Need some London travel help.

wildcatdon

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Oct 17, 2012
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My wife is going with a friend in August. They are staying at the Hyde Park Hotel. Staying for a week. With meals and sight seeing how much do you think is a realistic amount she would spend in a week. Her friend is paying her airfare. Thanks for any input or advice.
 

IdaCat

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May 8, 2004
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Stay away from pub food unless you like fish n chips with the skin on it or nasty bangers and mash garbage. All the food is rubbish imo, unless you go to a high end establishment.
 
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rick64

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Jan 25, 2007
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Recommend getting a 3-5 day pass for the Tube. Should be able to use that for most travel needs. I’d also recommend getting a reservation for a private transportation company to pick you up at the airport to the hotel and back. Cabs are quite small and not much room. Worth the few extra bucks. If you’re a sports fan, get a tour of Wimbledon. The usual site seeing attractions are a given. Might want to get a SIM card locally for your cell phone that works in the UK. US providers hose you for minutes and data used overseas.
 

mrhotdice

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My wife is going with a friend in August. They are staying at the Hyde Park Hotel. Staying for a week. With meals and sight seeing how much do you think is a realistic amount she would spend in a week. Her friend is paying her airfare. Thanks for any input or advice.
Lived in London 9 months back in 2001 and loved it. You can go to various sites and compare food prices between London, England and Lexington. Pub food is basically meat and potatoes but the beer is good. Hyde Park is close to everything and the Tube put you close to every attraction. Have her take the Jack the Ripper Tour.
 
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dgtatu01

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Lived in London 9 months back in 2001 and loved it. You can go to various sites and compare food prices between London, England and Lexington. Pub food is basically meat and potatoes but the beer is good. Hyde Park is close to everything and the Tube put you close to every attraction. Have her take the Jack the Ripper Tour.
There are a lot of places between London & Lexington. You can stop in Berea and go to Boone Tavern or Pompolino's. Just a couple exits up is Richmond and there are a lot of commercial places there. This area is ripe with arts and crafts too so there are a lot of places to shop.
 

vhcat70

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1) Get the Oyster card before you leave
2) Buy your Heathrow Express train tickets before you leave (dirt cheap)
3) Book your Parliament tour ahead....And we combined a guided tour with tea at Parliament. Awesome.
4) Went to the Globe Theatre for Shakespeare and a London Theatre play...Book those now.
5) Take the train to Windsor to tour Windsor Castle & have a fun lunch at a pub.
6) Check out the WW2 Churchill bunkers. Fascinating.
7) If on a Sunday, check out the organ concert at Westminster Abbey....and tour the Abbey at a different time...And St Pauls. If you are Methodist, go to John Wesley's Chapel.
8) Go to one of the markets....Good food and all things British
9) Harry Potter fan? Go find platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station
10) Tower of London is a must. Look for the ravens.
11). Find an old pub (not hard)....order a pint and fish n chips
12) see the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum (and other cool things)
13) Download the app for the Tube

For us, it was all about walking and taking the tube.....Prepare to be tired but keep moving...So much to see and so much history and experiences in London. Plan. Plan. Plan.

1) Heathrow Express to/from the airport

2) Oyster card & the tube, all the way. Download a digital map of the tube before you go so that you can quickly figure out which line goes where.

3) Tour Parliament (so cool), Churchill's WWII bunkers, British Museum, Walk past Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Walk along the Thames, Lunch at BlackFriar's, Tour St. Paul's.

Yes, all of that is doable in a few days. Just did it a few months ago.

Don't skimp on time at Tower of London. Probably my favorite place and always a place I wish I'd seen more of. DEFINITELY ensure that you take guided warden tour.

Westminster Abbey is cool if you want to swap that in. Perhaps swap for the Bunkers if you're more into really old history.

Trafalgar Square is nice at night if you've got some energy left.

London Eye is nifty but easily skipped if you're on a tight timeframe.

Plan you days before you go and BUY TICKETS FOR EVERYTHING IN ADVANCE. My brother missed out on both the bunkers and Westminster on his one trip to London due to two hour lines to get in.

4) Download Rick Steve's audio tours of Europe app. Its an app where you can then download specific audio guides for parts of London. Really awesome. Totally free. He politely encourages you to buy his books, but its witty and does an amazing job of bringing to life big attractions in ways that make them accessible for a tourist seeing lots of sites.

I wouldn't do the British Museum or Saint Paul's without it. You could spend hours wandering aimlessly through the museum. He takes you through many big items with good and fun descriptions in about 60-90 minutes.

Tower of London, Parliament, the Bunkers and Westminster Abbey all offer their own live tours or audio guides. The Parliament audio guide is particularly well done, definitely pay for guides at these locations. Tower of London warden tour is included free with admission.
 

Stevo1951

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Feb 22, 2018
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1) Get the Oyster card before you leave
2) Buy your Heathrow Express train tickets before you leave (dirt cheap)
3) Book your Parliament tour ahead....And we combined a guided tour with tea at Parliament. Awesome.
4) Went to the Globe Theatre for Shakespeare and a London Theatre play...Book those now.
5) Take the train to Windsor to tour Windsor Castle & have a fun lunch at a pub.
6) Check out the WW2 Churchill bunkers. Fascinating.
7) If on a Sunday, check out the organ concert at Westminster Abbey....and tour the Abbey at a different time...And St Pauls. If you are Methodist, go to John Wesley's Chapel.
8) Go to one of the markets....Good food and all things British
9) Harry Potter fan? Go find platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station
10) Tower of London is a must. Look for the ravens.
11). Find an old pub (not hard)....order a pint and fish n chips
12) see the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum (and other cool things)
13) Download the app for the Tube

For us, it was all about walking and taking the tube.....Prepare to be tired but keep moving...So much to see and so much history and experiences in London. Plan. Plan. Plan.

1) Heathrow Express to/from the airport

2) Oyster card & the tube, all the way. Download a digital map of the tube before you go so that you can quickly figure out which line goes where.

3) Tour Parliament (so cool), Churchill's WWII bunkers, British Museum, Walk past Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Walk along the Thames, Lunch at BlackFriar's, Tour St. Paul's.

Yes, all of that is doable in a few days. Just did it a few months ago.

Don't skimp on time at Tower of London. Probably my favorite place and always a place I wish I'd seen more of. DEFINITELY ensure that you take guided warden tour.

Westminster Abbey is cool if you want to swap that in. Perhaps swap for the Bunkers if you're more into really old history.

Trafalgar Square is nice at night if you've got some energy left.

London Eye is nifty but easily skipped if you're on a tight timeframe.

Plan you days before you go and BUY TICKETS FOR EVERYTHING IN ADVANCE. My brother missed out on both the bunkers and Westminster on his one trip to London due to two hour lines to get in.

4) Download Rick Steve's audio tours of Europe app. Its an app where you can then download specific audio guides for parts of London. Really awesome. Totally free. He politely encourages you to buy his books, but its witty and does an amazing job of bringing to life big attractions in ways that make them accessible for a tourist seeing lots of sites.

I wouldn't do the British Museum or Saint Paul's without it. You could spend hours wandering aimlessly through the museum. He takes you through many big items with good and fun descriptions in about 60-90 minutes.

Tower of London, Parliament, the Bunkers and Westminster Abbey all offer their own live tours or audio guides. The Parliament audio guide is particularly well done, definitely pay for guides at these locations. Tower of London warden tour is included free with admission.
You left off the original Kentucky Fried Chicken..........
 
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Chuckinden

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Jun 12, 2006
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The restaurant in the truck stop on the north London exit has some legit country cooking. Other than that you're limited to Cheddars or Cracker Barrel. Also check out the iconic mill at Levi Jackson State Park. Have fun!!!
Has Texas Roadhouse opened yet?
 

wildcatdon

Active member
Oct 17, 2012
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Thanks to all who have contributed serious answers. I will pass the info to my wife.
 

awf

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May 31, 2006
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IF she opts for fish and chips tell her to only buy from a operation that only sells fish and chips and is painted light blue......also the haddock is always fried fresh and the cod is fried and stored under heat bulbs..........I highly recommend the Tower of London, Windsor Castle above all the attractions.......The London Eye is neat if you are not scared of heights.........I haven't been since 2010 when I spent six months over there......buy a transportation pass.....Metro Pass.....it allows you to ride the bus, tube and train..........travel is easy to use......read the maps on the walls........ they are everywhere.....if you are a big kid like me......Hamley's is a world famous toy store........there are great theater shows in the West End...........great shows and great dinning.......Brown's Courthouse is a 5* restaurant that is reasonably priced..........and if there is just a couple of people it is pretty easy to walk in without reservations......we've been there twice and never waited over 5 minutes....
 
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Bratkartoffeln

New member
Jan 1, 2003
3,641
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1) Get the Oyster card before you leave
2) Buy your Heathrow Express train tickets before you leave (dirt cheap)
3) Book your Parliament tour ahead....And we combined a guided tour with tea at Parliament. Awesome.
4) Went to the Globe Theatre for Shakespeare and a London Theatre play...Book those now.
5) Take the train to Windsor to tour Windsor Castle & have a fun lunch at a pub.
6) Check out the WW2 Churchill bunkers. Fascinating.
7) If on a Sunday, check out the organ concert at Westminster Abbey....and tour the Abbey at a different time...And St Pauls. If you are Methodist, go to John Wesley's Chapel.
8) Go to one of the markets....Good food and all things British
9) Harry Potter fan? Go find platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station
10) Tower of London is a must. Look for the ravens.
11). Find an old pub (not hard)....order a pint and fish n chips
12) see the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum (and other cool things)
13) Download the app for the Tube

For us, it was all about walking and taking the tube.....Prepare to be tired but keep moving...So much to see and so much history and experiences in London. Plan. Plan. Plan.

1) Heathrow Express to/from the airport

2) Oyster card & the tube, all the way. Download a digital map of the tube before you go so that you can quickly figure out which line goes where.

3) Tour Parliament (so cool), Churchill's WWII bunkers, British Museum, Walk past Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Walk along the Thames, Lunch at BlackFriar's, Tour St. Paul's.

Yes, all of that is doable in a few days. Just did it a few months ago.

Don't skimp on time at Tower of London. Probably my favorite place and always a place I wish I'd seen more of. DEFINITELY ensure that you take guided warden tour.

Westminster Abbey is cool if you want to swap that in. Perhaps swap for the Bunkers if you're more into really old history.

Trafalgar Square is nice at night if you've got some energy left.

London Eye is nifty but easily skipped if you're on a tight timeframe.

Plan you days before you go and BUY TICKETS FOR EVERYTHING IN ADVANCE. My brother missed out on both the bunkers and Westminster on his one trip to London due to two hour lines to get in.

4) Download Rick Steve's audio tours of Europe app. Its an app where you can then download specific audio guides for parts of London. Really awesome. Totally free. He politely encourages you to buy his books, but its witty and does an amazing job of bringing to life big attractions in ways that make them accessible for a tourist seeing lots of sites.

I wouldn't do the British Museum or Saint Paul's without it. You could spend hours wandering aimlessly through the museum. He takes you through many big items with good and fun descriptions in about 60-90 minutes.

Tower of London, Parliament, the Bunkers and Westminster Abbey all offer their own live tours or audio guides. The Parliament audio guide is particularly well done, definitely pay for guides at these locations. Tower of London warden tour is included free with admission.
I have laughed out loud at some of these replies, but seriously yours is amazingly helpful and if I were heading to London I would probably follow your directions closely. Once, as a staff officer assigned to a NATO headquarters, a bunch of us went to London for a week to study the "Battle of Britain." We went, among other places, to the WW II Churchill bunker. As you said, it was fascinating and I also highly recommend it. We also got a rental car that I drove for the week, enjoying immensely the experience of driving on the other side of the road...motorways included. The Imperial War Museum was also top notch; you have whetted my appetite to return there since I didn't get to do a lot of what you recommended. You made a greatly useful writeup here, good for many of us...thanks! European travel is unquestionably the best on the planet.