Weekend in London

Chewy Bluey

Hey
Me and a couple of friends are thinking of heading to London sometime in August for a weekend trip. Was wondering if anyone has any good recommendations of a particular part that is good? also any recommendations of relatively cheap accommodation ( hotels/hostels) restaurants, bars etc

grimm2005

London is really well connected by the tube so you'd be grand in most places although I personally would try and keep within Zones 1 and 2, this way you're either in or very close to the centre in most cases.

Depending how many of you there are, a hostel could be a good cost effective option but keep in mind that London accommodation is pretty damn expensive (even for hostels), particularly if you're staying quite central. I've found Tune hotel near liverpool st. to be one of the cheapest hotels and it's very very central, but again, might not suit depending on many of youse there are. A good idea would be the go to hostelworld.com, put in your dates/people and search there to get an idea of hostel prices.

As for parts of London that are good, it's a huge city and many places have their own style/things to do. Westminster, Trafalgar Sq, Leicester Sq would be the main touristy areas. I found Camden to be great area for nights out, very alternative/rock type clubs and crowds, a good buzz around the place at night, also worth checking out the huge market during the day. I think Shoreditch is meant to be good for more trendy type places but this is also reflected in the cost. There's really something for everyone depending what you're looking for. Loads to do during the day too and happy to share any recommendations for day time activities if needed!

Chewy Bluey

Cool thanks!! Camden was one of the areas we we're looking at actually. There's only 3 of us. Any recommendations for stuff to do in the day would be greatly appreciated thanks. Yeah well aware of the pricey nature hence only going for few days

grimm2005

The hotel I mentioned probably wouldn't suit so as they only do doubles and twin rooms, but no triples, maybe look at staying in a dorm in a hostel somewhere? If you're on a weekend you'd probably be looking at €30 - 60 per person per night to stay in a half decent hostel in central London. Renting a private place on Airbnb could also be a good cost effective option.

As for things to do, it really depends on what you're into. Some of the main tourist things would be the London eye, Madame Tussauds, the aquarium, London Dungeon, Tower of London and the areas I mentioned above. There are also some great free museums like the British museum, science museum and the natural history museum. I'd recommend catching a west end show while over there, there's so many that there will be something that appeals to everyone (I personally recommend the book of mormon, although reasonably priced tickets are tough enough to get). Or an alternative would be to catch a show in the Comedy Store, they always put on a great show, it's a pretty famous comedy club there.

There's a pretty good music museum in the O2 arena, and you can also climb to the top of the dome while there which is pretty different and fun. Apart from that, the arena pretty much just consists of a cinema, bowling alley, and loads of restaurants and bars, so wouldn't put it down as a "must visit" unless you're going to a show in the arena.

If you're into theme parks and big thrill rides like roller coasters and such, Thorpe park is about 30 - 60mins by train from London, you'd want a full day for that though.

If you are movie buffs I'd highly recommend catching a film at the BFI IMAX, it boasts a screen much much larger then anything we have here. It's worth if even for the short documentaries imo, although you may not want to do that considering the length of your trip.

Camden market is worth checking out as suggested before, and a good area for nightlife. If you're into shopping, Westfield in Stratford is the biggest shopping centre in Europe and is quite simply colossal. Nearby you also have the Olympic park which is now fully open to the public and you can also get tours etc.

Then you've got your standard hop on/off buses, one of which gives you a ticket for a hop on/off boat cruise on the thames and free walking tours also for a 24 hour period. The cruise finishes in Greenwich which is a more relaxed area in London (also reachable by tube/DLR), where you've got a massive park that has fantastic views of London at it's peak. You've got the cutty sark museum here also as well as the co-ordinates of 0'0'0' (which is where Greenwich Mean Time comes from).

London is huge and there's so much to do so you'll only scratch the surface while there, it's just a case of what interests you most. It's also worth checking out if there's any events going on while you are there. Hope that's of some help! Feel free to ask about anything else, I absolutely love the city and have been over there more times then I can remember in the last few years!

anne burnell

checkout thepremier Inns.... have stayed in them before and they are super and fairly good value... Also check out the Nationa Express bus site there are lots of two for one offers for the attractions in London...

kerry4sam

Chewy Bluey wrote: »

Hey
Me and a couple of friends are thinking of heading to London sometime in August for a weekend trip. Was wondering if anyone has any good recommendations of a particular part that is good? also any recommendations of relatively cheap accommodation ( hotels/hostels) restaurants, bars etc

Don't forget to look at our London mega-thread right here

kerry4sam

Dick Turnip

Imperial War Museum is great way to spend half a day. Recently renovated, has 2 main exhibitions on at the moment - one on WW1 and another on the holocaust.

If Museums are your thing then British Museum, Imperial War, Natural History and Science are some of the bigger ones.
If you like art then there's Tate Modern, Tate Britain or National Gallery. Galleries aren't really my thing though so can't comment, was in the Tate Britain recently, nice building and grand for an hours walk through.

If you like your markets then there's Camden market. Borough market near London Bridge is a really good food market, gets very busy. Broadway market on a saturday is really good, could sit out in London Fields after if it's nice. Also, there's Columbia Road flower market on a Sunday, that's in Hackney also. Brick Lane, although manic on a Sunday is a good way to spend a few hours.

What ages are in the group? For nightlife are ye looking for something different & classy? Could go for a drink on one of the bars high up (not the top one though) in the Shard. Camden could be good, but i've only been out there a couple of times, can't comment on it too much. Lots of bars/clubs/restaurants in Shoreditch & Dalston too. If you are staying in Camden, they're easy to get to by overground from Camden also.

Dick Turnip

A good way to spend half a day could be to go out to Greenwich, visit the maritime museum and then get the river boat back in as far as Westminster. From there you can go back along the south bank where you have the aquarium, dungeons, London Eye and go as far down as Borough Market.

Or once you get off at Westminster you could then walk around the area just north of the river there. All within walking distance from there is Westminster Palace (obviously), Westminster Abbey, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, The Mall, Buckingham Palace, Regents Street, Oxford Street, Soho, Leicester Square. Mind you there's plenty of walking there but that is where a lot of the "main" tourist spots are in London.

danielfiery

It's one of the cheapest hotels and it's very very central, but again, might not suit depending on many of youse there are.

Ted_YNWA

buckingham palace is open for tours for the state rooms.

http://tickets.royalcollection.org.uk/state-rooms-buckingham-palace/state-rooms-2014/2014

If you are going, I would recommen booking tickets for London Eye & Madam Toussads before you go. Some places offers these as a package. They can be busy to try & book as walk-ups over there.

Poochie05

Ted_YNWA wrote: »

buckingham palace is open for tours for the state rooms.

http://tickets.royalcollection.org.uk/state-rooms-buckingham-palace/state-rooms-2014/2014

...

Did this last year and it's really good. Also The Royal Mews just around the corner from Buck Palace is great. Has the royal carriages and cars, stables and some horses. Most of them go away for their summer holidays, but they keep a few there. The staff assured us though they all get holidays at some stage