Family and friends,
Several people have asked for our ideas of things to do in and around London. This is my attempt to give you good ideas and you will need to edit this extensive list for your particular interests. I have been to the city three times and have done most of these. This may be your only trip so choose what matters to you.
If you are visiting in June or July you should make your hotel reservations immediately after making flight reservations. If you are going around the time of US spring breaks it is good to have hotel reservations pretty quick, too. Also, if arriving in February you need to note if it is Half-term (England’s Spring Break) in the UK. If it is, the museums and sites will be overcrowded. If you have a US military ID, I know of two hotels where you can make reasonably priced reservations. One is in a prime location near Hyde Park www.vsc.co.uk . The other is in Southwark and not so convenient www.ujclub.co.ok . Look at both. You have to join to make reservations, so go ahead and join then inquire about reservations. It is free to join if you are an active duty US serviceman. An important note, for these two hotels, en suite means there is a bathroom in your room; if it does not say en suite you will be going down the hall to use the facilities.
One great website with amazing prices for booking flights and hotels as a package from the US is called www.europeandestinations.com . If you are in the planning stages check out this website. Depending on your comfort level with tiny not American style hotels, you may want to choose a four star in London. Please remember that this rating will still get you a tiny room where you will trip over suitcases. It will have a bar and a breakfast offered on the premises although these days the breakfast is not usually included in the price. Cost for breakfast included is around 20 pounds per person. You can probably find a local place to grab breakfast or head to Sainsbury’s or Tesco (both grocery stores) and have fruit and take away breads in your room for a lot less than 20 pounds each.
Speaking of money. Have a plan for how you will obtain local currency. Some are veterans on this, and some are not. I’ll tell you that when we moved to Germany, our primary plan to obtain currency crashed and we had to jump through some hoops. Cambios are abundant, however the exchange rate is not in your favor. My recommendation (Steve) is to have a US credit card that doesn’t charge International transaction fees. Prior to your departure, call your card issuer and let them know where you are travelling to. Getting money out of an ATM is easy with a credit card and you get a great exchange rate. You will need to pay it off as soon as it hits your bill though, as they generally count as cash advances and accrue interest charges on a daily basis. Enough on that, bottom line is have a plan. Another benefit of having a credit card with zero foreign transaction fees is that you can use it in the local stores and not get a surprise on your bill. When you do this, you will have the option of having the charge occur in US Dollars or GB Pounds. Have them make the charge in GB Pounds and then your bank will process using their exchange rate. If you have them do it in US Dollars, you will subject yourself to the merchant’s exchange rate.
If you are comfortable using public transportation, it is relatively inexpensive to get a ticket for the trains to and from Heathrow. It is really nothing you have to purchase in advance and can purchase from ticket counters in the airports. Just a reminder that if you use the trains, you need to keep your tickets on your person until you complete your journey and exit the station. In London and on the National Rail both, you cannot exit the station without your ticket.
You will pass a lot of souvenir shops as you travel to your hotel. Wait to purchase your souvenirs ……. you will visit many sites with great souvenirs available in their shops. Just visit a generic shop on one of your last days in town to get whatever you did not find while touring. You can pop in to grab some post cards to mail home, but I promise you will love the souvenirs you see at the various sites much more than the generic shops on the street.
Depending on your desire to spend time doing other things you may want to buy the tour bus tickets for the city. The tour operators sell tickets in several locations and there is one company that offers a two day pass that includes hop on hop off for four different routes through the city and the ticket is good for 48 hours from the time of purchase. The underground will cost less if you buy an Oyster card (Google it, it’s a subway prepaid card basically), but it is under the city and you won’t see the city as you travel around to the sites. If it is your first time you may want to use the tour bus but then you may not. Many of the tour companies include a Thames tour in glass covered boat. If you are interested in going to Greenwich, I would highly recommend purchasing this. More on Greenwich later.
While there are several castles or fortresses either in London or nearby, I will only talk about three. One is in the city and two are short train rides to nearby towns.
I think the Tower of London is the must do. The other two are amazing to see and for totally different reasons, but it seems you just can’t “do” London properly without seeing the Tower with the Beefeaters and The Ravens. The guards are your actual tour guides here if you purchase your tickets onsite. Do not do this as a part of another tour because you will get a Blue Button guide, a shorter tour and no one has the gift of gab and telling stories beautifully as much as the men and women who guard this wonderful old site. The Crown Jewels are located here and you see them by getting on a moving conveyor belt. If you are there at a busy time you may only get one pass, so find the jewels early. They have great volunteers (I think) here who tell additional stories on the grounds besides the ones you will hear while on the tour. If there is a schedule for these, be sure and try to see one or two presentations. They are in period costume and they try very hard to do it in very proper old English. Sometimes, if you are quick witted or tongued, you can trick them into using modern parlance.
Just an FYI, I think the saddest story on the tour comes near the end when you visit the tiny chapel where Anne Boleyn was buried. It is unfortunate the King did not know how important his second daughter was to his beloved England and sad that her mother was killed simply because she gave birth to a girl.
The other castles are Windsor and Hampton Court. Both have great little towns nearby to take a break and have a pint and some fish and chips at a nearby pub. Hampton Court has great old brickwork that can make you feel like it’s the 14th C. The pub to the left of the castle grounds as you face the building from the train stop ( I think it’s called the kings arms or Henry viii, but I can’t remember) has old lead pipes in the basement that are 500 years old or more. Quite often a local will offer to take you down and see them. Windsor castle is still the weekend home for Her Majesty, the Queen. Touring the State Apartments there was just as interesting to Steve and me as Hampton Court. At both places we recommend the Audio guide. Also remember that at both locations the guards and docents are happy to answer questions. The guards seem to love where they work and have the knowledge of a tour guide. I’d recommend taking a train and making a day out of either.
Buckingham palace was not on my palace/castle tour list. It is only open for tours certain times of the year and I have never been on one. I cannot recommend or not recommend it. I know that most people go there to see the Changing of the Guard. And I do recommend this. You will need to check the schedule as it has been years since I have done this. I believe it is everyday in the summer and only every other day for part of the year. Go early and take your breakfast, snack or lunch along in a bag. I know we arrived at least an hour early for this. If you are into video you may want to take photos while your travel partner takes video or vice versa. This is def the place to have video. In addition, the very best (and not cheap) souvenir shop in London is nearby on Buckingham Palace Road. The greatest collection of souvenirs will be in any shop fun by The Royal Household. Really, great books, pieces of china, gifts and my favorite, a shot glass with the Queen’s ER logo in gold. J
Attend the theater. I recommend looking at one of the many websites for London Theater and decide which show you want to see and book tickets before you travel. We managed to get tickets pretty close to our travel dates this last trip but we were there in Feb. I cannot recommend which show as you need to see that which interests you. Shakespeare’s Globe Theater has been reconstructed and while I have not been, I hear it is a must if you are a WS aficionado. While I am, I have not been there in the right season for the theater to be open. FYI-choose a couple of shows you are interested in and let your spouse choose from your short list. They may not want to see Les Mis but will be interested in STOMP and you will have a much better time if you try to find something you are both interested in.
IRT Museums, it is very hard to tell you which to see. While I know without a doubt if you have seen one good Natural History Museum or one good Science Museum, then you probably do not want to waste your time on these while you only have one week or ten days or three in London. Many many museums are free in London so choose what interests you most. I loved the War Museum which had Churchill’s underground bunker during WW2; however this one is not free. We ran through the British Museum once to see The Rosetta Stone and a small part of the Antiquities section. I will be going back to do this more in depth as it is still on my list. Many people say you have to see The British Museum. The Victoria and Albert Museum houses the decorative arts. Do not let this fool you. Decorative Arts include Italian marble well heads from the 13th C and recently a set of huge Raphael “cartoons” on loan from Her Majesty, The Queen. There are household items and clothing from several different eras from England and the Continent. In addition they have great technical presentations of how many of the items are made. There are several Art Galleries to choose from including The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery and The Tate (Modern).
Churches. With the exception of Westminster Abbey, most of the old larger churches date from just after the Great Fire in 1666. While Wren’s vision of a city with wide boulevards much like Haussmann’s 19th C Paris was not used, as the City and the Crown wanted to rebuild quickly, he was given the contract to rebuild St. Paul’s and 51 of the 88 churches that burned. If you love architecture going to see a few of these churches might interest you. The tour of St. Paul’s was one of the most interesting tours I have ever taken. I loved the tour of Westminster Abbey. Beware, the Abbey tour is quite expensive. Check the schedule on the Abbey website for going. If you love music you may want to attend an organ concert there or Evensong services on Wednesday Evening to hear the choir sing.
Don’t forget you’ll probably want to see Big Ben, London Bridge, Tower Bridge (and maybe even walk across it), Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, The Golden Gates at Kensington Palace if you just loved Diana, and Piccadilly Circus. You can easily see Tower Bridge when you go to The Tower of London. Many of these sites are covered on a hop on hop off tour. You can easily take the Underground or Tube to Embankment and walk along The Embankment. It’s a path along the River and at one end has a pedestrian bridge to The London Eye. If you leave the station at Embankment and turn right it leads to the River and the Eye, if you turn left and veer right there is a great street, Villiers with a variety of Restaurants and bars.
Greenwich is nearby London. There are Royal Museums in Greenwich and it’s a nice town to wander through and have a pub lunch. There is an old sailor’s hospital and home here with some beautiful architecture. The highlight is a tour of the Royal Observatory and the opportunity stand in two hemispheres. There is a spot marked for The Prime Meridian and you straddle the line and find yourself in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres at the same time. One of those once in a lifetime things that people either love or don’t. I loved it. This is a good day to take the Thames river cruise and cruise to or from Greenwich.
Madame Tussaud’s is a London oldie. I have never been but for many it is a fun place to visit. They are famous for how terrible their wax figures are…… Really! Another quirky thing is a Jack the Ripper tour. London also has a dungeon museum in Southwark. (or it used to)
Shopping. Many of you will want to visit H&M and pick up a few things. You can window shop Saville Row, actually afford something on Oxford street, and travel down fashion historic Carnaby street and almost see Twiggy there. My favorite place to shop is Harrod’s. My dad loved it and I inherited my enthusiasm from him. If you know of Diva, our iconic travelling duck, she is from Harrod’s. We skip most of the store and head straight to the Food Courts and the Harrod’s Gift Shop. Next time I am going to have a 24 pound caviar and champagne lunch there.
On our latest visit we walked to and actually took the tour of Kensington Palace. Currently there is a lot of construction where they are remodeling for William and Kate to live. There are three general areas you can actually tour. There is an area of old state apartments, called The King’s Apartments which are historical and very interesting with a lot of great pieces of art. There is an older area, called The Queens Apartments, exhibited that is more original and is all old wood work walls. The exhibits here were weird and easily skipped, but seeing the wooden paneled rooms was worth it if you could ignore the strange displays. The third area called Victoria Revealed was fascinating to me. It covered the life of Victoria in personal writings, furniture and clothing. If you go in each room there is a card which describes the items in the room and their significance. It was a very interesting experience to me and evoked real emotions about her life. The room where she was told of the death of the King and discovered she was Queen is here. “The King is dead. Long live the Queen!” Just haunting to me. Look for the two drawings that Victoria and Albert did of each other, or the painting she once had done for his birthday (a very personal painting much like today’s boudoir portraits, but only of her face ). If you visit here, take the time to look out of windows and enjoy the view. It was a good museum, but may not make your top 10 on your list until a later visit.
While Hampton Court and Windsor are technically not in the City, they are easy to get to on your own. There are three other places you may or may not want to see and I will give you my insight into them.
Stonehenge. One of those places some people have on their Bucket List. It was on mine. It is not simple to get to and requires you rent a car or take a coach tour. They are in the process of building a new visitor’s center about a mile away from the site with trams or paths to walk to the site. I am not sure when that change occurs. If you choose to take the tour here, only take the one for Stonehenge by itself or the one for Stonehenge and Bath OR Stonehenge and Oxford. Do not do any three site combinations. They are too ambitious and you will end up disappointed. The visit to Stonehenge itself is very quick and should take no more than an hour.
Bath. This was a wonderful little city in the Avon Valley. It is the site of Roman and Georgian Bath houses and the Museum at the Roman Baths is well done. Our tour was too short and we did not have the time we needed because we did a three site tour that day. Use the audio guide and take your time. It is very interesting. In addition if you have the time, go next door to the Bath Cathedral. Walk the streets. A beautiful city.
Cambridge. What a great City. The Universities have 18000 students and you can feel the “bohemian” air. It also feels like you stepped into the pages of Harry Potter. If you are a seamstress, there is a great little shop called Cally Co where you can get English and French print fabrics for little girl’s dresses for about 9 pounds a meter. If you sew, get a couple yards. The price is actually reasonable for fine print European fabrics.
“Punting” on the Cam is a must. You can tour as a group or hire a private tour. You sit in a flat bottomed boat and are poled or punted along the “backs” of the universities while a guide tells you what you are seeing along with some real and TALL tales. It was an architectural wonder. If you are concerned about light in your photos take this tour midday. There are three great or interesting pubs here, The Eagle, The Radegund and the Anchor. You can see here where patrons used candles to burn messages on the ceiling at the first two. If you go to the Eagle, a watering hole for the RAF in WW2, look for your squadron’s zappers somewhere in the building. The Radegund is smaller, and less commercial. Be prepared to take a taxi here. The Anchor is where Pink Floyd played their first gig, and has a mural of the band on the wall on the bottom floor (get it, on The Wall??). It is a pretty long distance from the train station to where the sites you will visit are located in Cambridge. Not a huge problem unless you find yourself exhausted and having to walk all that way at the end of the day in a hurry to make your train.
A note about Pubs and many bars in England. You must go to the bar to order. If you order food they will bring it to your table. Also wait staff in England are paid a real wage. DO not tip here unless the service is EXCEPTIONAL.
If you are going to use public transport in London, plan ahead and know which stops you will need to use and what line it is on. The Tube (“chube” if you want to say it properly) is easy to negotiate. One day passes where about 7pounds 30 per person and one way trips (or singles) were 4 pounds 40. If you get an Oyster card and prepay, singles were half price, but I am not sure about the cost of all day passes using this. It is probably a good idea to pick up several copies of The Underground Map in the first station you enter.
That sums up my ideas regarding London and some nearby areas. As you do your research remember this is reminiscing from 3 different trips. You cannot and should not try to do it all in one trip. Really. In addition, if I have left something off, I have just forgotten, am not interested or don’t know of its existence. This is not an all inclusive list at all, in any way shape or form. Just sitting here I realized I have left off a stroll through Covent Garden, probably my favorite place in London; and Portobello Road, made famous most recently in the movie Notting Hill. See, I could go on forever.
If you are reading this I assume you either know me from FB or have mine or Steve’s email address. Please feel free to write either of us with questions. I will post pictures on this Website in a few days. Pictures from my most recent trip are currently on FB.
Steves note: Lee is spot on with don’t try to do this all in one trip. Lee and I have made 2 1-week trips to London and she also went with Taylor on a high school trip. The more research you do on the front end will offer you the greatest experience during your trip. It’s waaaaaaaayyy too easy to overschedule yourself, simply because there is sooooo much to see. On our first trip I made Lee plan a 2 hour pub lunch into every day. Our next trip will likely only involve a short stay in London in addition to a couple days in Bath and Cambridge. Once you get out of the big town, the smaller towns (IMHO) are MUCH better. Remember, there is a small German city not far away with very attractive room rates as well!!
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