny country roads.
The more I talk to folks around the office, the more excited about this trip. I'm actually thinking about taking a few days off after our meetings and flying my wife out to join me. Has anyone ever taken the chunnel to Paris? Would that be something to do for a couple of days?
