# London: What should I be doing/seeing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 5, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299 "2016-04-05T22:12:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/41 "2016-04-08T11:28:35Z")
That would probably make more interesting photos than most of the stuff I will be around. But experiencing it firsthand would probably be not as interesting, especially if it smelled. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/42 "2016-04-08T12:28:13Z")
I have a semi-touristy, but still fun place to eat. A short walk from the Queensway stop on the central line is a place called Mr. Fish. They had great fish and chips and you didn’t even have to wait too terribly long ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/43 "2016-04-08T12:33:15Z")
**Gyrate:** The old Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn is currently being touted as the New Riviera, with bistros and open-air cafes opening at waterside. Dredge the sludge, detoxify, drag for corpses, reintroduce aquatic life, and _voila_, the East London canals and adjacent lots will be hot real estate! I’ve skipped visiting the Diana memorial fountain in Kensington Gardens because I hate a) crowds; and b) Diana. The Peter Pan statue is way cool, though. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/44 "2016-04-08T13:06:04Z")
I may have exaggerated how horrible East London is for comic effect - some areas have indeed been gentrified - but there are definitely some questionable areas too. As for the “New Riviera” London already has “Little Venice” in west London (Maida Vale area). I’m pretty sure it bears little resemble to actual Venice apart from the canal, but it’s fine. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/45 "2016-04-08T14:09:28Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > C’mon, the city can’t keep me entertained for four lousy days? > > “The man who tires of London is tired of the world,” – Sam Johnson or Sherlock Holmes or Ronnie Corbett or some other Brit Hey- I gave you an half-day’s worth of stuff in London with the [NMN](http://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum) and [Royal Observatory](http://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory). The [Cutty Sark](http://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark) was/is near there too… although after it burned up a while back, I don’t know if they rebuilt it or not. It’s kind of fun to straddle the Prime Meridian, and to set your watch (or it was, back in 2003 when I wore a watch), to the actual official Greenwich Mean Time in Greenwich. And the National Maritime Museum is pretty cool- it’s basically the British museum dedicated to Britain’s seafaring history- naval and commercial. Lots of really neat stuff in there. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/46 "2016-04-08T14:40:11Z")
National Maritime Museum looks fascinating; I’ve forwarded the web link to the wife for her opinion. “Like the Imperial War Museum, but for boats!” ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/47 "2016-04-08T19:08:19Z")
> [@bump](#): > > The [Cutty Sark](http://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark) was/is near there too… although after it burned up a while back, I don’t know if they rebuilt it or not. It wasn’t as badly damaged as first feared. It was being refurbed when the fire broke out, and everything above the hull was offsite. It’s now back on display in a fine setting - walking under the gleaming copper hull is really very impressive indeed. [http://anglotopia.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/golden-hull2.jpg](http://anglotopia.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/golden-hull2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/48 "2016-04-08T19:33:07Z")
[QUOTE=bump] Hey- I gave you an half-day’s worth of stuff in London with the NMN and Royal Observatory. The Cutty Sark was/is near there too… although after it burned up a while back, I don’t know if they rebuilt it or not. [/QUOTE] I usually recommend counting on a whole day in Greenwich. Someone interested in pre-20th century art in smaller galleries might well check out the NMM’s collection in Inigo Jones’s Queen’s House at the foot of the hill and pretty much anybody ought not to miss the Painted Hall in the old hospital (used again and again as a location in historical films). > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > If you’ve ever read Peter Ackroyd’s novel _Hawksmoor_, about a Satanic architect who is building a series of London churches in the early 1700s and including a human sacrifice in each, you’ll understand why I LOVED visiting the old church in Spitalfields. If you are going out to Greenwich, then take the Docklands Light Railway from either Bank or Tower Gateway. The line runs close to Hawkmoor’s St-George’s-in-the-East and right past his St Anne’s, Limehouse. Both are within easy walking distance of their closest DLR stops. Then, getting off at Cutty Sark station in central Greenwich, his St Alfege is just around the corner. On top of which, the whole history of the main palace/hospital complex is the successive layers of Jones, Wren, Hawksmoor and Gibbs. All completely unmissable for a Hawksmoor fan. For that matter, if you’re starting from Bank, his St Mary Woolnoth is very close by. In one go you can therefore handily take in 4 of his 6 surviving churches en route to Greenwich. [QUOTE=bump] The British Army Museum in Chelsea is very cool, but not quite as cool as the IWM. [/QUOTE] Though it’s closed through this year for renovations. (Which started last year - yes, it made so much sense to close it during the 200th anniversary of Waterloo …) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/49 "2016-04-08T19:38:58Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > It wasn’t as badly damaged as first feared. It was being refurbed when the fire broke out, and everything above the hull was offsite. It’s now back on display in a fine setting - walking under the gleaming copper hull is really very impressive indeed. > > [http://anglotopia.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/golden-hull2.jpg](http://anglotopia.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/golden-hull2.jpg) Now that’s neat! I saw her in 2003- very interesting, but not nearly so cool as that! ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/50 "2016-04-08T19:54:31Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > Someone interested in pre-20th century art in smaller galleries might well check out the NMM’s collection in Inigo Jones’s Queen’s House at the foot of the hill… The Queen’s House is currently closed for restoration. (And it’s not at all clear that what they’re doing to it will be any more successful than the previous attempts to utilize what is admittedly a highly problematic building.) But the idea of a day in Greenwich and/or visiting the Hawksmoor churches are good ones. One of the related but lesser known sights of Greenwich would be [Vanburgh Castle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanbrugh_Castle). ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/51 "2016-04-08T23:22:45Z")
Oh, yeah, also making a point of visiting the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner as part of my Great War Centennial observances. Very controversial in its day (“Looks like a giant toad!”), but I suppose everyone’s gotten used to it. > **[Royal Artillery Memorial](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Artillery_Memorial)** > > The Royal Artillery Memorial is a First World War memorial located on Hyde Park Corner in London, England. Designed by Charles Sargeant Jagger, with architectural work by Lionel Pearson, and unveiled in 1925, the memorial commemorates the 49,076 soldiers from the Royal Artillery killed in the First World War. The static nature of the conflict, particularly on the Western Front, meant that artillery played a major role in the war, though physical reminders of the fighting were often avoided in ... ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/52 "2016-04-09T00:30:42Z")
Camden in North London is a punk/goth area and it’s not a tourist area . It’s easy to get to on the tube. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/53 "2016-04-09T08:30:48Z")
I might have mentioned this before. I love the London Underground - I think the idea of being able to go anywhere in a big city quickly, but via a complicated path, is proper fun, but on the other hand, there is so much to see on foot. One of my favourite little repeatable journeys when I visit London goes like this: Go first to the British Museum for half the morning., then head on foot toward Leicester Square - passing possibly the most exclusive [umbrella shop](https://www.james-smith.co.uk/) in the world (I never dare to go in - even though I have a bit of an umbrella fetish) The route toward Leicester Square is along Charing Cross Road and its surrounding side streets. Lots of interesting music, book and junk shops. By lunchtime, I’m at Chinatown, where I pick up a selection of trinkets, interesting foods and so on. Plus a takeaway lunch from one of the Chinese buffet restaurants. I keep heading south until I hit St James Park (HM The Queen’s front garden). Its busy, but I can usually find a quiet spot to eat my lunch. I wander the length of the park and grab an ice cream or hot waffle for dessert, then head off somewhere else by tube - another museum, or shops - sometimes back up to Tottenham court road, then back on foot to Waterloo via Covent Garden. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/54 "2016-04-09T09:38:45Z")
Which four days? If any include the weekend you’ll probably be better off using those days to get out of the city - to any of the parks, or Greenwich, Oxford, Cambridge, Windsor etc. For food Chinatown has some good places you won’t need reservations for, also look at [South Bank](http://www.southbanklondon.com/eat-and-drink). The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret is a little bit different and walk-able, as are the Churchill War Rooms (although they’re in an underground station and a bit claustrophobic), there’s also the Sherlock Holmes Museum and a decent day out can be had at Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. In the evenings you might have some fun going to The Comedy Store in Leicester Square, there’s plenty of music but what’s good depends on what genre you like, South Bank again has classical music. St Paul’s is great even if you don’t climb way up to the top (which isn’t really that ‘great’ an experience anyway - nice but not amazing), the Tower is a must-do if you haven’t already, Madam Tussauds will probably be packed, the Globe is a nice few hours, there’s the Zoo if the weather cooperates, and Borough Market has plenty of street food. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/55 "2016-04-09T15:27:29Z")
**JustinC** : “Which four days?” Fly in tomorrow afternoon, so thiscoming Monday through Thursday. Friday morning we leave for Rome and change planes for Cagliari, in Sardinia. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2016, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/56 "2016-04-10T11:15:21Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > **JustinC** : “Which four days?” > > Fly in tomorrow afternoon, so thiscoming Monday through Thursday. Friday morning we leave for Rome and change planes for Cagliari, in Sardinia. one tip I’ve given to several people is to book a free slot at the [skygarden](http://skygarden.london/plan-your-visit). If you want to get up high for some great views of the city (it overlooks the Tower of London) but like me you are a cheapskate, then this lets you do it for free. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2016, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299/57 "2016-04-11T10:05:13Z")
I second all the Greenwich recommendations, including the one to take the DLR from Bank/Tower Gateway (the DLR destination will be “Lewisham” but as noted you’ll get off at Cutty Sark). In addition to the churches you’ll also wend through the financial district at Canary Wharf which is kind of cool. wave as you go by; I work in one of the buildings next to the tracks. And to finish off, why not leave Greenwich by boat? There are several that head back upstream from near the Cutty Sark - they’re not tourboats per se but the Thames Clipper ones are comfortable and usually have a good view of things. I believe they go as far as the London Eye, so you’ll see a lot of central London as you go. And they usually have a coffee bar too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/london-what-should-i-be-doing-seeing/751299.md?page=2)