Londonholly

I am reading this forum for a while now and it is always a little vacation to read all the postings. Here is my first "topic": I am from germany and plan to visit London in a week for five days. It is not my first trip (I have been there around 20 times) but the first alone for so many days. So I am looking for things to do that are special, as I have been to Tower, NPG and the main attractions. I will do some again ( I can not resist the National Gallery or Harvey Nicks for example), but would love to see new exhibitions, plays, concerts or attractions and shops. Are there any restaurants where lunching alone is fun? I will stay in The Kensington Rooms Hotel on Cromwell Road and would also know as well if it is a safe area by night?

tod

Londonholly- How right you are in having a mini vacation just by reading the postings! Secondly. London X 20! WoW! Well that is a very positive thing because you already now your way around, AND backwards.
I know nothing about Cromwell road area but I do know that one can still have a good time on ones own!
Going to the theatre - enjoy a wonderful pre-show dinner at Wolfe's.
Can't tell you the exact road but its in theatre -land. Look in phone book.
Lunch at the cafeteria in Regents Park
right next to Queen Mary's Rose Gareden.
Not bad at all after strolling through the lovely gardens. No roses yet though. Want to meet amazing South Africans? Go to The Slug & Lettuce Pub! They all work there and all their friends visit them. We also like the little Lebanese cafe/restuarant in Shepherds Market - Tube stop; Greenpark.
And....you must have been to Wagggammama!! If not you must go. There are various branches but the best and original one is near The British Museum in Streatham street. You will have to sit somewhere inbetween loads of young(and not so young like us)people all chatting and having the tiome of their lives! Another suggestion: Take the canal boat ride from Camden Lock(Get there by tube) and then back by boat ending up for lunch at the little brasserie on top of the bridge over the canal right near Little Venice. Tables down along the sidewalk with a passing show.
For night time excitement get the "Party Bus" - every hotel has a pamphlet. Also go to the outdoor cafes alongside the Marriot Hotel and watch the people ride the London Eye. Anytime of day, it's always busy.

alice13

Hi Londonholly,

Suggest Highgate cemetery (burial place of Karl Marx), trip to Greenwich on the river and see the National Maritime Museum; go south and visit Brixton.

If you have 5 days you could get out of the city. For entertainment:

www.timeout.com/london/

hope you enjoy your stay, and may us Europeans stick together (and wish I could speak German - but so many languages to learn!).

mvor

Here are three of my favourite London museums:

Courtauld Art Gallery has a small, but stunning, collection of Old Master, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, prints and drawings. The museum is free on Mondays (10-2) or 5£ otherwise.

http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/

The Tate Modern houses an amazing collection of 20th- and 21st-century art. The museum is free (donations welcome) and has a good cafe and restaurant:

http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/

The Wallace Collection is an amazing private collection of 18th-century art, porcelain and furniture which is housed in a palatial home. The collection is free (donations welcome) and Oxford Street shopping is nearby. The museum has a restaurant which is set in a beautiful enclosed courtyard but the food is just ok and is overpriced.

http://www.wallacecollection.org/

Have a wonderful trip!

Keith

London Bicycle Tours offers tours on Saturday & Sunday afternoons. The 4+ hour tour covers about 9 miles and includes a break at a pub, so it isn't too strenuous.

Or just rent a bicycle on your own for a few hours.

Free lunch time concerts at the churches.

A walk or boat tide along one of the canals: http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/boat-trip.htm

I have stayed next to that hotel at the Park International, twice. Most recently, a month ago.

I felt comfortable at night by myself. There were a couple of street people living near the tube station, that I passed each time, but they were not threatening and after 3 or 4 days were familiar. One had a dog.

You are almost directly across the street from a Sainsbury?s (supermarket). The ATM in the enterance of the store is a handy, safe place to get money, even late at night.

There are many restaurants in the area, including several across the street. Delhi Brasserie was very good. The Bellavista was not.

Keith

lyb

This is a great thread. I'm going to London for the first, also by myself in September. These suggestions really helped in narrowing down my itenerary...or maybe made it even more confusing. So much today, but I do have 8 full days in London!

Londonholly

Thanks so far for the tips! I am thinking about the canal river boat tour and Regent Park. Thanks for the tip on the food at the Wallace Collection; I thought about going there but will think about something else. I visited the time out site-great. Thanks, also for every other tip mentioned; I am happy that the area around Cromwell Road seems to be ok! I am hoping for many more tips-
to spice up my trip!

mvor

Below are places to eat near the Wallace that we enjoy:

Woodlands (vegetarian Indian)
77 Marylebone Lane

Golden Hind (fish-n-chips)
73 Marylebone Lane

La Galette (crepes/light meals)
56 Paddington Street

Eat & Two Veg (vegetarian)
50 Marylebone High Street

Go to this site to learn more about this fun neighborhood and it shopping and eateries:

http://www.streetsensation.co.uk/marybone/mh_intro.htm

For more restaurants in Marylebone, see:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34483605

Also, here's a thread for 100+ great things to do in London incase you haven't seen it:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...hText=katiebug

Enjoy!

Londonholly

Thanks for the restaurant tips! La Galette sounds great-and as I want to go to a bookshop called Daunt`s on the same street it will be very convinient (sorry for my language, I am german)

Again; I am hoping for more tips on unusual and special things to do in London.

I will post my itinerary later and hope you all will review it!

vcl

We've just come back from a month in an apartment about a block from the Kensington Rooms Hotel. The area is busy and perfectly safe for walking back from the Gloucester Road station after a play or concert.

If the weather is good, wandering Regents Park is a delightful experience. Say hello to the tapdancing goose for us and give our regards to the swan that almost pushed my husband into the lake. Another delightful way to spend a day is to take the boat to Kew Gardens and wander among the outdoor displays and the greenhouses. Lunch or tea at the Orangeries and a tour of Kensington Palace is pleasant if you haven't tried that before. Lunchtime concerts at St. Martin in the Fields are free (donation requested) and lunch in the crypt there might also be pleasant. If you haven't toured Shakespeare's Globe yet, it's worth a look. I'm not sure when performances start there; should be fairly soon.

Have a wonderful time.

mvor

Daunt is a wonderful bookstore...be sure to check out the used/new travel section upstairs. Nearby on Baker street (accross from the Sherlock Holmes Museum--221-B) there's a discounted bookstore that has a good selection of art books at decent prices. The museum is a little silly but fun if you enjoy Doyle's great detective.

Nigello

Eat alone at the National Portrait Gallery, whose restaurant has a huge, long window high up over the rooftops. Lunch is available, as is afternoon tea (from 3pm). Not always necessary to reserve, especially during the week. A bit £££, but special.
If you like art, try the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Take the train from London Bridge to NORTH Dulwich or the 12 or 176 bus to Dulwich Library. (Or the 185 or 40 to the same place.)
If you have not done the London Eye, that is a good choice (but only if the weather is good!)

Kristi

You might also take a look at a couple of other off the beaten path places:

Sir John Soane's House
http://www.soane.org/

Dennis Sever's House (Still haven't been myself, only open certain Sundays and Mondays I think)
http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/

Kensington rooftop garden (not always open but worth a stop if you are near the High St. Kensington tube)
www.roofgardens.com. There's a restaurant up there as well called Babylon that our London Walks guide highly recommended but for the less pricey lunch