What to do London?

livEwirE

Hi all,

I'm off with my gf to London at the start of November, staying near the marble arch. We'll be going from Mon-fri, what should we see and what is the best way to get around, tube/bus etc.?

I've been told the London eye is not worth seeing if you have to queue and wait for an hour or so, is this true?

Is it worth taking in a show, we were considering "Guys & Dolls", should you book the tickets online or wait until you get there?

Any suggestions REALY appreciated

~livEwirE~

MrJoeSoap

The tube is great, you can get Day Passes (I got one for a fiver, but when I went to get one the next time it was a tenner, think it has to do with the time you purchase it at). The tube can get you virtually anywhere. I just got the tube to all the different landmarks, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace etc...

Not too sure about the tickets, but I doubt theres any problem booking them now. I've also heard Madame Tussauds is good, and there are some bus trips that bring you to all the landmarks like the Tower. I'll find out the name of the tour operator later.

Ruu_Old

The tube is a great way to get around, grab a tube map online and make your way around. Apart from the usual tourist spots, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye or Madame Tussauds (which always has something different) you can watch the street entertainment on Covent Gardens if there is any at that time. Take a trip to Camden Town for the market, heaps of shops and lots of wild, weird and wacky people there, its fun.

mikedragon32

To be honest, Marble Arch is so central I wouldn't bother with the Tube unless you're not into walking everywhere. We covered most of the major sites in London in two days on foot. You get to see a lot of London that you'd miss otherwise.

London eye is well worth it and you can book in advance online.

As for the West End, wait til you get there before deciding what you want to see. TKTS on Leicester Square usually have tickets for sale at a discount for a lot of shows. You'll probably have to queue and tickets are always for the evening/matinee on the day of purchase, so unless you're heart is set on going to a particular show, that's the way to go.

Handy Tip: Bus Route 11 from Liverpool Street follows the same route as the open top bus! If you don't mind missing out on the tour guide, you'll save a lot of money by just buying a day pass for the bus!

Keedowah

I really loved the British Museum - and its free! So is the tate modern.

St. Pauls is good - and you can go to the top of the dome.

You can do some good walking tours of London too.

Great city for walking around - Enjoy!

grumpytrousers

You're lucky as hell - you've got loads of time. here's some tips

1) Get one of those streetmap doo-hickeys.
2) Buy your travelcard AFTER 9.30
3) Walk instead of taking buses for any kind of short journeys; you see a lot more and if you've a map, chance the back streets esp in the west end...being into me music, it was by accident i found Saville Row (famous for suits but also the beatles 'let it be' rooftop performance at #3) and Berwick St where the cover for Morning Glory was shot.
4) If it's still there, go for a meal at the New Picadilly cafe on Denman St. Behind Picadilly circus. old skool 50's style cafe that's due to be closed one of the days, but has to be seen to be believed. (more here http://www.classiccafes.co.uk/new_picc_special.htm)
5) You'll probably get a west end matinee show on the wednesday and tickets wouldn't be that much of a problem
6) no matter how good the movie, avoid west end cinemas. they're expensive.
7) One of the best pints of Guinness to be had in london is in The Toucan just off Soho Square.
8) Oxford circus itself is all 7 circles of hell concentrated in a few square metres. As pedestrian junctions go, it is to be avoided at all costs; it's not much better as a tube stop. Again, back streets are your friend!!!
9) Despite point 7, you should at least try a pint of real ale. If you don't like it, fair enough - go back to your usual.
10) My own favourite museum was the Transport Musem at Covent Garden, but as they're all free, you should make the most of them all; the ones at kensington WILL take a whole day though...

enjoy

mrsmagoo

Lots to do in London. Not enough time to do it.
I spent 5 days there in June. We had so much to keep us occupied.

Yes the British Museum is fantastic no matter who you are. I recommend going there a couple of times. It's central enough so you can dip in and out. It's free.
Another place that is free is the Tate Modern. But I found it a waste of time. (Not into that type of art I found out!). The regular Tate is also free and is well worth a visit. The National Gallery is on Trafalgar Square and is also free. I spent 3 hours there and it was just about enough time. If you like Leonardo da vinci, Michaelangelo, Turner, Van Gogh 'SunFlowers' and Monet then check this place out. I would also recommend The Globe, the home of Shakespeare. Great museum making his life very interesting (I was lucky enough to check out their summer programme when they actually perform his plays on the stage as it would have been done back yonder. Fab!)

Regular places like St. Pauls, Westminster (Big Ben) and Buckingham Palace are worth a look. As for the London Eye, I found it a waste of time. Its just too expensive for what is a glorfied ferris wheel ride. You do get a good view of the city. If you're into views and can part with €30 then go ahead!

What I would recommend (especially seeing as you have a while there) is a boat cruise along the Thames down as far as Greenwich. The boat trip is inexpensive (£6 if you use the transport type one from London Eye area). They have a guide who keeps telling you he's just a transport worker so he looks for a tip. He gives you interesting info going along the Thames through London in an entertaining cockney way.
Once you get to Greenwich you could spend the day there. Best to do it near the end of the trip because you might want a break from the city. Such a laid back college town right on the river. It has the naval museum and the likes but the reason I went was the Royal Observatory. Seeing as you are ON Greenwich Mean Time it is worth finding out about it. Definitely a different thing to do when in London.

As for the tickets I recommend also to go to TKTS. Just get there between 9 & 10 in the morning and you'll get in a queue (not too long). The flashing board will tell you what's on that night and you usually get it half price. My family were lucky enough to get half price tickets to the press preview of Evita, champagne and all!!

So that about wraps it up. You'll have a ball. So enjoy it!

livEwirE

brilliant info here guys...thanks and keep it coming...at least now I have an idea of what is available:D

davros

I did a tour of BBC Television Centre recently. Didn't see the TARDIS or the Blue Peter garden but it was interesting to see inside a couple of studios (including Graham Norton rehearsing his Maria show). You need to book somewhat in advance. You can also get audience tickets for filming.

Also did a couple of guided walks which were good value.

Vinopolis is a curiosity. It's a permanent wine-tasting venue but I attended one of their monthly whisky masterclasses.

Houses of Parliament tour is recommended. The London Eye had hardly any queue when I turned up first thing in the morning.

If you go to the Bank of England museum, you can hold a gold bar in your hand worth €200,000

You can never run out of things to do in London. Be sure to pick up Time Out to see what's happening while you are there.