Goin' to London

[terpkristin]

So I'm going on business travel next week to London and am extending my trip by a couple days so I can goof off. This will be my third time in London, and I'm trying to finalize what I want to do this time (first time, I was on a family trip and second time, I didn't have much personal time). What I think I'm doing is below, though I could use some help from anybody that knows London in figuring out what tube stops and stuff to use...

Covent Gardens (last time I was there, it was winter and sleeting...)
Trafalgar Square (what tube stop do I use???)
London Eye (never did this, I believe it's the Westminster stop)
Tower of London (doing the tours!...Monument tube stop?)
Victoria & Albert Museum (maybe?--Kensington area???)
Harrods (went there with the family but don't remember WHERE it is...)
Westminster Abbey (how do I get there?)
Greenwich (nerd thing, I presume it's walkable from the Greenwich tube stop)
Changing of the guard (this happens everyday at 11:30, right?)

I'll probably also visit the Arsenal store again, because...well, why not. :) The way it's looking, I'll have Wednesday afternoon and evening to myself, all day Friday and Saturday, and then Sunday morning. Any help on places I should try to eat and tube stop info??

Thanks. :)
/tk

[terpkristin]

Dola,

Last time, I was told that there is a street or an area where I should go to get Indian food. We didn't end up going there, so I want to try to go there this time. Any ideas where that is and how to get there? I'll be staying right near the Old Street tube stop.

/tk

[Autumn]

So I'm going on business travel next week to London and am extending my trip by a couple days so I can goof off. This will be my third time in London, and I'm trying to finalize what I want to do this time (first time, I was on a family trip and second time, I didn't have much personal time). What I think I'm doing is below, though I could use some help from anybody that knows London in figuring out what tube stops and stuff to use...

Covent Gardens (last time I was there, it was winter and sleeting...)
Trafalgar Square (what tube stop do I use???)
London Eye (never did this, I believe it's the Westminster stop)
Tower of London (doing the tours!...Monument tube stop?)
Victoria & Albert Museum (maybe?--Kensington area???)
Harrods (went there with the family but don't remember WHERE it is...)
Westminster Abbey (how do I get there?)
Greenwich (nerd thing, I presume it's walkable from the Greenwich tube stop)
Changing of the guard (this happens everyday at 11:30, right?)

I'll probably also visit the Arsenal store again, because...well, why not. :) The way it's looking, I'll have Wednesday afternoon and evening to myself, all day Friday and Saturday, and then Sunday morning. Any help on places I should try to eat and tube stop info??

Thanks. :)
/tk

I've only been to London a couple times, a long time ago. But I do remember that I think Westminster Abbey was a very close walk to Parliament, right in that same neighborhood. I personally loved the Globe Theatre as well.

[Peregrine]

Harrods is also in Kensington - not too far from Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as other museums in that area. Very nice area to walk around - you could also check on concerts at the Royal Albert Hall if you are going to be in that area.

[Mac Howard]

Got to go to the London Dungeon.

London Dungeon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Dungeon)

Last time I was there I witnessed a beheading and took part in a rerun of the Fire of London.

It's on the south bank of the Thames and you can combine this with a trip to the Tower of London - just pop across Tower Bridge. There's a good pub for a drink and lunch across the road just west of the Tower.

If you like a picnic lunch then grab a bottle of wine and some French bread rolls and take them to St James' Park. If you saw the royal wedding it's on the left and in those trees you may have noticed as you looked down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace.

St James***039;s Park - Places To Go in London - Visit London (http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/detail/607161)

You can combine this with watching the Changing of the Guard at Horse Guards Parade (alongside the park)

Horse Guards Parade - Places To Go in London - Visit London (http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/detail/484414)

Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Downing Street (PM's residence), the Embankment, Trafalgar Square are all in walking distance. Also the restaurant and entertainment areas of the West End (Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus, Soho etc).

If you like an argument or to listen to nuts spouting nonsense then you should go to Speakers Corner:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakers%27_Corner

This is at the north east corner of Hyde Park - western end of Oxford Street.

If someone with you likes shopping then Oxford Street is the place. If you're looking for cheap electronic goods then from the eastern end of Oxford Street go north up Tottenham Court Road. Go south from there to Covent Garden and Soho.

I must add here that it's some time since I've been there but I suspect not much in these areas have changed.

[Marc Vaughan]

I'll be staying right near the Old Street tube stop.
LOL :D

Shame I'm not over or I'd show you around - the SI Offices are just down the road from there.

If you're near old street walk down the road with the Litten Tree pub on it (I think they've renamed the pub - but its at Litten Tree, Old Street, London, EC1V 9BP - pub details # beerintheevening.com (http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/66/6695/Litten_Tree/Old_Street)) ...

If you continue down that road there's a decent indian on the left hand side a few streets down BUT also if you continue down just a little longer there's a 'street market' style thing during the day where there are 20-30 market stalls selling fresh cooked food of all varieties, some fairly bog-standard but also a lot of ethnic dishes and varieties if you like to step out and try new things.

(I'd also recommend you visit Camden Market if you get a chance)

[Marc Vaughan]

Edit - Apologies cat walking on keyboard (strange but true - you'd have to meet "Manny" to realise quite how gifted he is on the computer)

[M GO BLUE!!!]

I'm actually jealous. Of a girl, even! :P

[terpkristin]

Shame I'm not over or I'd show you around - the SI Offices are just down the road from there.

Well hell, plan better next time. ;) :D

If you're near old street walk down the road with the Litten Tree pub on it (I think they've renamed the pub - but its at Litten Tree, Old Street, London, EC1V 9BP - pub details # beerintheevening.com (http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/66/6695/Litten_Tree/Old_Street)) ...

Thanks for the tip on the Indian.

What is/where is Camden Market?

Got to go to the London Dungeon.
Heh, if time permits, I'll have to check it.

Thanks to all. :) And any other useful tips, feel free to pass 'em along. :)

/tk

[Marc Vaughan]

Triple post combo :D

Oh while you're there pop on the tube down to 'Islington' theres a 'Sausage and Mash' Cafe there which is incredible - loads if different types of sausages ... trust me it rocks (its just down from 'Islington Green').

S & M (Sausage and Mash) Cafe - Essex Road
Place page
4-6 Essex Road
City of London, Greater London N1 8LN, United Kingdom
020 7359 5361

Islington also has a huge amount of weird and wonderful pubs and restaurants in it (theres an Afghan takeaway where which is awesome).

[DaddyTorgo]

Tower of London...Westminster Abbey...I presume you've done the British Museum? I spent like 2 entire days of my week there just in the British Museum...

[DaddyTorgo]

Pop into the SI offices and tell them Marc sent you and you need the details of FM12? Hehe

[Marc Vaughan]

What is/where is Camden Market?
Its basically a huge sprawling market which sells all sorts of stuff, if you like browsing and a lively atmosphere then its worth a go - its part 'authentic local' combined with the fact that loads of tourists go because it shows up in nearly every 'britcom' film ever ;)

Camden Market - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_Market)
(as the article states its really a 'collection' of markets)

Also Camden itself is just kinda 'cool' - more info on it here:

London/Camden - Wikitravel (http://wikitravel.org/en/London/St_Pancras)

[Marc Vaughan]

Oh while I'm firing out random suggestions - if you've time and are brave, duck into 'China Town' - the restaurants there are incredible ...

Chinatown (http://www.chinatownlondon.org/)

Oh and if the West End is still showing 'Wicked' see it - its an amazing musical :D

http://www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/

[terpkristin]

Tower of London...Westminster Abbey...I presume you've done the British Museum? I spent like 2 entire days of my week there just in the British Museum...

Yeah, that was the one non-work thing I did last time I was there (London Trip 12-17 December 2010 - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/terpkristin/sets/72157625629863728/) ). They had the unveiling of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which we checked out. It was pretty insane. I could easily go back there and STILL not scratch the surface of what there is to see there, but there are some higher priorities on my list before that. When I went with the family, we managed to skip Tower of London. I don't remember why. But there's so much history there, it's been on my list for awhile.

/tk

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah - the Tower is pretty fun as far as the history goes. Westminster Abbey is pretty amazing in that sense too. Seriously.

[Mac Howard]

Oh while I'm firing out random suggestions - if you've time and are brave, duck into 'China Town' - the restaurants there are incredible ...

Chinatown (http://www.chinatownlondon.org/)

Oh and if the West End is still showing 'Wicked' see it - its an amazing musical :D

Wicked the Musical (http://www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/)

It's not as difficult or as time-consuming as you might think. Chinatown is in Soho. But Soho, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus (both West End), Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch, St James Park, Horse Guards Parade, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, the Embankment, Downing Street are all within walking distance.

Two to three hours and you can see them all on foot.

Google Earth Trafalgar Square. Look north and you'll see the West End (Soho, Chinatown, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus etc). Look west and you'll Buckingham Place, Admiralty Arch, St James Park, Horse Guards Parade. Look south and you'll see Houses of Parliament, Embankment, Thames. None of these are more than a mile from Trafalgar Square and most significantly less.

But .... gotta go to the Dungeon. Gotta have an English "Indian" curry ;)

[DaddyTorgo]

It's not as difficult or as time-consuming as you might think. Chinatown is in Soho. But Soho, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus (both West End), Trafalgar Square, Admiralty Arch, St James Park, Horse Guards Parade, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, the Embankment, Downing Street are all within walking distance.

Two to three hours and you can see them all on foot.

Google Earth Trafalgar Square. Look north and you'll see the West End (Soho, Chinatown, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus etc). Look west and you'll Buckingham Place, Admiralty Arch, St James Park, Horse Guards Parade. Look south and you'll see Houses of Parliament, Embankment, Thames. None of these are more than a mile from Trafalgar Square and most significantly less.

But .... gotta go to the Dungeon ;)

I did that sort of walk-around when I was there...spent like 4-5 hours wandering about that same route...

[cartman]

The Natural History museum is right next to the Victoria & Albert museum, and is impressive as well. My old apartment was on Cromwell Road in South Kensington, and on days when the Tube was unavailable, I'd have to walk past the Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert, Harrod's, Hyde Park Corner, and turn at Wellington Arch to get to the office.

Where are you going to be staying? That will have a bearing on which line to take to get to the city center. Once you are there, the main lines for hitting the big highlights are the Circle, District, and Piccadilly Lines. Hyde Park Corner is a big stop for Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square are big stops to see some of the more famous attractions.

The great thing is that the national museums are all free. You can also get a multi-day pass that will cover all rides on the Underground and buses as well.

[Mac Howard]

I did that sort of walk-around when I was there...spent like 4-5 hours wandering about that same route...

Yep. And if you spread it over the day you can time it to see all these with the Changing of the Guard in a morning, The National Gallery and Covent Garden the afternoon and the West End and/or Soho for your evening's entertainment - and never need a bus, taxi or train all day.

[Marc Vaughan]

I'd personally err on the side of not trying to cram too much in - by all means schedule a lot, but expect to sidetrack yourself on something which takes your fancy and lose most of a day doing that ... many of the things suggested here you can easily waste many hours browsing over and tbh it'd be less fun to stick to a schedule forcing yourself to rush through them imho.

[Abe Sargent]

It also depends on what you want. I liked seeing the old foundation of a Roman era building in the middle of a downtown bustling bank area, and I loved the street market on the High Street in Walthamstow, it's supposedly one of the largest open air street markets in Europe, and so forth. There's way too much to see in one or two or three trips.

[eiskrap]

Recommend getting the boat http://www.thamesclippers.com/ to Greenwich (and Tower of London if you do them together) you can get it from the London Eye or Embankment (near London Eye) much better than the tube.

Closest tube stop to Trafalgar square is Charring Cross, but its so close to many other things you'll probably just end up walking from somewhere else.

Changing of Guard is 11:30, would get there a bit early though...

[Galaxy]

Harrods is also in Kensington - not too far from Victoria and Albert Museum, as well as other museums in that area. Very nice area to walk around - you could also check on concerts at the Royal Albert Hall if you are going to be in that area.

Doesn't Harrods has a slight dress code as well?

[Super Ugly]

I second the S&M Cafe recommendation, and here are my recommendations for Indian food:
New Tayyabs (http://www.tayyabs.co.uk/)
Lahore Kebab House (http://lahore-kebabhouse.com/)
(both are Pakistani, not Indian, but Tayyabs is considered one of the best Asian restaurants in London)

Should be easy to get to from Old Street.

The Finsbury Park area's good for Turkish food if you're interested.

Recommend getting the boat Home*-*Clippers (http://www.thamesclippers.com/) to Greenwich (and Tower of London if you do them together) you can get it from the London Eye or Embankment (near London Eye) much better than the tube.

Definitely. I did this with some friends and it was great fun.

Other sights - British Museum (a must, IMO), National Gallery, Tate Modern.

[Peregrine]

If you're in the Kensington area, the last time I was in London I ate at this fantastic Indian place called Zaika - a bit pricier but really good.

[terpkristin]

Recommend getting the boat Home*-*Clippers (http://www.thamesclippers.com/) to Greenwich (and Tower of London if you do them together) you can get it from the London Eye or Embankment (near London Eye) much better than the tube.

Closest tube stop to Trafalgar square is Charring Cross, but its so close to many other things you'll probably just end up walking from somewhere else.

Changing of Guard is 11:30, would get there a bit early though...

You're the second one to recommend this boat to Greenwich to me. Sounds like I have a plan on that one... ;)

/tk

[terpkristin]

Where are you going to be staying?

I'll be staying at a hotel called The Hoxton. It's right near the Old Street stop which if I remember right is on the Northern Line.

/tk

[ColtCrazy]

A couple of places that are worth going to because of the multiple options...

Covent Gardens is a very interesting place, but nestled in the corner is the Transportation Museum. It's recently had a major overhaul is a very good museum highlighting the history of tube amongst other things.

If you to the V&A, right across the street is the Natural History Museum. It's one helluva museum. It's one of my few must stops every summer I'm in London.

Also, since you mentioned Harrods, another excellent store just to see is Hamley's, the giant toy store. You'll actually be amazed at the amount of stuff they have (and the people that work there) It's on Regent Street, just north of Picadilly.

As many have suggested, you have the whole Parliament, Westminster, and London Eye are there together. Marc is right, with the proper mapping, you can easily spend a day walking to and fro different places. The day I was at Covent Gardens, I walked to Picadilly Circus fairly easily, with the usual eye popping detour through Soho.

[terpkristin]

Covent Gardens is a very interesting place, but nestled in the corner is the Transportation Museum. It's recently had a major overhaul is a very good museum highlighting the history of tube amongst other things.
Interesting. I'll keep that in mind.

If you to the V&A, right across the street is the Natural History Museum. It's one helluva museum. It's one of my few must stops every summer I'm in London.
That's also been recommended to me. It'll depend on how I'm doing with walking...

As many have suggested, you have the whole Parliament, Westminster, and London Eye are there together. Marc is right, with the proper mapping, you can easily spend a day walking to and fro different places. The day I was at Covent Gardens, I walked to Picadilly Circus fairly easily, with the usual eye popping detour through Soho.
Yeah, what people forget is that I'm broken. :) My back is still messed up, so I might be making many smaller trips rather than going out and walking all day. I'm going to have to play some of this by ear.

/tk