What should I see in London?

[msmith537]

...other than Big Ben and Parliament

[Scumpup]

Go see the Tower of London. It's slam full of interesting stuff.

[Sunspace]

Originally Posted by Scumpup

Go see the Tower of London. It's slam full of interesting stuff.

It's worth seeing. I will admit, though, that I was underwhelmed by the "gold plate" section of the Crown Jewels exhibit. I never knew the Queen's ancestors went in for such tacky bling. On the other hand, the big diamond is stunning and beautiful.

[glee]

What are your interests?
This is a city thousands of years old, with oddly-named narrow streets, historical buildings, rebuilt after a major fire and later bombings etc.

The London Eye gives great views.

[Elysium]

The British Museum is one of my favorite places. Their collection is amazing and not to be missed.

Maybe see some theatre as well? I saw some great plays in London. Maybe go to the Globe and see what Shakespeare production they are putting on?

[msmith537]

Originally Posted by glee

What are your interests?

Pretty much everything. Also bringing my GF so any girly stuff too.

Also any good pubs or restuarants.

[jharvey963]

Went there last summer and liked:

Tower of London
Tower Bridge (many of us "yanks" don't actually realize they are 2 different things).
London Eye. But don't go at night unless all you want to see are "pretty lights".
Westminster Abbey. Got to see Darwins tomb. How cool is that?
British Museum was cool.
Trafalger Square.
The "Tube". Seriously cool for us transport-deprived Yanks. "Mind the gap"
The play "Wicked": absolutely the best play I have ever seen.
St. Paul's Cathedral
Kensington Palace - cool in a "Diana lived here" kind of way.
Harrod's Department store - nice, but couldn't afford anything.
Pub's on every corner. I don't drink, but they're great places to get a reasonably priced meal.

J.

[Chez Guevara]

Originally Posted by Elysium

Maybe go to the Globe and see what Shakespeare production they are putting on?

If you do, book a seat at £15 upwards rather than take a £5 standing position at ground level. Paying the extra means you will not require medical treatment for a crick in the neck from looking up all the time.

Bear in mind also that the Globe season finishes the first week in October.

[Kalea]

In addition to jharvey963's ideas:

The National Museum of Science and Industry has lots of cool engines, airplanes, and sciency stuff.

The V&A Museum is also very cool.

[Dervorin]

You could consider a trip out to Kew Gardens, which is beautiful at any time, but of course not at its best in rainy autumn weather.

The museums (lots conveniently located in South Kensington) are definitely worth a visit, as noted above.

I think everyone has their list of favourite London pubs, but here's a selection that you might consider:

The Chandos, off Trafalgar Square
Doggetts, on Southbank
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese (yes, really!) in Fleet Street
Waxy O'Connor's, Rupert Street, off Leicester Square

[Hypno-Toad]

If you go to St. Pauls, go a few blocks northeast and visit the Museum of London. It's a great place and covers everything London from prehistory on up. Between St. Pauls and MoL is Postmans Park, a very pleasant little space on the west side of St Martins Le Grand. It has memorials to ordinary people who performed extraordinary heroism.

On the Thames across from the tower of London is HMS Belfast. It's a cruiser from WWII and now a floating museum chock full of great exhibits.

Down the Thames past Greenwhich is Woolwich Arsenal which has the Firepower! museum of artillery. A great place for military fans.

South of Buckingham Palace next to the Wellington Barracks is the Guards Museum. Another great military museum dedicated specifically to the five Guards regiments.

A great private museum is the Wallace Collection at Manchester Square. A well-rounded collection of art, artifacts, and yes, arms and armor. The most interesting thing about it is that the collection has not had one thing taken from or added to it. This is one of the stipulations of the founder.

I believe that if you arrange for letters of introduction from the US embassy, you can get into both houses of Parliament and watch the UK government inaction.

[yojimbo]

History?

Welcome to the Cabinet War Rooms
Shortly after becoming Prime Minister in May 1940, Winston Churchill visited the Cabinet War Rooms to see for himself what preparations had been made to allow him and his War Cabinet to continue working throughout the expected air raids on London. It was there, in the underground Cabinet Room, he announced 'This is the room from which I will direct the war'

http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/

There's also the Imperial War Museum which is very good indeed.

Camden Market is worth a walk around but there was a fire there a while ago so I'm not exactly sure if it's the same place that I knew.

Great pubs and food are everywhere in London IMO.

[Crusoe]

Originally Posted by msmith537

...other than Big Ben and Parliament

What time of year are you travelling, and what do you like to do? (Eat, drink, walk, see art, see history, see architecture?)

[burundi]

If you're at all into art, you must go to the National Gallery. It's one of my favorite places in the world. The Imperial War Museum is pretty damn cool, too.

Other than the museums, my favorites things about London are the theater and the shopping, but since you live in NYC, those will probably be less impressive to you.

[Revenant Threshold]

Count another vote for the Imperial War Museum. The Natural History Museum is also pretty great, though there may not be much new there to you depending on where you're from.

HMS Belfast as previously mentioned is worth a look around, though obviously it's bit more of a specific interest than the various museums.

I would say going to a pub or two is a good plan, not just for them themselves, but to take in a bit of the scenery and perhaps some shopping. They're easily recognisable by the groups of smokers hanging around outside moaning about the weather.

[UncleRojelio]

I dunno how far away it is, but you could drive down to Portsmouth and checkout the HMS Victory.

Google Map

[GorillaMan]

Originally Posted by UncleRojelio

I dunno how far away it is, but you could drive down to Portsmouth and checkout the HMS Victory.

Google Map

Drive? You couldn't sound more American if you tried Hour and a half by train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour station

[PaulParkhead]

I suppose I must be biased, since I used to live there, but 20 minutes on the DLR from Bank gets you to Greenwich. It has museums (Maritime and the Old Royal Observatory), shops, several markets of varying degrees of usefulness, and a beautiful park.

Next to the Observatory, in the park, is a hill with a cool view over the city. Just look for the statue presented to London by the "People of Canada" (all of whom had a say in the matter, I'm sure, so thanks Canadians!)

If you're feeling cheesy, get the boat back from the pier to Westminster.

[interface2x]

I loved the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum. The Tower and Westminster were a little pricey to get into, but the British Museum was free to enter and was a block from my hotel.

[eleanorigby]

Keep in mind that London's public transport is far superior to any American city's transport (for all they bitch about it). The Tube is clean, prompt and relatively inexpensive. I haven't taken as many buses, but they were ok-crowded (more so than the Tube). Trains to places like Portsmouth are frequent, clean and fast.

Sure, there are problems and sometimes slowdowns or cuts in service happen, but overall, compared to American public transport, you'll think you died and went to heaven.

The Tube is very easy to use-and it's like an amusement park ride all by itself. The first time I rode the Tube I was gawking--at the escalators that go down, down, down until you swear you're in Middle Earth, at the ads on display--some of them quite witty and risque by American standards, at how smoothly the whole damned thing works.

End of commercial. (seriously, though, you won't need or want a car in London).

St James Park is lovely, as are the other parks (Hyde? Regent's? Can't remember the names). Just walking around London is fascinating.

[pseudotriton ruber ruber]

Originally Posted by interface2x

the British Museum was free to enter and was a block from my hotel.

You stayed in the Russell? When I stayed there last summer, I found the British Museum endlessly fascinating, huge and filled with beautiful antiquities (including the Roman silverware that was the subject of Roald Dahl's first published story) and, as you mentioned, free. By the end of my visit to London, I thought they'd need a firehose to remove me from the premises. I want to live there.

[Lemur866]

Originally Posted by Elysium

The British Museum is one of my favorite places. Their collection is amazing and not to be missed.

The British Museum is unparalled. It's stuffed full of centuries worth of treasures and antiquities looted from literally every corner of the globe. It's seriously mind-boggling if you're into that sort of thing.

[Infovore]

The London Dungeon is cool if you're into realistic horror/Jack the Ripper-type stuff.

[5-HT]

Originally Posted by winterhawk11

The London Dungeon is cool if you're into realistic horror/Jack the Ripper-type stuff.

I was sure I'd be the first person to recommend that! It is actually pretty cool.

[Oakminster]

Ya prolly want to avoid the guy with perfect hair who's sipping a pina colada at Trader Vics.

[Cunctator]

National Portrait Gallery
Victoria & Albert Museum
Natural History Museum
Westminster Cathedral

[UncleRojelio]

Originally Posted by GorillaMan

Drive? You couldn't sound more American if you tried Hour and a half by train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Harbour station

American?!? Screw that, I'm Texan. And you're correct, the thought of hopping on a train to go anywhere is completely alien to me.

[Illuminatiprimus]

I'm about to do the tourist guide thing for someone soon, the list I gave her of places she should probably check out are as follows (in descending order of how much I rate them):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westminster_abby
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_london
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Paul%27s_Cathedral
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare%27s_Globe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_history_museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery,_London
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationa...allery_(London)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_War_Museum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Academy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_collection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasons%27_Hall,_London

You've already mentioned the obvious of Big Ben, Parliament, Buck Palace but as you only need to go to them and take pics (there's no reason to go inside them and sometimes you can't) then it doesn't take long to do that, and they're all within half a mile of each other.

[panache45]

The only thing I've done in London that hasn't already been mentioned is to take a trip to Stonehenge. Take the train to Salisbury (visit the cathedral, while you're at it), then a bus to Stonehenge.

[Illuminatiprimus]

Originally Posted by panache45

The only thing I've done in London that hasn't already been mentioned is to take a trip to Stonehenge. Take the train to Salisbury (visit the cathedral, while you're at it), then a bus to Stonehenge.

Stonehenge isn't in London.

/Pedantry

[romansperson]

Originally Posted by Illuminatiprimus

Stonehenge isn't in London.

/Pedantry

I also found it to be completely underwhelming. Seeing it on TV made me think those stones are enormous. Not. They could easily have fit in my yard. And they are surrounded on all sides by fields of peacefully grazing sheep. Not at all what I expected.

[eleanorigby]

The sheep and the "fields" around it are more than half of what makes it so cool. The Salisbury Plain is gorgeous--it's like a blank canvas where you can watch the play of light and shade all day. Wonderful.

I found Stonehenge itself to be odd as hell and yes, diminished. It may have evoked feelings of awe when stumbled across back in the day, but now you are placed on a path, with many other people (all listening to headsets of info about the stones) and made to go round in a circle. When I was there, people got irked if you stopped for a bit--it was a weird exercise in group dynamics.

Stonehenge is intriguing and fascinating but not as a tourist place, IMO.

[Hypno-Toad]

Originally Posted by interface2x

I loved the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum. The Tower and Westminster were a little pricey to get into, but the British Museum was free to enter and was a block from my hotel.

I stayed in The Thanet a block east of the British Museum. It was great being so close so to so much great stuff!

[garius]

Originally Posted by lemur866

the british museum is unparalled. It's stuffed full of centuries worth of treasures and antiquities looted from literally every corner of the globe. It's seriously mind-boggling if you're into that sort of thing.

Originally Posted by John Constantine, Hellblazer

Ah, the British Museum. The place where the British Empire took its last stand and said:

"Fuck you! We're not giving it ALL back."

Damn straight!

[Really Not All That Bright]

The British Museum is great. It's like Epcot's World Showcase- you get to see potted histories of the rest of the world, all in one convenient location.

The Natural History Museum was my favorite place in London as a kid; way better than the one in NYC, IMHO.

The Museum of Science and Industry is also very cool, but devotes way too much space to steam engines. Once you've seen one flywheel, you've seen them all.

If the Cutty Sark is reopened (I can't tell from the website), that's a lot of fun too, plus there are heaps of (mostly history-related) things to do around it in Greenwich. It's a tea clipper (tall ship) in dry dock that you can walk around inside.

Oh, and Stonehenge is no fun at all. When I was a kid you could actually walk right up to the stones and get your druid on or whatever; nowadays, you have to stand about fifty feet back. It's much better for photography but not nearly as cool otherwise. It only takes about two hours to get to Salisbury from West London- hop, skip and a jump by US standards- but I wouldn't bother unless you want to go visit the West Country (and you should!)

[vintageloveletter]

Originally Posted by PaulParkhead

I suppose I must be biased, since I used to live there, but 20 minutes on the DLR from Bank gets you to Greenwich. It has museums (Maritime and the Old Royal Observatory), shops, several markets of varying degrees of usefulness, and a beautiful park.

If you're feeling cheesy, get the boat back from the pier to Westminster.

I second a trip to Greenwich. I took a quick boat ride on the Thames to get there. It was a very relaxing outing to wrap-up my last week-long trip to London.

[Gary "Wombat" Robson]

I'll throw in another vote for the London Eye. Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum was fun. Plan plenty of time at the Tower of London if you want to see everything. Lots of good museums. I enjoy theater, but there's not really much difference between seeing a play in London and seeing in anywhere else (IMHO, of course).

You could easily spend a day just walking around the older parts of the city (jumping on the tube or a bus every now and then), looking at the architecture, the statues, and the historic sites.

Personally, my favorite parts of every trip I've taken to the UK were out and away from the cities, but since that's not the question in the OP I won't elaborate unless asked.

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

Oh, and Stonehenge is no fun at all. When I was a kid you could actually walk right up to the stones and get your druid on or whatever; nowadays, you have to stand about fifty feet back.

Depends on when you go. I was there at the summer solstice (they take the fences down for the night). It was raining this year, but still mighty cool. The only downside was that I wasn't the only one to think of it--there were over 10,000 people there at dawn. It was quite a party.

[Small Clanger]

Originally Posted by Really Not All That Bright

If the Cutty Sark is reopened

Unlikely there was a fire last year. Any pictures you see on that story do make the damage look worse than it is as a lot of the superstructure was not in place at the time.

. . . and Stonehenge is no fun at all.

Yup. They keep you too far away to apreciate the size, if you want to see a stone circle go to Avebury (which is also not in London) London's a bit short on stone circles.

[bonzer]

The main hull of the Cutty Sark is under scaffolding and tarps as they repair it - there's literally nothing to see of it at the moment.
You can still easily spend a whole day in Greenwich if your tastes run to history and architecture. Aside from the view from the top of the park, the National Maritime Museum and the Observatory, there's the Queen's House, the Old Royal Hospital (don't miss the Painted Hall) and a Hawksmoor church. All essentially free.

Originally Posted by Hypno-Toad

If you go to St. Pauls, go a few blocks northeast and visit the Museum of London. It's a great place and covers everything London from prehistory on up.

Though it's worth noting that they're in the process of overhauling all the galleries and when I was in just last week - showing a Canadian visitor round - everything in the post-1666 half was shut. However, the new versions of the earlier galleries are even better than they were before. And, again, it's all free anyway.

[Jennyrosity]

Originally Posted by yojimbo

History?

Camden Market is worth a walk around but there was a fire there a while ago so I'm not exactly sure if it's the same place that I knew.

Great pubs and food are everywhere in London IMO.

The fire only took out a small part of it, the majority of it's in tact. As for walking round it, well, I'm biased because I live near it, but I'd only recommend it if you enjoy shoulder-charging teenage Emo kids out of the way whilst growling "Move, hippies!"

It's how I spend my weekends. If you spot me, do say hi.

[interface2x]

Originally Posted by pseudotriton ruber ruber

You stayed in the Russell?

If I'm not mistaken, we stayed at the Imperial Hotel in Russell Square. Not fantastic, but definitely did the job.

I also found Stonehenge to be underwhelming. The stones were big enough and everything, but really, if you've seen enough pictures you've pretty much seen it. Aside from getting some pretty good ones myself (cite), I didn't find much of great worth in the visit. We stood there for a couple of minutes, said "cool." and then left. It was also damn cold out there in March!

[eleanorigby]

I stayed at a nice B&B in Russell Square. It was ok-the landlady or whatever wasn't so nice, but it was clean and cheap and close, my three criteria for B&B's.

The London Eye is very expensive for what you're getting, btw. If you like that kind of thing, go for it. IMS, it was 6 pounds to get one of the pics they take of you as you get on or off or whatever. And that was 6 years ago.

If we're going to nitpick and say this isn't in London and that isn't etc, all I can say is
. London and the outlying area sprawls over god knows how many square miles. I think of London as all of that which is accessible via the Tube, but this is not strictly accurate, if memory serves.

Just don't rent a car for in London--you'll regret it. Can you pop down to Dover for a bit? It's got a great castle and keep, some great views and a nice little town. Or head up to Durham for a night? Wonderful place with friendly people and again, nice castle and fantastic cathedral. Now, Dover and Durham are NOT in London.

[Götterfunken]

Originally Posted by interface2x

I also found Stonehenge to be underwhelming. The stones were big enough and everything, but really, if you've seen enough pictures you've pretty much seen it. Aside from getting some pretty good ones myself (cite), I didn't find much of great worth in the visit. We stood there for a couple of minutes, said "cool." and then left. It was also damn cold out there in March!

I've been there during the winter, too, and yes, that wind really whips around Salisbury Plain.

I liked Stonehenge, but there really isn't a whole lot to SEE there. Unlike, say, Salisbury Cathedral, which offers more to explore.

If one has a car, it may be just as interesting, if not moreso, to explore other Neolithic sites, like the White Horse at Uffington. It's not very far from Stonehenge, but I don't think it's really accessible by public transport.

As for London...well, I could (and will) add to the growing list of sites, since it is such an incredibly rich and sprawling city--you can live there for a while (as I did for almost two years) but you still won't be able to see everything. Just pick out the most appealing sites, and save the other ones for future visits.

I'll echo other posters about museums--certainly, the British Museum and the National Gallery of Art are, in my opinion, must-sees. I'll also add the Apsley House (the Duke of Wellington's house) which includes a superb collection of art (including several wonderful Spanish pieces--Goya and Velazquez--which the Spanish Crown gave to Wellington in thanks for driving Napoleon out of Spain; there's also a monumental nude statue of Napoleon by Canova--nearly 12 feet tall--which really shoudn't be missed).

The Apsley House is on the corner of Hyde Park--and I'll second eleanorigby's suggestion to spend some time in the parks, at least for some down-time between sight-seeing. I've always found the green spaces in London to be some of the most lovely areas, where you can really get away and forget that you're in a major metropolitan capital. Each park has its own character, but they're all equally beautiful: Hyde's Park/Kennington Gardens, St. James' Park (between Buckingham Palace and Whitehall--you'll almost certainly pass through there), Regent's Park, Hampstead Heath, etc., etc.

[pandNH4]

In addition to everything that's been said, I'd go for the Tate Modern. It's a really funky and cool, and is in a really nice location by the river.

[msmith537]

Originally Posted by Crusoe

What time of year are you travelling, and what do you like to do? (Eat, drink, walk, see art, see history, see architecture?)

The time of year that starts this Friday.



Thanks for everyone's input.

Does anyone have any specific recomendations for any pubs or restaurants?

Someone told me "Londons like New York but it closes earlier and the food isn't as goof" Well what the hell am I going for then?!!

[griffin1977]

Some of the stuff less well known stuff I took my girlfriend to, when I was back in the "old country":

British Library - Has two of the three original copies of the Magna Carta (or three of the four, or something like that).
Wellcome Collection - Bit creepy but cool
Hampton Court - Henry VIII's palace

Outside of London I'd recommend:
Avesbury stone circle - Defintely worth a detour if your heading to Stonehenge
Pitt Rivers Museum - Three words "Shrunken Motherf**king Heads"! Say no more OK actually it has a ton of other stuff, but the shrunken heads are cool.

[eleanorigby]

London doesn't close and the food is as good as NYC. Sounds to me like your friend was referring to the odd pub hours (I never did figure them out) which have changed a bit (to what I'm not sure-I'm sure a Brit will be along to tell us all soon) and the old, tired joke about English cuisine. Ha. Ha.

London is the most cosmopolitan city on the globe (IMO)--you can eat whatever and whenever you like. You can even eat American food, if you so choose.


Weather for Britain this time of year is much like fall in the Midwest. Warm sunny days (when the sun is out) with cool nights. Expect more rain than Chicago* (excepting our last weekend, that is) and more humidity. You'll need a light jacket. Layers are best, given that the days can warm up (not to 90 but still warm). I love UK in the fall. It lacks the colors of our woodlands, but most of the tourists are gone, the weather is still nice and most stuff is still open.

(IMS, the tourist season doesn't end in UK until Oct something, so you will have some crowds but nothing like the summer months. Also, tourist season rates will likely be in effect.)


*I have forgotten where you live. Is it Texas? If so, you'll have something like Houston's humidity (not as bad), but nowhere near the temps. And the rain tends toward the gentle, persistent type, not torrential downpours that include thunder and lightning and are over in an hour.

Go, enjoy and come back and tell us all about it!

[Hypno-Toad]

The food IS fine but the touristy stuff does tend to close earlier than one would like. Just make sure to check the hours before you go somewhere. Speaking of food, get yourself over to Brick Lane if you want Indian. I wish I'd eaten there more than once!

[Tapioca Dextrin]

Originally Posted by msmith537

Does anyone have any specific recomendations for any pubs or restaurants?

I always make time to visit Belgo Centraal when I'm in London. Best avoided if you don't like lots and lots of beer, though.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Originally Posted by eleanorigby

If we're going to nitpick and say this isn't in London and that isn't etc, all I can say is . London and the outlying area sprawls over god knows how many square miles. I think of London as all of that which is accessible via the Tube, but this is not strictly accurate, if memory serves.

If you tried to take the Tube to Stonehenge you'd come up a hundred or so miles short. It's halfway across the country (from London).