First week of June I am going to England for a work conference (in Bristol). The last day of the conference is Thursday – Thursday night I am booked at the London Heathrow Marriott for one night (work is paying, presuming I am flying back Friday). I plan on staying in London through the weekend on my own dime, probably departing Sunday or Monday. My wife will be joining me Thursday evening. I’ve been to London as a little boy, about 30 years ago, and remember virtually nothing. My wife has never been there.
We’re interested in history, good food, and good drink. We’re open to music/theater/other, but it’s not mandated. I love beer and my wife does not (but she loves wine and other drinks). We love all types of food. We don’t want to rent a car. We don’t want to spend huge amounts of money beyond lodgings (which shouldn’t break the bank) and probably one expensive dinner. I care little about lodging quality but my wife has very high standards for cleanliness.
Is the HR Marriott a decent ‘base of operations’ for a London weekend, or should we switch hotels? AirBnB is another option, though I know very little about the neighborhoods in London.
What should we do? Where should we stay? What should we eat? Anything to worry about? Thanks for any input!
Im taking my family the last weekend of May. Plans so far include
1.) General sightseeing. Will be getting tickets to one of those hop on hop off open topped bus firms that do commentary etc. Ideally will include a river trip also
2.) Natural History Museum. Really want to take my daughters (8 & 3) to this
Not sure what else we’ll do to fill out the days. Prob visit one or more of the parks (weather dependant)
I agree Heathrow is a bad base of operations. I’ve used the Ibis hotel near Euston station a few times. Basic, but clean and in a decent area. Good beer near there is the Euston Tap and Doric Arch, both just a very short walk from the hotel.
I agree. You’ll either be spending 2 hours getting to & fro every day, or 40GPB for the express.
Others will I am sure chime in with all the great free museums as well as the ones with entry fees, so I will concentrate on food.
London is overrun with both excellent restaurants at all price ranges and mediocre restaurants at all price ranges. We’ve managed to eat very well every time we’ve visited.
A handful of our favorites: Ottolenghi - superb food, see if you can hit one of them The Grazing Goat - gastropub really great seasonal menus The Victoria - good pub food, Fuller’s house, a delight Pret - great for quick inexpensive lunch sandwiches, good coffee, breakfast sandwiches. they have a couple of outlets in DC though so you might already be familiar with them. Get the pret pickle & cheddar! Borough Market - so many things to buy and eat. Stop in at Neal’s Yard Dairy and buy more cheese than you should Real Food Market at Kings Cross Weds-Fri (This used to be at Southbank Centre which now has their own market which I will be checking out when I next am in London) Eat everything you can get your hands on. Pieminister - yeah it’s a chain. I don’t care! Love their pies. With mushy peas!
Thanks for the advice about the Heathrow location – I’ll see if I can get my work reservation shifted, and either way we’ll get a different place for the rest of my weekend.
I stayed at the Z Hotel in Shoreditch for about £65 a night last weekend , in easy walking distance to Old Street Tube Station. Excellent pub next door as well .
I’ll disagree with the others and say that this could be OK depending on your flight times. If you’re departing early in the morning, for example, this could be a great place to stay. Moving stuff from one hotel to another is an arse.
It’s a reasonable hotel from what I know of Marriots - a kind of nothing hotel, that could be placed anywhere in the world; big bed, en-suite, lobby with chandeliers. TBH most hotels in London are like that these days. The hotels with character are beyond the budget of anyone asking about costs.
I’d also say that the travel time is less bad than it sounds because part of it is above ground, so you can use 3g to check maps and opening times etc. And you’ll probably get a seat after a stop or two rather than be standing up in the crush. Heathrow’s on the tube - it’s not in the middle of nowhere - and you can use an Oystercard and pay about £7 for a day’s travelcard (unlimited use on all public transport) from that distance.
Also the Piccadilly line that goes to Heathrow also goes to pretty much anywhere you’re likely to visit as general tourist: Holborn (for the British Museum), South Ken/Gloucester Rd for various museums, and obviously Piccadilly for theatres and central Westminster.
FWIW first week of June is in the school holidays in England; the major museums will be besieged during the day - there will be long queues. If you want to visit the big museums look up whether they have night-time openings for your visit (google museums at night london) because those evening openings are much, much more fun as a couple visiting without kids. For example, the British Museum is open till 10pm every Friday and you’ll have less of a fight to see Tutankhamun, etc.
There are sometimes long queues for the late visits too but they disperse far more quickly than the daytime ones.
I spent two days in London a few years ago and cannot recommend getting the Red Rover river bus pass enough. Bought it at Westminster pier and took it to The Tower (must see in my opinion) and down to Greenwich and back. We had an entertaining but not obtrusive tour guide and it was good weather for pints on the deck. In one day, we were able to spend several hours at the Tower and still see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (had time for a tour but it was closed), etc without feeling rushed at all. With the pass, you could hop on or off at any pier so there was a lot of freedom.
The school holidays this year generally start on July 10th so they’ll still be in school in June (half-term holidays finish May 31st), but many kids will be out at the weekend, probably shopping down Oxford Street which is madness every weekend of the year. Avoid. Usually the weather isn’t bad early June but you may be unlucky and have storms or it could be very cool.
I second the hop on hop off open topped bus, Leicester Square for theatre tickets, river bus, Oystercard, British Museum and would add the Tate Modern (near Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre) and National Gallery (in Trafalgar Square) - all dependent on the weather!
The crowds shouldn’t be too bad, the really big crowds are foreign students on a summer camps/English language courses during their summer holidays. They use English educational facilities - universities, colleges, schools - during the summer break, so won’t be there in June. I’ve seen (and led) groups numbering 50+ around central London, which is quite a feat to achieve without a single complaint from Londoners and other tourists. For some idiotic reason every tour seems to be at the weekend, which is the busiest time of the week :smack: I doubt any local schools will have tours, it being so soon after the half-term break.
As to the hotel? I don’t see an extra 30 minutes each way as being a huge hurdle. You could use that time to assess the weather and plan your route between places. The only problem might be if you’re seeing a show or just having a really good time and stay out late. Like Cinderella you have to be back at Heathrow before midnight or you’ll miss your carriage
The hotel is inconvenient for public transport and in the wrong place. Pretty much like every airport near a major city anywhere. Sure you can stay there but why would you.
A great river walk is from the south side of Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge. Take your time. take detours.
Another good one is a straight line walk from Kensington High St to Leicester Sq - from Diana to tourism central.
There’s too much to do, too many neighbourhoods, maybe just wander and pick somewhere randomly.
Have dinner, or at least lunch, at the Anchor & Hope. They don’t take reservations, so show up early and have a pint in the bar while you wait for a table. I’ve been there several times; some of the god-damndest food I’ve ever enjoyed.
Marylebone is my favorite neighborhood to stay in. Easy access to the tube and Paddington, quiet-ish at night, good restaurants. Regent Park and Hyde Park are both nearby. Have a drink outside at the Prince Regent on Marylebone High Street.
The Grazing Goat that I mentioned is in that neighborhood.
Thirding/seconding all of these as appropriate, and would add a plea to consider the London Museum - not as “sexy” as the British, V&A Science or Natural History Museums in many people’s eyes, but good for London history vs the world history of the others.
No, Heathrow is not a good base. It is either a long (50 mins +) train ride or an expensive (but quick) one to get into central London. If your firm is willing to pay for a hotel, see if you can get something the same price in the centre (or possibly cheaper than the Marriott). Unless your flight home is leaving at a time which requires you to check in at silly a.m., the journey back out to Heathrow is not that much of a burden (at least compared with commuting for several days in a row).
For finding out about locations, get the exact postcode and use that to look it up on Google Maps and see where the nearest public transport stations are - don’t rely on an agent’s idea of a neighbourhood name, these can be very elastic, according to what’s considered sellable.
There are many options along the central section of the Piccadilly Line (which runs out to Heathrow), between South Kensington and King’s Cross.
I’m going to disagree - if it’s not too late - with the open-topped bus. They’re an absurdly expensive way of travelling around central London, and you won’t see anything you can’t see from an ordinary bus. You can get an Oyster card for less than half the price which will let you get on and off any bus you like, and visit places in any order you like. Throw in a guide book or app you can follow at your leisure instead of a rehearsed spiel and you’ll be much better off.
That is completely not my experience, either in London or in Paris, where I did both. You absolutely do not get the view from an ordinary bus, and of course you’re packed on the ordinary bus with all the regular commuters.
Which is why Oyster cards were mentioned as well.
Although I don’t think Oyster Card counts for the sightseeing Thames boat rides, which do come as part of the topless bus price (at least, last I traveled on one)
We’ve managed to eat very well every time we’ve visited.
