Travel to UK, help w/itinerary

bkbirge · #1 09-17-2009, 10:35 AM

Hey all, I'm heading to London from good ol' Texas in the middle of October for a family visit. Having never been, are there any "must sees"? I've got the regular touristy stuff pretty well covered I think, I'm looking for more like favorite haunts, good music & food, and places that sell Wal basses for 200 pounds

. I'll be staying around Camden Market area but don't mind hopping on a bus or train to get around.

Mark Latimour · #2 09-17-2009, 10:44 AM

What things have you got covered?

What is your budget?

Do they need to be family friendly?

Have you been to Europe before?

bkbirge · #3 09-17-2009, 11:14 AM

Thanks for the reply, to answer your ?'s...

I've got the Tower, Camden Market, Big Ben, Abbey Road, Thames boat ride, Bath/Stonehenge, Paris daytrip, etc. sort of stuff covered. Budget is not a concern right now as I'm just trolling for ideas that we'll pick and choose from. Family friendly is a plus but we're planning a couple adult nights out too. I've lived in Germany and visited several other places but never the UK.

ZoomBoy · #4 09-17-2009, 12:13 PM

How many days are you there for? A trip to Paris isn't much time there.

thefruitfarmer · #5 09-17-2009, 03:09 PM

Bear in mind that London is the most successful multi-cultural community in the world.

Happynoj · #6 09-17-2009, 03:11 PM

Go to Legoland! I've always wanted to go there.

bkbirge · #7 09-21-2009, 10:28 AM

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Mark Latimour · #8 09-21-2009, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bkbirge

Thanks for the reply, to answer your ?'s...

I've got the Tower, Camden Market, Big Ben, Abbey Road, Thames boat ride, Bath/Stonehenge, Paris daytrip, etc. sort of stuff covered. Budget is not a concern right now as I'm just trolling for ideas that we'll pick and choose from. Family friendly is a plus but we're planning a couple adult nights out too. I've lived in Germany and visited several other places but never the UK.

Its hard if you have already been to Europe (ie Germany) you will have been to old pubs etc. A few things I think are quite nice:

1. Richmond Park and / or Kew Gardens - you can walk around, see the deer and the other animals or you might want to go to Hampstead Heath for a walk and see how the rich people live.

2. Go to ticketmaster.co.uk and see what gigs are on when you are in town and try and catch something at the Shepherds Bush Empire, the Hammersmith Apollo or the Brixton Academy as they are all famous venues or if you can afford it, the Royal Albert Hall (which is super expensive but really nice).

3. Have a meal at one of the best Gastropubs in London, there is a super nice one in Chiswick and another in Fulham which serve traditional english game meals at "reasonable" prices. If you checkout www.timeout.com/london and search for best Gastropubs you will see them.

4. Go to Borough Market on a Saturday morning with the kids and marvel at all the food and stalls (and eat for free based on samples) and then head across the road on Borough High Street to one of the old pubs or otherwise head north to the Thames and walk along the embankment to the Tate Modern or further to the London Eye.

5. St Pauls Cathedral - go and walk up to the top as its a really call walk up some narrow staircases and one of the best views in London.

6. Visit Spitalfields Market in Spitalfields (Liverpool Street Tube) on a Sunday afternoon for a lively market in London cool district. Walk from there into Bricklane and check out the alternative side of London (and get hassled to come and eat at a cheap curry house).

7. The Original London Walks (google them) they are really cool and cheap for a fiver or so and a great way to explore some areas of London off the beaten track and have a tour guide take you around. They are generally great for families.

8. Explore the area between Regent Street and Park Lane (ie Mayfair) to see all the super rich shops and people and also some of the nicest streets in London. Don't be fooled by the large crowd at the start of Savile Row, that's just all the teenage girls trying to get into Abercrombie and Fitch to see the shirtless boywhores.

9. Windsor Castles and / or Hampton Court. They are both worth a visit and are very nice. But they arn't cheap and Winsdor castle will have you queing for a while.

Meh, that's all I can think of now!

Largedon · #9 09-21-2009, 10:55 AM

Its simple.

1. Get off plane.
2. Go to local pub.
3. Get on plane.
4. Go home.

Seriously though, I went over a couple of times in the early 90's to London. Totally worth going to the local touristy things, like Tower of London, etc but some of the best time I had was just going for a walk, hitting local pubs/restaurants and really diving into the local culture. As far a cool day trip, Canterbury and Dover were both very cool places.

For an added bonus get some Jethro Tull to listen to while traveling. Nothing like listening to "Jacks in the Green" or "Hunting Girl" while driving through England's green and pleasant countryside to really get you into the spirit of the area

matthewfoote · #10 09-25-2009, 03:53 AM

If you are staying near Camden, you have to drop into The Bass Gallery which in my opinion is the best bass shop in London and also makers of Sei Basses.

the web site is at www.thebassgallery.com

Enjoy your trip

Regards

Matthew

knumbskull · #11 09-25-2009, 06:40 AM

/\/\/\/\ do it!

great shop, great luthiers, great guys. well worth a visit.

if you are near Hyde Park/Kensington, i highly recommend the Nag's Head pub - probably the best in London I reckon, and I've been to most of them!

Rusty Chainsaw · #12 09-25-2009, 08:56 AM

My advice: You can do the vast majority of the touristy stuff in London inside two days (Buck House, Parliament, London Eye, Tower Of London, museums, Madame Tussauds, Spitalfields/Portobello markets, London Dungeon, Trocadero, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, etc... and not forgetting, as Matthew suggested, The Gallery

).

Once you've done those, get on a train, or hire a car, and get out of London and head either north or west. See a bit of the rest of the UK. Once you get out of the cities, Britain is a breathtakingly beautiful place. Drive up north through the Pennines, or up to the Lake District for the stupefyingly gorgeous views. Go west to Devon and Cornwall. Go to Wales. The UK is a wonderful place and isn't all about London (and this is coming from a native Londoner).

**bassybill** · #13 09-25-2009, 12:43 PM

Funny old city, is London. I never quite feel entirely comfortable there, despite having spent a lot of time in the place, both for work and socially. Dunno why. I do like the Covent Garden area for evening drinks and eats, though. And Trafalgar Square is one of my favourite places anywhere.

Having said all that, I still feel A LOT more "at home" in NYC than I do in London. Yes, weird, I know.

Jim Nazium · #14 09-25-2009, 12:50 PM

I thought the Naval Observatory at Greenwich was really cool and worth seeing. It's a little ways outside London, but worth the trip IMHO. They have some paintings from Captain Cook's voyages, and some huge elaborate mechanical clocks that were developed to aid maritime navigation in the 17th-18th centuries. I was there in 1986, and I'm still impressed.

Brummie · #15 09-28-2009, 08:03 PM

Hi,
The London eye, Mdame Tussaudes, lego land and a whole load of other stuff is owned by a company called Merlin Entertainment, have a look at their website and if you plan to visit 3 or more of the attractions they own then it would be worth getting a year pass for about £90 adult/£50 kids.
Get a day travel card to get around on Bus/Tube/riverbus.
Go on time outs website to see whats on when you are here.
Book stuff in advance on lastminute.com, loads of bargains there.
Museums in South Kensington are free, so is the Wallace art Collection behind Oxford St.
If I think of anything else I'll PM it to you.
cheers