I’m going to London in a week. I’ll be there mostly for yoga stuff, but is there anything I shouldn’t leave London without doing?
For me the important thing about seeing London is walking and taking the Tube all over the place. And it is VERY easy to do so. I don’t know where your classes are, but most importantly . . .
- Stay somewhere in Central London.
- Buy an Oyster Card (travel pass for the busses and subway) for Zone 1 and maybe 2.
- Go all over the place. Don’t plan, just explore.
There’s awesome stuff to pay for and take the tours of (Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, etc) but they’re fairly pricey and take a lot of time. I consider it non-essential unless you have oodles of time and don’t mind blowing loads of cash. The best thing about the city is its long history, rich architecture, and bustling vibrant social culture. Be sure to pop in to some old pubs while you’re in town too.
Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Camden Town (losing a lot of its magic, but still a must go), too many cool parts to remember. Just get out and stumble around.
Don’t pay for taxis unless essential. Chances are there’s a tube stop within a block or two of anywhere you’re going.
Eat a bunch of Cornish pasties and enjoy the good convenience food that we get deprived of in the US. The sandwiches at EAT, Pret-a-Manger, and Marks and Spencer are delicious and affordable.
Best thing we did on my first visit was take a water taxi down the river. It’s nice to float along, but it’s also a great way to see a bunch of famous buildings (Parliament, the Tower, the Eye, the Gherkin, etc), and then you can figure out if any of it is worth seeing up close. I also really enjoyed the Natural History museum, but maybe that’s me being a nerd. Try to find high tea somewhere too.
Oh, and Gunnar mentioned pubs. That’s a must, but don’t tip! That threw me for a loop, but the batman told me to save my money. It’s not really expected unless service is amazing.
Agreed, Camden is a good place for shopping, people watching, snacking on pretty much any type of food you can think about, etc.
Mornington Crescent is one stop south on the Northern line (black) from Camden Town and has many clubs and pubs too. Lyttleton Arms pub is across from the MC tube stop and has great food and drinks and KOKO (a club/concert venue) is across the street (the three locations form a triangle).
Tip 10% if in a restaurant that has table service with a waiter/waitress. Many pubs are order at the bar, so no need to tip there.
Rose Vegetarian in Kingsbury is delicious vegetarian Indian and Chinese cuisine - hands down the best tikka masala I have ever had.
If you take a bus using an oyster card, make sure that you have enough on it or you have enough cash on you to make up the difference.
Hotels can be very expensive. Could always try a hostel to save costs.
As a rule if you’re not too far from the Thames you won’t be stuck for anything to do and see. It is such that you don’t need a guide or a book or whatever, you can just stroll around and you’ll find all sorts of cool places.
Places mentioned here already (Trafalgar, Picadilly, Camden) all need to be checked out. If you get decent weather walk down along by the Thames as far as you have time to, you’ll hit many interesting places such as Tate Modern (impressive structure more so than the content of what it has inside) and Battersea power station (which will probably be knocked soon so check it while you can). Camden market is good to check out and you’ll more than likely find something interesting to pick up. I think the old Astoria venue still stands but it might be changed to something else now. It’s been about 6 years since I’ve been in London and I remember checking it out (though it was closed). That was a “Ministry” venue. It had a very Filth Pig era dive feel about it.
Just avoid the Tube at peak times; it gets horribly cramped and the a/c regularly breaks. Using the Oyster card on the buses is a better way as you’ll see sights when travelling.
Using the Oyster card on the buses is a better way as you’ll see sights when travelling.
Very good point.
I mostly ride the Tube and avoid the buses because I hate trying to figure out the time tables, routes, etc. but you’re totally right about getting to SEE the area between the various stops and getting a much better sense of layout and direction of the area.
Cool, thank you all very much for the advice! Once we get there, I think busing and tubing around sounds great. Rose Vegetarian also sounds up my alley.
As a boring sober dude, I’ll miss out on the pubs but will try to make it up with shopping and the like. I’ll report back after the trip (which will also include a week and a half back in the States which I’m really excited for, it’s been over a year since I’ll have been home).
It’s a great town. Cool stuff everywhere.
as a londoner (for the past 6 years anyway), i agree with most of the above. walking and busses are better than the tube, the touristy things are worth doing (i’d recommend the ‘duck tours’ amphibious boat thing, where you drive around london then the bus drives into the thames for a short cruise), but camden has become a bit of a souless place, a shadow of its former glory. resurrection records isn’t even there anymore. there is some good stuff in camden, and as a tourist you will enjoy it still, but it is a pale immitation of what it once was 
oh, and the tipping thing - you’re not expected to tip, especially in pubs and bars. they might make you think you should on occassion, with little silver trays for the receipt and all, but it’s not the british way… feel free to tip if you have good service, but don’t do it as standard. and it doesn’t need to be 10% or 15% or whatever, it can be as much or as little as you like. some restaurants add a service charge to the bill automatically, which is the tip, so don’t tip twice on these occasions. in fact you can refuse to pay the service charge if you want (some places do take the piss).