Good things to do in a weekend in London

Storming

I'm traveling to London with my two sisters on Friday May 16th for the weekend. Any ideas for things to do? We have three full days and are early forties so more interested in shopping and activities with nice restaurants. Any tips from recent or regular travellers appreciated!

FTA69

Go to the East End. You can go shopping in Westfield in Stratford if shopping centres etc pique your interest. Then jump on a tube to Whitechapel and visit the Whitechapel Gallery as well as a few other local sites of interest. You can go for the best Punjabi cuisine ever in Whitechapel also (go to Needoo Grill or Tayyab's) and then wander up Brick Lane for a few drinks. You can also arrange to go on a Jack the Ripper Walking Tour around the locality which is actually great craic.

Alternatively you can also spend a day in Richmond in the south west. There's loads of restaurants and gastro-pubs and the place has a very towny feel. You can visit the park there to see the deer (picnic?) and also the amazing golden Sikh temple there.

djpbarry

Always plenty happening at the South Bank Centre:

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/calendar?filter[start-date]=2014-05-17&

LadyMayBelle

Unless you like walking at the speed of slug avoid Portobello after 12 noon..madness. I would suggest South Bank instead and consder walking from Borough Market (London Bridge) along the river to South Bank and see all the sights (London Eye, Big Ben, House of Parliament)

If ye want to go shopping shopping make a list of where you'd like; Westfield is fine but gets very congested and claustrophobic at weekends; I reckon you are better staying central and seeing Oxford Street/Regent Street/ Carnaby Street and having fancy lunch in Liberty London!

Santa Cruz

Take the river cruise from Westminster Bridge down to Greenwich, good view of Tower of London, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf.
Spend a few hours around Greenwich, nice market and open areas. It would fill an afternoon. If you don't want to come back by the river take train, tube or bus.

Stheno

Sunday lunch at Ronnie Scotts is great

AngusB

FTA69 wrote: »

Go to the East End. You can go shopping in Westfield in Stratford if shopping centres etc pique your interest. Then jump on a tube to Whitechapel and visit the Whitechapel Gallery as well as a few other local sites of interest. You can go for the best Punjabi cuisine ever in Whitechapel also (go to Needoo Grill or Tayyab's) and then wander up Brick Lane for a few drinks. You can also arrange to go on a Jack the Ripper Walking Tour around the locality which is actually great craic.

Alternatively you can also spend a day in Richmond in the south west. There's loads of restaurants and gastro-pubs and the place has a very towny feel. You can visit the park there to see the deer (picnic?) and also the amazing golden Sikh temple there.

I dont know why anyone would want to go to London for a weekend and spend time in a shopping center near Stratford. Brick lane is great for Indian food, and is really vibrant and hopping at night, but 40's is really not the right demographic and it's really more geared towards the 20's.

Google "West End London shopping - Telegraph" and see why "Shopping in the West End is limitless, it really is. Choose from money-no-object label shopping around Bond Street in Mayfair, traditional shops selling masculine, ultra-British accessories in St James’s, the mid-range glamour of Regent Street, chic-funky Carnaby Street, and noisy, thronging Oxford Street, packed with under-25s and insane during the legendary January sales..."

djpbarry

AngusB wrote: »

Brick lane is great for Indian food...

It really isn't. Maybe it used to be, but it's all generic crap now.

AngusB

djpbarry wrote: »

It really isn't. Maybe it used to be, but it's all generic crap now.

Wow! I live within 5 minutes from Brick lane when in London, and if your experience is that the food there is "crap" (to use your unfortunate word), then we differ. Some are better than others, obviously, but to label them all as "crap" seems to suggest a prejudice.

It's known locally as Banglatown and we've tried, perhaps, 30+ different restaurants there. and in our favourite Bengali restaurant we even get discount. We took friends from Sri Lanka there recently and they raved about the quality of the food.

Certainly years ago Brick Lane had a reputation for identikit Curry Houses, and your unfortunate choice of word seems to suggest you are out of date with recent developments of the wide variety of authentic Indian restaurants.

Even if you do have an in depth up to date knowledge of Brick Lane (and if you do it differes greatly from ours and the thousands of others who throng to Brick Lane every week), why you have to label every restaurant there as "crap" is a mystery. Just because you might not like any of them ( and I am betting you have not tried many in 2014) is no reason to be so negative.

woof im a dog

brick lane is renowned for it's curry houses, how can you just label them as crap

Blured

woof im a dog wrote: »

brick lane is renowned for it's curry houses, how can you just label them as crap

Temple bar is renowned for its pubs, but we still label them as crap!

AngusB

Blured wrote: »

Temple bar is renowned for its pubs, but we still label them as crap!

So because "we" (whoever that is) label pubs in Temple Bar as "crap" , then all restaurants in a different city in a different country, in a street called Brick Lane, must also be "crap"?

I am assuming you missed the day in school when logic was taught.

Blured

AngusB wrote: »

So because "we" (whoever that is) label pubs in Temple Bar as "crap" , then all restaurants in a different city in a different country, in a street called Brick Lane, must also be "crap"?

I am assuming you missed the day in school when logic was taught.

Not really - was just making a point. While Brick lane is "renowned" for its curry houses, my opinion (shared by some on this board it seems) is that most of the places there are over-rated and mainly for lads to get a few beers and a curry as its the done thing in London.

The comparison with Temple Bar was that tourists hear of it as a great place for a night out - locals, or more clued in people visiting Dublin, know that its a tourist trap and there are much better alternatives out there.

And again, just in case this wasnt undertood, this is all IMHO

Jack B. Badd

Alright lads, time to stop the bickering.

Thank you,
Jack

FTA69

AngusB wrote: »

I dont know why anyone would want to go to London for a weekend and spend time in a shopping center near Stratford. Brick lane is great for Indian food, and is really vibrant and hopping at night, but 40's is really not the right demographic and it's really more geared towards the 20's.

Well shopping was mentioned in the OP to be fair. Also the food in Brick Lane leaves a lot to be desired to be fair. It's a tourist trap and generally you won't see a lot of locals in there. Most Muslims eat in the Punjabi grill houses in Whitechapel such as Needoo's, Maza and Tayyabs. The Bengalis also tend to eat in canteens etc such as Ruuchi's near the station.

maggiep2010

and in our favourite Bengali restaurant we even get discount.

[/QUOTE]

Every curry house on Brick Lane gives every customer discounts.. touts on the street use it as a way of getting people in. I would consider a visit there WITHOUT at least 20% off and a few rounds of drinks thrown in a massive fail.. I also find any of the restaurants I have been to there generic, they are fine for an easy dinner, or to fill your boots before a night on the tiles.. Tayyabs just behind East London Mosque is far superior.