In need of an idiots guide to London....

jodie7784

Ok, my husband and I are planning on going to London on 14/10/13 until 17/10/13 for our honeymoon we are thinking of taking the train and would like to be typical tourists. Tower of London, river cruise, london zoo, london eye, madam tussauds etc I've seen the 2 for 1 vouchers which look very good. The main thing I'm worried about is the sheer size of London so what station would be need to travel to and where would be the better area to stay in to see all of these attractions. We would also like to see show. Any advise would be great fully received thank you

Sharon87

London's not as big as you think, well central London anyway. You can easily do Tower of London, river cruise, london eye in one go. You can get offers with the London Eye and the London Eye Cruise.

You can go on the Eye, get a cruise down to Tower of London.

Madamme Toussards and London Zoo can be done in one day too. You can go to one and walk through Regents Park to the other. If you have Google Maps on your phone, this is very useful for London walking.

Edit: For tube stations -
Madamme Toussards - Baker Street
London Zoo - Camden Town or Regents Park - but you have to walk a long distance from either. Regents Park is a prettier, but longer walk.
London Eye - Waterloo
Tower of London - Tower Hill. There are also the old style routemasters still in use around Tower of London.

debsy42

Have a look through the Transport for London website, will give you some idea of tube stations etc for travelling around central London http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

You can buy travelcards that give unlimited travel on the buses/tubes so you can whizz about to your hearts content.

pandora205

Try this guide book which has maps as well as lots of information
http://www.amazon.co.uk/London-Eyewitness-Top-Travel-Guide/dp/1405312335

I visit quite a bit and still use it

redpete

jodie7784 wrote: »

...what station would be need to travel to ...

The station to travel to is the mainline station in central London that the line you are travelling on goes to. Getting around central London by tube is so easy you can get from any of the main line stations to pretty much anywhere.

jodie7784

Thanks guys that has put my mind at rest a little, so if we catch a train to kings cross can we get the tube from there to where ever we are staying?

wealdroam

jodie7784 wrote: »

Thanks guys that has put my mind at rest a little, so if we catch a train to kings cross can we get the tube from there to where ever we are staying?

Yes.

Have you looked at a map yet?

Try here for a start:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/1106.aspx

TfL's Journey Planner is good too.

jackyann

I would definitely take one of the London bus tours. Search to see which ones you can get vouchers etc. for. Most of them do some kind of deal over 2-3 days as well, and some include a river trip.
They all enable you to hop-on-hop-off, so you can spend as much or as little time at each attraction as you wish. And in between, you get the potted history & stories of all the main landmarks, so you get a real feeling for London without spending ages travelling to say Buckingham Palace to stare at it for a minute.
If you can, get one of the tours with a real live guide. They are so much more fun than the pre-recorded.

I always like to take visitors for a drink on the balcony at the Punch & Judy (Covent Garden) & a wander round Liberty's (sometimes including tea). My top places to eat are: Leon for good quality food (but you can't really linger) and the Swan at the Globe for good food and a fabulous view.
Also, a trip round the Globe isn't just for Shakespeare lovers - the craftsmanship & history are absorbing.
The walk along the south bank from Westminster to London Bridge is, IMHO, one of the best, easily accessible London walks.

gkhej

As Debsy42 says Transport for London is a great site for planning but my "top tip" is to get an A-Z and walk as much as you can. It's easy to find your way around, almost as quick as the tube, you see so much more
and central London is far more compact than you imagine. If you do get a bit lost, you'll soon come across a tube station and get back on track!

Twopints

Have you got Tesco Clubcard vouchers? You can use them for Tower of London, Thames Cruise, Tussauds, London Zoo etc

Also have you looked at London Pass? you get admission to a number of attractions and can get a 1,2,3 or more day pass. Not cheap but worth it if you want to cram a load of things in, and if you don't like somewhere you don't feel you need to stay because you've paid £20 to get in!

redpete

jodie7784 wrote: »

if we catch a train to kings cross can we get the tube from there to where ever we are staying?

At a guess I'd say it would be quite difficult to get a hotel in central London that is more than a 10-15 minute walk from a tube station.