Trip to London

cotton31

cotton31

cotton31

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Hi all,

Taking the other half to London next weekend.

We're there for 3 days, seeing a show on the Friday night but don't have anything else planned.

So...what should we go and see/do? We're are staying near to Tower Bridge - what's good around there? Is it easy to get to everywhere I'd need to from there?

We've both started to get in to photography recently, so we're looking for things to snap!

Thanks :D
 
what show are you seeing and where (I'm not stalking honest lol)? have you made plans for food yet?

And honestly, I am sitting in THE square mile at the moment (work) and I have no idea what you could do for the rest of your time. I've not done a lot of it myself outside of plenty of shows in the west end and a few nice places to eat.
 
Do get a ticket for one of those open-top tourist busses, they're actually pretty good value - you can use them to get around and get a guided tour at the same time. The tube is great for getting around the city quickly, but you don't actually see the city while you're doing it. You'll be able to get one from the Tower of London, which is by Tower Bridge.
 
use buy one get one free vouchers from the daysout site. These are only valid if you travel by national rail but you arent can buy a rail ticket from a nearby station for a few quid each. Its all on moneysavingexpert.

Saved us hundreds last month :D

£28 for madam tussauds EACH otherwise :o
 
You can go to Borough Market for a good couple of hours and it's a great place for photography.
Whilst you're there walk round the corner to the river side and find the 16th century ship (The golden Hinde?)

You can walk further up along the riverside and you'll come across the Tower of London and also Shakespeare Globe.

If you're after quirky market places then head over to Camden, it's a pretty busy place over weekends but a lot to see and photograph there. If you want to visit a Zoo then London Zoo is close by.

In central London you can visit Oxford st (Tottenham Court Road all the way to Marble Arch. Huges department stores - Selfridges, John Lewis, House of FRazers and Debenhams along Oxford Circus to just past Bond St.

Stroll down Regent Street (from Oxford Circus) and you'll head towards Picadilly Circus. You'll see the world famous lights and from here you have a number of options. You can head towards Soho and also ChinaTown (If you want to eat then there's plenty of places around here, I'd recommend Joy King Lau and also HKDiner).
You can also go towards Leicester Square for the cinemas/theatres/ casino, etc. Past this you can head towards Covent Garden.

You can also visit Trafalgar Square and go under the three arches (Admiralty Arches) to enter the Mall and St James Park. You can go either:
1) Go to the other end of the park and you'll come to Buckingham Palace.
2) Alongside you can see Horseguard parade and this will lead towards Downing St/Whitehall.
The end of this road will lead to Embankment where you can see Big Ben and the houses of parliament. You will also see the London eye. Cross the bridge and you're heading towards Waterloo area.

British Museum (Tottenham Crt Road/Holborn) is an excellent museum to see artifacts of the world and is huge place.
Other museums near South Kensington - Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A. A bus ride away will get you to Harrods (Department Store for the rich and you might catch a quite a lot of supercars in the area.
 
You're staying near Tower Bridge, obvious answer is go to The Tower, go on a tour with a beefeater in a group. Well worth it.

Go to covent garden, Oxford street and the museums. HMS Belfast is also nearby. Tower bridge and Belfast and CG will make for good photos. The performers in CG tend to be quite eccentric and interesting.

Also London Zoo for wildlife photos? Although could do that at any zoo...

kd
 
Forgot to add you can also visit Brick Lane market at the weekends for marketstalls and a bustling environment. Head over to Stratford for the Westfield shopping centre and you can also see the Olympic stadium (amongst other stuff).
 
scorza said:
Do get a ticket for one of those open-top tourist busses, they're actually pretty good value - you can use them to get around and get a guided tour at the same time. The tube is great for getting around the city quickly, but you don't actually see the city while you're doing it. You'll be able to get one from the Tower of London, which is by Tower Bridge.
Click to expand...

However remember with the tube a lot of stations are closer together than they appear. As a (very broad) general rule of thumb any station within the circle line is pretty much walkable (unless you are walking from east to west!) if you are spending a day wondering around seeing the sites. For example Green Park to Covent Garden (through Trafalgar square) is around a 20 minute walk and even Marble arch to Holburn is only a 30-40 minute walk down down Oxford Street.

EDIT: They may seem like reasonably long distances but depending on the tube station you get to and how busy it is you can easily take just as long going by tube, especially thinks like Piccadilly to Covent Garden etc.
 
Last edited:
DBT85 said:
what show are you seeing and where (I'm not stalking honest lol)? have you made plans for food yet?

And honestly, I am sitting in THE square mile at the moment (work) and I have no idea what you could do for the rest of your time. I've not done a lot of it myself outside of plenty of shows in the west end and a few nice places to eat.
Click to expand...

We're seeing Wicked. Nothing sorted for food yet...

mithrandir said:
You can go to Borough Market for a good couple of hours and it's a great place for photography.
Whilst you're there walk round the corner to the river side and find the 16th century ship (The golden Hinde?)

You can walk further up along the riverside and you'll come across the Tower of London and also Shakespeare Globe.

If you're after quirky market places then head over to Camden, it's a pretty busy place over weekends but a lot to see and photograph there. If you want to visit a Zoo then London Zoo is close by.

In central London you can visit Oxford st (Tottenham Court Road all the way to Marble Arch. Huges department stores - Selfridges, John Lewis, House of FRazers and Debenhams along Oxford Circus to just past Bond St.

Stroll down Regent Street (from Oxford Circus) and you'll head towards Picadilly Circus. You'll see the world famous lights and from here you have a number of options. You can head towards Soho and also ChinaTown (If you want to eat then there's plenty of places around here, I'd recommend Joy King Lau and also HKDiner).
You can also go towards Leicester Square for the cinemas/theatres/ casino, etc. Past this you can head towards Covent Garden.

You can also visit Trafalgar Square and go under the three arches (Admiralty Arches) to enter the Mall and St James Park. You can go either:
1) Go to the other end of the park and you'll come to Buckingham Palace.
2) Alongside you can see Horseguard parade and this will lead towards Downing St/Whitehall.
The end of this road will lead to Embankment where you can see Big Ben and the houses of parliament. You will also see the London eye. Cross the bridge and you're heading towards Waterloo area.

British Museum (Tottenham Crt Road/Holborn) is an excellent museum to see artifacts of the world and is huge place.
Other museums near South Kensington - Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A. A bus ride away will get you to Harrods (Department Store for the rich and you might catch a quite a lot of supercars in the area.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's almost like a mini tour guide! :D

Thanks for the advice all.
 
cotton31 said:
We're seeing Wicked. Nothing sorted for food yet...



Thanks, that's almost like a mini tour guide! :D

Thanks for the advice all.
Click to expand...

He's got it pretty much spot on! :)

I w nt with the girl (now fiancee - proposed down in London, on Tower bridge) before Christmas. We stayed in an apartment by Tower Bridge, right above the Whetherspoons.

Obviously, the Tower of London is around which is really good as mentioned above, if you get a tour with a beefeater. Tower Bridge Tube is right opposite, use the tube it's amazing. Get the iphone / blackberry app though!

We went and watched Lion King whilst we were down there and that was amazing, well worth a look.

We had dinner at the hawksmoore (expensive, but amazing!!! It will ruin steak for you, forever).

Went to Harrods, took in some more of the sights (London Eye, Picadilli Circus etc).

The Imperial war Museum is amazing (and free) if that's your kind of thing.

On the banks by Tower Bridge you have a few decent pubs / bars. Golden Hinde isn't far off too (which is Francis Drakes ship -reconstructed though). Wagamommas is a decent, healthy option if you're after food - again on the bank. The anchor is a decent old fashioned pub.

You can fit so much into you time, so it's best to get organised early. Book your tickets to the show now, as they will sell out. If you're going to a restaurant, book it now again.

Enjoy, it's a great place :)
 
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