Travelling to London

[oznerol]

So I'm heading to London in September (17-28), and I'm trying to plan a thorough trip. I've got all of the touristy things down (Big Ben, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, etc), and I figure we can crank those out in a few days.

Anyone have any good experiences in England (or even live there)? Any places we should go eat, drink, see? I'm looking for authentic food, nice pubs, places that might not be in the typical traveler's books. Also any suggestions for places to stay? Everyplace we look it's roughly $200 a night which is a bit steep.

We're also looking into taking a train/plane somewhere during the middle of the week - I know Morocco has been thrown around, maybe Gibraltar.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Here's some tips:
You may see the moon, do not confuse this as a UFO.
When traveling through or to Crackpot, do not go down a road if it looks like a jeep trail even if your GPS tells you to.
Do not take pictures in the park. The government will take pictures everywhere, and if you do it you will be branded a pedophile.
Don't call it soccer.

 

[LS21]

There's this guy who has a Michelin-star'ed restaurant, serving up food from typically unused and unappreciated parts of animals... bone marrow, head, etc... thats where i would go

 

[ElFenix]

hand over 3 coins for a sandwich in a plastic box only to realize you just paid $12.

 

[Descartes]

I'm sure you will, but make sure you throw Westminster Abbey into the list of touristy things.

I haven't been to London in a while, so I barely remember the dining scene; however, you could try something like Scott's or Petrus if you're into that sort of thing. Almost all the pubs have standard fare, and it's worth a visit. Other than that, be sure to hit "Curry Row" for Indian, and other international options. You can get everything from Egyptian to Singapore cuisine; go off the standard path and try something different.

Finally, I would suggest getting outside of London for a day or two. Bath isn't too far, and it's a great little town. Castle Combe is close by Bath, which is great if you're into preserved 14th century towns. You could hit the Stonehenge as well. They have tours leaving from Bath.

 

[Lonyo]

Go somewhere that isn't London.

Paris is only a few hours on the train direct from London, so that might be an easily workable idea.

 

[Uppsala9496]

If you plan on travelling the tube, get the oyster card (I think that is what it is called). It'll save you a bunch of money.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: LS21
There's this guy who has a Michelin-star'ed restaurant, serving up food from typically unused and unappreciated parts of animals... bone marrow, head, etc... thats where i would go

You're probably thinking of St John.

 

[blackdogdeek]

stonehenge
bath
train to paris
dover
lake district
brick lane

 

[Auric]

Partake of the unique dining and shopping opportunities. Such as McDonald's and Gap and such as.

 

[ElFenix]

visit the statue of abraham lincoln next to parliament

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: Uppsala9496
If you plan on travelling the tube, get the oyster card (I think that is what it is called). It'll save you a bunch of money.

I thought you had to be a resident? Either way when I was there I got a week long pass for the tube...worked great.

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Go somewhere that isn't London.

Paris is only a few hours on the train direct from London, so that might be an easily workable idea.

It was 2ish hours....that may make it a feasible day trip.

 

[oznerol]

Paris isn't of interest to us. Stonehenge is a possibility, but we'd rather not have to rent a car.

London is a big city. Telling me to take a train to Paris is like telling someone visiting NYC to take a train to Boston.

 

[LS21]

Originally posted by: Descartes



You're probably thinking of St John.

http://www.stjohnrestaurant.co...ng_banner-standard.jpg

I would sooooooo go there

 

[preslove]

I just got back from 6 months in London.

The London Eye is a waste of money. Go to Regents park (my favorite of the 3 big parks) and then walk to Primrose Hill and have a picnic. That's my favorite view of London.

Greenwich is a great day trip. The best way to get to it is by ferry. There's a nice nautical museum (free) and the royal observatory (free!), where you can step over the prime meridian.

I don't have much input on pubs, because a pint costs about $6 and I really didn't give a damn about finding the "authentic" ones. Most are corporate owned or have sold their soul to inBev. It's hard to find the locally owned ones. They're all the same, really. The only cool, authentic pubs I found in europe were in Ireland (not in dublin) and Prague. If you want to drink beer? Fuck England, go to prague.

Covent Garden and Soho great for shopping and eating. Stay away from Piccadilly Circus for both.

Flights to Dublin are super super cheap (cost me 32 pounds) through air lingus.

Bath is nice. Stonehenge and Bath can be done in a day, but it takes forever to travel by bus and leaves you very little time in bath.

Dover was my favorite castle & it has the caves where troops were kept during the war.

Prepare to get reamed by Bush's pathetic fiscal policy...

Have Fun!

 

[oznerol]

Nice input preslove. Thanks a lot, that's what I was looking for.

 

[preslove]

Originally posted by: ducci
Nice input preslove. Thanks a lot, that's what I was looking for.

No Prob. PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[Playmaker]

Originally posted by: blackdogdeek
stonehenge
bath
train to paris
dover
lake district
brick lane

Agreed ... I've been around Europe for a couple months twice, and, although it's typical, if you haven't been to London or Paris (with Rome being next), make sure you see those first.

Road trip through Scotland was also a blast.

 

[IGBT]

..check out the legions of new mosques.

 

[Born2bwire]

You could try your hand at the language and converse with the exotic natives.

 

[Ballatician]

Eat at Nando's, its not only in London but good food if you like chicken. Also you could see a criminal case at the Old Bailey if that sort of thing interests you...

The Natural History Museum is definitely worth the visit, it's free and awesome.

 

[Ballatician]

Oh and you don't need a car for Stonehenge, there are several bus tours that I read about.