Things to see, do and experience in London

(idea) by MrTunney (2.9 mon) (print) ? (I like it!) 2 C!s Sun Dec 31 2000 at 6:51:20

A couple of years ago I visited New York and to be honest it was overwhelming. Even with the aid of a good guide there was so much to do and see that the only places I actually got to visit were the touristy bits like the World Trade Centre and the various department stores. I wish I'd had a New Yorker show me around town or, at least, a list of places they'd recommend visiting.

I live in London and have done all my life. Here's just of a few of the places I'd recommend a tourist visits. Some are popular with tourists, some are not.

Tate Modern - A wonderful building full of wonderful art. Puts your faith back into modern art and Britain. The ill-fated Millenium Bridge stands outside. Maybe it'll be open some time soon?
www.tate.org.uk/modern/
Nearest Tube Station: Southwark (Jubilee Line)
Admission fee: Free (all donations gratefully received)

Ronnie Scott's - A jazz cafe in Soho. Every time I go I'm amazed and delighted by the talented musicians who play here.
Nearest Tube Station: Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly Lines)
Tickets: Ł5-Ł20 depending on act

The 5th Floor, Harvey Nicholl's - Straight out of Absolutely Fabulous. A pricey but outstanding resturant.
Nearest Tube Station: Knightsbridge (Piccadilly Line)
Avrage 3-course meal: Ł30-Ł50 excluding drinks

Cyberdog - A small clothes label, with stores in Covent Garden and Camden. I love their clothes, everything is bright and fun.
www.cyberdog.co.uk
Nearest Tube Station: Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line)
Clothes: Roughly Ł20 for a t-shirt to Ł150+ for some of their wilder creations.

Fabric - One of London's 'Super Clubs'. Some wonderful dance music is played here.
Nearest Tube Station: Farringdon (Bakerloo, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines)
Ticket prices: Ł12-Ł25 depending on acts

Solid Sunday, The Mean Fiddler - Quite a way off the beaten track in Neesden but if you enjoy house music then this is one to visit. Very popular with Australians and Kiwis, the place has an absolutely amazing atmosphere.
Nearest Tube Station: Willesden Junction (Bakerloo Line)
Prices: Ł3 before 5pm, Ł5 after.

Victoria and Albert Museum - Probably my favourite museum in London, situated in Kensington near the Natural History and Science Museums. Full of stuff the British stole from other countries when we were busy doing that empire thing.
Nearest Tube Station: South Kensington (Circle & District and Piccadilly Lines)
Admission Fee: Free

London is a big place and these are only my personal favourites. Ask around and you might find somewhere a bit more interesting than Buckingham Palace to visit.

(place) by dabcanboulet (2.2 wk) (print) ? (I like it!) 3 C!s Fri Oct 18 2002 at 5:08:29

Should you happen to find yourself with some time to spend in London, here are a few things to see, do and experience . . . (see notes at the end for why these are in this order)

* Covent Garden (the market and the district)
* the Tube
* walk the length of Regent Street
* the marvelous Indian restaurants (I've a London friend who claims to be addicted to curry)
* Westminster Abbey
* The V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum)
* take a tube journey that starts or ends at Covent Garden tube station (you'll know why when you use the station)
* Green Park
* try to walk past the Maple Leaf Pub on Maiden Lane on July 1st (Canada's birthday)
* the sense of history
* Hyde Park
* Speakers' Corner on a Sunday at 1pm (an opportunity to experience free speech in action)
* the Science Museum
* walk the full length of Shaftesbury Avenue
* the Crown Jewels (figure out how to steal them and (for lots of bonus points) test your theory and let me know how it turns out)
* Admiralty Arch
* the pie shop in Greenwich (it's on your right as you exit the Cutty Sark DLR station via the entrance towards the Cutty Sark)
* spend a few hours people watching (try one or more of Covent Garden market, Kensington, Soho, Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Leicester Square, anywhere near Bank station at around noon on a business day, Waterloo Station, Kings Cross Station (including the surrounding area (which is a bit seedy in places)), Heathrow (any terminal), etc)
* the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben's tower
* the statue of Raoul Wallenberg just north of Marble Arch tube station
* Paddington Station (make sure you check out the statue of Paddington Bear)
* Saint Martin in the Fields
* a concert at Saint Martin in the Fields
* Cleopatra's Needle (check out the bullet damage dating back to the Second World War)
* The British Museum and check out many fascinating exhibits like the Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, Reading Room, the old clocks (room 44), the Egyptian area and the totem pole in one of the stairwells
* the statue of a ballerina in Broad Court (near Covent Garden)
* The City of London Museum
* walk from Old Street tube station to Liverpool Street station (do it a few times and take a different route focusing on the narrower streets each time)
* the walking stick and umbrella shop in Holborn (I think that it's on the corner of Drury Lane and High Holborn but I might be off by a block or three)
* Harrods
* the antique book and print shops on the side streets connecting Charing Cross Road and St. Martin's Lane (the Internet including, in particular, eBay have pretty much killed these shops off)
* the statues along Embankment (road) from about Westminster Bridge to about Waterloo Bridge
* the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich
* take the Eurostar to Paris (get back in time for afternoon tea (grin))
* Trafalgar Square
* attend a live show in a West End theatre
* the abandoned bridge piers next to Blackfriars Bridge
* the Elephant and Castle area (make sure you walk all the way around the big traffic circle via the subways and check out the art on the subway walls)
* the Cabinet War Rooms just off Whitehall on Horse Guards Road
* attend something grand (like Carmina Burana presented by the Really Big Chorus) at Royal Albert Hall
* the fish and chip shop near Paddington Station (head down Praed Street and turn right onto Norfolk - the shop is the second entrance on your right)
* The Bank of England's museum
* the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich (arrive shortly before 1PM local time to watch the red ball drop (you'll figure it out but don't be late) and get a time stamp from the atomic clock)
the London Eye
* Saint Paul's Cathedral
* Victoria Station
* at least six different churches built by Sir Christopher Wren
* the shop in Greenwich that claims to be "The First Shop In The World" at 0 degrees 0 minutes 24 seconds longitude west (it's on the corner of Nelson Road and King William Walk)
* Nordic House at 26 King Street near Covent Garden (there's a photograph of it and some of the other landmarks on this list on my web site at www.bouletfermat.com/london/ (last accessed 2002/10/17))
* the building at One Cheapside (it has to be seen to be believed and there's nothing "cheap" about this address; check out the view facing east from the restaurant on the roof)
* Waterloo Station
* read the blue plaque describing where the discovery of penicillin happened (it's on the hospital building that's on the south west corner of the intersection of Praed Street and Norfolk Street which is about two blocks north of Paddington station)
* walk along Marylebone road from about Baker Street station to Euston station
* watch a London Knights ice hockey game (an interesting and educational experience for a Canadian hockey fan)
* visit Hamley's on Regent Street (an amazing toy store)
* the Bow Church on Cheapside (while you're there, figure out what the little brass markers are for in the small yard just to the west of the church and find Ironmongers Lane) and the Bow Church a few blocks south of Bow Church station on the Docklands Light Railway|DLR] (I've had two different Cockneys with a lot of knowledge about London tell me that each of these Bow Church's is the Bow Church whose bells determine if you're a Cockney (see the Cockney writeup for details))
* Manzi's restaurant (just off Leicester Square near Piccadilly Circus - really good seafood)
* the sense of "room" (in a physical and a mindset sense) for all cultures
* walk from Liverpool Street station to the Bank of England and then past Saint Paul's and on along Fleet Street and the Strand (take the bump along Aldwych) until you get to Trafalgar Square (it's a few miles but you'll see a lot of interesting things); turn around and walk back to Liverpool Street station but take a different route (repeat as necessary)
* visit Old Spitalfields Market on a Sunday morning (bonus points: get the name and address of one of the fellows who are selling things out of the boot of their car)
* take a few London taxi rides here and there (I suggest Paddington Station to Waterloo Station for a really quick look at some of the more touristy bits)
* stop for tea at least once a day (note that afternoon tea is to tea as West End Theatre is to junior high school drama)
* walk from Paddington Station, through Hyde Park, explore the public areas of Kensington Palace, walk along the south side of Hyde Park to Wellington Arch, along Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace, down The Mall, under Admiralty Arch to Trafalgar Square and then attend a concert at Saint Martin in the Fields before returning to your hotel via the London Underground|tube] (for maximum effect, make sure that you've just flown into London from far away and have been awake for a minimum of 35 hours when the concert starts and make sure that don't fall asleep during the quiet bits (don't do this more than once per lifetime))
* Selfridges
* the archway between Horse Guards Parade grounds and Whitehall (don't mess with the soldier guarding the passageway)
* wander around Grosvenor Square where the American Embassy is located (you don't want to have to do this when I went there even though it was an experience not-to-be-missed - September 22, 2001 on my first trip to London after the atrocities of September 11th)
* the Imperial War Museum which is located in the old Bedlam insane asylum - some might argue that the building's function hasn't changed all that much (grin)
* the walkway along the south bank of the Thames near Waterloo Station
* Tower Bridge
* share a meal with friends at Rules (they claim to be the oldest restaurant in London and they are excellent (and reasonably priced))
* the pedestrian tunnel under the Thames connecting Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs
* The Tower of London
* the Cutty Sark
* get a reasonably good map and try to walk along where the old Roman wall was located
* the South Bank Lion at the south end of Westminster Bridge (and the statue down in the park across Westminster Bridge Road from the South Bank Lion; sorry but I can't remember what it is called)
* Marylebone village area
* the remains of the Roman wall (there's an easy to see and touch section just outside Tower Hill tube station)
* stand in the very middle of the intersection above Bank tube station in plain sight of at least a dozen police officers at 1000am and casually take photographs in all directions; leave when you're ready (there's obviously a trick involved here but I've done it)
* the wall decorations at Tottenham Court Road tube station
* Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
* listen for the announcement for Piccadilly Circus tube station as you arrive on the Bakerloo line (pay particular attention to how the voice pronounces Piccadilly line)
* the north side of St. James Palace
* walk down Villier's Street from Charing Cross station to Embankment tube station
* the curved bridge over a segment of water which is visible off to the east as you travel towards Greenwich on the DLR just a few blocks south of Canary Wharf
* the understanding that history is important and worth spending money to preserve and document
* the strange pronunciations (Southwark is south-ark, Gloucester is glostr, etc)
* Fortnum & Mason
* the area roughly enclosed by Covent Garden, Holborn tube station, Marble Arch, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Waterloo Station and Charing Cross (a big area but one could spend years getting to know it well)
* fish and chips (the good stuff)
* Cockney Rhyming slang
* walk from Euston station through Marylebone and on to Paddington station via the smaller streets
* the Heathrow Express
* a meal at Faulkner's on Kingsland Road (an excellent fish and chips restaurant)
* the entertainers in and around Covent Garden market and Leicester Square
* the Canada Memorial in Green Park
* Wellington Arch and the nearby memorial to one of the British artillery regiments
* the London Transport Museum
* the Natural History Museum
* the Mad Hatter hotel (a nice place to stay at a reasonable price (for London) near Blackfriars Bridge in Southwark)
* The City (i.e. the square mile)
* The Lord Mayor's Parade (has to be seen to be truly appreciated) and the fireworks over the Thames that evening (stand on Waterloo Bridge facing east if I recall correctly - don't try to watch from either bank of the Thames as the view isn't anywhere near as good)
* the art displays on the platform at Gloucester Road tube station
* Southgate tube station
* walk across the Hungerford pedestrian bridge
* the walkway around the London Planetarium just north east of Waterloo Station (start at Waterloo Station and find your way to the National Theatre; a bit on the seedy side but worth the trip; check out the old hospital just east of the Planetarium on Stamford Street)
* Edgware Road tube station (there are two of them and both of them are worth seeing)
* the antique instruments shop on New Road (just off St. Martin's Lane)
* the Remembrance Day ceremony on Whitehall (truly awesome - definitely worth almost missing a flight for)
* the escalator at Angel tube station
* take a ride on a District line train (really old) and then take a ride on a Jubilee line train (really new); exit via Canary Wharf station and ask yourself just what sort of incredible traffic volume the station seems to have been designed for; drop by at 830am or 430pm to see if you're right (grin)
* get lost somewhere inside the area enclosed by the Circle Line and just wander around aimlessly for a day or a week or a month . . .
tour Buckingham Palace (my wife has done this and recommends it highly)
watch the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace
* visit Tate Modern
climb to the top of the Monument (near Monument tube station, of course)
tour HMS Belfast
* attend concerts at many of the other churches and concert halls in the London area (surf the 'net to find them)
visit the National Postal Museum
* take in an opera at the Royal Opera House (bonus points if it's Sleeping Beauty and you get REALLY good seats because you're never likely to get a chance to do this again)
* visit the London Aquarium
visit Regent's Park
watch a cricket match
watch a rugby match
watch a football game
visit the British Library
* see how many blue plaques you can find in a day (these are plaques which are mounted on walls of buildings to mark historic events or locations)
visit Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum
visit Diana, Princess of Wales's memorial in Green Park
* spend some time (and money?) in the antique shops on Portobello Road
* wander around some of the outer boroughs where the "real people" live
take a walking tour of Dickens' haunts
* visit the East End
try some cockles and mussels
* tour the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery (adjoining buildings on Trafalgar Square)
* spend a day or three taking random journeys on the tube - i.e. pick a station and go there, wander around the area around the station for a while and then dive back into the tube and go somewhere else (I've spent the equivalent of days doing exactly this in the evenings and it's a great way to learn London)
* see Antony Gormley's Field for the British Isles (it's on display in the British Museum until January 26th, 2003)
* take photographs of the Royal Courts of Justice building at midnight (because it's lit up by some spot lights) and get a chance to convince one of London's finest that you're not up to no good
(deleted - accidental duplicate)
buy a coffee at the Algerian coffee shop on Old Compton Road
* experience six different languages at once on a Tube platform
see a gig at the 100 Club on Oxford Street
check out (and maybe even use) the "pop-up" night toilets in the West end (see http://www.westminster.gov.uk/news/PR-886.cfm for details)
* hire a London taxi for the day and spend the time learning the geography of this grand city (this is not cheap but well worth the price)
* stay in the Ruskin Hotel on Montague Street and check out the painting in the parlour</