So, me and my boyfriend are going to london in about a month. I'm so exited to se england and london! :D
*happypandadance*
anyway,
I don't want to miss anything. so what should we see? what is worth seeing, what isn't? do you know anything worth seeing that thourists usually don't know about?
and any good ideas where to stay? a good hostel or a cheep hotel? near the city?
I'm sooo nervous about going. taking the sub and everything. I'm not a big city girl, and I've never been traveled to a big city or a another contry without my parents before :P
If you're going Central London, then most places are pretty damn famous lol... however... If you feel like a trip on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) there are no drivers (except in bad weather) and get yourself to Greenwich. It's a suburb of London and quite a posh area. Go to the Old Royal Naval College for a start, because it's one of the most beautiful sites in London, and look in the Painted Hall and Chapel. There's signs everywhere pointing towards them. Also (being biased) Trinity College of Music is right opposite and on a Saturday the Junior college is on (that's why I'm biased) and there's main college in the week. Don't forget the Royal Observatory or Museum.
London is pretty much my favourite place on earth, which is handy seeing as I live about 30 minutes out of central London :)
I would do all the big touristy stuff; all the museums (science museum is the best), tower of london, london dungeons etc.
Then of course there's Oxford Street, Carnaby Street, The West End, China Town and Leicester Square all really close together. The Tate Modern is amazing, and Tower Bridge is gorgeous when it's all lit up at night.
Just wander round. It's almost impossible to get lost in London because there's a tube station around like every corner so you just hop on the tube until you get to somewhere you're more familiar with.
Tonight I'm alive just to say I love you to death.
Firstly, calling it the sub will likely mean you'll be directed to the nearest Subway sandwich shop rather than the tube :P
*thinks* London has so much about it really to pin point things.. i#ma have a think, my brain's currently not funtioning well.
"Be nice. Think happy thoughts. Champion silver linings. Love all things (not just cute things like babies and kittens) & when you do love - love like they do in power ballads (you know like on a cliff with the wind in your hair and your eyes shut, knowing you'll never know love like this). Watch out for dog poo. Smile at people - even grumpy ones. Remember anything is possible & whatever you do always try to look on the bright side."
oh yay! london is lovely
do go on the DLR to greenwich! because greenwich is amazing (and you can sit at the front of the DLR and pretend you're driving- is it only me who does that?)
and camden, brick lane, kensington, the natural history museum, the V&A, london dungeon
and go SHOPPING in oxford st
and round the south bank on a saturday is fairly fun. full of street performers and stuff. while your there you might want to check out the tate modern- but it's not that great
ALSO london zoo. they have gorillas and penguins and animals
Firstly, calling it the sub will likely mean you'll be directed to the nearest Subway sandwich shop rather than the tube :P
*thinks* London has so much about it really to pin point things.. i#ma have a think, my brain's currently not funtioning well.
^^^
Looking up English phrases would be a good idea, there are already quite a few old RYL threads dedicated to this topic.... Search my previous posts if you want to find a couple
I wouldn't recommend bringing/hiring a car btw.... The tube network is much better than people think, and we have to pay a 'congestion charge' of 8 pounds (may be 10/12 now) per day to drive into the capital.....
London is a nice place, but like all big cities it has its problems ... so watch yourself, keep your possesions close and avoid wondering off.
Also, try and get enough money changed up to last you...... London is very expensive... a coffee costs the better part of a fiver.... so watch your money!
You can find free tube maps at every station... pick one up because they come in handy!
If you like bookshops, Charing Cross Road is the place to go.
Covent Garden is good for all kinds of stuff, but is usually really busy.
If you want an all cultures bus trip, go to Bethnal Green [also Brick Lane for curries and Bollywood movie DVDs!] and catch a -I forget the number of the bus, but it goes to the Isle of Dogs. You'll pass some of the worst estates in East London, through some of the most posh flats and through Canary Wharf.
If you book a tube ticket online i think you can also get a ticket too get you in all the attractions?? cos things like the dungeons and tussauds cost about £20 each to get in. Museums are mostly free to get in. When i stayed in london we stayed in Victoria there are loads of cheap hotels there at about £40 a night but it was a bit like fawlty towers and i wouldnt have eaten there! Also Tesco super markets here at the mo are giving away buy one get one free tickets too some attractions in London and around the UK when you spend about £10?? Im sure some one will be able to tell you more about that online ticket thing im on about!! Try googling Visitlondon im sure its a website thats useful
Heaven doesnt want me and hells afraid ill take over
thanks for all your wonderful help, means a lot! hehe, my english isn't the best (i'm swedish by the way.. and yeh, I havn't installed firefox's spelling plug-in yet :P) I belive London is really big compared to our towns like stockholm. hope my boyfriend is a little bit better on enligsh than I then :P
and I woudn't mind coming to a sub-shop :P I love sub-way! (Yeh, we have it here too :P)
it's so hard to choose a hostel/hotel. I find one, next to hyde park. quite central isn't it?? about £52/night and room :) but I thought it would be better spend the money on things to do, than a nicer bed.
we thought about staing three or four nights. is that enough? I don't want to miss anything :D (maybe this will be one of few (or the only) visit to London in my life (or a lot years...)
I gonna bring my camera, a nikon d50 with three objectives and a lot more, so I really gonna watch my things. is it a lot of thiefs in london?
Think I'm gonna change the camera bag too. so it doesn't look like a camera bag with a nikon logo on :P
Yeah, watch your things. Especially if you head up Oxford Street or down Camden.
Three or four nights might not be enough if you want to see everything, but it's long enough to see the big things.
And as for hostels/hotels, I really wouldn't bother with finding a really nice place. Sometimes you find that the cheapest places are the most welcoming (but then again, sometimes you find the opposite...). Anyway, you probably won't be spending alot of time in the hotel, what with all the tourist stuff you'll be doing!
Tonight I'm alive just to say I love you to death.
Go to Soho, definitely, it's a fantastic place and the food is great. Camden Market - speaks for itself really, go have a look around it has all the weird alternative stuff you'll ever need. Huntarian Museum - A liiiitle tricky to find but it's definitely worth it. If you're into anatomy and babies in jars.
London Dungeon - creepy but oh so entertaining, if you're into spooky stuff you should deffinitely check it out. Natural History Museum - Science. Presented in the coolest way possible. Like walking-inside-of-meteor-cool. Madame Tussauds - They have some amazing waxwork but you have to pay and the queue is usually long so be prepared. Tate Modern - if you're into modern art. Sometimes they have some awesome exhibitions around, it's worth checking out. Embankment area - Just walking along the river is fun enough, you get loads of people performing weird things. Covent Garden - close to Embankment, lots of shops and performers. Oh and a pub RYLers used to go to a lot :P Hampstead Heath/Kenwood - Blatantly biased cos' I live near the area. Huge park with an amazing cafeteria where they sell like THE best cakes in the world. Hyde Park - central London, easy to get to. Park. Nice Park, worth going to :] West End - Our Very own Champs Ellysees, although not nearly as glamorous unless you venture deep into Regent's Street. THE place to get your shopping done
S'about all I can think about.
There's always the London Eye, The Portait Galleries, The Tower of London etc etc but the stuff I listed above is much more fun :]
Have fun!
Definitely go to Camden Market and the Loch.
the best part of London by far :)
The London Dungeon is excellent aswell, especially if it's raining.
Have a great time :)
xxxx
If ya wanna get out of London for the day then an hour on train to Brighton is worth visiting. seeing the beach is always good.
I want to kiss the bottom of the ocean before I burst through its surface into the sunlight, otherwise I will always be wondering about what was left unseen at the bottom
i'm tired of chasing my dreams. i'm just gonna ask where they're going, and hook up with them later.
You can get a travelodge just outside London (near Heathrow Airport) for around £20 a night I think. The downside being that you'd have to get a taxi to the nearest tube station each time that you want to go there/come back (there is a bus stop near but I have no idea which bus to catch or where from!). It's called the Heathrow Heston Westbound (and there's also an Eastbound one too). Some RYLers and I have stayed there before and while it's not the Ritz, it's alright.
But generally, Travelodge do pretty good deals on hotels. Especailly if you book them early.
Sorry to hijack the thread, but does anyone have any ideas for things to do at night? We have an option of seeing a west end show, but are there any other ideas for things to do after 5pm? I think it'll be a Thursday night if that makes any difference?
Going to see a show is an awesome idea.
Doing the London Eye at night/when it's dark is wicked.
There's loads of pubs/clubs but they're all quite expensive (don't go to Lloyds in Lesciter Square - I spent over £100 there once at a meet >.<).
... so watch yourself, keep your possesions close and avoid wondering off.
Heaven doesnt want me and hells afraid ill take over
