First Visit to London - what to see

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rickier65
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First Visit to London - what to see

Post by rickier65 »


My wife and I are planning our first visit to London late this summer. We'll be staying in central London for about 8 days.

We've made a rough list of items we want to see, but I wanted to post here and see if any of you have some things in London that you think 'just shouldn't be missed'.

Thanks!
Rick
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cpdeyoung
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by cpdeyoung »

You will have a wonderful time.

If it fits your schedule you might take a boat down to Greenwich for the Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark.

http://www.rmg.co.uk/

It was a cold wet day to be on the river on one visit, but a fun destination.

Chuck
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terje439
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by terje439 »

Hard to answer as there is so much different to do there (which is why I keep going there year after year).

But if I am to list a few things to look up (that is not always listed as must see attractions), I would say Camden Markeds, Imperial War Museum (if you like war history), Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, Foyle's bookstore in Charing Cross Road (if you like books this is a must, it was once the largest bookstore in the world), or spend a day in a local pub and see how the type of people that comes by changes by the hour.


*edit* oh, and keep in mind that if you are going to the "usual" places that "everyone" goes, be there early, and alot of them offers tickets to multiple sights at reduced price if you buy them at the same time (Like Mme Tussaud+London Eye+London Dungeon etc)
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PipFromSlitherine
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by PipFromSlitherine »

ORIGINAL: cpdeyoung

You will have a wonderful time.

If it fits your schedule you might take a boat down to Greenwich for the Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark.

http://www.rmg.co.uk/

It was a cold wet day to be on the river on one visit, but a fun destination.

Chuck
Jinx! [:)] I was going to suggest the very same thing! The boats go from near Westminster (so you could check out the Abbey and its very well done audio tour). Frankly while it is so very touristy, the open top bus tours are a great way to see the city and find out about parts of it you might not otherwise see. I had to be dragged on to my first one (in Bath) but now it's stop 1 for me in a new city.

I also recommend the wheel - again seems tacky but is fairly quick, and (weather permitting!) a great view of the city.

Kensington gives you the park, the Natural History Museum, and the V&A (Victoria and Albera Museum) all in one handy spot. The V&A is great for a quick visit because of its smaller and more eclectic exhibits and smaller size (the British Museum is of course incredible (esp the central courtyard area) but is just soooo huge that on a flying visit you'll just feel unfulfilled!).

For food you'll obviously find a lot of great indian, italian, etc resturants. For a good deal I would also recommend the Criterion on Picadilly at lunch time as they can have some good deals for a fancy dining experience. Perhaps treat the Mrs to afternoon tea at the Ritz (you'll need a suit and tie just FYI!).

One of the great things about the modern age is most of this stuff can be check out and booked online before you go these days [:)]

Wow - went on a bit there. Hope you enjoy your trip.

Cheers

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Dixie
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Dixie »

It partly depends on where your interests lie. But stuff I've done across a few trips (often with Mrs Dixie in tow) and enjoyed:

RAF Museum Hendon (of course, I would say that!. It's free to get in as well)
HMS Belfast
The Tower of London. You can either wander about by yourselves or join a tour with a Yeoman Warder which was fantastic.
The Imperial War Museum, be aware a lot of the 'usual' stuff isn't there at the moment as they're set up for the 100th anniversary of the First World War.
The Science Museum. Has loads of cool stuff, on a range of subjects. Including a floor of aeroplanes and aero engines (I just like 'planes, don't judge me!)
The Natural History Museum. Next door to the Science Museum and very good too, Mrs Dixie enjoyed it more than the Science Museum.
Buck House. Free to look at, go at the right time and watch the soldiers in their shiny boots do changing of the guard if you can.
London Zoo. It's a zoo. With animals. What else would you expect?!
London Dungeons. Not for the faint hearted. Or claustrophobic.
Churchill War Rooms. Did these when I was a lot younger.
Sea Life Aquarium. It's full of fish! And sharks. And turtles. Even penguins!
Maritime Museum was decent, especially given the price (free!) but didn't appeal to me as much as some of the other stuff. That's not to say it's a bad visit.

We also saw the Lion King musical, normally not my thing (I got Mrs Dixie tickets for her birthday a couple of years back) but that was a fantastic experience.


There are also various walking tours, bus tours and boat tours. The bus tours pick up and drop off at various points, walking tours tend to start near a point (Tower of London) and cover an area like Whitechapel. Loads of memorials to various groups as well (I 'found' the Merchant Navy memorial last time I was there). There are plenty of street performers and the like. Some stuff, like Nelson's Column etc are places just to see and can be rolled into other visits. We walked from our hotel (near Waterloo Station) to the Houses of Parliament, past Downing Street and the Cenotaph and Trafalgar Square. Then past Horse Guard's and St James's park and Buckingham Palace.

I'd recommend getting a tube (Underground) ticket to cover your stay, they can be bought for multiple days and make getting around a lot easier and quicker as long as you can read the map. It also covers the Docklands Light Railway which you'll need to get to Greenwich. I believe that the normal buses are (a) bloody confusing cos I didn't know where most stuff was and (b) do not accept cash any more, you'll need an Oyster Card.

Taxis are an alright way to get around, although more expensive than the tube or walking, and a good driver will know a lot of the local history and be able to do a decent tour in it's own right if you ask them nicely. A taxi is obviously a better choice if you've got a load of luggage with you.

I'm not sure where you're from, so remember the British weather will include rain at some point!
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by wings7 »

Rick,

If you are an British music fan, visit Abbey Road Studios, in St John's Wood. Paul McCartney has a house near by. [:)]

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shunwick
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by shunwick »

You might find this helpful. It is a link to the London A-Z.

http://www.az.co.uk/?nid=354

Best wishes,
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Qwixt
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Qwixt »

I watched a documentary on the Tower of London last night. It looked like an interesting historical place to visit.
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by philabos »

If going to the Tower, highly recommend applying for advance tickets to the .Ceremony of the Keys.
We took the kids years ago and it was a special moment for us, seen by few. You can google the application form.
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Gregorovitch55 »

Cambridge is a good place for a day trip, you can check out the colleges and take a punt down the "backs" as they call it. There is a fairly important military aircraft museum at Duxford just down the road if that's your sort of thing.
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Challerain »

Big Ben and Parliament
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Gilmer »

Wow, there's so much to do over there. I hope someday I can go for about 3 weeks. And not just London, either. A lot of places over there. Are some of the old battlefields still preserved at all? Hastings or Bosworth Field? Lewes or Evesham?

What's Westminster Abbey like?
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by warspite1 »

ORIGINAL: Rick


My wife and I are planning our first visit to London late this summer. We'll be staying in central London for about 8 days.

We've made a rough list of items we want to see, but I wanted to post here and see if any of you have some things in London that you think 'just shouldn't be missed'.

Thanks!
Rick
warspite1

There is sooooo much to do - would probably help if you narrowed down the list of things you and your wife are interested in and then we go from there.
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rickier65
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by rickier65 »


thanks for all the responses, I'll have to do some checking on several of the places mentioned. There were several I hadn't known about. We're planning on getting either an oyster card or a 7 day travel card to get around while we're there, and I believe we're going to get a London Pass as well.

thanks again
Rick

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british exil
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by british exil »

Maybe a short visit to Buckingham Palace, just to get the pics of the soldiers standing guard.

The pub is always worth a visit, a nice drink with the pub grub is really great. Done that a few time with my german inlaws and they were surprised just how good the english cusine can be.

Oh btw be careful crossing the roads, some people do find it quite dangerous, finding traffic driving up the "wrong" side of the road.

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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Capt. Harlock »

The Imperial War Museum, be aware a lot of the 'usual' stuff isn't there at the moment as they're set up for the 100th anniversary of the First World War.

Actually, at this exact moment the place is closed. They will re-open on the 19th, however, so late summer should be a good time to visit.
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Mobeer »

My picks:

The obvious tourist spots:
Houses of Parliament
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace + Royal Mews
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
St Pauls

Other good places:
HMS Belfast
Royal Naval College (free) + Cutty Sark + National Maritime museum (free) (all Greenwich)
Museum of London
Monument (the Shard is newer and higher, but Monument has history and a low price)
Eltham Palace - if you like Art Deco, otherwise a bit out of the way
Churchill War Rooms
British Museum (free) - for a few famous bits like the Rosetta Stone
Wallace Collection


Places mentioned above I'd personally give a miss:
- London Zoo, because it's just another medium sized zoo with a high price and too small enclosures
- Foyles, because it's just a bookshop and not a patch on Amazon.co.uk
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RE: First Visit to London - what to see

Post by Anthropoid »

Make sure you spend at least one day in the oldest parts of the city, outdoors, indoors (in the oldest buildings you can find), try to avoid riding in air conditioned cars or going in buildings with good HVAC filtration systems.

When you get back to your hotel that night, blow your nose in a nice white handkerchief and tell us about it [:D]
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