Don’t worry, it’s just a bit of diesel soot, dust and assorted other fine particulates. Gives your lungs something to work on But seriously, if you have asthma or something make sure you bring an inhaler, since on a hot sunny day with lots of traffic it can get a bit icky in the busy areas. Walking along the river helps because you get a bit more of a breeze.
Another heads up - while it’s not mandatory to spend lots of money, London can be expensive if you don’t pay attention. Therefore unless you are a whiz at mental arithmetic it might be useful to get excel and do little list with £1-£20 and the $ equivalents. Then you can more easily figure out how much that bottle of water will cost you. In ‘tourist’ locations you can end up paying a bit over the odds.
Tell us more. What are your interests beside theatre? Old stuff, new stuff, arty stuff, trendy stuff, buildings, plants, animals, cars, fish, food, music, dead people, live people, we’ve got it all here. You could spend a weekend doing nothing but French or German culture if you felt like it…
No, we said yes - that’s how I know the price! Still, it was my birthday…
If you’re interested in the theatre, the open-air theatre in Regent’s Park is fabulous. Grab a bottle of wine, one of the delicious BBQ sausages, snuggle under a blanket, and take in a show under the stars.
If you are or look old enough (i.e. over 12), pay a visit to a pub. Many fine examples can be found here (this hasn’t been updated in a while but the info is largely still valid).
Note that most museums are FREE - if you don’t manage to see as much of, for example, the British Museum or the Imperial War Museum as you would like, simply go again the next day!
If you do one of those open-topped bus tours, please use The Big Bus Company, which is the largest and in my opinion the best (it’s a family firm - the family in question being my cousins).
First, to all those concerned about my lungs in London: pah! I live in Los Angeles. I eat more air pollution before breakfast than you people see in a month! (Although I bow down before the Houstonians in the crowd.)
Love old stuff – I was a history major and I grew up in England, so that’s kind of a double whammy. I’d be happy just wandering around the city all day and listening to the voices and staring at the buildings. I think the day trip to Cambridge may satisfy some of that yearning. Shopping is a definite no – I find it boring. (Although I’ve been instructed by my brother, a former London resident, that I am to find a Sainsbury’s (sp?) and purchase all the store-brand dark chocolate digestives I can lay my hands on. I plan to charge him when I return with the booty. )
Honestly, probably two or three days of museums will make me happy. A day to wander (the London Walks thing looks excellent) and gawk at the old buildings will, too. I’m a pretty boring person now that I think about it. I could probably museum all day, theater all night for five days and be the happiest girl you could imagine. (Because it’s London!)
Happily, I no longer pass for under 12, and have not for many moons, so I foresee some pubs in my future. My formerly London-living brother (of the dark chocolate digestives fame) has instructed me to go to at least one pub and enjoy a Carling for him.
If we do the Big Bus Company, I will insist on the family discount from your cousins.
If you’re going out via Gatwick, you will be delighted to know that there’s a Sainsbury’s in the south end of Victoria Station. There are also two Marks and Spencers Food Only deals. I stocked up on Cadbury and Sainsbury’s supermarket cheeses before heading home, and I did right well. Mmm, red Leicester.
Definitely do the London Eye. If you get a good day for it, the view is tremendous. Then do a riverboat trip - you get to see all the big sights- HOP, the Globe etc.
And Buckingham Palace is now open for summer visits - well worth it.
I’ll second this. Highgate Cemetery is really rather spectacular, but you will need to pick a time when it hasn’t been raining for days beforehand! They charge extra if you want to bring a camera in, and, IIRC, if you’re not dressed properly, you won’t be let in, i.e. no bare shoulders and skimpy shorts.
Well I enjoyed the National Observatory in Greenwich, among other things. But it is kind of out of the way. But if you do go there, try to be there at dusk, because it looks really cool at night.
Yes! Our guide was great - you could just see them burying Anne Boleyn - what was it, 4" or 6" down and headless in the chapel, and him talking about how she still walks… Shiver And our Beefeater also ran evening Jack the Ripper tours, which was a lot of fun, and not something I would have expected my dad to enjoy. That whole day was kinda morbid - from the Tower to Westminster Abbey (guess all those mental apologies I was issuing as I attempted not to step on folks worked - I haven’t been haunted yet) to Whitechapel. Best day of the whole week!
But seriously, if you have asthma or something make sure you bring an inhaler, since on a hot sunny day with lots of traffic it can get a bit icky in the busy areas. Walking along the river helps because you get a bit more of a breeze.
