London is Calling

[Lathum]

Will be heading to London on Saturday. Be in the city for 4 days and then going to a manor in the countryside for 4 days for my sister in laws wedding.

Suggestions for things to do in the city? Westminster Abby is on my list for sure. As is the London Dungeon and the Jack the Ripper tour.

Any other thoughts? We will be on somewhat limited time and have a 14 month old to consider. My In LAws can help watch him, but we want to include him in as much as possible.

[DaddyTorgo]

Tower of London I assume?

[DaddyTorgo]

British Museum is neat if you're a fan of museums - lots of artifacts and things there (Rosetta Stone, Parthenon friezes, mummies, Easter Island statue, etc).

This is fun because I'm thinking of taking my brother over later this summer.

[Marc Vaughan]

Go to a pub for a pub lunch (there are lots which are child friendly with pub gardens) - I'd recommend finding somewhere which does a 'proper' Yorkshire Pudding myself, go to Camden Market ... London Eye is meant to be quite cool as well.

Be warned if its hot we're not big on air-conditioning in England (its part of our pysche of being able to complain about the weather regardless of season, in the winter its too cold, summer its too hot ;) ).

PS - If you've never tried it sample English chocolate ... its different to the US stuff and everyone I've inflicted it on here loves it ...

[heybrad]

Tower of London I assume?
I'll second this one as it was really my favorite in the times I've been to London. Take the tour which is guided by a 'Beefeater' and then see the Crown Jewels. The Tate Modern was an interesting stop but a little underwhelming for me as we had just been at the the Louvre a couple of days earlier which I thought was spectacular.

[DaddyTorgo]

TK had a good London-thread lately where people gave her a ton of advice I think...

[BYU 14]

PS - If you've never tried it sample English chocolate ... its different to the US stuff and everyone I've inflicted it on here loves it ...

Second that, I have my family send it over constantly and the best part is instead of listing calories as calories the labels list them as 'energy' so there is no guilt to eating it......You're just charging your energy for the sightseeing :)

[Peregrine]

Check out going to someplace like Kensington - I really enjoyed the area as there are lots of museums (Natural History, Victoria & Albert which is stunning) as well as Royal Albert Hall, and of course Hyde Park and the area around Kensington Palace - great place to walk around in good weather. There's also Harrod's which is definitely worth a stop just to look around in amazement.

[3ric]

Tower of London, of course. The nearby London Bridge is worth a visit. Travel along the Thames with the Tate boat (http://www.tate.org.uk/tatetotate/)

[GrantDawg]

No suggestions, but I am sooooo jealous. I am going to get "across the pond" someday (I hope).

[Mac Howard]

The Tower of London you can combine with your visit to the London Dungeon (an absolute must-see though not necessarily for a 14 month-old :) ). You can walk across Tower Bridge from one to the other.

Whereabouts in the country are you going?

[johnnyshaka]

First thing's first...don't you dare start trying to figure out much shit costs otherwise you are going to be cringing every time you crack open your wallet. It's going to be expensive...deal with it...forget about it...then, DO IT!!! :)

My wife and I spent some time there a few years ago (we were in downtown London for the Olympic announcement and on our way into the city via train when the bombings occurred...ugh...weird few days to say the least) and did all the typical tourist stuff mentioned and loved it all.

We also enjoyed Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and Buckingham Palace. Something that you might find nice to do with the little one would be a picnic in Hyde Park.

[Lathum]

Whereabouts in the country are you going?

Hertforshire or something like that

[EagleFan]

Have a safe and enjoyable trip!

[Mac Howard]

Hertforshire or something like that

Nice place. I lived there for many years before coming to Australia. I lived in Hertford (the county town) and Stevenage. It'll be a short trip to/from London - probably no more than 40 minutes, if that - so you won't waste too much time traveling. For a couple of years I had a girlfriend who lived in Knightsbridge (west London) and I would travel into London after work to see her, go out for the evening, and be back home before midnight. It is that easy a journey.

[Marc Vaughan]

Hertforshire or something like that

Woo Hoo - thats where I lived before I emigrated .... :D

I was in a small town named 'Royston' with great pubs/restaurants and not much else ;)

(was just south of Cambridge and north of Stevenage)

[terpkristin]

TK had a good London-thread lately where people gave her a ton of advice I think...

That I did, about a month and a half ago. I did a bunch of random stuff when I was there this time. London, 18-22 May, 2011 - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/terpkristin/sets/72157626791143758/)

I did the Tower of London and the Yeoman Warder tour. It was interesting from the history perspective, but I thought the guy doing the tour was a bit of a dick. I also went in to see the crown jewels and the royal armors. There were a TON of people there, including a lot of school groups. They were obnoxious.

I also took the boat to Greenwich (got on the boat near Tower of London), which I'd recommend. I had a grand old time wandering around the Maritime Museum and going to the Royal Observatory. Then I took the boat back up the Thames and to Big Ben/Parliament. I also checked out Trafalgar Square. That night, I took a trip on the London Eye (full disclosure, I wasn't going to do it as it seemed like a tourist trap but I met up with a friend and he'd never done it so we decided what they hey). If you decide to do that, I recommend doing it at dusk--that was a great view of the city and the line was virtually non-existent. I admit, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

I figured out where to go for great curry--Brick Lane. There's also a pretty good record shop on Brick Lane, Rough Trade Records (Rough Trade Records (http://www.roughtraderecords.com/) ). It's like music shops used to be where you can listen to any of the CDs or vinyl they have, and they have a pretty eclectic collection.

If you're there on a Saturday morning, I would totally recommend wandering to Borough Market (Home | Borough Market (http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/) ). I went there, got breakfast, enjoyed walking around the market and seeing the variety of produce and breads for sale, and ended up buying some curry sauce and marmalade to bring home. It's near the Dungeon thingie.

This marked my third trip to London and I think I've done more or less every tourist-y thing in the city that I wanted to do. I have yet to go to inside Westminster Abbey, which is something I want to do, but it's hard to justify 16 quid. I'm glad that this time I got to do some of the less tourist-y stuff, too.

When I was there in December (London Trip 12-17 December 2010 - a set on Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/terpkristin/sets/72157625629863728/) ), I went to The British Museum and went to the exhibit on The Book of the Dead. That was really neat. There's a LOT to see in that museum. It would take multiple trips there to see everything.

I've also heard good things about the Victoria & Albert Museum and Kensington Gardens, neither of which I've been to. Maybe next time... ;)

/tk

[AlexB]

If you want something with a little gravitas, try the Churchill War Rooms - laid out as per WW2 era. Fascinating.

Tate Modern is excellent, but maybe not that child friendly, Globe Theatre is really good as well, and right next door.

St Paul's Cathedral gives good views of the city, and has just been recently refurbed (only finished a week or two ago), and the London Eye, although a little expensive, is really good.

Take a walk through Hyde Park and the Serpentine if the weather is good. St James' Park is beautiful too, but quite small

Piccadilly, Park Lane & Mayfair areas are worth a look

Parliament Square is usually worth a visit too

You have to try proper English Beer - find a nice 'olde' pub and order a pint (or half) of real ale such as London Pride, Bombardier which are both readily available, or for a lighter taste any IPA. Dont worry - it's not supposed to be cold!

If you don;t worry about calories, get yourself to a London 'Caff' for a good old English fry-up breakfast: bacon, sausage, egg, black pudding, beans, mushrooms - especially if you enjoyed the real ales a little too much the night before!

[AlexB]

BTW, no need for the 'is' for kudos effect ;)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rqGI-wC4L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[Lathum]

Good day today.

Arrived yesterday and just bummed around by the time we got here etc...My SIL lives in Islington. Went to dinner at a local restaurant.

Today we shook off the jet lag and made it out of the house by noon, minus the kid. The in laws took care of him today. Took the subway to London Tower stop. Went to the London Dungeon which was fun but a little different than I though and remembered. Less historical and more show/ interactive.

Then when we left and walked over the London Bridge and hung a left down a road I can't recall, and walked over the pedestrian bridge by the modern art museum, the one that was in Harry Potter. At some point we took the subway to the Big Ben/ Parliament area. Walked over to Westminster Abbey, but didn't go in, it had closed already and down to Buckingham Palace. Then took the Green Park? train back. All in all a fun day.