# What NOT to do in London? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447 "2009-08-05T18:19:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447/61 "2009-08-07T17:20:47Z")
> [@Rayne\_Man](#): > > Somebody asked why the tube trains aren’t air-conditioned. If they were then the waste heat would be pumped out of the train and into the tunnels, thus making the tunnels even warmer. There is an experimental scheme whereby water from the Thames is used to cool some of the tunnels and stations. Which is exactly why New York subway platforms are such miserable pools of hell. Although, once you get on the train, it’s nice. I don’t know which system is better. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447/62 "2009-08-07T21:55:09Z")
> [@Arien](#): > > Wow, there’s a ton of great replies to this thread. I’m afraid I won’t be able to address everyone’s points but I am grateful for all the contributions. This is my first trip to London but hopefully won’t be my last. So far I have as my must-sees: > Tower of London > Westminster Abbey > British Museum > Windsor Castle > St. Paul’s > Victoria and Albert Museum > National Gallery > > Maybe > London Eye - only takes 1/2 hr and I won’t go if there’s a huge line > Harrods - I’m curious to see it but won’t buy anything except maybe food > Camden Lock - sounds interesting but I probably won’t do a lot of shopping on the trip > Hampton Court Palace - if I have the time, I’d be interested in going but I don’t want to cram in too much > > Probably not > Changing of the Guard - if I happen to be in the area, I would look over but I don’t see the point in waiting for it. That sounds like a good itinerary to me. If you go to the V&A it might be worth taking half an hour or and hour to visit either the Science of Natural History Museums too - they are literally a two minute walk from the V&A and each other. They’re about a twenty minute walk or so from Harrods, too. Oh, one small tip: check on the internet before you leave for the station, especially at the weekends, because there is a LOT of upgrade work being done at the moment and some lines are completely closed at weekends. There are also rail strikes planned, though mostly not in your area of London. TFL and National Rail are pretty good about updating their websites, though, so it’s easy enough to check. If you’re coming in from Slough, btw, you might as well buy a paper travelcard rather than use Oyster, since you’ll need a ticket from Slough anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447/63 "2009-08-07T22:07:00Z")
As others have said, forget the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. It comes off as a band concert in front of a really big post office. Horse Guards parade is another thing entirely and well worth seeing. Huge well groomed horses, troopers all shined up and in bad weather wearing big blue and/or red riding cloaks. Also, if you are lucky go across to the nearby park and watch the Life Guards and Blues exercise and drill. Since the IRS set off a bomb some years (decades?) ago the household cavalry may not drill in the park any more. Hampton Court is a delight. It beats the Tower all hollow. You can get there by tube train and bus for one reasonable price. Transportation — if you can’t get there by tube or rail you don’t want to go there. Anything outside London proper can be conveniently reached by rail. Anything in London can be quickly reached by tube. In addition, rail is a great way to see the countryside. I can’t agree with the disparagement of the London Eye, the big glass Ferris wheel. Once is enough but everyone should do it once. Do not try to walk the embankment without a compass. The river is tidal and you can’t figure out what way you are going by looking at the water flow – half the time the river is running up stream. Avoid hotel restaurants. The only time we walked out of a restaurant after looking at the menu was in a hotel on Liecester Square. Way over priced. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447/64 "2009-08-08T01:44:23Z")
Travel to many locations outside of London but within a reasonable distance of it are now more commonly done by bus (or, as they say, by coach) than by train. I discovered this in 2003 when I was arranging in a SDMB thread for a Dopefest in London during my trip to the U.K. back then. I mentioned that I would take the train from Oxford to London. Someone here told me not to take the train but to take the bus. There are two competing bus companies doing that route. They offer cheaper fares and they run more often. This is different from my experiences when I lived in England from 1987 to 1990. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447/65 "2009-08-08T03:40:28Z")
I actually kind of enjoyed the London Dungeon, FWIW. Tacky yes, but also Macabrely fascinating in it’s own way. And little pipes run around the ceiling to drip slime down the walls, which I thought was a nice touch. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447/66 "2009-08-11T21:33:46Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Apparently, some Brit women do not appreciate being called “Ma’am”. Being from the South, I’m pretty much not capable of addressing women without using that word. Only the Queen is called ‘Ma’am’ ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2009, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447/67 "2009-08-12T09:44:54Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > When I was in London about 1996, there was an exhibit of the Queen’s diamonds at the Tower. Total waste of time: unset diamonds that could have been glass for all you can see of them, a moving walkway to make sure you didn’t spend more than 30 seconds being able to see them anyway. > [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > The rest of the Tower is quite interesting, but that one room of jewels (which required an extra charge, IIRC) was not worth it, IMHO. There is no extra charge for visiting the Crown Jewels. Nor would there have been one in the mid-1990s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-not-to-do-in-london/505447.md?page=3)