Going to London

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G

Groof

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Hi GAF.

You might remember me from such threads as... none in particular. Moving on.

Early next month I'll be losing my London virginity. I'll only be there for a week and I already got some things I wanna see and visit, mostly all the normal touristy stuff like Big Ben and London Eye etc. But most of that can be done pretty quickly! I'll also be spending a night in Oxford (or Cambridge. Which one is more interesting?)

So what are some top things I have to do and absolutely must see? Also, what are some good off the beaten path cafes/restaurants/local goodness that should be visited? Anything goes, art exhibits, local shows, random happenings, homely burger joints, whatever! Almost my entire week will be depending on you GAF.

Cheers!

also what's the best way to avoid getting shivved at a multiple bed dormitory hostel?
 
firstly, get an Oyster card

secondly, don't take the underground rail at times between 8-10am and 4-6.30pm, especially don't go on Central line at that time

thirdly, buses are a good way of seeing the city and charge a flat rate of £1.45 on the Oyster card

fourthly, most places are within walking distance, London is a vertical city so make sure to keep looking up, it'll fill your spirits

fifthly, Namco Arcade: http://namcofunscape.com/locations/view/London-County-Hall/7

sixthly, Meat Market: http://www.themeatmarket.co.uk/

it's gonna be cold and wet, and probably snowing, and people will be miserable and rude, where abouts are you staying?
 
Make sure to visit Camden Town. It's up North and you can take the Northern line there. It's the sub-culture hub of London. You'll get to see a lot of colorful people there. Just a great place to hang out. Other than that, do visit this place at the east end, called Mile End. There's an excellent restaurant there called The Greedy Cow. They serve some tasty burgers. You'll have a good time in London.
 
Another vote for Meat Market/Meat liquor for the best burger spot in London.

For the best doughnuts, check out St Johns Bakery, Druid Street (Only open on Saturday mornings)
 
daviyoung said:
firstly, get an Oyster card

secondly, don't take the underground rail at times between 8-10am and 4-6.30pm, especially don't go on Central line at that time

thirdly, buses are a good way of seeing the city and charge a flat rate of £1.45 on the Oyster card

fourthly, most places are within walking distance, London is a vertical city so make sure to keep looking up, it'll fill your spirits

fifthly, Namco Arcade: http://namcofunscape.com/locations/view/London-County-Hall/7

sixthly, Meat Market: http://www.themeatmarket.co.uk/

it's gonna be cold and wet, and probably snowing, and people will be miserable and rude, where abouts are you staying?
Click to expand...
Great indepth reply straight off the bat, I like it! Oyster card will be procured day one. Buses will be ridden, I love riding buses. My neck will be bent upwards 90% of the time. Namco Arcade looks amazing.

I'll be staying at a hostel nearby South Hampstead High School. Not sure what the actual location's called.

Corpsepyre said:
Make sure to visit Camden Town. It's up North and you can take the Northern line there. It's the sub-culture hub of London. You'll get to see a lot of colorful people there. Just a great place to hang out. Other than that, do visit this place at the east end, called Mile End. There's an excellent restaurant there called The Greedy Cow. They serve some tasty burgers. You'll have a good time in London.
Click to expand...
I'll look into going to Camden Town as well as The Greedy Cow. Always love me some good burgers!

RedShift said:
Oxford is a far more interesting place to visit than Cambridge.
Click to expand...
Duly noted.

Also going to Meat Market confirmed!
 
Groof said:
Great indepth reply straight off the bat, I like it! Oyster card will be procured day one. Buses will be ridden, I love riding buses. My neck will be bent upwards 90% of the time. Namco Arcade looks amazing.

I'll be staying at a hostel nearby South Hampstead High School. Not sure what the actual location's called.


I'll look into going to Camden Town as well as The Greedy Cow. Always love me some good burgers!


Duly noted.

Also going to Meat Market confirmed!
Click to expand...

Oyster Cards can be topped up at most underground stations with cash or card. If you forget to top it up one time just wave it at an official and they'll let you through the manual gate they're stood next to.

You're not that far from the centre via the Jubilee line. If you're feeling particularly flush (London vernacular for financially well off) you could always ride the elevators up The Shard and get the best view of the city: http://the-shard.com/overview/. Normally I would dissuade people from going south of the river but The Shard is a great trip on a clear day.

If you're in Camden check out the shop Cyberdog, your avatar will like it: http://cyberworld.cyberdog.net/. It's located at the back of the market. Camden Market is good for noodles and pizza slices but I haven't been there in years.

Meat Market is the bomb. Homeslice Pizza is a new place in Neal's Yard near Covent Garden, they do 20-inch thin-crust pizzas. http://www.homeslicepizza.co.uk/

Here's a helpful dictionary should you encounter any unsavoury oiks, of which there are plenty.

Anuvahood.jpg


Do you drink?
 
There are some amazing pubs in London, great food, great beer. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the food is at a lot places in London. Get a Sunday roast if you can.

Use the internet to find reviews there are plenty of sites out there.
http://www.timeout.com/london/bars-pubs
http://www.fancyapint.com/
etc

If you go to the Tower of London, go early and get a full English breakfast at The Kitchen @ Tower. Best breakfast I had the entire time I was there. The place is right next to the entrance, but tucked away and kind of hard to find.
 
If you take the tube from Covent Garden to Leicester Square (or vice versa) I will find you and I WILL slap you.

Not really.

London is fairly big so I wouldn't walk everywhere but don't be afraid to have a bit of a wander around the centre of London.
 
Napoleonthechimp said:
If you take the tube from Covent Garden to Leicester Square (or vice versa) I will find you and I WILL slap you.

Not really.

London is fairly big so I wouldn't walk everywhere but don't be afraid to have a bit of a wander around the centre of London.
Click to expand...

When I went in the spring we stayed near Elephant and Castle. We only took the tube to/from the train station on arrival and departure. Helps that the weather was beautiful the whole time, too.
 
Don't go to Madame Tussaud, that crap is always overcrowed with tourists. I got lost in there once and I couldn't my way out, I was 8 years old. ¬_¬;
 
daviyoung said:
London is a vertical city so make sure to keep looking up, it'll fill your spirits
Click to expand...

Seriously, you need to share the shit you're smoking it's not fair that you can just brag about it like that.

Centre of London has some tall buildings yes, but it's less vertical than Barcelona or Milan. And it's not like all the good stuff is levitating off the ground or something. This isn't Sonic and Knuckles on the Genesis you know.

As for London, the streets aren't paved with gold, that's just a story. Check out the museums and exhibitions online and there's bound to be something to suit your tastes.

http://www.timeout.com/london
 
Another bus tip. If you only use buses (and not the Tube or any other kind of public transport), then your total fare is capped at £4.40. So, if you think you are going to take more than three rides on the bus in any one day, you'll be travelling for free.

Bus price cap
 
daviyoung said:
Oyster Cards can be topped up at most underground stations with cash or card. If you forget to top it up one time just wave it at an official and they'll let you through the manual gate they're stood next to.
Click to expand...
Good to know!

daviyoung said:
You're not that far from the centre via the Jubilee line. If you're feeling particularly flush (London vernacular for financially well off) you could always ride the elevators up The Shard and get the best view of the city: http://the-shard.com/overview/. Normally I would dissuade people from going south of the river but The Shard is a great trip on a clear day.
Click to expand...
Ooh I'd love to go up there. Beautiful panoramic views are right up my valley.

daviyoung said:
If you're in Camden check out the shop Cyberdog, your avatar will like it: http://cyberworld.cyberdog.net/. It's located at the back of the market. Camden Market is good for noodles and pizza slices but I haven't been there in years.
Click to expand...
Will definitely check out Cyberdog. Any recommendations on a good noodle place too?

daviyoung said:
Here's a helpful dictionary should you encounter any unsavoury oiks, of which there are plenty.

Anuvahood.jpg


Do you drink?
Click to expand...
I am familiar with a lot of these words already, not to worry! And yes, I do drink.

Trouble said:
There are some amazing pubs in London, great food, great beer. I was very pleasantly surprised at how good the food is at a lot places in London. Get a Sunday roast if you can.

Use the internet to find reviews there are plenty of sites out there.
http://www.timeout.com/london/bars-pubs
http://www.fancyapint.com/
etc

If you go to the Tower of London, go early and get a full English breakfast at The Kitchen @ Tower. Best breakfast I had the entire time I was there. The place is right next to the entrance, but tucked away and kind of hard to find.
Click to expand...
Will check out the sites and the Tower of London breakfast is a great idea! I'll definitely try to get up quick enough for that. How early do you think I should be there?

Napoleonthechimp said:
If you take the tube from Covent Garden to Leicester Square (or vice versa) I will find you and I WILL slap you.

Not really.

London is fairly big so I wouldn't walk everywhere but don't be afraid to have a bit of a wander around the centre of London.
Click to expand...
I'm up for a slap duel. And yeah, there will be a lot of walking done. It's what I do best.
 
I just left there today.

All of this advice is good so far.

1. Plan your routes so that you can minimize walking and spending money on transport.

Do Camden market and British Library together.
Do Westminster Abbey, the eye, big Ben, house of parliament together.
Piccadilly circus, trafador sq, Soho, st martin, And British museum ( I think).
"The city" which includes London Tower, Tower Bridge, roman ruins.
St Pauls Cathedral, The Globe, the Modern Tate museum, millennium Bridge, and London bridge.
Hyde park, marble arch, Harrod's, Kensington park, Albert's.

2. Note the times things open and close.
Westminster Abbey and st Paul are closed to services on sunday but are also free if you don't mind hanging around in there. They also have organ recitals on Sun.

3. The only food I would say is a must have is Maggie Jones's for lunch. It will change your opinion on English food and is wicked cheap.

4. Getting to and from the airports is a bitch - especially - for early am budget flights.

5. The rental city bike fares add up quick.

6. The changing of the guard is worth seeing but it is looooong. It also doesn't take place everyday. Get there 30 minutes before and get a spot on the gate or up on the center platform thing.

7. Go to abbey road to see tourists almost get hit by cars. Seriously, one of the most entertaining moments of the entire trip.

8. A general Europe travel tip is using nice hotel bathrooms. Just pretend like you're supposed to be there and no one will say shit while you drop the kids off at the pool in luxury.
 
OriginalThinking said:
Seriously, you need to share the shit you're smoking it's not fair that you can just brag about it like that.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's just me. But when I'm fed up of looking at EAT shop fronts I look up at something like this monstrosity/heavenly work of architecture and I instantly feel better:

250px-Lloyd%27s_building_from_Leadenhall_Street.jpg


As for a noodle place in Camden, just walk around the market and see where most people are sitting.
 
That's fair enough, but Canary Wharf is only a very small part of London Town. The exception, but not the rule. There are some pretty cool large buildings though.
 
Pretty much all the outside stuff can be done in a day easily. Just depends how much you wanna stand around and observe it.

Way I see it is there's Leicester Square/Soho/Oxford Street/Westminster/Covent all easily walkable. Then the taller shit at the eastern end where Tower/Tower Bridge/Everything surrounding Bank is another spot. Last couple of times I've generally tubed it between those 2 areas but walked otherwise.

Echoing that noise about not getting the tubes at those peak hours. When I was down last week I didn't have a choice because I was staying with my mate at Canary Wharf and we were getting up early for theatre tickets.
 
Groof said:
Will check out the sites and the Tower of London breakfast is a great idea! I'll definitely try to get up quick enough for that. How early do you think I should be there?
Click to expand...

We went pretty late, maybe a bit before 10AM, was totally empty when we got there. One couple showed up while we ate. It was a weekday, though.
 
Get a tour of the Tower of London from a Yeoman/Beefeater.

Could also check out Portobello Road market on the weekend.

Great views from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral, and it's within walking distance to the Millennium Bridge, the Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe theatre.

I also enjoyed the Natural History Museum.
 
derder said:
I just left there today.

All of this advice is good so far.

1. Plan your routes so that you can minimize walking and spending money on transport.

Do Camden market and British Library together.
Do Westminster Abbey, the eye, big Ben, house of parliament together.
Piccadilly circus, trafador sq, Soho, st martin, And British museum ( I think).
"The city" which includes London Tower, Tower Bridge, roman ruins.
St Pauls Cathedral, The Globe, the Modern Tate museum, millennium Bridge, and London bridge.
Hyde park, marble arch, Harrod's, Kensington park, Albert's.
Click to expand...
This is pretty much an exact copy of my current schedule, but with things I've missed! Thanks for this!

derder said:
2. Note the times things open and close.
Westminster Abbey and st Paul are closed to services on sunday but are also free if you don't mind hanging around in there. They also have organ recitals on Sun.
Click to expand...
I'll probably be going to these places during the weekdays, so no worries here. Thanks though!

derder said:
3. The only food I would say is a must have is Maggie Jones's for lunch. It will change your opinion on English food and is wicked cheap.
Click to expand...
I'll see if I can manage to get there, looks very cozy!

derder said:
4. Getting to and from the airports is a bitch - especially - for early am budget flights.
Click to expand...
Why is it a bitch? No buses or fares?

derder said:
6. The changing of the guard is worth seeing but it is looooong. It also doesn't take place everyday. Get there 30 minutes before and get a spot on the gate or up on the center platform thing.
Click to expand...
Don't know if I'll go see this. Might take a look at the guards but I just don't know if I can be arsed. Is it worth it?

derder said:
7. Go to abbey road to see tourists almost get hit by cars. Seriously, one of the most entertaining moments of the entire trip.
Click to expand...
This does sound like great fun.

derder said:
8. A general Europe travel tip is using nice hotel bathrooms. Just pretend like you're supposed to be there and no one will say shit while you drop the kids off at the pool in luxury.
Click to expand...
Also a very good tip. Especially considering I'll be staying at a hostel.

Thanks heaps man!
 
Buy a weekly pass on your oyster card, zone 1 to 2 should do. With a weekly pass, you get free bus rides.
Download City mapper http://citymapper.com/
I have a soft spot for Scandi Kitchen next to Oxford Circus http://www.scandikitchen.co.uk/
If you go to Camden, have a beer at Brew Dog, they are nice. http://www.brewdog.com/bars/camden
Have a look as well at Borough market and Brick Lane for food.
For something different, go to the Hunterian museum
And have fun!
 
Seanspeed said:
Don't underestimate how long things will take to see and get to. A week is not a long time in London.
Click to expand...
I'll keep this in mind. Been making plans like crazy up until now, so hopefully I'll be able to cover the things I want to do.

Cindres said:
Pretty much all the outside stuff can be done in a day easily. Just depends how much you wanna stand around and observe it.
Click to expand...
We'll see how long. I'll be taking a lot of photos though, so things might take a bit of time. Duly noted about the tube times too.

-griffy- said:
Get a tour of the Tower of London from a Yeoman/Beefeater.

Could also check out Portobello Road market on the weekend.

Great views from the top of St. Paul's Cathedral, and it's within walking distance to the Millennium Bridge, the Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe theatre.

I also enjoyed the Natural History Museum.
Click to expand...
The tour sounds like a fun idea. How do you grab one of those?
Portobello is a place I'll definitely be going to, as is St. Paul's and the rest. I think I might have to have a trip to the Natural History Museum too, seems fun!
Messofanego said:
Do check out the museums like the National History, British, and Science musem, they're free and awesome.
Click to expand...
I'll definitely be visiting these!

Zoille said:
Buy a weekly pass on your oyster card, zone 1 to 2 should do. With a weekly pass, you get free bus rides.
Click to expand...
Weekly pass on Oyster, gotcha.
Zoille said:
Download City mapper http://citymapper.com/
Click to expand...
Will check this out!
Zoille said:
I have a soft spot for Scandi Kitchen next to Oxford Circus http://www.scandikitchen.co.uk/
Click to expand...
Seems like a real fun place to go, but I'm Swedish so I don't know how much of that'll be of benefit to me ;) Might have a look, though!
Zoille said:
If you go to Camden, have a beer at Brew Dog, they are nice. http://www.brewdog.com/bars/camden
Click to expand...
Will check out if time allows!
Zoille said:
Have a look as well at Borough market and Brick Lane for food.
For something different, go to the Hunterian museum
Click to expand...
Borough Market I'll be visiting for sure. Might check out Brick Lane too. That museum seems... different indeed.
Zoille said:
And have fun!
Click to expand...
Definitely!
 
For a fun London experience go on the tube at rush hour and try standing on the wrong side of the escalator and then failing to work the turnstile - it brings out the happy in people

I love visiting London but being a small town type bloke I always seem to forget just how much of a life or death rush everyone in the underground seems to be in.
 
London Pass can be worth it

Churchill's bunker is pretty interesting
If you can manage it - take a day trip to Bath
St. Paul's has a lot of stairs but it is so worth it
The Monument also has a lot of stairs and is just ok at the top

Get the Tripadvisor London app


And WATCH OUT when you are trying to walk across Abbey Road lol
 
Jeff Albertson said:
For a fun London experience go on the tube at rush hour and try standing on the wrong side of the escalator and then failing to work the turnstile - it brings out the happy in people

I love visiting London but being a small town type bloke I always seem to forget just how much of a life or death rush everyone in the underground seems to be in.
Click to expand...

At least it's not as bad as in Tokyo where they shove the everliving hell out of you into the trains. There are people whose only job is doing that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7kor5nHtZQ
 
Check out Lahore, Tyabbs or Needo (my fav). They are all BYOB and have delicious food. Lamb chops to start for sure!!

Angel has a lot of cool bars and restaurants on upper street.

What else you in the mood for? A lot of the good stuff has been mentioned. Certain foods you looking to try? Bars? Museums? Plays or shows? Clubs?
 
Considering you're there for a week, it might be worth it to get a weekly pass on your oyster card instead of pay-as-you-go. We stayed in Queen's Park area so we were, at the very least, catching the tube twice a day (in and then out). It ended up being a bit cheaper than the pay-as-you-go and we never had to worry about topping up. Just a one time thing. It was extremely stress-free.
 
Stay at a Travel lodge or somewhere like that. Not too expensive.

For Indian food you pretty much have to go to the Regency Club in Queensbury. I would rate it among the best I've ever had. Press the buzzer and you will be let in.
 
If you're heading to Camden, other than the aforementioned Brewdog, do make sure you check out Chin Chin Laboratorists at Camden Lock Place for the best ice cream you will have anywhere ever™.
 
I've never been anywhere in the world where I could feel the actual weight of history all around me as I did in Westminster Abbey. It's likely my favorite place in the entire world...
 
Messofanego said:
At least it's not as bad as in Tokyo where they shove the everliving hell out of you into the trains. There are people whose only job is doing that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7kor5nHtZQ
Click to expand...

Oh please the northern line is terrible, and considering how smelly everyone is and no air conditioning it's worse. Also the lack of phone reception in the tube definitely makes it worse.

Every big city has crowded trains. And I've never once seen those people pushers.
 
Whatever you do try not to plan too much during the trip, as has been noted things take longer than you expect them to take and it's much nicer to give yourself plenty of time to just enjoy being in the environment and taking it all in. It's a really varied, historic and exciting place to visit with a ton of things to see and do but don't try and pack too much in.
You'll probably have a great time.
 
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