I’m leaving for London for six days on Monday to visit a friend. I don’t know anything about the city at all except for what I’ve gleaned from a lifetime of listening to Elvis Costello and the Clash. I went once before, but it was for a West Indian wedding, so all I remember is drinking lots of scotch with ice in it and hearing reggae versions of songs that I never thought I’d hear reggae versions of (example). I did learn that Brixton, where the wedding took place, is not as scary as the Clash makes it out to be.
So what I should do there? You’re worldly group, so I’m looking to you for advice. Nothing too crazy, please. I’m not going kayaking on the Thames or anything like that.
Also, any good books about London? I know there’s a lot of great English books, because otherwise how could they make all those Merchant-Ivory movies, right? But a disturbing number of those books take place in the English countryside or Italy or the Punjab. And weirdly, most of the mysteries seem to take place in Oxford.
I thought about reading “Of Human Bondage” but it’s way too long. I also thought about Martin Amis, but he was once in some kind of brat pack with Chris Hitchens and that pisses me off. Plus, I don’t like literary ladies’ men, not so much because my big college crush spurned me for one (who now writes about comic books and video games for Time magazine) but because it gets in the way of the whole suffering artist thing.
What I’m looking for is something along the lines of Theodore Dreiser or Raymond Chandler, only set in London. I want to be able to learn about where Mayfair is relative to SoHo and Oxford Street, while at the same time being entertained. So far I have a book about a London detective by the guy who write Remains Of the Day. But I’ve got a long flight and a long layover in Philly on the way there, so I need more.
Thanks in advance for any wisdom you have to offer.
Update: Thanks so much to everyone for their help! One more question: my cell phone won’t work there. Is there some convenient place I can rent/buy a cheap one that will work?
Jackmormon
If you’re looking for Raymond Chandler only set in London, you could always just try London Noir. On another note, some of the earlier Wodehouse novels are set in a version of London. Or you could try Monica Ali.
Cap'n Phealy
Nice Richard Thompson reference.
Ned R.
London, a favorite city of mine — been six times now. I can even tell you where the first readily available ATM is on your way out of Heathrow 3 terminal into the tube station (handily it’s right near the tube’s ticket window).
You’re right about Brixton — I went there for a low-key concert put on by friends in July 2005, had a wonderful time. There’s plenty of spots in London that aren’t the best but it’s like any other city that way. One time I stayed with a friend in East Ham and he was mentioning how surprised and irritated he was with the amount of people who assumed he lived in a ‘bad’ neighborhood — the only reason they did so as far as I could tell was because most folks who lived there were of Indian or Bangladeshi background, which says it all.
It’s not a novel but I highly enjoyed Peter Ackroyd’s London: The Biography as a portrait/study of the city written in recent years. That said probably something by Zadie Smith would be spot on in terms of fiction…
Ned R.
And if you just need to know where to get around, get a London A-Z guide. Trust me.
Ravi J
I haven’t been there, but I know London (and elsewhere in UK) they have excellent Indian restaurents – something we don’t have here in US except in New Jersey.
Joey Maloney
The London Dungeon
DougJ
Yeah, I looked at that but it was too heavy for carrying around on a trip.
Violet
Second the Zadie Smith suggestion. I enjoyed White Teeth – read it when it was first published. Definitely gives you a feel for the "real" London, not just the one tourists see.
And it’s not exactly highbrow, but you can’t go wrong with any of the P.G. Wodehouse Jeeves books. Not exactly current in terms of setting, but I guess they don’t move streets around all that much.
DougJ
Believe it or not, we have two pretty good Indian restaurants here in Rochester.
DougJ
Wow, that looks great. I already got two maps but they don’t look that good.
Ned R.
Stuff to do — I always try and visit the Tate Modern when I go, as the building itself is simply stunning while its repurposing as a massive art gallery is the type of thing that gives a good word to gentrification. IIRC the Millennium footbridge is right there as well.
As for food, do yourself a favor and to go Tayyab’s one night. Meantime, this blog entry from last month recommends Baraka as a fallback if Tayyab’s is too packed. Avoid Brick Lane for Indian food unless you have a friend who knows the good spots amid the tourist traps.
Ned R.
@DougJ:
Yeah, trust me, the guide is your friend. That plus a basic Tube pocket map will save you a LOT of worry.
Violet
Oh, and peruse a few Nick Hornby titles. You might find a few of them fit what you’re looking for.
SimplerDave
Bill Bryson’s Notes from a Small Island for a good slant on the factual stuff, and any Nick Hornby, especially High Fidelity for the fiction. And a second vote for the A-Z.
DougJ
Yeah, love those and I’ve read them all. I thought mentioning that after talking about the Clash and Elvis would make me sound like too much of a cliche.
Ned R.
Meantime a comment I just posted hasn’t appeared! So to quickly review it, some recommendations:
The Tate Modern — stunning building and location, wonderful collection. Great place to kill an afternoon if you are into art at all.
Foodwise, Tayyab’s in Whitechapel must be visited. Baraka has been recommended as an alternative if Tayyab’s is too packed. Avoid Brick Lane unless you have a friend who knows to avoid the tourist traps there.
AhabTExpropriator
It might be a little late, but you should see if you can get tickets to the "Ceremony of the Keys" at the Tower of London. It’s how they lock the Tower for the night. They have been doing it every night for ever and ever, and it’s really cool. It’s also cool to see the Yeomen Warders in there Beefeater costume, but with their modern service rifle, magazine locked (snicker. ask ’em, if the rifles are loaded).
Ned R.
Also I just noticed the comment recommending London Noir! Seconding that — I very casually know the editor, Cathi Unsworth, an excellent writer. Check out her novels as well.
EastFallowfield
Besides the obvious tourist sites, took a nice ride up the River Thames up to Greenwich. Some of the boats do the water taxi type treatment where you can hop on and off as the whims hit ya.
I had to hit Abbey Road, but that’s the generation before Elvis C.
Violet
Yeah, it does kind of sound that way, doesn’t it? He’s good though. If you can stomach chick lit, the Bridget Jones books are good for getting a sense of London. Perhaps a bit dated now. Good for a laugh though.
Ned R.
*Ignore this entry, a post of mine finally appeared. Am thinking of other options!*
JenJen
Hmmm… London! Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, Saturday mornings. Do not miss. Gorgeous neighborhood and feels like "real" London.
Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner on Sunday mornings is fascinating. I could spend hours there with my jaw agape.
Richard Porter, the "Beatles Brain of London," is still giving his fantastic Beatles Walking Tours. Covers a lot of ground, so be ready to walk swiftly. He throws in great tidbits about other London rock notables along the way, too.
That’s my not-so-touristy short list, but also if you have a half-day to spend at the Tower of London, I’d try not to miss that, either.
erik
The John Soane Museum is terrific, housing the collection of an 18th c. architect in a house he designed himself (http://www.soane.org/); people who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.
stickler
I’ve heard that Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about London some. There must be some useful descriptions of the city in their works. Start with _Oliver Twist_.
Comrade Stuck
Don’t go outside if you don’t want your picture taken. There are video spies everwhere, so keep your fly zipped at all times.
Dispatch from Stuck’s Bunker in the High Desert.
KeithW
You just have to go on the London Eye
stickler
Oh, and you should peruse Samuel Pepys’s blog:
http://www.pepysdiary.com/
He keeps up a running commentary of what he’s doing every day. Kind of interesting, and a good portrait of what daily life in London is like.
Jane
London Eye – expensive and always a queue but worth it, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, Science Museum, Soho there are some great pubs and restaurants there. Regents street for window shopping, Oxford street is pretty nasty and tourist trap like. If the weather is nice while you are over here going out to somewhere like Richmond and visiting a pub by the river is very nice, you get to see another part of the city again.
Getting an A to Z is a very good idea as is getting a copy of Time Out it will have listings of what’s on while you are in London. I’m sure your friend will have more than a few ideas too.
Now it is really touristy but a river trip is great way to see some of the famous sights.
I hope you have a wonderful time.
Violet
You could read some of the Harry Potter books for an English cliche trifecta.
Ned R.
Meantime, a bunch of London-based friends and acquaintances are the brains behind a long running culture and everything else site, Freaky Trigger, which I highly recommend in general for talk about, well, everything — it started out as a music site in 1999 and has grown since, though music is still the key. They do have good and regularly updated sections on food and pubs, more random personal impressions than systematic reviews, but they always nail it in my experience, so use them for suggestions.
eastriver
Used to live there. Lots of fun.
Yes, get curry. Just don’t ask for it hot, nevermind extra-hot. Your ass will burn a day later.
Walk as much as you can. Most especially around Hampstead Heath, Chelsea/Belgravia/Knightsbridge, Hyde Park, along the Thames. Stop for a pint at any pub that you think will make a good name for a rock band.
Do the National Gallery, Tate, and Brit Museum. Most especially the V&A; great cream tea in the V&A cafeteria.
Do not order a hamburger, anywhere in the country, not matter how tempting.
If you can, stay away from Leicster Sq, Picadilly Cl, Trafalgar Sq, ect. Go to the West End/Soho only for pizza or theater.
Eric Martin
I bought an A to Z guide book
Trying to find the clubs and YMCAs
(ps: I liked White Teeth by Zadie Smith as mentioned upthread)
DougJ
Those are children’s book. I actually did read Bridget Jones and saw the movie, both of which I found quite charming.
Pennypacker
I lived in London for a few years. Things I love doing whenever I visit, in no particular order:
The Victoria & Albert Museum — One of my favorite museums in all the world for design.
The Tate and/or The Tate Modern — For art.
Take London cabs everywhere, since it’s a good way to see the city. Talk to the drivers, they’re interesting people.
As soon you arrive in London, buy a Time Out magazine and look for some entertainment. You cannot be bored in this city.
It may be dorky, but I enjoy taking one of those boat tours up the Thames. It’s a good way to see the city from unique vantage points.
The British Museum is amazing.
DougJ
What’s V&A?
Ned R.
@eastriver: Walk as much as you can.
Can’t be stressed enough. If you rent a car in London you’re nuts.
Do not order a hamburger, anywhere in the country, not matter how tempting.
Similarly, anything advertising itself as ‘Mexican food’ — RUN FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, RUN!
If you can, stay away from Leicster Sq, Picadilly Cl, Trafalgar Sq, ect. Go to the West End/Soho only for pizza or theater.
Big yes to both. (And there are some good Italian spots around if you need a fix — I was pleasantly surprised at finding a solid Korean spot last time I was there, could have been in Koreatown in LA.)
Ned R.
V&A — Victoria & Albert Museum.
Mike in NC
I spent three weeks in the UK in 2003 for a NATO exercise, including about five days in London proper. That actually only permitted 4-6 hours off to play tourist. We took a taxi to the nearest Underground station from there went to see Picadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Downing Street, Parliament, Big Ben and a few other places along the Thames. Hit a couple of pubs, did some shopping, had dinner, then visited the Imperial War Museum before heading back to the motel. After living in the DC area for years, where you can’t even drink a bottle of water on the Metro, it was cool seeing everyone in the Tube stations drinking beer. Can’t wait to go back.
Ned R.
I seem to have preserved some of Pennypacker’s observations before the post was edited! Sorry about that! (Whoops, my mistake, I was quoting eastriver — all this is coming fast and furious.)
DougJ
You can drink beer on the Tube? How about when you’re walking around?
Arachnae
1.) Go EVERYWHERE on the tube. Parts of the subway system date back to the nineteenth century – it’s very cool.
2.) Visit the Cabinet War Rooms. These rooms were pretty much locked up and left after the war ended and when they reopened them again, it was like a time capsule. Now you can go thru them and see the Actual Coffee Stains on the Maps kind of thing. It’s surprisingly interesting.
3.) The British Museum. But only if you like mummies – there is room after room full of mummies – people mummies, cat mummies, crocodile mummies…
4.) Harrods. You can literally get anything at Harrods. Devote a day. Take the elevator to the top floor (saddles and equesterianna) and work your way down. There are pubs and restaurants sprinkled throughout so you won’t starve while you explore.
take pix. report back.
srv
You’ll need to man up on sarcasm if you want to try out your trolling skills there.
Ned R.
Oh BTW, where’s your friend live in London, Doug? If he/she is in Zone 1 or 2 — and they’ll know what that means — get a seven-day Travelcard for those spots as soon as you land and get to a Tube station, and you’re good as gold for the rest of your week. Most everything you’ll want to go see will be within those areas. (The airports are Zone 6 or beyond but you’ll only need to go to and from there once, hopefully!)
Svensker
London Town
I’m jealous. Have a great time.
Arachnae
Addendum – don’t order the lamb. Anywhere. Well, maybe at an indian curry shop… the English believe lamb should be cooked to the consistency of fine shoe leather.
Brachiator
from One Minute Book Reviews
When a plot is your passport
Can’t afford that big trip you’d hoped to take this summer? Reading an atmospheric mystery or thriller can help to keep the fantasy aglow until next year. And Bill Peschel has reviewed lots that are set in places I’d love to revisit or revisit. Some of the novels he’s covered and their backdrops include:
Hawaii: Dan Gordon’s Just Play Dead (St. Martin’s, 1999)
Paris in the 1920s: Water Satterthwait’s Masquerade (St. Martin’s, 1999)
London: Simon Shaw’s A Company of Knaves (Minotaur, 1998)
Rural England: Ann Granger’s A Word After Dying (Avon, 1999)
Edinburgh: Ian Rankin’s Dead Souls (Orion, 2005)
The Everglades: Carl Hiaasen’s Nature Girl (Knopf, 2006)
You can read more about these novels at Planet Peschel http://www.planetpeschel.com, where you’ll also find reviews of many other books in those genres.
Jack
To kill time and catch some London vibes, reading "A Certain Justice" by P.D. James (Knopf, 1997) might do the trick. It’s one of the many murder mysteries in her series featuring Adam Dalgliesh. Some books in this series are set in the English countryside, but this one takes place in London. As in all her novels, characters are well developed and scenes are richly described, though she doesn’t indulge in local color for the sake of local color. I’m very fond of Chandler, and I’m equally fond of James. You have to pay attention when you’re reading James’s novels, though, as you must do with Chandler’s. It’s not the kind of detective story that you can breeze through, like one of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels.
LondonLee
The British Library is amazing: The Lindisfarne Gospels, Magna Carta, and handwritten Beatles’ lyrics all on display.
My favourite London novels:
Night & The City – Gerald Kersch
Absolute Beginners – Colin MacInnes
Mother London – Michael Moorcock
Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky – Patrick Hamilton
If you have a strong stomach the crime novels of Derek Raymond are good for dark noir set in Soho.
Brixton is pretty gentrified these days. It was scary in places when The Clash were writing songs about it, not anymore.
SGEW
Requisite lame Yankee tourist recommendations for London:
– The British Museum. Fo realz! The Rosetta Stone! Cromwell’s Death Mask! Shitloads of creepy Aramaic crap! And metric ton after metric ton of priceless olde artefacts bloodily plundered from native lands, despite their pleas and complaints! Hurry and see it all before they have to give it back: and it’s free admission, from what I remember.
– Relatedly, check out th’ Tate (Modern). Totally, totally worth it (if you have any interest in modern art, natch). One of the best art museums I’ve been to.
– Skip th’ "Dungeon." Srsly. Cheesy and gauche, imho.
– Similarly, I would advise against visiting any of the royal attractions (Buckingham, etc.). If you want to see palaces, cathedrals, or other impressive stone heaps, visit the Continent. The Brits never recovered after their Fire, afaict.
– Shame you’re missing The Globe’s production schedule . . . but I hear that their lineup sucks balls this year (Romeo & Juliet again, blech). Worth seeing the place just for the place, tho’.
– I’d recommend it but, alas, the Cutty Sark burned down since I was there. Sniff. Everything lovely in England burns down.
– Finally: Pub crawl pretty much anywhere, you’ll get the feel. And enjoy trying to find transportation after midnight.
[edited for format. Also: everyone else is all over this]
Paul Crowley
A Londoner’s recommendations, some echoing other comments:
– As the man says, do not rent a car. London is not a good city for that. Get a one-week Oyster card when you arrive that will take you from wherever you are staying into Zone One. If you ask at the station when you arrive they’ll explain what I just said :-) This will give you free travel on all buses and central Tube and train journeys. To plan a journey, or to get maps to print out, check http://www.tfl.gov.uk.
– Don’t take a taxi from the airport – the airports are all a long way from the city. Get the train.
– Go on the London Eye, the view is amazing. Good for day or night.
– British Museum, Science Museum, Natural History museum all good.
– There are nice hamburgers in London – Ruby in the Dust in Camden certainly used to do really amazing home made ones.
– Contrary to the comment above, you can’t drink beer on the Tube anymore. Thank our new Tory mayor, Boris the clown.
– Feel free to get in touch if I can be any more help!
Ned R.
@SGEW: And enjoy trying to find transportation after midnight.
Hey, that’s easy — get to Trafalgar Square, wait for a night bus. Then panic. ;-)
Warren Terra
And, of course, to make sure you’re up to date with the astounding recent events in London, make sure you’ve seen all of the completely factual episodes of the revived BBC-produced Drama Documentary series Doctor Who. Why, some of those events will quite strain anyone’s credulity! Although I think that the main things I learned about London are (1) that it looks a lot like Cardiff and (2) that it’s a risky place to be around Christmas.
passerby
I’ve never travelled to England and I wish I were going.
Ned R. you are rockin’ the info. Thanks.
And Doug, aside from the Indian cuisine that Ravi recommended, please, could you give us your take in a food (and beverage) experience report when you get back?
p.s: I’m one of those people who’ll gladly sit and watch slides and listen to stories of someone’s trip to anywhere.
Ned R.
@Paul Crowley: A Londoner’s recommendations.
From the source! (Remind me, are Oystercard and Travelcard interchangeable terms now?)
Arachnae
Oh! and Westminster Abbey. You know there’s a poet’s corner. Did you know there’s a number of Scientific Greats there as well? Isaac Newton. Charles Darwin…
Church Lady
I second what some others have said – the V&A and the Tate are both fabulous. As a sideline, I’m an antique dealer specializing in 18th & 19th Century English Country and French Country antiques. If you love antiques, Portabello Road in Notting Hill is the absolute best way to spend a Saturday morning. Just be sure to get there really early, because the crowds really start to build up as the morning wears on. By noon, you can barely move, either on the sidewalks or on the street.
Don’t even bother with the Bermondsey or Camden Passage Markets. They peaked in the 90’s and now have the vibe of going to a garage sale.
Just prepare yourself for the sticker shock on the price of anything. The exchange rate is a killer. It’s somewhat depressing to pay something along the lines of $20 for a crappy burger and soggy fries. Also, be prepared to beg for more ice for any drink you would normally associate with requiring it.
Have a great trip and know that I’m pea green with envy. I love, love, love London. It’s akin to going to a much prettier (and historic) version of NYC.
Ned R.
@passerby: Ned R. you are rockin’ the info. Thanks.
Hey, too kind, but I’m just a visitor there! Paul and others have full-on experience, trust their judgments.
Pennypacker
BTW, if you want Indian food that is not the usual London curry joint, I have had several good meals at Vama’s, a very nice place in Chelsea & South Kensington: http://www.vama.co.uk/
calipygian
Other great reggae versions of songs that you’d never think would make covers include Toots and the Maytals covering "Country Roads" by John Denver.
Astoundingly good.
Jennifer
If you want to see something most tourists miss, there’s a fabulous little museum unknown to just about everyone but architecture dorks – the Sir John Soane House at Lincoln Inn’s Fields. Soane was a very forward-thinking amateur architect and quite the collector of art, both ancient and contemporary (for him – late 1700s) and it’s an odd house, but really interesting. I also enjoyed the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and the area around Covent Garden market. And should you be so inclined, Stonehenge is only a couple of hours out of London, and very much worth seeing.
DougJ
Lambeth, right near the Vauxhall bridge.
kommrade reproductive vigor
I’d like to help you but I’m too busy struggling with these intense pangs of envy.
Ned R.
@Church Lady: Just prepare yourself for the sticker shock on the price of anything. The exchange rate is a killer.
VERY true. That you’re staying with a friend, Doug, is key — hotel rates would knock the wind out of your sails alone. Thus the importance, as Paul has emphasized, of getting your transportation pass sorted upon arrival — pay for it, be done with it, don’t worry about it, you want to avoid racking up any more costs there you already have. Eat in all breakfasts and have something simple to nibble on while walking between lunch and dinner (if you’re not taking tea, that is).
Also, going to a pub with a big group as a visitor is handy as I’ve found that as a guest everyone else will insist on paying for a round instead of yourself.
JenJen
@Arachnae: Seconded! Do not miss the food stalls at Harrod’s. They are freaking mind-blowing.
Church Lady
Oh, I almost forgot – the Food Hall at Harrods. It is amazing.
And, of course, mind the gap. :)
Ned R.
@DougJ: Lambeth, right near the Vauxhall bridge.
Perfect, you’re set — get that Zone 1-2 card as Paul and I noted upon arrival and you are totally golden.
eastriver
Another big suggestion. See theater, but try to stick to fringe stuff. Most of the big shows in the West End will be old and tired. You’ll see some amazing shit at smaller theaters. The trick is to find out what’s worth the trip. You’re going when alot of stuff is opening, so you’re lucky that way. Time Out is a good resource. Ask people while you’re there for suggestions. Just don’t ask at touristy spots, or they’ll point you to stuff they think you’ll like (as an American) as opposed to what’s actually good.
DougJ
Wow, you guys are *really* helpful. This is great!
DougJ
So I’m in Zone 2 there?
Ned R.
@Church Lady: And, of course, mind the gap. :)
And if you are taking the Piccadilly line out of Heathrow upon arrival, allow yourself the inevitable snigger that you will be told, many times, that you are headed for Cockfosters.
DougJ
What is that like? I’ve heard of it before but don’t really know what it is.
Royston Vasey
Go for a curry in Brick Lane/Bethnal Green area. It;s just to the east of City of London, and marks the start of the East End.
RV
LondonLee
And contrary to what has been said here, you can get a very good burger in London – try The Gourmet Burger Kitchen chain.
You can drink on the street in London, perfect on a nice day for standing outside a pub with a beer or even taking it to a nearby park.
Ned R.
@DougJ: So I’m in Zone 2 there?
You’re in Zone 1, but you can’t just get a Zone 1 card, unless I’ve missed something — I’ll defer to Paul there! Zone 2 covers a lot of stuff that can be of potential interest, such as Greenwich. Basically, it’s the best deal you’ll get, and more importantly really will be all you need unless you’re dead set about going to, I don’t know, Watford or something.
Pennypacker
It’s pornography for foodies.
Violet
Harry Potter books are children’s books? *gasp* A few adults would be happy to dispute this with you (ad nauseum) should you be so inclined. (I’m in agreement, although I enjoy them).
It’s sad about the no-beer-on-the-tube change. They went out with a big party, though. Photos are video are available.
Complimentary Airsickness Bag
This thread is a terrific resource for London-bound travelers, worth more than a thousand dumbass Trip Advisor posts about cab tipping and warm beer. Give this a travel tag so it’s easier to find later.
Ned R.
@Royston Vasey: Ah Mr. Royston, another League of Gentlemen fan, I see. ;-)
Tim in SF
If you get bored, you could put on a Guy Fawkes mask and blow up Parliament.
Royston Vasey
@DougJ: The foodhall has some cool foods that you might not be able to find elsewhere. It also has quite an amazing Ice Cream Parlour. Worth a visit, albeit for a short time. Plus the Victorian pile that is he Natural History Musuem is the next tube stop down.
The one-day 2-zone travelcard will be adequate for Lambeth and the inner city. Covers all your tubes and buses in those zones. Prices are more if you buy before 9:30am
RV
Royston Vasey
@Ned R.: My cover has been rumbled!!
RV
mellowjohn
if you go out west, catch hampton court, the palace cardinal wolsey built for himself and then "gave" to henry VIII. (didn’t save wolsey his head, tho.)
also, kew gardens if you’re into that kind of thing.
in richmond, there are two great riverside pubs: the white cross and the waterman’s arms.
Violet
You’re going at a good time, given that you’ve got dollars. The exchange rate is much improved over what it was in late 2007. Dollar:pound was almost 2:1. Just breathing seemed expensive. It’s not quite as good as it was a month or so ago, but it’s still much better than it has been in several years.
JenJen
@DougJ: Great photos of Harrods Food Halls. Go hungry, and with a serious amount of cash.
Before I went, I was told I will have never seen anything like it, and of course I didn’t believe it. I have never seen anything like it, seriously.
LondonLee
I’d avoid Harrod’s personally, horrible packed tourist trap and the Food Halls haven’t been the same since they stopped displaying the Wild Game.
Liberty’s and Harvey Nichol’s are much nicer dept. stores.
Church Lady
@DougJ-
Everything you could ever wish to see in the way of foodstuffs. Room after room of food – don’t go hungry, or you will spend a fortune. Huge sections to devoted to baked goods, all calling your name. A gigantic butcher shop, carrying every cut of meat you could possibly imagine. Candy from all over the world. Cheese, cheese, cheese – stuff you’ve never heard of, from countries you didn’t know make it. Jams, jellies, biscuits – aisle after aisle. A huge seafood market, filled with things you would love to eat and things you couldn’t imagine putting in your mouth.
It’s absolutely overwhelming, and you could spend hours there. Set yourself a time limit, but don’t miss it.
Dave C
DougJ – you should read Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman on the plane ride over.
DougJ
@Paul
Thanks.
Royston Vasey
@Violet: You should have a read of the "His Dark materials" series (aka The Golden Compass trilogy). Most entertaining. For kids, and adults who have an imagination.
RV
Elderta
Hello! I too, am going to London for twelve days in April and I’ve been reading some stuff that seems like strange fun. I’ve been to Heathrow twice (on the way to Amsterdam), but this will be the first time I’ve have left the terminal.
This year is Dr. Samuel Johnson’s 300th birthday, so if you are a geek like me, it’s a good time to visit his house, which is down the street from the Temple Church (Knights of the Templar), as well as Prince Henry’s room, Fleet Street and some monuments to the fire of 1666. The Old Bailey isn’t far, and I’ve heard it’s great fun to go and see a court case or just visit the museum. I’m also going to head to the Old Operating Theater, but I told you, I’m a bit of a geek.
Brighton is on my list of things to do (or Canterbury to see where Thomas a Becket died), and even though it’s cheesy, hopping a ride on the London Eye. Someone mentioned that the London Dungeon was a good place, but all I’ve read about it hasn’t been thrilling. I went to the Torture Museum in Amsterdam, and frankly, it kinda reminded me of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.
The Churchill Museum, the British Library and British Museum, maybe the V&A, definitely the Tower of London, the Globe, the Imperial War Museum, the Hyde Park Speaker’s Corner, a couple of palaces, a dozen pubs. My schedule is going to be packed!
I’m heading off after a few days to visit a friend in a small town near Gloucester and then to Bath for a day. Oh, and to rest up from London.
The A-Zed my friend loaned me will really come in handy, and I am taking Rick Steve’s London 2009 with me. I went to the library today and got a bunch of books out to see other what else is out there: The Unofficial Guide to London, FRommer’s and Access London.
Anyway, have a great trip!
Royston Vasey
@mellowjohn: Riverside pubs…..a MUST on a good day. Try the river by Hammersmith Bridge, just a short walk from Hammersmith tube
The Dove
The Blue Anchor
The Old Ship
RV
Ned R.
@Royston Vasey: My cover has been rumbled!!
"Are you…LOCAL?"
Cell phones — DougJ, I swear, you will not be able to move fifty feet without finding such a place. Londoners love cell phones more than SoCal people, and that’s saying something. I seriously think that’s the number one positive invention for that city *since* the Tube.
DougJ
That sounds like fun.
Ripley
Through the ages, kinda:
Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes short stories are descriptive of London, and active, if not quite action-packed. Plot-wise, they can seem formulaic, but it’s worth recalling that they set the formula.
Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair is a searing WWII-era tale of loss and woe. Good way to gear up for an all-day, rumination-plagued pub slog.
And give Amis a try; London Fields is worthy, a decent late-Thatcher era irony-fest that morphs into a panic attack via heartbreak, and ends somehow hopefully. As for the Hitchens connection, we all have a few skeletons in the closet, though maybe not so gin-bloated and insane.
Have fun. I’m envious.
JenJen
Most US carriers offer international service; might want to just call your carrier and see what they’d charge to activate international roaming for a week; I think it’s pretty freaking expensive though.
Both Heathrow and Gatwick have rental cell phone kiosks, and that may be cheaper. Pick up at the airport and return on your way back.
Not sure about this, but couldn’t you just buy a new SIM card while in London, pop it in and make your phone work? And if you have an iPhone, you can download Fring, which allows you to Skype using wifi!
Edit: Lots more on cell phone options in London at link below… and yes, buying a UK SIM card is an option!
http://golondon.about.com/od/planningyourtrip/a/cellphones.htm
UK SIM card: http://www.cellularabroad.com/ukSIMcard.php
eponymous
I’ll have to agree on going to the Portabello Road open market on Saturday morning – will likely be packed to the gills, but it’s fun if you like antiques.
My personal favorites are the bookstores on Charing Cross Road (and vicinity) – both the small shops that sell used/vintage books and the larger megastores that sell everything (i.e. Foyles).
I’d also recommend visting Gordons Wine Bar – the oldest in London and quite funky.
I’d also recommend visiting the Royal Observatory in Greenwich if only for the fact that you can actually stradle the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Seretse
Pickwick Papers is the answer.
Mike in NC
Reminds me of that classic Monty Python skit. "Cheddar? Not many people ask for it."
Ned R.
One other vacation-related tip in general — never overpack your schedule. You can’t do everything or see everything on a trip, and London’s a classic example of that, so don’t try — and you’re on vacation, that means allow yourself time to REST. Sleep in in the mornings, set aside at least one day for absolutely nothing planned beyond whim. You’ll have a much more truly individual and interesting time that way.
DougJ
My phone’s not GSM. I’ll check out the rental kiosks.
TruthOfAngels
Being a limey myself, and having travelled from Heathrow to SF quite recently, there will be a chance to rent a mobile phone as you walk from the ‘plane to the check-in, so keep your eyes peeled.
P.S. I hate London, despite all its good points, but then I’m allowed to. I grew up in a town that installed cycle tracks and pedestrian walkways in 1947. 1947, bitchez! Makes today’s Johnny-come-lately ‘environmentalists who realised there was a problem in the 1970s’ look a day late and a dollar short, doesn’t it? On the other hand, it was quite a dull town, unlike London, which is very interesting, so swings and roundabouts, I suppose.
:)
JenJen
@DougJ: Check this out:
http://www.cellularabroad.com/ukRcell.php
You can rent the phone before you leave and have it shipped to you; that way, you can give everyone your London phone number before you depart. :-) Very reasonable prices (you still have to buy the SIM but it’s yours for your next trip); they do require a hefty deposit but this is the option I’d have used had I known it existed! Free incoming calls, and only 4p per minute for calls back to the US.
Comrade Stuck
Just kidding with my first comment, mostly. Anyways, have a good safe trip. and loads of fun. I think the tubes cross under the pond or bounce off a sputnik or two, so we’ll be looking for some blagging from the British Isle. And say hello for me to Kate Beckinsdale, if you see her:)
dr. luba
It’s been a while since I’ve been to London–my friends have moved on from there, sadly. Still, lots of fond memories and a great place to spend a few days.
Do get the A-Z (invaluable) and a copy of Time Out. Both are available at tobscconists everywhere (along wiht sweets and smokes).
Spend time wandering along the Embankment and just enjoy the sights.
Consider a guided walk–there’s a few on every day, and they’re listed in Time Out. I particularly enjoyed the Sherlock Holmes walk and the Jack the Ripper (the East End by night).
And spend a bit of time at the National Gallery–some truly incredible art, including some transcendent Piero de la Francescas. The Portrait Gallery next door is fun, too. And then there are the Turner Gallery at the Tate, and the pediment of the Parthenon (Elgin marbles) at the British Museum.
Check out the half price ticket booth in Leicester Square, and see some really good plays quite cheaply.
Be prepared to be sold bland, uninspired food at premium prices. Pick up sandwich to go instead, and eat al fresco inthe park. And know that you’ll pay in pounds what you’d pay in dollars at home for just about everything.
Most of all, have fun!
Elderta
The exchange rate, btw, is actually pretty good now, one pound forty to the dollar. I’m hoping it goes down to 1.30 to the dollar by the time I get there… though of course, I wouldn’t want complete market collapse or anything like that just for a … cheaper trip…
Tokyokie
I’m a movie buff, and contrary to others’ suggestions, I’d head to Leicester Square to catch a movie in the main auditorium of the Leicester Square Odeon. It’s lost a bit of its grandeur, but it’s one of the few grand, big-city movie palaces from the 1930s that still operational anywhere.
Anyway, my folks lived there years ago, and maybe it’s because I always got stuck with the duty of taking out-of-town guests to the Tower of London that I got sick of it, but it’s a tourist site that I’d advise skipping. Lots of suits or armor, they herd you past the crown jewels so fast you can’t even figure out what’s what and it pretty much kills the whole bloody day. I would venture down to Elephant & Castle to see the Imperial War Museum however. And if you have a day to kill, try spending it at Foyle’s, one of the world’s largest, and most maddeningly organized, bookstores.
Violet
We found the cheapest option was to get a cheapie pay-as-you-go phone while there. Depends on the service plan and phone you have in the US, but we found it to be more expensive to try to get the one week upgrade in service and/or change out the card.
The cheapie phones are readily available, like you’d find them here in Target or whatever. Since your friend lives there, maybe you could ask him or her to price them for you at a local shop and if the price seems reasonable, pick one up for you.
We also found this option to be cheaper than renting them from the airport.
One advantage of having a UK local phone is that you have a UK number, so if people resident in the UK want to phone you its not at international charge levels (depending on their plan, of course). We found this to be an advantage for us, although less of an advantage for folks in the US who might want to get in touch with us.
The Other Steve
I lived in Bracknell, England for a few months and have been to London many a time.
There’s the usual tourist things to see. The Eye, St. Paul’s, Tower of London, Parliament, Museums and so on. When you get to the airport in London buy a tourist map. It’ll have the streets and locations of various important places.
But here’s the most important piece of advice ever given.
WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES!
In fact, I would advise… go to your local REI or other sporting goods store and buy a pair of Superfeet insoles, and several pairs of light wool hiking/walking socks. The superfeet insoles are incredible, and the wool socks will help keep your feet dry.
And bring along a kit for blisters.
I also advise carrying a bag. A medium sized timbuk2 messenger is good. You’re going to want to carry with you camera, bottle of water, maps, etc.
Bring a rain coat. Temps going to be around 40-50… and London is unpredictable in terms of rain. It’ll rain for 30 minutes then be clear for several hours.
Why all this?
Simple, because while there is a wonderful subway system, and busses and taxis and such. As a tourist, you are going to want to walk. And you’ll do a lot of walking. More walking then you’ve ever done in your entire life. Everything on the map will just look easier to walk to, and it is. It’s just there is so much.
Because block after block, there are just so many interesting things to see. You’ll travel through Westminster, and one block will be Parliament, and another will be their Court building, and another will be the Templar Church, and so on. It’s just so fascinating.
The best food I found was sandwiches in museum shops, or indian or thai restaurants. The british food is pretty lousy, except the sandwiches. You’ll find delightful things like a tuna sandwich on a bread with walnuts in it.
That’s my advice. WEAR COMFORTABLE SHOES.
As far as reading… I actually brought Lord of the Rings with me. :-)
Ned R.
@Tokyokie: And if you have a day to kill, try spending it at Foyle’s, one of the world’s largest, and most maddeningly organized, bookstores.
It’s so lovely to get lost in there. As I’ve done before.
DougJ
@JenJen and Violet:
Thanks for the cell phone tips. My sister, who’s a big traveler, also is telling me now just to buy a burner there and use it for the week pay-as-you-go.
Win Harrison
A) Rick Steves’ guidebooks are always good for making the most of limited time.
B) Personal favorites (the Museum of London, not mentioned before here). The British Museum is "just mummies" the way the Louvre is "just statues." There’s a lot more to it. St. Paul’s Cathedral is interesting – the Nazis demolished that section of the city, but miraculously, the Cathedral remained intact. Hyde Park is nice for strolls. Tower of London – go an hour before opening, or late afternoon. Don’t miss the Crown Jewels. Bling!
C) If you have the cash, cabs are a lot more fun then the Tube. You can see the city.
Good greek restauraunt near Bayswater Road. Affordable sandwich shop across from the British Museum.
D) Vauxhall? Gulp.
E) Don’t expect ice with your water.
F) Soho is unpleasant. Bums & thieves. Avoid at night. On a related note, look out for pickpockets. They are real, they are there, and you’ll see a lot of them near most tourist sights. Right now the London economy is really bad, so keep your guard.
G) Avoid Madame Tussauds, London Dungeon, and any of that obvious tourist rubbish.
H) Don’t over-tip. The British may expect Americans to tip, but they do not.
Laura W
@JenJen:I gasped so loudly when the close-up of the Stilton appeared that I almost choked myself.
Is there no wine shop? Where is the damn wine??
Chasm
I couldn’t get through 100 pages of "White Teeth," but maybe because I was living in a fabulous London club, and had much better things to do.
I lived there for 8 months in 2002-03 working on a movie, some suggestions:
A-Z’s are nice, but a bit over the top if you’re just going to visit. The same company makes the ‘AA Street by Street’ map which is pretty good.
I second the Time Out suggestion, it’s the pulse of the city.
Mayfair and Soho are adjacent to each other (separated by Regent St), both are off Oxford St.
In Soho, on Wardour St, THE Indian restaurant is
Soho Spice. Order the Chicken Tika-Masala, you will never have better.
It’s still winter, so the weather might not be nice enough, but if it gets sunny and you have time, spend an afternoon flying a kite on Hampstead Heath.
Already backing off my A-Z non rec, because Hampstead isn’t on it, although I think the AA Street by Street map is still better for casual visits.
I was partial to the Vic n Al museum, myself, but it’s an English cultural museum, so if you don’t enjoy old furniture and models of the London Expo, don’t bother.
Tate Modern is a must-see. National Portrait Gallery and Brit Museum too!
To me, Oxford is a zoo, most of Piccadilly too touristy, and Kensington too posh. My favorite place to browse old-London-y shops in a hip neighboorhood was Islington (Islington High St is called "Upper st" for some reason on your map, but no one calls it that.)
Stay away from Brick Ln, as someone mentioned. Camden is also somewhat of a trap, though to be honest, I never made it there.
I liked Buckingham Palace, but only because they had tours of the inside going on. If you can’t get a tour, skip it.
ADDING: LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET!!!!
The Other Steve
Oh yeah, one more interesting treat…
Stop in a grocery store, and look for McVities Digestive Biscuits. They come coated with chocolate or plain.
They’re delicious.
It’s basically like a graham cracker, except they use more baking soda in them and they rise up sort of thick. They’re good with tea or coffee.
It’s just something to try, one of the few interesting and good British foods.
Oh yeah, avoid chocolate especially anything made by Cadburys as it tastes like shit. Look for German or Swiss chocolate instead. ;-)
Comrade Stuck
And maybe you could drop by 10 Downing and say hi to Gordon, and take the chap a nice gift so maybe our wingnuts will shut their yaps.
Tokyokie
Of course, going to Harrods means getting to see this monstrosity, which, trust me, is even worse than the pictures.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1536487905065672264NrlyAC
JenJen
@Laura W: Mmmm, Stilton. Mouth-watering, isn’t it?
Now, do you really think I’d go anywhere that didn’t have spirits? Harrods Food Hall also has an amazing wine & liquor store… I remember wandering in there and thinking I’d wound up in The Heavenly Booze K-Mart. They were handing out free champagne. I kept coming up with new ways to disguise myself so they wouldn’t realize I was back for my fifth swill.
cyntax
@dr. luba:
Absolutely! There was a Titian there with the most incredibly cobalt blue sky (Bacchus and Ariadne, I believe), it knocked my socks off from across the room. Though that was something like 20 years ago so who knows where it is today. And who knows what great things you’ll find at the National Gallery now…
Laura W
@JenJen:
Just like my Grama in Costco!
(Edit: I mean, with the free food samples, of course.)
Violet
Time Out is available online: http://www.timeout.com/london/.
Also, our friends in another UK city like this site for restaurants: http://www.squaremeal.co.uk/. Not sure how good it is for London.
Tokyokie
@Tokyokie: And if you have a day to kill, try spending it at Foyle’s, one of the world’s largest, and most maddeningly organized, bookstores.
It’s so lovely to get lost in there. As I’ve done before.
Oh, it’s definitely a most lovely way to spend a day, I was just trying to warn DougJ that Foyles isn’t a place you can hit and be done with like your local Barnes and Noble. I haven’t been there since my father died in the mid-’70s, but back then, the books were arranged by publisher, for pete’s sake.
Win Harrison
A) Forgot to mention, unlike Paris, most museums are free. As the dollar to pound ratio is still boggling, you could do worse killing time by going to all the awesome free museums. If you find war interesting, Imperial War Museum is for you. If you find Churchill interesting, the Cabinet War Rooms by Downing Street and Westminster.
B) Harrod’s is a complete rude waste of time. Unless you get a kick out of Saudi & Russian scoundrels throwing their weight around. Pass on Harrod’s.
C) Wear a money-belt, and dear God, don’t put your wallet in your back pocket. I shudder to think.
Chasm
I actually thought the Tea counter at Harrods was the coolist. I don’t even drink all that much, but the little hand-tyed balls of tea looked cool.
Buy snacks and carry around food at Selfridges (a dept store on Oxford that has a great food court/store).
Anyone remember the name of those cool quasi-asian restaurants where everyone sits on benches and all the waiters have wireless PDA’s? There’s one on Wigmore St in Marleybone.
Indylib
@DougJ:
You can drink booze on the metra in Chicago as long as it’s in a paper bag. You should see the 20-somethings on a Friday commute.
Peter J
They drive on the left. Something to remember when you’re crossing a street. Double-decker buses are big.
AhabTExpropriator
Depends. If you are like me, you will find the Underground much more interesting. However, once you understand that this is what I consider an interesting experience, maybe you will understand where I am coming from.
Also, definitely on the V&A, go to the Imperial War Museum, and for God’s sake, drink as much cask ale (sigh) as you can.
Also also wik, Harrods is overrated.
Chasm
Are you getting picked up at the airport? If not, take the express train to Paddington, rather than a cab. Heathrow is not that close to the center of the city.
Oooh, I forgot about the Imperial War Museum. Havn’t been there since ’85, but yea, go there.
JenJen
DougJ, one more thing, it doesn’t sound like you’ll be there long enough, but I gotta tell you, the Chunnel (EuroStar) is really pretty cool, and you could take a reasonable day-trip to Brussels or Paris. Sigh… Paris. I’d take it over London any day, but that’s just me.
I recommend that all Yanks travel as much on Euro trains as they possibly can, so they can come home and realize how backward we all are on this trains issue, and spread the word around to the silly people who think trains are the antichrist. SUPERTRAIN NOW!
JenJen
@Laura W: My sweet immigrant grandmother used to barter in the produce section at the grocery store. It was embarrassing when I was a kid, but adorable when I watched her do it as an adult. She used to stuff all the Sweet-n-Low packets on restaurant tables into her purse, too…
She even had one of those Nice Living Rooms like on JC’s other post. We, as her own grandchildren, were never good enough to go in there. :-)
AhabTExpropriator
@JenJen: I am with you. See my link in the above post.
Litlebritdifrnt
Ditto on what everyone else has said, particularly please do not think that you can do everything, because you simply can’t. DO do the museums the NHM, the V&A, the British, etc., they are well worth it. My boss went there several years ago and he thoroughly enjoyed a Jack the Ripper walk that he went on, (I did a self guided one years back) many of the streets still exist and it is quite fascinating to walk them. Food wise get up early, have a full English Breakfast (bacon, sausages, mushrooms, fried bread, tomatoes, fried eggs, baked beans, bread and butter and tea) you will then be set for the day with just a light lunch (ploughman’s with a pint of shandy), and dinner would definitely recommend a really good curry. A cream tea (scones, butter, strawberry jam, clotted cream and neat sandwiches with the crust cut off) is a must at least ONCE during your visit. No one else has mentioned the Cheshire Cheese Pub on Fleet Street, if you are a fan of writers then it is THE place to visit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ye_Olde_Cheshire_Cheese
Despite being obvious tourist "traps" both Madam Toussauds and The Observatory are well worth the visit.
Also Harrods food court will literally blow your mind, go to the bacon section and see what Americans are missing out by ignoring everything other than pork bellies as bacon, and then go to the cheese section and again wonder that there are about 300 types of cheese, none of which are "white american" and "yellow american". And try some tasty crumbly lancashire just for me okay?
Go on a pub crawl, and after the pubs have thrown out, find yourself a donner kebab place feast on its glories while walking home and then really regret it in the morning.
Ditto fish and chips, only you won’t regret it in the morning.
Ditto curry and chips (fish shop curry sauce is a beast all of its own which really bears no relation to a real curry, or real indian food, it just IS) walking home while stuffing curry and chips into ones gob is truly a thing of beauty.
Finally I know your time is finite, and London is enough to keep everyone occupied for months let alone weeks, however a couple of side trips might be nice, Stratford, Stonehenge (it was a truly spiritual experience for me, I will never forget it), Bath, Glastonbury. I am now going to stop talking to you because I am so jealous I cannot even see straight.
PS) My last visit to the UK I got off the plane, said to the guy at immigration "nearest English Breakfast right now!" he pointed me to a place in the food court at the airport and I did not MOVE until I had consumed a full english breakfast and about two gallons of tea.
Nicole
I haven’t gone through all the wonderful posts, so apologies if someone posted any of this before, but the guided London walking tours (you’ll see flyers everywhere) are a lot of fun- I HIGHLY recommend doing the Jack the Ripper walking tour. It was an absolute hoot, included stopping for a beer at the pub where Jack the Ripper’s last victim had her last drink, and I also learned some non-morbid history, as it included visiting the remains of the wall built by the Romans that one encircled the city.
And yeah, Nick Hornby. Love him.
Look for the buildings with gilded pineapples on top- those are ones Christopher Wren designed.
The Museum of the Moving Image is pretty cool.
Oh, I’m so envious- you ‘re going to have such a wonderful time!
Ned R.
Ha, I was actually going to suggest the Paris train too. Just being able to do that is fun.
Scutch
Patrick Hamilton – "Hangover Square" and "Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Hamilton_(dramatist)
He is the shit.
Scutch
Also: Under the Net by Iris Murdoch
Litlebritdifrnt
@The Other Steve:
I could not agree more, walking is addictive in London, there is just ONE MORE STREET, to walk down to see what is there, and before you know it you are fifteen miles from your hotel, or wherever, COMFORTABLE SHOES ARE A MUST!
Chasm
If you’re a wine drinker, take the tube to Embankment (either Charring Cross or Embankment) the walk up Villiers St to Gordon’s Wine Bar. Ancient place, with a real grotto feel, serves nothing but wine to locals and is named after an ancestor of a friend of mine.
Litlebritdifrnt
@The Other Steve:
Steve HOW DARE YOU! Galaxy chocolate is utter chocolate heaven! (I like Cadbury too especially fruit and nut)
AhabTExpropriator
You can also go here: BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, locate in Neasdon. Its tube accessible if you don’t mind a short walk (I think there is a bus, but it was Boxing day, so it wasn’t running).
Extra bonus: Coca-cola and, I assume, other sodas are made with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup, so enjoy! It’s like every day is Passover, without the annoying dietary restrictions.
The Cat Who Would Be Tunch
In addition to what JenJen already said about the free incoming calls, there should be prepaid mobile services that allow you to get free incoming texts as well. Data plans for some of these prepaid services are pretty nice since there’s a max limit to what they can charge you per day for surfing the web. I found it pretty damn useful since I have mobile Google Maps on my phone and since that’s a data intensive app, I would’ve had to top up my sim card every two or three hours. If memory serves me right, T-Mobile’s prepaid service charges you a maximum of one pound per day. Oh yeah, I also highly recommend a smart phone so that you can put some apps (like the aforementioned Google Maps). It’s particularly neat because you can get pedestrian directions where it’ll recommend train and bus routes to destinations.
Litlebritdifrnt
@JenJen:
Jenjen – couldn’t agree more, this country was BUILT by trains, damn if it wasn’t for trains California would still be a wasteland. Why the hell does this country not have a THRIVING train system? I really miss the train system in the UK, hell I didn’t learn to drive until I was 28 because I had absolutely no need to, I just got to the point where I was tired of dragging two suitcases down a train platform to get home :)
Laura W
@Chasm: Thank you! 135 comments and finally a wine bar. With a ancient grotto vibe, no less.
This is a disgustingly irritating thread, for all of the envy and coveting it is evoking in me.
KeithW
Ignore the advice to always take the Tube. It’s a great way to get around, but if you get into the habit of always taking it, not only will you miss a lot of London, but you’re absolutely guaranteed at some point to spend 20 minutes taking the Tube on a journey that you could have walked in 2 or 3 minutes. Remember, the Tube map is famously not geographic – it’s for working out your underground journeys, not for overground navigation. Always check the A-Z before you go ungerground.
JenJen
@Litlebritdifrnt: Did you happen to have that Airport English Breakfast at Garfunkel’s? Every time I fly into Heathrow or Gatwick, it’s a tradition for me to find the Garfunkel’s, gobble down their huge breakfast after the long flight, making me sleepy enough so that once I find the hotel, I can actually snooze off the nasty jet lag. :-)
AhabTExpropriator
Ohhh Ohhh Ohhh! Also also also wik: try to pass through the Westminster tube station and transfer either from or to the Jubilee line. The escalator hall is a little overdone, but impressive nonetheless, and the construction of the station was an engineering marvel.
Litlebritdifrnt
@JenJen:
Winner! Yes it was at Garfunkles! I remember thinking at the time "Why would a place called Garfunkles have a really good English Breakfast" but they do! I am guessing that the immigration peeps are used to hearing that question on a regular basis when they have ex-pats arriving from the US. When we fly into Manchester we leave the airport and stop at the nearest Little Chef on the motorway, I am not happy until I have imbibed more cholesterol than I normally eat in a year. :)
DougJ
@Chasm
I’m a huge wine drinker. My host’s one instruction is that I bring a good white burg and some good pinot (I’m bringing a 2002 Corton and, since I can’t find good red burgs here, a couple good oregon pinots).
I’ll have to try Gordon’s Wine Bar out.
Laura W
@JenJen:
Meet me in the next Open Thread and I’ll go you one better on this theme.
Laura W
@DougJ: ooooooooooo……..photos and reviews please!
Violet
I second (or third?) the suggestion to take the Eurostar Chunnel train to Paris. Paris over London any day for me too. All this talk of food, and then talk of Paris…now I’m really getting hungry. And yes to the Supertrain recommendation. Once you’ve been on one it’s amazing how fast you become an advocate.
The tours are really great. Jack the Ripper tour for sure. That kind of thing seems far too touristy, but they’re really fun, the history is interesting and you almost always visit a pub.
Crumbly Lancashire..yum! We’ve got some in the freezer right now. We bring it back when we visit. It stores quite nicely in the freezer for several months. For the record, yes, US Immigration rules allow you to bring back hard cheeses so long as they aren’t made from raw milk. We have not had a problem so far.
justcorbly
Since you’re leaving in little more thn 24 hours, I won’t recommend any books.
I will second the advice to wear comfortable walking shoes. Don’t rush out and buy new ones because you won’t have time to beak them in. If you normally wear tennis/running shoes, wear them Pack an additional pair if you think you’ll need to go somewhere dressy.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Call your credit/debit/ATM card companies and tell them when you will be in London. If you don’t, they may refuse to allow a transaction to go through. You also want to find out which UK banks are affiliated with your U.S. bank, so you know which ATM’s to use. I.e., I’m a Bank of America customer, but there are no BoA’s in London. But, they’re affiliated with Barclay’s, which is everywhere.
See what you feel like seeing. Few of the obviously commercial tourist places are worth it, though. Get a map of the city and circle what looks interesting. In the West End, start at Parliament and St. James and work your way north and east along the north (left) bank of the Thames. Cut in to see what you circled on your map. Walk across the Millenium Bridge to see the Tate. The boat trip to and from Greenwich is pleasant, but takes a half a day.
Bookshops on Charing Cross are disappearing, but still worth checking out if only for the different offerings. Foyle’s is a big multistory place with little atmosphere but very good selection. They have much of my money.
If you have time, it’s worth getting on train or in a car and going somewhere for a daytrip. Wales in pushing it, but it’s only a few hours away. You’ll need a car. I’ve done it. Oxford or Cambridge are excellent targets for daytrips, only a hour or so by train from London. You won’t want a car. Stations in both are within walking distance of the city center, although Cambridge’s station is a healthy hike away. If you’re into bookshops, both cities have plenty to keep you busy. Check out Blackwell’sin Oxford.
Assume the weather will be much like San Francisco’s this time of the year, but check the forecast just before you pack. It rains less than legend has it, and they do sell umbrellas there.
Plan on spending more than you thought. Even with the improvement in the dollar, it’s an expensive place.
It’s also a wonderful and vibrant city, the best I’ve ever spent time in. Enjoy.
AhabTExpropriator
Whatever the little cafe located in Terminal 4 was the place that the SO and I would hit for breakfast, coffee, and the first smokes off the plane. It was always such a pleasure to be able to smoke in the restaurant (indeed in the airport if we were coming from BWI.
I shall miss smoking in Europe, although I hear it ain’t what it used to be, anyway.
hana
I’m half-English and used to live in London. I’d say to spend some time just walking from Piccadilly to Charing Cross and ending up at the British Museum in Bloomsbury. The walking part is the key. Also, totally go to Westminster, it’s worth it. Experience London on foot and give yourself time to discover things along the way. At least when I was there, museums had the best food for travellers. I agree with reading Wodehouse before going to London.
AhabTExpropriator
@Violet: I don’t know anything about good food in England, as our last English Cuisine thread demonstrated, but eatin’ well in Paris is easier than finding an officious German. The Chunnel train makes it so easy to think of Paris, FR and London, UK as Paris-London (Vive l’Entente cordiale!).
va
I second Ripley: vintage Amis is pretty good. London Fields, The Information, The Rachel Papers, all fine Londony stuff.
Ackroyd’s London bio is a tome, but he has a good historical novel called Hawksmoor. It’s light, has good history, occult-y.
Iain Sinclair’s novels are London-centered, but he’ll fuck your mind. Probably not worth getting into.
Virginia Woolf’s full of vintage London: Jacob’s Room is amazing & a quick read, also Mrs Dalloway.
Will Self was big-time in England when I was there. How the Dead Live made a splash, but the writing is hard to put up with.
J.G. Ballard? Crash is quite a thing. Anthony Burgess? If you’re looking for post-apocalyptic London…
White Teeth is very funny. The Satanic Verses! Is amazing. Ellowen Deeowen!
That’s all I got off the top of my head. Enjoy.
JenJen
@Litlebritdifrnt: Little Chef! Even yanks get cravings for Hunter Chicken from Little Chef, drowning in Heinz barbecue sauce…. mmmmm. Who says the UK doesn’t have artery-clogging delicious food? :-)
Little Chef doesn’t serve a bad English Breakfast either… but after Garfunkels at the airport, I’ve usually had my fill of English Breakfast for the week and just stick to cereal and Nutella on good bread (we don’t have good bread in the US).
I do second all posters who warn DougJ against ordering burgers anywhere outside the continental US. I’ve never been able to put my finger on it, but burgers should be consumed in America only.
You’re really making me miss all that business travel to London I used to bitch about. I’m even craving porridge right now. And fish cakes. And Chicken Tikka Masala.
AhabTExpropriator
Warning: I have had two copies of this book fall apart on me, it’s very poorly bound. I also think that it’s a little dull, which is surprising given how interesting the city itself is.
Ned R.
I remember the Tate Modern served a great lunch, now that I think of it!
Comrade grumpy realist
Lived in London for two years and did my M.A. thesis research at the British Library, so this is definitely bringing back memories….
Lots of pubs have decent Shepherd’s Pie and equivalents, so don’t feel you have to stick with the Ploughman’s Lunch. Even cheaper and easier is getting a sandwich at Pret-a-Porter, a sandwich fast-food cafeteria place that has branches littering London (and damn fine sandwiches as well.) And don’t forget asking about the local beers at any pub you go to.
You won’t have time to see everything, so don’t even try. Just wandering around London on foot is a treat. And unless you’re from Boston, don’t try to drive in London. I actually learned how to drive there, and have the unforgettable experience of getting lost trying to manoeuvre the magic roundabout (6 roundabouts surrounding a 7th central one) out at Hammersmith.
Also several places around London where you can check for last-minute tickets for several of the musicals/shows. It’s probably too early for you to catch something by Shakespeare at The Globe. See if you can pick up at least one musical.
Don’t expect to see the sun. At all. At this period of year, weather in London has only two states: raining or just-about-to-rain. Either pack a good folding brolly or splurge for one there.
And yes, protect yourself against pickpockets!
Chasm
Now, if you’re a whiskey drinker, like me, THE place is Milroy’s, in Soho.
DougJ
I guess one thing I should think of in London is that it may be worth eating at whatever museum I’m at, given that many of the other options aren’t so great either (I’m used to museum-going in Paris and New York, which I know fairly well and have more good food choices).
DougJ
Can you taste or just buy? I may not buy anything liquid because I hate checking my bags.
How does it compare to that great place in Edinburgh?
Litlebritdifrnt
I guess the best thing about London is just being there. I remember one silly day (the day I really MET my husband) me and a bunch of Royal Marines (and a couple of US Marines) decided to have a picnic in Hyde Park, which I think consisted of peanuts and beer. From there we walked to Picadilly Circus where we put our six packs of beer in the fountain to cool it down, from there we wandered to Leicester Square where we took in a movie (damn, damn, damn, can’t remember the name, comic book, Madonna, hairspray dood) then to Covent Garden, just to chill and watch the buskers, we ended up in The Cockney Pride, a rambunctuous pub just off Picadilly Circus I believe, lots of beer, lots of cockney songs, horribly unhealthy pub food. Ahhhhh good times.
I also used to go to London alot on my own, while I was in the RN. I flew down to London from Scotland and just hung out on a regular occasion, take in a show (Uncle Vanya starring Johnathan Pryce and Gretta Scattci, the ORIGINAL Miss Saigon) I would wander, sometimes aimlessly, and I LOVED it. That is what the best thing about London, wandering aimlessly is wonderful!
srv
@The Other Steve: On REI shoes, these are the greatest walking shoes evah.
I normally only hike Vasque boots and run in New Balance tennys, and buy all sorts of expensive inserts for crappy shoes for pounding pavement. But these Keens are awesome with no insert. Maybe not stylish enough for a Londoner.
AhabTExpropriator
@Litlebritdifrnt: When me and my friends were in London for X-mas, we actually spent the day itself drinking beer and wandering around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, as we were staying nearby. Then we went back to the hotel to drink more beer.
Chasm
Re: Milroy’s – They put in a whiskey tasting bar about 2 weeks before I left, so I imagine it’s still running.
Not sure which place in Edinburgh you mean – The Scotch Malt Whiskey Society? I was a member, but never made it to their vaults.
DougJ
Dick Tracy.
Also, on the Garfukels’ airport breakfast…is it *at* the airport? I will be starving when I get in.
Litlebritdifrnt
@JenJen:
That is why I bake my own, I have no use for a loaf that is a foot long and weighs less than a pound! Mmmmmmm nutella! This morning I had toast for breakfast spread liberally with the sludge that remains at the bottom of a beer barrel, yum! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmite
iluvsummr
With over 150 responses, probably everything’s been covered, but I’ll leave two sites for getting great pre-paid SIM cards for just about anywhere in the world.
Cellular abroad – I’ve used their SIM cards in the UK; it was nice to be able to give my friend who was picking me up from Heathrow a number to call before I even left the US and to get my first call as we arrived at the gate!
Telestial – I bought a pre-paid Orange SIM card here for a trip to France. Worked well too.
DougJ
@Chasm
This is the place in Edinburgh.
AhabTExpropriator
See, we need to have travel threads more often and access the Travel Gestalt of Balloon Juicers. With the economy the way that it is I may never travel again, but a boy can dream, can’t he?
Oh, and despite my populist leanings, Business Class is like Crack. I could have flown home on the Champagne alone. I can only imagine that First Class is like really good Heroin.
Tsulagi
You can do that. Another option is if your cell is unlocked you can buy just the SIM card in most countries providing local service and use it in your phone. If your phone isn’t already unlocked, while U.S. service providers often don’t like to, if you press they will give you the unlock code. Also if you search you can finds ways to do it yourself for your make and model cell.
Litlebritdifrnt
Doug that’s it! (I hate it when my brain dies). Actually Garfunkles has a really great English Breakfast, I mean really, and yes it is right there inside the airport, (I think both at Heathrow and Gatwick) probably right next door to the sock shop and bath and body works, or whatever other airport type shops there are. Just ask the guy at immigration, he knows!
Litlebritdifrnt
@DougJ:
Doug have you ever been to Edinburgh? It is truly the most spectacular of places, I cannot in any simple post tell you how much it is. Your next trip should be there.
DougJ
Yes, I was there the summer before last. I agree — great place!
Litlebritdifrnt
Completely missed the bit in the original post, did you eat Goat Curry at the wedding Doug? Cause if you didn’t eat Goat Curry at a West Indian Wedding then despite the reggae music it wasn’t a real west indian wedding.
eponymous
@Laura W:
Ahem – see #95 above…
Just teasing and no big deal – like you, I’m jealous (honeymooned in UK/Ireland in 2006 – spent a good chunk of it in London).
Stooleo
I had the singular best beer of my life at this pub that is off Portobello road. Sam Smith’s ESB. yum..
AhabTExpropriator
BTW: I vote for Lonely Planet guide books, I have had phenomenal success with them, finding some wonderful bargains and hidden gems.
DougJ
It was vegetarian.
SGEW
This is a truly marvelous thread. Fabulous. Now I have to go back to London, as I am reminded of much of what I liked about the place (and all the lovely things I missed!).
Of course, I’ll have to figure out how to pay for airfare and still have enough money for rent, bills, sustenance, and whatnot . . . actually, now that I think about it, I can’t get up enough scratch to even visit another state, let alone jump ‘cross th’ pond again.
In fact, how dare you have a travel thread when we’re in an economic recession! For shame! Have you no decency? No compassion for your fellow Americans? No extra tickets?
cyntax
DougJ, someone may have already mentioned this, but this thread seems to have been enough of a success that it might deserve a more specific tag than "Other". Perhaps "Travel"? That might make it easier for anyone to find it a year from now.
And with how well-travelled Ballon-Juicers seem to be maybe this won’t be the only destination-related thread.
Robert Sneddon
As for the phone thing, check with the friend you’re staying with if they have a loaner phone. Pretty much everybody in the UK has a spare mobile phone or two knocking about in a drawer. A SIM to fire it up pay-as-you-go will cost about 5 bucks US assuming it doesn’t have one already. Texts and calls on UK mobiles are free to the receiver.
Getting into central London from Heathrow — the Paddington Express train is expensive (about 25 bucks US one-way), the Tube is a bit slower but costs a lot less. The Zone 1-2 pass other people have recommended for your stay won’t work on that run as Heathrow is in Zone 6. Change at Green Park to the Victoria Line southbound and Vauxhall is a couple of stops from there, just south of the river.
Enjoy your time in London, don’t try and do everything as you just can’t.
jp2
You must go to a football match – 4 big teams in London – Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham.
Arsenal is a good bet for a first game.
DougJ
Thanks. I’m planning on taking the Tube. I always find public transport less stressful than a cab, in addition to being cheaper.
Ken Lovell
Socialists run the country. Muslims are everywhere. For further information read the Mark Steyn archives.
DougJ
Good idea — I added a travel category and tagged this with it.
Litlebritdifrnt
@DougJ:
Okay Plantain curry then?
DougJ
Yes.
DougJ
Do I need to wear a jacket to get into Harrod’s?
JenJen
@DougJ: Confirming: Yes, there is a Garfunkels inside both Heathrow and Gatwick. Give it a whirl the second you get off the plane; the resulting food coma will make your jet lag easier to sleep off.
The service at the Gatwick location is atrocious, which makes it all the more worth experiencing. I mean, truly surly waitresses who don’t give a rip about you. I love that kind of stuff, as a Food & Beverage professional.
I am being serious here. I get a kick out of a waitstaff that goes above and beyond not caring. It’s funny to me. :-)
Mike in NC
In New England they call them "rotaries" and they’re definitely not for the squeamish.
Comrade Stuck
Not much of an international traveler myself. One night in 78 me and a buddy were doing magic shrooms and somehow the subject of Polar Bears came up and since neither of us had ever seen one, we piled in my Econoline VAn Hippymobile and hit the road for North Canada.
We ran out of shrooms when we reached the Mackinack Bridge and wondered wtf we were doing, but decided not to waste the trip and plowed on. We made it to an outpost about 50 miles north of a little burg called Lake Chapleau, to a homesteaders place in the middle of fucking no where. It was owned by a flower child couple with about 10 little wild flower children. We were greeted at the gate by a long haired kid in his birthday suit riding a Shetland Pony. We stayed a couple of weeks and had a riot. Then headed back home, Never did see a Polar Bear.
True Story.
jp2
More research:
Arsenal v Blackburn in London – 14th
Chelsea v Manchester City in London – 15th
West Ham United v West Bromwich Albion – 16th in London
It’s a must.
sab
I spent a week wandering the British Museum and never got much of a chance to see anything else, and to this day I don’t think the time was misspent. And that’s not implying there weren’t a lot of other things to see or do.
Laura W
@eponymous: So sorry, and good on you for getting it in before the #100 mark!
I was just emailing a friend that going to the British and Greek Isles is at the top of my Must See Now list.
I am sure my envy caused me to skim this thread for to read it too closely is quite painful.
Are we gonna have a generic Open Thread or is this the party tonight?
I mean, for those of us who aren’t going, this borders on torture at this point.
JenJen
@Laura W: Still waiting on that Open Thread so you can share your Sweet-N-Low one-upper. (taps foot impatiently)
Laura W
@JenJen: Seriously. I was trying to decide if I should open a bottle of amazing Spanish red,
or switch to water. If the goal is 300 comments on this thread, I’m going for the water.
Litlebritdifrnt
@DougJ:
HA!
We have a tiny little Jamaican restaurant down the street from my office, they do goat curry, chicken curry, beef curry, whatever, but their chicken curry is absolutely ass kicking, chicken (on the bone unfortunately, I wish they would use chicken breasts) potatoes, peas, etc., in a sauce that pretty much tastes like it has been simmering for at least two or three days, it is not to be too gushing here absolutely wonderful. Elsa’s Place. If you are ever in Jacksonville NC, check it out.
PS) plantains are a very popular side dish on their menu.
eponymous
@Laura W:
No biggie – I really enjoy these types of threads. Notice there aren’t any of the usual – ahem – suspects?
Anyway, my travel plans for the summer are to spend a few days in New England (need to visit 4 states there to bring total to 48 out of 50, leaving only Oklahoma and Florida still to visit; will likely save trip to Key West/Everglades with the wife for last to cap off having visted every US state).
Mike in NC
Sugar Shack, Ocean Isle Beach, NC. Jamaican to die for.
DougJ
@Laura W
This is even better and cheaper in similar vein.
cyntax
@Stooleo:
Sam Smith’s is definitely the good stuff. I had an Old Brewery Pale at the Opera Tavern that was amazing.
The ENO (Enlgish National Opera) was kind of a neat experience, we were up in the cheap seats with a bunch of rather blue-collar people who had a grocery bag with vodka, crackers, and salami in it. The building itself was gorgeous, but opera in English seemed a bit odd, and being able to understand what was being sung didn’t actually add to the experience for some reason.
Litlebritdifrnt
@Laura W:
And may a throw into the pot The Lake District? Doug is going to be nowhere near there and yet it is possibly the most impossibly beautiful place in the entire UK, I mean really "I wandered lonely as a cloud" and you can’t visit a place that that poem was written about? Windermere, Grasmere, Beatrix Potter’s house,?
Oh and while I am at it, my home town, Lancaster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster,_Lancashire
Yeah I am biased.
AhabTExpropriator
Hells no. My friends and I went there looking our slobby American selves no sweat. That includes my friend who is a giant, dreadlocked, surplus army-coat wearing, albino jolly green giant looking motherfucker, who always looks wasted (he wasn’t but he always looks wasted; this is the guy who upchucked outside the bar/coffeshop in Amsterdam, for those who are following along in the program). Nobody batted an eye as long as we had our friend Visa(R).
In that respect, the Proles have taken over. Trainers and a track suit, my friend.
AhabTExpropriator
Good Chocolates, though. Mmmmmhh, Truffles, Argargleglegle.
The Cat Who Would Be Tunch
@AhabTExpropriator: You would think that, considering the price difference between the two classes, but that’s not the case at all. The difference in experience is marginal at best on the vast majority of airlines and the extra cost is ludicrous. Save your miles to upgrade to Business class or use them to get a free economy class round trip ticket.
Laura W
@DougJ:
Great! I have bookmarked it and will see if I can find a site that has both so I can get a split case.
Have you tried the 2006 Las Rocas then? I grabbed it on a whim from our local natural foods market and loved it. There was only one bottle left when I went back for more, so have to hunt it down online now.
I posted about this wine on the Academy Award night thread, I believe. I am sure the 2003 is impossible to find retail, but if you love the reds, look for this CA blend, even if it’s a newer vintage that you find on the shelf. Note that the review I’ve linked is 3 year old, so the 2003 is perfect right about NOW!
Laura W
@Litlebritdifrnt:
Truly at the top of my list.
Along with all of Wales.
DougJ
I’ve tried some Las Rocas but I don’t know what year it was. The El Chapparal is better, though. The 07 is very, very good for 12 bucks and the 05 if you see it is amazing for 12 bucks (honestly it would be good for $20-$25, it’s really good). Really, the 05 tastes like a decent Chateauneuf du Pape and the 07 like a pretty good Gigondas.
I’ve had a lot of good Spanish wine recently (such a good deal) but Vega Sindoa stands out, especially this wine.
My momma told me, you better Chaparral.
DougJ
Yeah Bogle is good. That one sounds interesting. I’ve only had the Bogle bottom-of-the line stuff so that one intrigues me as a bit of a step up.
I love that super-ripe cheap CA stuff. Rosenblum Vintner’s blend and Renwood are great examples in a similar style.
Gus
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese near Fleet Street is a great pub.
Pennypacker
Don’t know if anyone tackled the update question, but you used to be able to rent cellphones right in Heathrow airport. I bet you could buy one there, too.
Elderta
I was lucky enough in January to go to Amsterdam (a city I love) and took the Thalys to Paris; I second JenJen’s recommendation above, rail travel in Europe is a step above the States; the Thalys is what a high-speed train should be about; smooth, fast ride, no delays… exceptional service in the food car. I’ve taken the Acela as well as other commuter trains up and down the Northeast and I’m telling, the Thalys beat them all. I live in NYC, and I also have to say the the Paris subway was exceptional, both when I was there in ’88 and in January. Fantastic! (too many stairs, though…)
Andrew J. Lazarus
Many fine suggestions above already. If you are a history buff, Hampton Court Palace. Joint ticket with Tower of London. You can reach the Palace easily by commuter rail; use your TravelCard plus an extension fare. (BTW, you may find it cheaper to by the TravelCard right at Heathrow and an extension fare to Zone 2, if you are not just going to sleep on your first day.)
Also worthwhile: London Transport Museum. I’m into old subways and buses, but even my parents admitted this was interesting. Theatre Museum.
City of London Museum. Good historical stuff. Decent snack bar, too.
Ned R.
@jp2: Hahah, I was actually going to suggest a football match…
slightly_peeved
I lived there with my now-wife for a year or so; unlike most of my countrymen, I didn’t tend bar there. Like most of them, I camped out on my brother’s couch (a bit of a tight squeeze with said now-wife) for the first couple of weeks.
The airport now has vending machines for phones, I believe; it’s that easy to get one now. If not, every high street will sell them.
For lunch, pret-a-manger ("ready to eat" lol) is great – I second the suggestion above. I can also recommend the West Cornwall Pasty company for something hot. And there are the thousands of coffee shops; when Starbucks came to London and did their usual strategy of overexpansion, a whole heap of local coffee shop chains matched them. They all do nice sandwiches though, so you’ll never feel like you want a coffee but can’t get one in London.
The Harrod’s food hall is good; the other one that isn’t as opulent but matches it for quality is Fortnum & Mason’s just off Piccadilly Circus. The Dodi al-Fayed shrine in the basement of Harrod’s has to be competing for the most uncomfortably tasteless thing ever seen in a shop. You can pick up a decent range of wine (French, Australian, Californian, and others) in pretty much every supermarket.
For dinner, you should try the national food at least once – Chicken Tikka Masala. To find a good Indian Restaurant – throw a rock, pretty much. There’s also a whole heap of good dim sum places around Leicester Square. The Gourmet Burger Bars are pretty good, probably on behalf of not being English in origin (they’re New Zealanders, I belive). You name the cuisine, London’s got great restaurants in it; the city is far more diverse (and has been for longer) than ignoramuses like Mark Steyn give it credit for. Unfortunately, the Mayor just banned drinking booze on the Underground.
I’d actually reverse the recommendations on markets to go see; I found Portobello crowded and boring and Camden much nicer. Depends on what you’re interested in: antiques versus second-hand clothing; antique fanciers vs. goths. They’re both representative of different aspects of London.
All the free museums (Science, Natural History, V&A, British) are full of awesome. The Jack the Ripper walking tours are great; if you go to the Tower of London, some of the Beefeaters run them when they finish being Beefeaters for the evening. The national Gallery’s great; the Titian was still there in 2005. I’d recommend the Portrait of a Tailor myself; a surprisingly casual and intimate portrait of someone considering the time it was painted. They have a wine museum now called Vinopolis; don’t know if it’s any good. The Cabinet War Rooms are a preservation of the underground Bunker Churchill and the cabinet used, and is worth a look if you have the cash to spare. Considering how many free museums there are in London, you can put it a bit lower on the list. Oh, and if you are an Electrical Engineering or Computer wonk, the Royal Academy sometimes has Faraday’s Laboratory open for visitors.
The suggestions to go see a football game are good; one other thing to see in London is a show if you have the money. Plenty of stuff, from the globe for old-style shakespeare to the broadway kind of stuff to great stand-up. If you like Whose Line is it Anyway, some of the original British cast members do improv nights in the comedy store.
DougJ
Looking over the fares, I wonder if it might be cheapest just to get a regular oyster card and keep topping it off. I’m probably going to mostly hang out in Zone 1 taking maybe three trips a day (or less) for a total of about 25 pounds plus an extra 7.5 to/from the airport.
Ned R.
If you know that Zone 1 is where you’re going to spend the bulk of your time other than the airport in and out and the price works out, go for it. I found the Zone 1-2 thing handy because of where my friends lived, among other things.
Danack
Camden Market is a must if you want to pickup some decent souvenirs.
Imho the gourmet burger bars are pretty horrible, Hache in either Camden or Chelsea are the only nice ones i’ve found.
You should try as many ales as you can when you’re over there but ‘London Pride’ should be the drink of choice.
Linkmeister
First, walk. Walk, walk, walk. If you’re interested in Naval History, take the Tube to Docklands and walk through the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. You come out up some stairs and there to your immediate left is (was?) the Cutty Sark, which that link tells me was badly damaged in May 2007. Yikes! Anyway, it’s one of the few (if any) clipper ships left. Then you can walk around Greenwich and see the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum.
jp2
@ Ned R
Nothing could beat a game at this time of year. +10 in culture, +20 in fun.
Paul Crowley
@Ned R.: ah, transport geeking, one of the great London hobbies!
One-day travelcards are still issued on paper, but weekly and beyond are all done on the Oyster card. A seven day Zone 1-2 travelcard will cost you £25.80.
Here’s how to use your Oyster like a pro. Hold it out in front of you (inside your wallet if you like, it works at a distance of a few millimetres) and put it on the gate as soon as they have opened for the person in front of you (no sooner, or you might let them through and then be barred yourself). DON’T STOP WALKING, don’t wait for the gates to open, just stride on confidently, they’ll be open by the time you reach them.
Getting about after midnight is far from impossible, the night bus network is great, but you’re so close to the centre in Vauxhall that a taxi or even a black cab won’t be too much. Note that minicabs are generally much cheaper than black cabs – only use the licenced ones, they have the diamond TfL sticker in the back window. You can get a number for a minicab firm near you by sending a text message, details here:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/taxisandminicabs/taxis/default.aspx
If you’re right near Vauxhall station, you’re central enough that there are quite a few places in London you could walk home from!
If you like to go out to clubs, don’t miss the chance to do so in London – whatever sort of club you like we probably have it!
Feel free to mail if I can be any more help.
justcorbly
Driving in London: I didn’t grow up in Boston, but I’ve certainly driven there, and in London. I never plan to repeat either experience. At the least, you’ll spend far too much time and far too much cash lookng for and paying for parking. Plus, some folks do have trouble adjusting to driving on the left from the right side of the car. In addition, all the signage is different (duh). Why torture yourself?
Oyster Card: For some reason, the Oyster Card vs Travelcard question triggers a lot of chatter on the travel blogs. I don’t get it. Figure out which Zones you’ll frequent (probably 1 & 2) and tell a clerk at your first Tube stop that, and how long you’ll be in town. Odds are he/she will sell you an Oyster card. Odds are, too, that you’ll use the Tube more than you thought. Oh, and don’t depend on the ubiqitous Tube route map to judge walking distance.
Cabs: Ain’t cheap, but aren’t oppressively expensive, either. At the end of a long day on tired feet, it can be a lot easier to face a cab than the Tube. (Note the rush hour Tube in central London is jammed and SRO.)
JayMi
Hey DougJ,
Long time lurker, occasional commenter (definitely a good thing on that tip). Currently living in South East London but Chicago born. Most of the previous comments are very good. Carry a portable umbrella. It’s almost always raining. Plus it’s pretty cold right now. Try to walk around zones 1-2 if you can. The fact is that the tube stops are closer than one would think. It’s also great for people watching. Check out the big parks (Hyde, St. James, etc) too. Go to Windsor Castle aka the Queen’s crib. Shop @ Westfield the new designer shopping mall near Shepherd’s Bush. Catch some last minute theatre tickets or go to Sadler’s Wells for dance performances. There’s a funky Turkish restaurant called Sarastro near Covent Garden; on wednesdays, singers from the Covent Garden Opera entertain. The food is not great but the atmosphere is pretty good. The toilets literally have paintings of Roman orgies. For cheap but good West Indian go to Jerk City near Oxford Circus. For good Lebanese or Italian, go to Qasser or Amaretto on Tottenham Court road respectively. They are next door to each other. Check out the historical pubs in the Docklands; one of which is close to where the Mayflower set sail; it’s about 300-400 years old. It even has a hangman’s noose outside. Get a copy of the Time Out London guide. Time Out guides are excellent! Hope you have fun.
DougJ
@JayMi
Thanks.
Laura W
@DougJ: I got shut out last night trying to persuade you to look for the Bogle Phantom since I think you’ll love it and it’s a deal at twice the price. At least the 2003 was. I don’t drink a lot of red, especially in warm months, but this one blew my mind.
Anyway, have found a site in NJ that stocks the 2005 Phantom, my Las Rocas and your Vega Sinoda Garnachas, and I’m throwing in a Dr Loosen Riesling and Bogle Sauvignon Blanc, both under $10 Best Buys. Gonna be too hot for the reds in about 90 min. down here.
(Site is Ultimate Wine Shop in case my link was whacky.)
DougJ
Laura — I don’t know why but there are a lot of good wine stores in Jersey.
mellowjohn
btw, don’t miss shepard’s market in mayfair. there’s another bunch of good pubs there, one called "the grapes" and another – who’s name, alas, i forget – that does (or did a few years ago) a really good roast chicken dinner.
also, if you go up to hampsted, don’t miss "the spaniard." it’s supposed to be where dick turpin "they highway man" hung out.
Tokyokie
JenJen
I do second all posters who warn DougJ against ordering burgers anywhere outside the continental US. I’ve never been able to put my finger on it, but burgers should be consumed in America only.
The reason British burgers are so awful is because of the grind of beef they use. Choking down a Wimpy’s burger will make you long for a Big Mac, they’re that awful. There used to be a joint kind of across from Harrods called the Great American Disaster that had a decent burger, but it’s long gone. And way back when, I’d go to the Hard Rock for a burger, not realizing that it was about to become a far-flung chain of t-shirt-selling joints, and even then, shouting over the din of the ambient music to give the waitress my order was almost not worth it.
DougJ: You can dress like a slob for Harrods, and still expect the doorman to at least pretend not to notice. A couple of years ago, on the spousal unit’s first trip to Europe, I arranged for a long layover on the way back at Gatwick so we could dash into the city so she could visit Harrods and see Buckingham Palace. (Not my first choices, but what are you going to do when you have about four hours in London?) I was wearing my usual aloha shirt, cargo shorts and sandals, and the staff still treated us graciously and without condescension (although we were there literally when the doors opened, so we were pretty much the only customers for them to attend to).
But that brings up another crucial point: British security regulations will allow you only one carry-on item for the return trip. Not a computer bag AND a small, rolling suitcase, just one or the other. A woman only gets to count her purse. If you buy something at the airport duty-free shop, ask for a large shopping bag and put whatever else you were planning to carry on inside it. And they’re a lot stricter on enforcing size restrictions on the single carry-on items; a standard small, rolling suitcase is too big. So be prepared to check a bag for the return trip.
Kay
I just heard I’m going to London for 5 weeks in June and July, and cannot wait! Love love love it. It is breathtakingly expensive to eat; on past trips we often got takeaway meals from M&S food convenience shops. Unusual, non-touristy stuff to do: visit Banqueting House in Whitehall, you’ll have the whole place to yourself. Tour Denis Severs house. Walk all thorough Chelsea. Sunday morning Flower Market on Columbia Rd in the East End–local color on several levels! We just wander through supermarkets and chemists to see products they don’t make in America. Throw away your diet and have scones with clotted cream as often as possible. Go to a non-touristy neighborhood and wander there, too. Go into the stationery stores, newsagents, homeware stores you see there. Always enlightening. Listen to the radio and sample the telly; the weekend newspapers are divine. See a play at Donmar Warehouse or the National; forget the West End. Have a brilliant holiday!
zmullls
The absolute best coffee to be had in London is at a little out of the way shop called "Coffee Cake and Kink." The coffee is entirely fresh ground to your order, and served in a french press to give it the biggest kick. The artwork is tasteful erotica and if you feel really daring you can sit outside and let people know you’re drinking there.
Really. GREAT coffee.
Sock Puppet of the Great Satan
I’m 15 years out of date, but
1. Art: Tate, Saatchi gallery, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery
2. Theater, e.g. Royal Shakespeare, Royal Court, Royal National, or decent fringe theaters: ask a local. Skip the musicals. Left before the Globe was constructed; must go next time I’m there.
3. The rock/pop music scene in London is far, far better than anything on the West Coast, at least. [Seriously, I came the SF Bay Area and thought the art/music/theater here *sucked* compared to London.]
4. Shopping: Camden Lock Market on weekends, Kensington Market. Leather, shoes, wool are better and cheaper than the U.S. Cotton stuff is more expensive. Skip all electronics.
5. British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Natural History Museum.
6. Tower of London is good for yucks.
7. Take a trip to one of these three: Stratford-on-Avon (twee but cool, great theater), Cambridge, or Oxford. Both Cambridge and Oxford are great bicycle cities (you can rent one), and Cambridge is very compact. The colleges at Oxford and Cambridge close to tourists during exam term (from April-June, because U.S. tourists have a habit of wandering into student’s rooms), so check before you go up whether tourists are allowed into the colleges. Mid-June is Mayweek (don’t ask), which is a great time to go after exams, because there are an extraordinary number of high-quality student theater then (like, 3 a day: I once saw a medieval passion play in the Courtyard where Christopher Marlowe’s student rooms still stood). Both Oxford and Cambridge have excellent museums (the Bodleian and the Fitzwilliam museums) and central libraries. If you go to Cambridge, go to the Eagle pub and try to spot where Crick and Watson burned their names into the ceiling after cracking the structure of DNA.
8. Kew Gardens, Greenwick Observatory are cool. If you’re going to Greenwich, take the Yuppie Docklands Railway through Canary Wharf and take the foot tunnel under the Thames to Greenwich. Stand along the meredian line with one foot in the West and one in the East Hemisphere.