I'm Goin' to London! •IMPUT NEEDED•

[Placebo]

Can anyone offer some tips or advice?

I'm departing for London tomorrow for a 10-day little vacation, and was wondering if any gracious and kind-hearted DUers would give me any advice or tips for surviving London. I've never been there before.

Also, any cool sites you'd recommend seeing? Lemme know, pweeeeeez. O8)

[Haole Girl]

1. Most important tip anybody can give you:

wear very comfortable walking shoes!! :-)

[Karenca]

4. Best advice ever!

I had shin splints, I walked so much!

[Karenca]

2. What part of London?

I was there in July.

[Placebo]

8. Westminster

:hi:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

3. Pretend you're Canadian, eh?

Sure, Blair may be Bush's lap dog, but the English aren't too thrilled with us right now.
Duckie

[Placebo]

7. Nooo!

I'm already trying to do my best to look as un-American as possible.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

13. Don't worry about being American; worry about prices

People were fine with me when I was there this past August.

My advice is to take money, lots of money. Expect prices to be nearly double what they are in the States. If your hotel includes breakfast in the price of the room, eat hearty and have just a light snack for lunch. However, the restaurants in London are excellent, and pubs are fun.

However, the major museums are free. That includes the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Musuem of Natural History.

I didn't buy half-price theater tickets--it was the end of my trip, and I was nearly out of (guess what) money, but there are about a dozen booths supposedly offering half-price tickets. However, the only official one is the one actually located in Leicester Square, not the ones clustered around the Leicester Square tube stop.

Cathedrals and the like are expensive to keep up, and they charge admission to sightseers, but if you attend a service, you can get in for free. It's worth attending for the music alone.

Buy an Oyster card to ride the Tube and buses. It's a renewable debit card (renewable in machines at Tube stations) and you just pass it over an electronic pad to pay your fare. The advantage over single tickets is that the Oyster card has a daily maximum deduction, while single tickets on the Tube are an incredible £3. Best of all, the Oyster card never expires as long as you keep topping it off, so I'm saving mine for my next trip to London.

[Patiod]

42. The cathedrals advice applies anywhere

Best advice I got before going to Venice: go to Mass at St. Mark's rather than waiting in hours-long lines for a tour

[Drum]

5. Look Right First,

when beginning to cross the street!

:)

[Omphaloskepsis]

6. Mind the Gap.

That is all.

[yurbud]

36. are you saying he should put a gap in his teeth? That is such a stereotype of the Brits...

but probably true. I think it's because they overcook their food, so their teeth never get a proper workout.

[Karenca]

41. Mind The Gap ---

nothing to do with teeth--

In every tube station, there a MIND THE GAP sign,
so you don't slip to the tracks when boarding the train.

And also, the food in London is quite wonderful now,
nothing like it was years ago.

[yurbud]

47. I thought it was funny that tour books would say to be sure to eat INDIAN food when in London...

and not much about Brit food (though I did search it out).

[blondeatlast]

9. Heathrow makes a nice bus station but of course it's an airport.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzziiip! (flamesuit on)

[yurbud]

10. lots of blokes there will take care of your input, but you have to ask (Brits are bloody shy).

[yurbud]

11. You will not survive without London A to Z map book. streets change names every couple of blocks

It was easier for me to find my way around just about every other major city in Europe than London. If you ever get hopelessly lost, you can get back on the tube (works in every other country too).

A friend who was going to tour Europe with me left after London and Oxford because he got so frustrated with being lost.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. Or, if you're not going outside central London, just pick up a

map and a guidebook at your nearest major bookstore. I had a plastic folding map of central London, and it was all I needed.

[pitohui]

17. sure she will survive without it, she'll prob. throw it aside the first day

i can't even read that thing, i have some kind of map dyslexia where i can't read most maps so i'm not dissing the a to z but that thing is ridiculous, it is too big to carry around and the print is too small for people my age to read even at that size, so phooooey!

i DO second your excellent advice that, whenever lost, to just pop back down into the tube, it is laid out quite logically and this works well even for the most hopeless map reader

[ghostsofgiants]

18. Placebo's a he.

[pitohui]

19. oops

my male companion was not going to carry that damn a to z map either, he wouldn't have even taken it out of the hotel room the first day

it's just a big awkward nuisance

he'll see

[Placebo]

20. Thanks!

:)

[Writer]

12. Yes, brush up on your English.

;)

[yurbud]

35. take plenty of rubbers in case you have to lift the bonnet on your lorry in the rain...

[Writer]

37. You nasty, foul-mouthed prat!

(SMACK!)

To the nunnery with you!

[Drum]

38. lol

:)

[tinfoilinfor2005]

15. Tower of London...how can you go to London and not see this?

Chock full of history. Piccadilly for the souvenirs at the best prices. And definitely go to Harrod's store to see the food mart. I bet it is really extraordinary right before the holidays. I would advise a bus ride to Stonehenge. It really is a part of history that you don't want to miss as long as you're in the neighborhood. And if you are able, continue on to Bath...all in a day's ride.

[pitohui]

16. okay a few ideas

if you are landing at gatwick there is an express train that costs twice as much to get you to victoria 5 minutes faster, don't take the express, take the "slow" train -- it is maybe 5 minutes slower AND includes a tube pass that you can use for the rest of the day

if you don't have a hotel then in my humble opinion the little "apartments" and hotels around paddington station (where the train takes you from heathrow) are much cheaper and better than the ones around victoria for the price, so if you are coming from gatwick then take the underground to paddington and poke around for a hotel

the major museums are free and of course you should not miss the natural history museum == the english were some of the great fossil and dinosaur hunters as you probably already know -- the elgin marbles, rosetta stone, and many other famous works are in the british musem, including an entire greek temple -- in the v&a museum there is a cast of the office where george orwell worked -- tate modern has "nude stripped bare by her bachelors even" among other famous works

it just goes on and on, and they are free although there may be spot checks of your bags

for some reason the tower is not free and involves standing in line and paying a huge fee, having seen the interior of the tower years ago, honestly, i think you can skip that one with all the other stuff going on

it is not true that the british dislike americans, some posters are pulling your legs, the british are very friendly and helpful in my experience

buy your all-day underground pass after 9:30 AM it's a lot cheaper then, not that anything is cheap in london, you can use it to go as far as greenwich which is at the very edge of zone 2 and of course to many, many, many other areas that are closer in

it's quite pricey but if you like, you can buy a "hop on hop off" tour near the victoria station and you can ride it all day and get an idea of the town by riding these special buses, the "real" (non tourist) buses are a lot cheaper, but quite confusing, we always ask the driver if we're getting on the right bus and quite often he will send us to the other side of the street but we're easily turned around

the underground is much less confusing but, obviously, you're underground, so you see less but on the other hand you are much less likely to get on/off the wrong place (not that this is terribly important if you have an all day pass)

free live music very often at 7 pm in the lobby of the national theatre

maybe this is just louisiana speaking but the food is not very good for the price, really, except for ethnic restaurants, so if you have nice weather, try to have some picnics rather than eating from restaurants, yes, yes, the food has improved greatly since the 1980s when all you would really want to eat was the english breakfast and high tea (sweets!) but honestly...you'll run into some bad meals if you are not cautious, most of the indian food is okay though, some is even terrific, some pub food is okay, i guess i'm saying don't blow a lot on food in a restaurant unless you have a recommendation for a particular place because there are a fair number of bad ones around at prices that would still be considered high by usa standards -- don't assume a $35 plate of pasta is going to be good just because that's a pretty safe assumption in the usa!

don't plan to go shopping, the dollar is incredibly weak and you will have no money left for the important things in life, the colorful little pubs and interesting little ales and beers

go see harrods and all that, it's fun to see, just don't plan to buy, between the high prices and the fact that you will probably have to ship the item back in your checked luggage at a time when lost luggage season is just reaching its peak, buying any but things you'll use there like food, wine, water, etc. is probably a poor idea and just an additional hassle

you do not have to be concerned about the short daylight hours, london is a very safe city and i don't hesitate to stroll at night

for something different i think it is interesting to stroll around (during the day though) and look at bits of the old roman wall, old temple, etcetera, and also the museum of london itself, it's amazing the amount of treasure (and old skulls!) that have been found in this city

as far as cathedrals, i guess they are trying to get people back in church, because if you want to tour some of the cathedrals without attending a service, you have to pay! so bring your sunday best, years ago i did attend a service at westminister abbey and although i felt a bit of a fraud no one was checking IDs to see if you were really church of england

bath is worth seeing, as tinfoilin suggests, you can join a tour if you don't want to rent a car, but you can actually park in bath, unlike london where a car is only a nuisance and a heartache, so if you would rather drive yourself have at it, there are actually any number of scenic towns although summer is the better time for all the warm weather and splendid roses twining up half a million dollar medieval cottages, on the other hand, bath is a seething throng in summer, so it might be quite nice to visit in december

[Placebo]

22. WHOA!

Thanks so much for all the info.

I knew it was expensive, but I didn't think it was THAT expensive! I'll have no money left for little gifts and things, hah.

[NashVegas]

51. I'll Second Just About Everything in This Post

Too late for Placebo (have a great time!), though.

I stayed a couple of nights at a little rowhouse hotel about two blocks from Paddington station and it rocked. Well. The room was tiny, and I had to borrow a stick from the front desk to keep my window propped open at night for ventilation (it was early June, perfect weather for it). But compared to the chains, it was very reasonably priced. Hot water and everything except the noted window did what they were supposed to.

Stayed one night at a B & B in Newbury, and the rest of the time with friends. For my next London trip, if I had to stay at a hotel, I'd look for a B & B first, there are some great deals and people were very friendly. Londontown.com had tons of listings from independents, that's where I'd look first.

I bought a two-day transport pass that covered the Tube and busses both.

I didn't buy much of anything for souvenirs, the currency rate was 1 = 1.95 pound to dollar. I could have spent more, I brought plenty of money, but just couldn't bring myself to spend it with that rate.

[hsher]

21. My bit of tiny advice - have visted London many times

1. Don't be shocked at how small the hotel rooms are. Compared to ours, they are very small. You're not prepared for how small. I mean REAL small.

2. Hot water is somewhat of a luxury in certain places. Some places have meters.

3. When out and about on the street downtown, walk fast. Just as you would in NY. Londoners walk very quickly, and they walk as a horizontal line instead of vertical as we Americans do. Imagine facing a line of scrimmage and you have the right idea.

4. Expect things to be roughly twice as expensive as in the US.

5. Expect things to break down, often. Repair and attention will be inefficient and slow.

6. British men are shocking flirts and say things American men would avoid. Be prepared for it. If you respond coldly, they will be hurt and puzzled, and think Americans are simply rude. Usually, no harm is meant. They think they're giving you an ego boost for the day. No harm meant.

7. Britain is more vegetarian-savvy than America. You can literally find a vegetarian Anything in a supermarket or restaurant. Even McDonald's has a bean burger there.

8. TAKE SALT AND SEASONINGS. UK restaurants and food are drastically less salty and seasoned than ours. You will be surprised.

9. Do not drink the Coca Cola or Pepsi. They do not taste like the American versions.

10. Perfume sellers in Heathrow stores and around London will spray cologne right on you, invading your space. Be prepared for this, and walk a wide berth around them if you are allergic or don't want to be hit.

11. Try the Galaxy chocolate bars. They're really good.

12. Obey the traffic signals and do not jaywalk. Metropolitan cops WILL get you for that.

13. Be careful crossing streets downtown. Motorcyclists whip out of nowhere at high speeds, do not expect you to not be alert for them, and accidents could ensue.

14. Expect people to smile pleasantly when they hear your "American accent" on the Underground.

15. Do mind the gap. It's wider than ours is and you could fall in it.

16. The subways are fantastic, but they are slower than you think they'll be. The stops take forever. Estimate lots of extra time for your trip when going somewhere, so you won't be late.

[Placebo]

23. Bring lots of $$$ and salt.

Got it! :P

Seriously, thanks for all the info.

[T_i_B]

49. You don't need to bring salt over!

Just get yourself some Maldon sea salt!

http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/

yeah I know it's a plug but it's the best salt and what's more Maldon's a nice place to boot!

[Patiod]

43. About those tiny hotel rooms

these are super for tiny, tiny hotel rooms, which tend to have tiny, tiny bathrooms - you can hang it up, and don't need the yards of vanity space we are all used to in most (non-NYC) U.S. hotels

[Karenca]

24. I love Borough Market , South London

http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

[FredStembottom]

25. Turn left at Greenland!

n/t

[GoneOffShore]

26. Couple of places

The Surprise Pub - Christchurch Terrace, Chelsea.

The Seashell Fish and Chips Restaurant near Abbey Road

The Boot and Flogger, a Davy's wine bar on Red Cross Way in Southwark across Tower Bridge.

[Placebo]

29. Thank ya!

;)

[leftofthedial]

27. eat ethnic

drink lots of beer

[Placebo]

30. Mmm, beer.

:beer:

[crim son]

28. I don't know London. I do know that my sister, who is a seasoned

traveller, was mugged outside one of the major hotels downtown. Her company (which I will not name) was able to afford the best. Nevertheless she was robbed after dark whilst returning from a meeting at another hotel. So, be careful!

[Radio_Lady]

34. There are thugs in many cities of the world. Be careful and alert wherever

you are. Keep jewelry at a minimum (I know Placebo is a man, but all the same...), keep your personal items closely guarded in a waistbelt or a purse that goes around your shoulders.

I wore a backpack but kept only water and a few other personal items in it. No wallet.

My husband was distracted while taking a picture at Piccadilly Circus, a very crowded place, and might have had a bag stolen if he had not been alert. Two people were working together -- a man shouted "Look up!" several times, and a woman working with him may have tried to get ahold of my husband's travel bag, which he had placed on the ground. Luckily, that did not happen.

You have to just keep your wits about you all the time.

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[T_i_B]

48. There are nice areas and rough areas in London

Just like any other city, you just have to know which areas to avoid really.

[spindrifter]

31. The dollar is tanking against the pound--

and likely to drop farther soon. That said--there are, as mentioned here, many free cultural sights, such as the big museums. Take the tube in from Heathrow, if that is where you land. No need to waste money on a more expensive ride. You can visit the lovely Kew Gardens by tube, as well as Greenwich. Greenwich is really amazing in many ways and you will travel through the interesting south side of the Thames. You can also visit Hampstead Heath. Cambridge is an interesting day trip by train--more interesting than Oxford. It definitely retains the air of an old English market town.
If you have the funds, you can go up to York or west to Bath or both.
Food is great, especially if you eat ethnic.
Enjoy your visit.

[Placebo]

32. Thanks spindy!

Ugh, the taking dollar. :(

[Radio_Lady]

33. Hi Placebo! Do not miss the British Museum -- it's really amazing!

Best free site in London, in my opinion. You could spend a whole day there, if you wanted to. You may donate if you wish, but no entry fee. It was amazing to see the real Rosetta stone.

Also, we went to a couple of plays in the West End, but then, we're film and theater people... don't know if you are.

Walk on the less travelled South Bank of the Thames River -- despite the rain -- lots to see.

Have a great time!

In peace,

Radio_Lady

[xchrom]

39. hit the tate museum, visit the cathedral and

walk across the bridge and you're there.

absolutely hit the victoria and albert museum.

the british museum you've just heard about.

be sure and go to the theatre while there -- it's world class -- and this time of year the globe and the national should have productions up.

trafalgar square is right there where the national gallery is -- and there are a TON of other sights in walking distance of trafalgar including buckingham.

soho can be worth a crawl at night.

yes it's expensive -- but so what -- go shopping! there is some wonderful shopping there.

i found the indian food to be very good.
and because there are so many indian restaurants that what i eat mostly when i'm there.

[Paladin]

40. Imperial War Museum, Fer Sure......

....even if you're not the warrior type. Sad to say, the Lawrence of Arabia exhibit will no longer be there; best damned museum display I've ever seen.

And go by Fortnum & Mason to see the most incredible foods store on the planet---terrific neighborhood, too...

[WolverineDG]

44. Get a "Streetwise London" map

it's a laminated, fold-out map that you can carry with you for reference. :)

I second the suggestion to not drink Coke/Pepsi there. bleah.

Take one or two or as many Original London Walks as you want. (can't remember the link, but just put that into Google & you should find it--check out their Jack the Ripper walk!)

Need a sandwich? Hit Sainsbury's (grocery stores) or Pret a Manger. Like Starbucks, they're everywhere in London!

Try not to cry over the exchange rate.

Have fun!

dg

[bijou]

45. Do not miss this

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/carstenholler/default.shtm



It's free!

[AllegroRondo]

46. The most fun I had in London...

was just strolling around Hyde Park.

I did a bicycle tour of Scotland with a friend a couple years back, and we stopped in London for a day. We spent an afternoon (in the summer) biking and walking around Hyde Park, and had a picnic there. The people were incredibly friendly. We spent a lot of time just watching pick-up sports, and even joined in a game of American Baseball. I was amazed at how popular baseball was. Most people didnt understand the rules to the same level that Americans do, but they more than made up for it in enthusiasm and sportsmanship.

[Love Bug]

50. Get a money belt and keep your money, id and passport with you at all times

Also, go to the second most famous address in London, 221B Baker Street, and say "Hi!" to the folks who work at the bank there!