London holiday

kt21

word of advice on the travellodge see if you can get a room high up and off of the road. its a great location but the night we stayed it was extremely noisy.

Have fun

redpete

davenkelly wrote: »

Just been trying to estimate how to get everywhere....London is confusing!!!

Lot of attractions are within walking distance and when not the Tube system is really convenient and not difficult to navigate.

googler

If you go to Greenwich in nice weather, then take the time out for a detour on the Emirates Air Line over the Thames; if you do this from South to North, you can hop on the Docklands Light Railway on the North side to get back into the city, and admire their driverless trains......

StrongWork

London attractions imo worth seeing include:

British Museum
Natural History Museum
Science Museum
V&A Museum
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery

Madam Tussauds is overpriced, always has a long tourist queue and is pretty crap. Aquarium isn't bad but there are better ones out there, plus it is ruddy expensive. London Dungeon I have no experience of. I note from your OP, you'll get free entry, in that case might be worth a look but I certainly wouldn't choose Madam Tussauds or the Aquarium over anything in my original list.

davidlizard

StrongWork wrote: »

London attractions imo worth seeing include:

British Museum
Natural History Museum
Science Museum
V&A Museum
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery

Madam Tussauds is overpriced, always has a long tourist queue and is pretty crap. Aquarium isn't bad but there are better ones out there, plus it is ruddy expensive. London Dungeon I have no experience of. I note from your OP, you'll get free entry, in that case might be worth a look but I certainly wouldn't choose Madam Tussauds or the Aquarium over anything in my original list.

I too was very disappointed with Tussauds. Unless you are an avid watcher of X-factor and similar stuff you will not have a clue who many of the exhibits are supposed to be. Given the queues, and the pushing and shoving it's not a pleasant experience, even if it is free. I went as a parent helper with the school, and even most of the kids hated the place.

Thorpe Park is well worth the visit, but make sure you go in a weekday when the schools are not on holiday as you can spend too long in queues.

Transport - buses are an excellent way of getting around and seeing the capital. If you have a travel card, you just show it to the driver when you get on. Most central routes have buses every 5-10 minutes. The TFL web site has the bus maps on there. I really recommend seeing what buses go where to see if they fit in with your movement plans.

I also add the Museum of London to the list of good stuff to see. Also recommend changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace (11am) if you are into that sort of thing. Seeing London from the river is also worth doing.

pinki65

Public holidays, or 'bank holidays' because they are known, are dispersed all year round and mark religious, historic and special occasions.

A lot of London's shops, points of interest and companies stay open through the public holidays. Make sure to check opening occasions before going to on nowadays as many will open for reduced hrs yet others may not open whatsoever.

davenkelly

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies so far, there will be 4 of us going in total and I think we will have a look round nh / science museums as well.

I think buses combined with walking seems to be our best bet....one more question though, are a lot of the attractions / places to see close by to each other? (I.e....if we accidentally get off at the wrong stop we won't be lost and walking for miles!!!) (like we would in leeds!!!)

googler

davenkelly wrote: »

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies so far, there will be 4 of us going in total and I think we will have a look round nh / science museums as well.

I think buses combined with walking seems to be our best bet....one more question though, are a lot of the attractions / places to see close by to each other? (I.e....if we accidentally get off at the wrong stop we won't be lost and walking for miles!!!) (like we would in leeds!!!)

Look up the ones you're interested in on t'internet, map them out on google maps, tie this in to the bus and tube routes....

davidlizard

If you are staying in the Travelodge at Bank, be aware that in that part of London, a lot of things shut up at the weekend - a lot of pubs and restaurants are only open Monday to Friday. This is because very few people live in that part of the city, it being all businesses.

However, if you are in that part of town, then you are only a few minutes walk from:

1. Monument (to the Great Fire of London). You can climb up 311 steps to the viewing platform for some goodish views over the Thames. It is next to Pudding Lane where you can find the plaque showing where the Great Fire started. The Monument costs about £3.

2. Bank of England Museum - they used to let you hold a real gold bar - might still do! Free to get in.

3. St Pauls - but quite pricey to go in.

4. Numerous Wren churches - including St Clements (as in Oranges and Lemons), St Mary-le-Bow (as in Bow Bells) and the Bells of the Old Bailey (forget the church name - its over the road!).

Also nearby are Tower Bridge, Tower of London and HMS Belfast.

googler

googler wrote: »

Look up the ones you're interested in on t'internet, map them out on google maps, tie this in to the bus and tube routes....

Remember also that the Tube Map is a graphic, and is not drawn to scale.

What looks like a long tube hop between two stations is sometimes an easy walk at street level, and can be walked in a fraction of the time it takes to descend, wait for and board train, ascend at destination, etc.