[Archived] London

[CaliRoverNYC]

I'm making my first trip out to see rovers in April (Brum @ Ewood and then Everton @ Goodison) between the two matches i'm going down to London. Mon April 11th- thursday April 14th. I imagine i'll be going to a pub or two to watch the Champions League during that time. What I am wondering however is what are some things I must do or see while in London? Thanks to anyone who can offer some advice.

Cheers,

Jay

[Paul]

My first thought when I read your question was is London the best place to visit? You may well have specific reasons but if you are looking to do the tourist thing I suggest there are other areas which would give you a better feel for England. If you're looking to do the tourist bit in London I think many of the choices are obvious, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St Paul's, Westminster, Tower of London, British Museum, V&A, National Gallery, Tate Modern, the list is extensive and googling London tourism will give you the bulk. If you need something other than this you need someone younger than me!

I see your from NYC and in many respects one big city is like any other. Have you considered looking elsewhere? If you stay in the north Manchester has many great attractions, Liverpool likewise and if you head over to Yorkshire the city of York is, IMO, the finest in England. I can't recommend York enough, compact, relatively quiet (though busy compared with many places), stunning architecture, centuries of history, the Minster, a young, student city with lots going on and some fantastic pubs - real English pubs. I am very biased as I met my wife in York and we spent four of the happiest years of our life together there but even saying this it's a great visit............and very popular with Americans.

[Nate]

Day out in Greenwich is nice, depending on weather.

[philipl]

London would take a month just to see the highlights. What are the sort of things that interest you the most Jay?

[Beta Ray Bill]

If you fancy something different and like wine, vinopolis is a must.

[sparkspakespoke]

I always think Southbank is the nicest part of London. When I was living there I used to love getting up on a Saturday morning and heading to Borough market to grab breakfast then strolling down by the river, as Paul mentioned the Tate is well worth a visit. You also get some great views of the houses of parliment etc if you walk along far enough.

The museums are great,,the V&A and the British museum in particular. It really does depend what your interests are though, if your looking for something more vibrant then Camden and Soho are well worth heading to. If its nigths our then I always liek Koko in Camden, normally some good live music on.

[Radagast]

Don't go to London. I guarantee you'll either be mugged or unappreciated.

[CaliRoverNYC]

Don't go to London. I guarantee you'll either be mugged or unappreciated.

Funny thats what people told me about New York...

Thank you all for the advice btw.

As for what I'm interested in while in London... I figure I have to at least see Big Ben, maybe wander around wembley for a bit, I'll prob do a couple of the tourist things that Paul mentioned. I'd love to see a lower league match or some kind of sporting event but its midweek and I'm not gonna go watch Millwall. I guess I'm just looking for a few places with some good food and good pubs, where a 26 year old yank wont get stabbed. I was also told I need to have curry while in england but i'm not sure if thats something I should do while i'm in london or the northwest.

[BPF]

Something different and incredible

[Rovermatt]

Expensive shith*le. Avoid.

[joey_big_nose]

To be honest even though I am a lover and resident of London I would seriously consider what Paul says about York. Three days in London will mean you see virtually nothing. It's massive, very expensive, crazy as hell and full of tourists. You are more likely to get more of an idea of English culture and living elsewhere and feel you have a grip on things.

All the tourist spots in London are either totally underwhelming and expensive (Big Ben etc.) or outstanding but MASSIVE (British Museum, National galleries, the parks etc.). I would come back when you have a week to devote to the city.

[CaliRoverNYC]

@Joey, totally understand where you're coming from as I would say the same to someone visiting NYC, thing is I'll be staying in london for free while I wouldn't have that deal in York. that makes it a deal killer. I'm not really trying to grasp the whole city as I'm not sure that can be done in a year let alone a few days I was just trying to get a small taste of it.

[Rovermatt]

It's very pricey. Best start saving.

[S15]

It's very pricey. Best start saving.

I disagree with this, and it is the most common of all misconceptions. London is not much different to any other major city in the UK when it comes to general costs, which are the kind you'll be encountering when you stay. It's the cost of renting/mortgage that is out of proportion with other places in the UK. Hotels too are more expensive, but CRNYC is staying for free. In fact, having been to NY, the difference in the price to do things and the general price of eating/drinking out and retail is very similar.

[philipl]

I disagree with this, and it is the most common of all misconceptions. London is not much different to any other major city in the UK when it comes to general costs, which are the kind you'll be encountering when you stay. It's the cost of renting/mortgage that is out of proportion with other places in the UK. Hotels too are more expensive, but CRNYC is staying for free. In fact, having been to NY, the difference in the price to do things and the general price of eating/drinking out and retail is very similar.

Yes agreed and London is also much safer than NY as well. Might be more dangerous than Blackburn but compared with an American city it is safe.

[thenodrog]

It's a myth that the UK is expensive, London's a touch pricey as always but imo the UK is now one of the cheapest places to visit from all the major Eoropean countries. Certainly all the touristy places are. Proof of that is to simply talk to people returning from skiing holidays! I've never been but most people who have say the Scandanavian countries are wildly expensive whilst dining out in France or Switzerland can be one hell of an an eye opener, Rome is expensive too whilst restaurants in Portugal and Spain are usually dearer than here.

On the subject of York I love the atmosphere, architecture and history of the place and hotel / restaurant / pub / food and drink is quite cheap.

Just as a rider to the above............ Goodness knows what taxes, rates, leki, gas etc cost elsewhere cos as usual all my comparisons are made in the standard tourist currency of food and alcohol.

[Jimbo]

Living and working in London I tend not to do too much touristy stuff but as my company is a sponsor of the Royal Palaces I blagged a Twighlight Tour of the Tower of London - A very pleasant 2 hours being shown around the Tower by one of the Beefeaters - I'd recommend this. As for Vinopolis - My missus got a gift voucher for this for Xmas - I didn't enjoy it at all - loads of wine to taste and all of it was vinegar - nasty. We also did the London Eye on the same day - nice to do but vastly over priced.

If you can find time to do one of the museums you won't be disappointed, but they will eat into your day very quickly. The markets can be fun Borough, Camden, Spitalfields.

One thing that has always been recommended to me has been a walking tour - I've never done one but the people I know that have, have really enjoyed them. (www.walks.com is an example)

If you are up for good food, one of my favourite restaurants at the moment is Savoir Faire on New Oxford St - Cheap by London Prices and excellent food (http://savoir.co.uk/savoir/)

[arachnica]

I would definitely check out http://www.toptable.com or LondonEating to find places to eat. They have 50% discounts for thousands of restaurants in town. If you live in London you use these sites all the time - but the tourists always end up paying full price.

[Al]

It's OK for the folk on here to tell you of all the places off the tourist track but can you really go back to California and tell your mates that you've been to London and not seen St.Pauls and Buckingham Palace? Get on the open top tourist bus that will take you around all the places of interest with a guide to describe them to you. It will be full of your countrymen and little Japanese with three Canon cameras each.

When that is finished go into St.Pauls Cathederal. It really is stunning (take your camera).

It's touristy but you have to do it. Ignore the ones who have been to London loads of times. Your time is limited and you need to get in as much as possible.

[Blue n White Rover]

I disagree with this, and it is the most common of all misconceptions. London is not much different to any other major city in the UK when it comes to general costs, which are the kind you'll be encountering when you stay. It's the cost of renting/mortgage that is out of proportion with other places in the UK. Hotels too are more expensive, but CRNYC is staying for free. In fact, having been to NY, the difference in the price to do things and the general price of eating/drinking out and retail is very similar.

You can get some very cheap hotels if you book a few days in advance. For example, I recently got into a 5* Hilton Hotel for £39 a night including parking and breakfast. However, if you book several weeks in advance then I agree, they are very expensive.

[AlanSheppard]

I'd love to see a lower league match or some kind of sporting event but its midweek and I'm not gonna go watch Millwall.

There's a fairly full round of Football League fixtures midweek when you're in London with Watford (Championship) and Leyton Orient (League 1) both playing at home. It might be a nice chance to see some lower-league football. Watford are at home to Norwich who are chasing promotion and both teams have been playing some nice stuff while a trip to Leyton Orient's ground might give you an idea of what some of older, lower-league grounds are like. http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/AllCompFixtures/0,,10794,00.html.

Three days is only really time to see a few things so it's probably best to pick a few things you really want to see based on your interests (for instance if you enjoy history then I'd definitely visit the Tower of London and the British Museum) and spend a good amount of time on them. Better to do that than trying to rush round everything and ending up feeling like you've not really appreciated any of them although having said that Al's suggestion of spending half a day on a tour bus is worth considering to give you some overview and the opportunity to take photos of some of the major spots.

You'll probably be spending a fair amount of time on the Underground and buses so it's worth checking out Oyster Cards (https://oyster.tfl.gov.uk/oyster/entry.do). You can add travelcards onto the Oyster card which give you unlimited travel on buses, underground and overground trains, within a certain area on them and it'll be much cheaper than buying paper tickets all the time.

Finally if you're looking for curry in London (although you'll also find excellent curry in the NorthWest) then Brick Lane just East of the City is home to a large Bangladeshi community and has lots of curry houses. Be ready for waiters trying to entice you in with various offers like a free drink. Haggling is perfectly acceptable. Tooting, in south London (about twenty minutes south on the Underground), also has a lot of curry houses which are excellent value. It's less well known than Brick Lane and so perhaps a little less packed.

[CaliRoverNYC]

Thanks mate, i think a friend of a friend is gonna take me to watford-norwich.... I'll check out the oyster cards as well. cheers

[cn174]

Thanks mate, i think a friend of a friend is gonna take me to watford-norwich.... I'll check out the oyster cards as well. cheers

One other thing about the Oyster is that when you are leaving London if you go to a ticket office in the underground (probably at Euston if you're coming back north), they'll give you the unused credit left on it, plus the £3 deposit, so you don't need to worry about losing out on a bit of money.

For something different to visit I really liked the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. It was a bit of a sod to find, but I've noticed they've now put a map on their website which makes it much easier than when I went!! http://www.museumofbrands.com/pdf/Museum_Map.pdf

[ABBEY]

if you pay some cash and some credit card they wont refund anything.

[CaliRoverNYC]

if you pay some cash and some credit card they wont refund anything.

so does that mean i should ether go all cash or all credit on the oyster card?