London

[Nyah]

This Christmas we're going to Europe to spend time with family. After New Years, we wanted to fly up to London to spend a couple days before flying home, as our trans-Atlantic flights are in & out of Heathrow. I've been to London a few times, but just on really short trips and I've never really had the chance to do any sight-seeing.

- What are some good hotels that are close to city center London? They don't have to be super cheap, but not too expensive would be cool (may be asking a lot).

- What would you recommend to go see? We'll be there two full days and would like to see as much as possible.

- Has anyone ever flown into London City airport? We're flying out of Malaga, Spain and the cheapest flight on the day we're flying is to London City. There's another one to Gatwick, but that's pretty far outside the city if my memory serves me right. Is London City close to city center, or is the name deceiving?

And yes, I'll have my umbrella.

[Puppet Guy]

If nothing else, a trip to the London Eye will let you physically see a lot.

[Bigtime]

London City airport is right in the city:

[kipperfan]

Can't help you on bullet points one and three as I stay in hostels and have never flown from that specific airport, but I have been to London 4 times and have seen quite a bit of the city. Tons of stuff to do, all depends on what you like, if you have kids and/or older people with you and how much travelling around you want to do in your two days. I have been to (most) all of the notable museums in the area and you could easily spend 2+ days on them alone, and those are just the ones close to central London. If you're into seeing palaces and castles there are at least 10 great ones within a reasonable drive from the city. The London Eye is always fun if you've never taken a ride, especially if you're lucky enough to get a (somewhat) clear day, as it is probably the best place in the city for pictures of the Thames/Tower of London/etc.

Provide more details on what kind of stuff you like and I can probably give you better advice, and can certainly give specific advice if you're interested in the local museums.

[Muffins]

The Tower of London is pretty cool.
Also there's a Jack the Ripper walk that starts right by the tower as well. Didn't get to do that while I was there but sounded neat.

[Nyah]

No kids, and we enjoy seeing historic buildings, but not museums so much, unless they're highly recommended. With museums I find myself really excited to go in and inspect everything, and half way through I'm giving everything a glance while I breeze through. I think the London Eye is on the list. We're not going to be renting a car so anything that we can get to via taxi, foot or tube would be ideal.

[MRCboicgy]

If you fly into LCY, you might just want to try and find a hotel near the Docklands area there, where the airport is. Hotels can be considerably cheaper in that area than closer to city center, unless there is a large event going on at the Convention Centre next door. Many of those hotels are newer, which is good as they offer free WiFi and other amenities that some of the more tired old hotels won't have (and let's admit it, there is almost nothing as bad as a tired British hotel).

Now, it will suck when you fly out of Heathrow, because it's a good 90 minutes by taxi, tube, whatever from the Docklands to Heathrow, even on a Sunday morning. Having said that, you can easily get into the city via tube or DLR from that area, and there are lots of good places to eat around the nearby Canary Wharf. It's also a quick trip up to the Stratford City Mall, which has great shopping (and really good kebabs in the food court, believe it or not).

Being a tourist, even if you aren't a museum person, I do have to recommend the British Museum. It's my favourite in the world. Other than that, you can't go wrong.

[puffnstuff]

(and let's admit it, there is almost nothing as bad as a tired British hotel).

Fawlty Towers

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

Being a tourist, even if you aren't a museum person, I do have to recommend the British Museum. It's my favourite in the world. Other than that, you can't go wrong.

Co-sign on the museum. We were killing time while waiting for a play to start and wandered up that way. I wish we had gone earlier, as there was so much neat stuff in there.

We stayed at the Hilton in Hyde Park. At $700 for 5 nights ($140/night), it was a lot cheaper than I was expecting. The bike rental system was very convenient and easy to get around. If you return your bike within 30 minutes, you don't pay for the rental time. Then you can wait five minutes and get a new bike for 29 minutes. Repeat that process and you only need to pay the daily fee of 1 British pound.

If you don't do one thing, make sure you don't go to the Tate Modern. What a piece of #### that thing is? It is a giant collection of crap. One exhibit was a mirror. It was submitted by two people and the card had some story about how the purpose was to have an introspective look at art. Go #### yourself. You submitted a mirror you ###### and likely got thousands of dollars for something you already owned and didn't make. I think 90% of the #### in that place was submitted as a joke, to troll people and/or to see how far they could bull#### the management.

The plays were awesome and plentiful. Don't buy tickets from people selling them on the sidewalk. There are discount booths, and you can always just go up the the main booth at the play and ask if there are discounted tickets.

My favourite restaurant there was Jamie's Italian, which is owned by Jamie Oliver.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

If you fly into LCY, you might just want to try and find a hotel near the Docklands area there, where the airport is. Hotels can be considerably cheaper in that area than closer to city center, unless there is a large event going on at the Convention Centre next door. Many of those hotels are newer, which is good as they offer free WiFi and other amenities that some of the more tired old hotels won't have (and let's admit it, there is almost nothing as bad as a tired British hotel).

I'm going to veto this, avoid Docklands/Canary Wharf/Canada Water. It's a sterile and dead area, basically London's modern CBD, and you might as well enjoy an area that gives you a different experience and offers more atmosphere.

As for what to do, explore. There is so much to do in London and it has something for everyone, even just learning the city and what it has to offer is an experience. As such, the best advice I can give you is: i) a few examples of the things I like to do; and ii) getting lost in London is the best way to find yourself in London.

Some of the places I enjoy the most:

• Borough Market :: A great place to grab some streetfood on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. So many great smells and tastes on the weekend. Once you finish at the market, you can cross the Thames and you'll be near St. Paul's and other historic sites.
• Spitalfield Market (Saturdays & Sundays Only) :: Don't worry about not being able to find a gift for friends and fam, you'll deffo find something here for them and possibly your tummy as well. Also, Brick Lane is not far away.
• Soho :: While most tourists are getting in each other's way on Oxford Street, head slightly south and enjoy the maze of treats. I like to grab a pint at a Guinness bar on Carlisle Street, The Toucan, and a slice from a small pizza shop on the southwest corner of Carlisle and Dean Street. There are a few historic buildings in the nearby Soho Square and closer to Foyles bookshop.
• Football Grounds :: The atmosphere inside is special but the match-day experience outside the ground is also something. If you can't catch a match, you could take a tour of one or more of the stadiums. Craven Cottage is an old ground and might pique your historical interest.

My list could go on but I'll let others share as they might have some places that better align with your tastes. Have fun mate!

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Nyah

No kids, and we enjoy seeing historic buildings

Gordon's Wine Bar.
http://www.gordonswinebar.com/default.php

[getbak]

The British Museum is incredible.

One of the nice things about the government museums in London is that they're all free admission, so even if you don't want to spend all day there, you don't feel like you got ripped off if you do a quick pop-in.

[Mark]

I just returned from a week in London. I've been numerous times and have seen a pretty good chunk of the city. This last time I stayed at the Hilton Double Tree Victoria which is across the street from Victoria Station. The hotel was actually quite nice. From there it's one easy transfer and you are at Heathrow in under an hour. I find that Victoria station is pretty central for London. 5 minute walk to Buckingham, 10 to Westminster Abbey/Parliament. Belgrave Rd which is in the area also has a number of other hotels.

I thought the Eye was lame. Before the half way point I was bored and regretting spending that much money. It's nice to look at though. The view from the Monument (or even St. Paul's) is nice and I'm sure there are numerous other cheap options to get a good view.

Tower of London was a bit of a pleasant surprise for me. You could really spend most of the day there. It houses the crown jewels and if you like weapons and armor they have it in spades. I found a Parliament tour interesting (Saturday's only) and for 2 days I'd choose one of Westminster Abbey or St. Pauls.

The Museum of London was pretty cool if you want to see how the city as evolved since it was first settled. I'm not really into museums when I'm traveling since they take up so much time. I'd rather just be walking around and exploring the city.

Definitely see a show. I went to Phantom of the Opera and quite enjoyed it as it was like watching a magic show (illusions!) at the same time.

If you are trying to cram in as much as possible, stay in specific areas or else get a tube pass so you can get to the sites as quick as possible.

[jaydaybay]

If you want views check out the shard. New tower with an observation deck on the upper floors.

Was over there in july, the londoners we were visiting preferred it over the eye.

Ive never been on the eye so cant compare...

[Northendzone]

I heard London calling.......

[SeeBass]

The best part of London is that it is only a 2 hour train ride from Paris

[bigtmac19]

I thought the London Eye was pretty cool. Great view. We bought the express pass so no waiting in line. Walking the south bank was really nice. My favourite was Westminster Abbey. I wish we had made time for the British Museum especially as we stayed right around the corner. I loved Harrods. Could have spent an entire day wandering around in there, and the food in the market downstairs - OMG!!

[Coys1882]

- The RAF museum
- a professional football match (even if you hate the sport - experience the atmosphere)

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by SeeBass

The best part of London is that it is only a 2 hour train ride from Paris

française troll est à la traîne

[STeeLy]

I will also add the Imperial War museum to that list of places to go.