# Visiting UK, where to stay in London? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122 "2016-09-05T19:41:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/61 "2016-09-11T20:13:13Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > What you will notice is that it is hipster central. You won’t be able to move for beards, checked shirts, sleeve tattoos and adult scooters. I’ve got a beard, although lacking in the other areas. I’m big into coffee, so I’ve got that going for me 😂 ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/62 "2016-09-12T01:53:35Z")
My brother got onto the tube at Heathrow, and, like thousands of young Australians before him, just got off at Earls Court (zone 1, between Chelsea and Kensington). Because he recognized the name, and knew that thousands of young Australians before him had stayed there. In contrast, I see that Shoreditch is on the other side of the “central congestion zone”, or will (probably?) require a transfer in a busy city station onto a busy city train. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/63 "2016-09-13T11:08:45Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > As per the ad, the area is fine and it is central in the _new_ sense of not being near the west end but still interesting and lively. Kind of TriBeca. > > Too busy for me but I’d be in different mode as a tourist so I’m sure you’ll like it 🙂 > > Fwiw, I still think Greenwich is a pretty good choice for a multi-generational family gig; aside from Cutty Sark the tube into the centre is very fast, the old Naval Academy buildings, the market, the Meridian, great range of little local eateries, fab open spaces, etc. It’s great to walk around as well as there is plenty of 18th century housing stock remaining with historic associations. > > I also quite like the foot tunnel under the Thames to Docklands - still got a crack in it from a German WW bomb 🙂 > > But sure, understand how Shoreditch works. Shoreditch is also central in the “old” sense of being easy walking distance from the City of London. It’s not only West London that’s Central London. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2016, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/64 "2016-09-13T11:42:51Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Shoreditch is also central in the “old” sense of being easy walking distance from the City of London. It’s not only West London that’s Central London. Thank you! I’ve only been to London for two days, and was going to post the same thing, but thought it presumptuous coming from me. ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/65 "2016-09-14T08:32:01Z")
I’ve lived here for 30 years and am pretty happy about where ‘central London’ is. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/66 "2016-09-14T14:11:37Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I’m even considering walking from Heathrow since there’s so much to see between Heathrow and Zone 1. You do realise how far that is 🙂 ? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/67 "2016-09-14T14:17:14Z")
Yeah, a bit less than 15 miles on the A4. Although crossing the Thames to take advantage of the larger concentration of parkland would add a few miles as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/68 "2016-09-14T14:26:03Z")
Which is another reason I didn’t chime in with my Google-Maps-based opinion that Shoreditch was in easy walking distance to the City, because other people might not agree with my opinion on easy walking distance 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/69 "2016-09-14T15:03:06Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Yeah, a bit less than 15 miles on the A4. Although crossing the Thames to take advantage of the larger concentration of parkland would add a few miles as well. Sure, 15 miles isn’t an especially mammoth walk, but after a flight and with whatever luggage you have, there won’t be much pleasure in it. Also, LHR is not an easy airport to walk out of (lived just below the southern perimeter for the first 18 years of my life, so I have some knowledge of this!). If you’re serious about walking then get yourself out to somewhere like Richmond tube station, head North through Kew Gardens, then pick up the Thames Path into town. That should give your legs a stretch and it would be both pleasant and interesting, unlike the A4 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/70 "2016-09-15T01:09:39Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Yeah, a bit less than 15 miles on the A4. Although crossing the Thames to take advantage of the larger concentration of parkland would add a few miles as well. you’d be better advised to walk along the tow path of the Grand Union Canal - pick it up just north of Heathrow, and make sure you walk east 😉 Beautiful way to ease into the city. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/71 "2016-09-15T02:03:38Z")
When I was in London in 2000, I stayed at the [Rotherhithe Youth Hostel](http://www.yha.org.uk/hostel/london-thameside). It was 24.95 pounds a night. They have family accommodations. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/72 "2016-09-15T05:47:47Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Also, LHR is not an easy airport to walk out of (lived just below the southern perimeter for the first 18 years of my life, so I have some knowledge of this!). You could get the tube as far as Hatton Cross and still claim to have walked from Heathrow. > [@RobDog](#): > > If you’re serious about walking then get yourself out to somewhere like Richmond tube station, head North through Kew Gardens, then pick up the Thames Path into town. That should give your legs a stretch and it would be both pleasant and interesting, unlike the A4 🙂 From Kew the Thames path only goes as far as Putney ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/73 "2016-09-15T07:39:26Z")
> [@ticker](#): > > … From Kew the Thames path only goes as far as Putney Wrong. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/74 "2016-09-15T08:57:50Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I’ve lived here for 30 years and am pretty happy about where ‘central London’ is. I know Charing Cross is often used as a marker for the centre of Greater London, but to take that literally would mean that the City of London isn’t central London, which would be ridiculous. Also, Shoreditch is zone 1, which I think is a reasonable definition of central. ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/75 "2016-09-15T16:25:39Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Wrong. Depends on your definition of a path. Upstream of Putney Bridge there is a continuous waterside path on at least one side of the river which extends many miles out of London - perhaps all the way to Oxford though that is beyond my knowledge. Quite abruptly at said bridge it turns into sections of waterside path interspersed with many deviations away from the river at least until you get past Chelsea to the north and Wandsworth to the south. A somewhat artificial ‘Thames Path’ route has been mapped through these areas but it is not a physical continuous pathway and a bit naff IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/76 "2016-09-15T17:07:05Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I know Charing Cross is often used as a marker for the centre of Greater London, but to take that literally would mean that the City of London isn’t central London, which would be ridiculous. Of course: Charing Cross is in Westminster. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2016, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/77 "2016-09-15T17:24:29Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I know Charing Cross is often used as a marker for the centre of Greater London, but to take that literally would mean that the City of London isn’t central London, which would be ridiculous. Also, Shoreditch is zone 1, which I think is a reasonable definition of central. Does anybody else remember those Maureen Lipman BT ads from the time when the London 01 dialling code was split into 0181 and 0171? It centred on whether the 0171 was for ‘central London’ (sophisticated) or ‘inner city’ (poverty stricken). ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/78 "2016-12-23T15:18:25Z")
So after a hiatus, I am getting ready to book an AirBnB in London. It looks like my MIL is not joining us, so it is my wife and two pre-teen girls. I found this one in Shoreditch, near Old St Station. It looks great but I am always wary of new listings even though the host has 50+ reviews for other places. Any thoughts on this one: [https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/16201504](https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/16201504) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/79 "2016-12-23T16:40:57Z")
I stayed near Old Street Station 2 years ago and enjoyed the area. Here’s an excellent pub nearby > **[THE OLD FOUNTAIN, London - Islington - Menu, Prices & Restaurant Reviews...](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g186338-d4310037-Reviews-The_Old_Fountain-London_England.html)** > > The Old Fountain, London: See 176 unbiased reviews of The Old Fountain, rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #3,050 of 21,186 restaurants in London. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2016, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122/80 "2016-12-28T02:52:48Z")
Are the 2 teens willing to share a bed? Because that flat only has 2 beds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-uk-where-to-stay-in-london/765122.md?page=5)