Who's been to London? Need some ideas of what to do...

[demdiva]

Hey guys. I just found out I'm going to London for a month for work and I've never been there. What should I definitely make sure I do while I'm there????

[globalvillage]

1. Awesome.

I've been there twice. You're going to LOVE it. What are your interests? I'm an architecture freak. If you like music, take the Beatles walk with the guy who's head of their fan club in London. Have tea at the Orangery. Get out to the country. Holy cow, what a blast London is!
You can fly to Ireland round trip for about a hundred bucks or less if you plan properly. If you do, go to Kerry Co :-). Seriously, it's the most beautiful (and hence, aptly named) place on earth after Pittsburgh.
Where will you stay? What will you be doing? So COOL!!!

[demdiva]

2. I'm working at a finance firm as a consultant

But I'm not actually sure where I'm staying yet ... the office is on Fleet Street.

I actually went to architecture school myself, am a Beatles fan AND am Irish, so I love your suggestions. Thanks so much!

Kerry County!!! I love it! Maybe my post wasn't as off topic as I thought.

[globalvillage]

5. OMG, I could give you a THOUSAND ideas.

You can go anywhere on the tube, so don't worry about getting around. Just 'mind the gap'. (You'll figure that one out.) My suggestions are pretty touristy, but I think the Tower of London is a must-see. Also Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. See the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The gardens, of course are lovely. Go to Kensington Palace (that was Diana's place, and where the Orangery is). Museums...go to the Tate.
Covent Garden is a great place to wander. They have a street market that sells everything.
Remember, this is a tourist's POV. There may be others here who have a more in depth perspective.
Here's a good tip, though. Buy a travel guide. I like Frommers. Don't do it on the web, go buy the book and highlight everything you want to do.
Sigh. I'm so jealous. I have to get out of the country soon.
When are you going?

[demdiva]

6. Saturday! And I found out at 5pm today.

Isn't that crazy???

[globalvillage]

8. Holy shit!

Seriously, buy a travel guide (Frommers really is the best), read it on the plane. It will give you tips on everything from money exchange to tipping to where to go, where to eat...
Saturday?! That's wild. That's why I tell everyone they need a passport, even if they don't have plans.
If you aren't used to foreign travel, IMO, it's really easy. Especially in a place where you know the language. ATM machines are everywhere, so you can get cash easily. Use credit cards when possible. Take LOTS and LOTS of pictures for us.
Have a blast. Don't worry about stuff. Talk to people, and have a pint or two for me.

[demdiva]

9. Yeah I am freaking out!!!

In fact I have to expidite my passport tomorrow....I let mine expire ...or I'm not going at all.

Thanks for the great advice. I will definitely post pics from London.

[ElizabethDC]

3. Ah, London!

It's my favorite place in the world! I would absolutely recommend going to Harrod's (especially if you like shopping); if you like history, the Tower of London is wonderful. St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey are must-sees. Wow, I can't even think - the whole London atmosphere is just so wonderful that it's just great to be there. You're so lucky to get to go for a month!

[demdiva]

4. Ohhhh shopping ... of course

Those are great ideas! Thanks .... and yeah .... I'm super stoked I get to be there for a month (on an expense account too!!!)

[TayTay]

7. I've never been anywhere outside of the country except Scotland

I liked Edinburgh. The people are funny. They had a whole bunch of castles and stuff. And insanely great people who would talk your ear off if you let them. (I adored the Scots. They are pessimistic, argumentative, opinionated and intelligent. They like to drink, start fights and hold great festivals. I highly recommend them.)

There's this pacifist who role-plays William Wallace at the National Wallace Monument in Sterling. As I noted before, he was the first fully-armed pacifist I ever met, and I greatly enjoyed the experience. Great, great guy. We had a long discussion about the Simpsons, Scotty the Engineer from Star Trek, food and World Peace. It was awesome. The countryside is gorgeous too! (Damn, I loved the Scots. They have all these depressingly dour castles and a really sort of dour and fatalistic history. I think that does something to a people, I really do. Anyway, flights from London to Edinburgh are cheap, so ry and go to Edinburgh and see the Fringe Festival. It's a hoot!)

[demdiva]

10. Thanks TayTay ...funny, the Scots sound like our lovely Bostonians !!!!

I'll have to look how far Scotland is from London. I'm considering taking a weekend trip to Paris. I was there in high school, but haven't been back since.

[TayTay]

11. No, they are their own people.

Although Scotland is colder than England. They are uniquely Scottish. I loved them. (I love places where you can talk to people. I actually will remember the people long after the other stuff has let my head. I remember the name of my cab driver from my recent DC trip, how many kids he had, their professions, the number of grandchildren he had, where he was born and what he considered important things to talk about. That stuff I remember. That's why I always rate places by the people. The physical stuff fades but the memory of the people is forever.)

Are the Brits easy to talk to GV?

[demdiva]

13. My boss lived in London for a year

and she says the Brits have a very odd, VERY sarcastic, dry sense of humor. She's got a great sense of humor and she was thrown a bit by their humor. But I love the guys from our London office. They are absolutely fantastic. So interesting and so much fun.

[demdiva]

15. oh and ps ...our DC cab drivers are the best!!!

At least half the taxis here play NPR 24/7, which I love. Where else do cab drivers listen to NPR???

And a couple months ago I was in a cab and the driver was on the phone with his friend, talking about the business books he needed to buy. We started chatting and turns out that he was putting himself through business school by driving the cab. How cool is that? I told that story a gazillion times that night! I thought it was so great.

[globalvillage]

21. I find most everyone easy to talk to.

In my experience, most Brits aren't like the Irish, who will pull up a chair next to you in a pub and start talking politics or whatever comes to mind. But the British are fascinating in a different way.
As a tourist, I ask what are probably really inane questions (not "Aren't those hats on the guards funny looking?" idiotic, but "Does the queen get to wear the crown jewels?" uninformed-she does, BTW), which seems to allow locals to drive the conversation. I try to know enough about whatever the topic is to get folks started talking about whatever. Which is what I'm after, so it works out pretty well.

What about the Scots? More like the Irish would be my guess.

How do you talk to 'strangers'? It's a pretty interesting subject, don't you think?.

On edit, I actually had this very conversation with someone about Bostonians today.

[TayTay]

24. Bostonians are easy. "How 'bout them Red Sox?"

Or "So, you ever gonna drive through the Tunnels again?"
Or "So, Kerry or Romney? Who's going farther in '08?"

We are easy.

I think the Scots are closer to the Irish. My brothers have all been to Ireland a few times and loved the place. They found the people very easy to talk to, particularly if you bought the first round. I have seen pics of several bars from all around Ireland. Looks like a nice place.

Gee, DemDiva, you will have oodles of places to visit. As I remember, the connecting flights all over GB are cheap. So, go anywhere. I think you'll enjoy. (However, Manchester UK airport is not my favorite place in the world. Sigh!)

[globalvillage]

12. Paris!!!

I've been there twice. If you need any suggestions, lemme know.
Did you see the video from my last trip?

globalvillage.neptune.com

password: bonjour

LOL, I'm in the wrong business.

[demdiva]

14. LOL ... what do you do in Pittsburgh GV?

[globalvillage]

19. My job consists of conference calls and e-mail.

I travel quite a bit too, but only domestic travel for work, darn it.
I should have been something much more mysterious and international, but I'm afraid it just wasn't in the cards.
Oh, well. In my next life, I'm going to be a spy or something.

[demdiva]

18. I watched the video! Your pics are beautiful!!!!

Thanks so much for sharing....

[wisteria]

16. Wonderful news!!

And you have some time to spend and see everything properly.

A visit to the usual attractions are suggested. The Tower of London, the palaces,Westminster Abby.

Take a tube ride. Or even a taxi ride. Gosh, I have never experienced something so crazy as a tax ride in London.

Drive into Scotland and experience the beautiful lands and hills of Scotland. Visit some old castles while you are there.

Take a trip to Paris or even Ireland. Everything is with-in hours and easy to get to.

Oh, and you have to visit a pub.

You will just love it. Just be prepared for rain and cooler weather.

[demdiva]

17. Oh I'm so glad you mentioned the weather

I thought of that earlier and totally forgot ...It's been nasty hot here lately ...

[emulatorloo]

20. Grab a copy of TIME OUT magazine when you get there -

will tell you every thing that's going on - theater, clubs, galleries, everything.

Please hit a few pubs. . .you will have a great time.

web address for Time OUt

http://www.timeout.com/london/

[demdiva]

22. Great tip!!! Thanks!!!!

[whometense]

23. I was just there for a week about two and a half months ago.

And LOVED it. But god, is it ever expensive!!!! I thought New York was bad, but London is off the charts.

But sooooo beautiful!!!

It depends on what your interests are. We spent most of our time just walking around. We stayed in the Marylebone district. Do you know where you'll be? If you like history, London is just amazing. We did one of the City Walks - the guides are university educated and are fascinating to listen to. We didn't get to it, but a number of my friends recommended very highly the Jack the Ripper walk. http://www.walks.com/

Since I'm a huge Jane Austen fan we also took a day trip by train to Bath. Incredible place. Even my husband, who is not a Jane Austen fan, was blown away by how beautiful it is there ( and a lot cheaper than London).

I also recommend going to one of the weekly street markets. We walked to Camden Market, but I'm sure each one is equally interesting.
http://www.camdenlock.net/



There's so much to do, and the place is so HUGE, you won't run out of places to go in a month.

[karynnj]

25. It's hard to add to the ideas already here

The Tower and the other historical sights are incredable. Others things we did in the 3 times we were there that are different were:

- See a Shakesphere play at the Globe. That was awesome even our then 14 yr old who didn't think she would like it loved it. It's a small intimate theatre built to replicate the orignial Globe. Another year we saw a different play outside in Regent park, which was a gorgeous park by itself.

- Check to see what plays are showing in the West End, London's Broadway. They are way cheaper than Broadway.

- Not knowing your age (or interest), we loved the Beatles walking tours. The "In my life" one was interesting because we saw a lot of neighborhoods we might not have otherwise. (Including a very quiet, sort of upscale neghborhood where George and Ringo had a "flat" they lent to Jimi Hendrix to use - the neighbors thought the Beatles were too loud, but really were unhappy with Hendrix and his girlfriend. (You will also see that the zebra crossing on the Abbey Road cover is smaller than you would think and on a reasonably busy road - though tons of Beatles fans slow traffic to take photos - and many took off sandals like Paul. http://www.beatlesinlondon.com/

- The pubs are cool too, but watch your purse, there are very skillful purse snatchers.

Have a great time there!

[europegirl4jfk]

26. Definitely theatre!

Karen already talked about the Globe Theatre but there are loads of more beautiful old theatres in London, and the quality of the plays and the atmosphere is unique! Try to see a play from the Royal Shakespeare Company. They are the best! I recently saw "The Crucible". I'm addicted to the London theatre scene and try to go three or four times a year to watch a play - thanks to the cheap air fares here in Europe it's possible.

[demdiva]

27. Thanks for the suggestions guys!