ticklemepunk4739

My husband and I are planning a trip to London as our first European excursion! We will be traveling during the middle of January and will be there for 7 days. Our interests are: HISTORY /MUSEUMS, Theater to a lesser degree and general touristy sightseeing ( eg: Big Ben, The bridge and all that)Museums and historical landmarks will be our main goal in visiting. We are not that into nightlife, a simple pub will be just fine for us. We are thinking of staying near Paddington station (seems close enough to everything but not too busy) I can't really get a good feel of the scale of London from my research. My questions are mostly about the area we are considering staying ( is it a nice/safe area )and the level of difficulty in getting to another part of Europe (France or Ireland possibly) we are willing to use a whole day to try and get to at least one other country. I understand that Kings Cross is going to be the new hub for international trains starting in 2007? Will this make it easier for us to get to another part of Europe? We are planning to get oyster cards for easy travel on the tube we are not afraid of walking. We have no problem taking public transport so I am fairly confident we will be able to navigate with a reasonable amount of accuracy. I am mostly wondering how difficult it will be to get to France and how long it will take. Any other tips or hints will be appreciated!

Thanks in advance
Emily

PatrickLondon

Start with the London superthread:

As for your area, there are mixed opinions about Paddington. Some people think it's a bit far away from the places they want to visit,and for your given interests, I'd suggest Bloomsbury as much more central. The British Museum would be on your doorstep.

For an overview of what's where in relation to public transport (you'd likely be using buses as much as or more than the tube):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/explore-lo...ourist-map.asp

See also:
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/london/index.html

As for Paris: the Eurostar currently takes 2hr35 or so. The terminal at St Pancras isn't due to open until late 2007, so you'd be travelling from Waterloo still: the journey times from Paddington and Bloomsbury to Waterloo are much the same. Bear in mind that to get the best Eurostar fares you'd need to book at least two weeks in advance.

PatrickLondon

Oops, sorry: forgot the link to the London Superthread:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34548473

AnnetteW

London goes on for ever, but you can easily get round the centre on foot, tubes or buses. Paddington is fine for getting around the centre of town. You can catch the circle line to South Kensington, for the Natural History Museum, V&A etc.

If you want to do a day trip in England, you can get trains to Oxford or Bath from Paddington Station.

If you are based in Paddington, you have two options for getting abroad for a day. You could fly from Heathrow (fast but pricey direct airport rail link from Paddington Station to the Airport) or you could get a train to Paris or Brussels. The train takes you to the centre of the city and could work out quicker than hanging around at airports. The new terminal at King's Cross is not yet open, so trains are still running from Waterloo. This is a simple tube journey from Paddington, on the Bakerloo line. Check out the website for bookings and special offers: http://www.eurostar.com .

W9London

The only definitive benefit of staying in Paddington is easy access to Heathrow. Otherwise, it is no more convenient than other central areas, and the area doesn't have particular character or good restaurants.
Bloomsbury/Holborn, Covent Garden, Mayfair might be more attractive areas. (Personally, I'm not a big fan of South Ken despite its charm and restaurants because of often unreliable circle line). I think it would all depend on your hotel budgets, though. I would definitely NOT stay near Kings Cross.

carioca4ed

I have stayed in Paddington many ,many times.....Mainly because I stay in Scotland,and a lot of pop/rock/soul/jazz artistes would do somewhere smallish like The Jazz Cafe,but would not think it viable to go up north....And the reason that I used to choose Paddington was because it used to have about the cheapest hotel in London...(later exposed as a total deathtrap on a British T.V.programme....Thank God there was never a fire when I stayed there)..It was never a problem for me to walk about at night...I have never been attacked anywhere in London..Never had any trouble.........I would recommend Sir John Soanes museum(if you like museums)...It is in my top ten of things to see in London......There is so much history in the London...I never tire of it...And I love walking around it too...A friend of mine took me on a walking tour of the area where Jack the Ripper had killed his victims...No,this was no official tour.This was my friend,who had lived for a number of years down there,who knew all the facts,figures,scenes of the crimes,etc... I thought it was pretty gruesome....but,I can laugh at it now.It's all part and parcel of the experience of that great City..

Lori

First trip, middle of Jan., 7 days = not a great deal of time to see London + another country. You can go to London a dozen times and not see all it has to offer.

Jan. gets dark early, also dark in the a.m. (think getting dark about 4:30 p.m.) so it cuts down on daylight activities.

Paddington area would not be my first choice for a hotel, at least not close to the station. Lots better places to stay. London is a LARGE city, you will never be near everything anyway.

Eurostar trains run to Paris from Waterloo in 2hr.35 min. If you want to get the really inexpensive fare (currently $48/each way) you need to book far in advance, not two weeks. The cheap fares go fast. A round trip is called a "return" by the way.

With just 7 days I would not take a day trip to Paris, but then again I've been to both cities many times .. for a first timer perhaps it is worth getting up at 4 a.m. and returning at midnight I'm not sure if you 7 days include your day of arrival but if it does that day is usually not productive due to jetlag. Sometimes the second day is not so great either -it depends on how far you have traveled to get to London and how your body reacts to jetlag. Keep that in mind when planning.

janisj

For what you want to see - the two areas I would not stay are Paddington and Earls Court. Too far from the center of things and parts are a bit seedy - though absolutely nothing dangerous or worth worring about. Just not the nicest areas especially for a full week.

For you, either the already mentioned Bloomsbury/Russell Square (near the British Museum and the theatres of Soho and Covent Garden) - or - South Kensington (near the V&A/Science/Natural Hist museums and the parks) would be more convenient than Paddington.

I personally would not plan a trip to another country w/ just 7 days in London. Maybe one day trip to somewhere like Oxford, or Windsor, or Cambridge. But otherwise you will have MUCH more than enough to fill your short time in London.

If you just <b>must</b> notch up another country - then a day trip to Paris via the Eurostar would be my only recommendation. Flying to Dublin for the day is semi-nuts since you'd have to travel out to one of the outlying London airports and check in well in advance. By the time you did that you could have already been in Paris for 30 minutes.

ben_haines

I agree that you should not stay near Kings Cross, a grubby area. It will be fine in ten years. The British Museum and British Library are near Kings Cross, but everything else you may want lies along the Circle Line: South Kensington museums, Victoria and Buckingham Palace, St James Park, Whitehall, Westminster, Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, the concert halls and National Theatre on the south bank, Convent Garden, Somerset House, the City and St Paul’s, over bridges to the south bank for the Globe and the Tate Modern, the Tower and Tower Bridge. Paddington is indeed on the Circle Line, but diagonally across from most of the sights. So I think you need a hotel near the Circle Line between Westminster and Temple. All but the Royal Adelphi offer some discounts if you use Google and book through brokers. Google can find you recent visitors’ reports on each. For your day trip to Lille or Paris you can walk from these hiotels in 20 minutes, or take a bus in five.

The Royal Adelphi Hotel, www.findlondonhotel.com/royal_adelphi_hotel.htm, &pound;70 a night

Strand Palace Hotel. www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk/rooms/index.html. &pound;150, Many rooms are small, but not all, so it is good to ask the room size before you book.

Waldorf Hilton. www.hilton.co.uk/waldorf . &pound;183.

Charing Cross Thistle Hotel. &pound;323, www.thistlehotels.com.

The area near Victoria station has many small, family run, two star, hotels at sixty pounds a night, and Victoria is on the Circle Line, though not so near to sights as the hotels I have listed. If you would like a collection of comments from Fodors forum readers about these, now rather old, please ask me. You could start with my notes, then ask Google for recent visitors’ comments.

At Heathrow in the arrivals hall you can buy for four pounds an AZ tourist atlas-guide to London, with detailed street maps and almost full lists of museums and other historic places, and for two pounds fifty the current copy of Time Out listings magazine, with notes on the best known museums, and on current historical exhibitions. You can use these to look for places open about nine in the morning, such as Westminster Abbey , St Paul’s from 8.30, and the Tower from 9.00, and open weekly in the evening, such as the British Museum to 8.30 Thursday and Friday, Victoria and Albert to 10 on Wednesday, National Portrait Gallery to 9 pm on Thursday and Friday, and National Gallery to 9 on Wednesday. You can plan to extend your days by using these extra hours. You can also pick a couple of theatre evenings. Please look into the Fringe theatre lists. Such theatres cost half West End prices, and often show striking work. You do not have to go to blockbusters just because they are well publicised. When you book by phone you should ask about buffet or pub meals nearby, before or after the play. Time Out does not foretell Fringe plays, but on the West End I do see two plays to interest people who like history, from John Buchan about 1900 The Thirty Nine Steps and from Christopher Isherwood about 1933 Cabaret: the first has the better reviews.

At any underground station, such as Heathrow, you can have free a bus map of central London, with places of interest marked. Early in your visit you might wrap up well and take a bus tour upstairs on the bus from your hotel on the Strand to the Tower, and perhaps from your hotel to the Albert Memorial, and certainly you should tour at length the Museum of London, north of St Paul’s, for a full picture of the city you mean to see. Their restaurant is ok, and their shop is good: you can buy a street map of Roman London if you so choose.

For a feeling of history living over centuries you might try a service in an old, small and beautiful church. An example is St Bartholomew the Great, twelfth century, near Farringdon tube. Main Sunday services are at 11 the Solemn Eucharist (traditional, formal choral liturgy in the catholic tradition of Anglicanism, with a Mass setting sung by the choir of St Bartholomew the Great) and at 6.30 Evensong and Sermon (traditional choral Evensong using the Book of Common Prayer, 1662, with the fine Tudor Magnificat, a setting of the canticles and an anthem sung by the Choir. Evensong concludes with the Marian anthem of the season. Another is Morning Prayer at 11 in the Tudor Royal Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower. You go to the visitors’ gate at 10.30 or 10.45 and tell the beefeater that you would like to go to church: he tells you the way, and you enter free.

A way to rest your feet, exercise your mind, and learn more history is to go to a free public lecture in Holborn or out in New Cross Gate about one or five pm. Often a glass of wine or even a supper after the lecture lets you talk with other people who like history. Two days before you fly you can look into my list at http://victorianresearch.org/lectures.html, and print out your choices, or the whole. I already have a few titles, but expect to post more in my list early in January.

Tuesday 16 January. 5pm. Rebuilding Solomon's Temple: Richard Hakluyt's Voyage to Ophir. (Since Ophir is ancient and Hakluyt is Elizabethan this title intrigues me). If you arrive at 4.30 and ask at the door the receptionist will tell you where to buy a cup of tea in the common room. International Relations Room, Institute of Historical Research, Senate House. Russell Square tube.

Wednesday 17 January. 1pm. The story of pi. Gresham College, Behind Menswear shop. Chancery Lane tube. The pub fifty yards to the west is ok for lunch, and the Old Cheshire Cheese, half a mile south, is picturesque, with a good lunch (though many tourists)

Wednesday 17 January. 5pm. How to treat mad dogs in the Middle Ages: kill or cure. Lecture by Brigitte Resl of Liverpool University in the series on the cultural history of medicine. Room 2.107, Richard Hoggart Building (main building), Goldsmiths College, New Cross Gate tube. You can ask reception staff about the many ethnic restaurants nearby.

Thursday 18 January. 5.30. Angling in the Fitzwilliam Bohun Psalter, 14th century: Gone Fishing. Lecture by Professor Lucy Sandler of New York University, followed by wine. Dr Seng T Lee Centre for Manuscript and Book Studies, Senate House Library, 4th Floor, Senate House, Russell Square tube. If the Macmillan restaurant on the ground floor is open it has a good self-service meal. If not, the Italian restaurants across the square are good, as are the restaurants and pub in the foot passage between Southampton Row and Queen’s Square

I have on disc a note on enjoying a first week in London, and can gladly email it to you if you so ask. Also, please write again if I can help further. Welcome.

Ben Haines, London
[email protected]

JoeTro

I also agree that you should base all your time in London and not visit another country. Oxford, Cambridge, Bath would all be good trips, as would some castles or homes, although they won't be as nice as in the spring/summer (and some may close). Pick 1-2.

There are tons of museums: British, V and A, National Gallery, etc. There will be some good exhibitions on as well, especially the Valesquez at the National Gallery. I also love the Tate Britain (which I think is under-rated) and the Somerset House complex.

Have fun!

i_am_kane

I recently returned from our first trip to London (Nov. 20), and I can't emphasize enough how well the London A-Z Guide functions. I wouldn't visit London again without it in my handbag.

However, since we had less daylight hours, I would have had trouble reading the tiny print in the A-Z guide. My small, lighted magnifying glass made reading the maps so easy. (I'm near-sighted, so reading is usually not a problem)

Also, learn how to use the Tube. London is a large city, and the Tube saves time and your feet. When I initally planned my trip it was my intention to stay above ground as much as possible to mingle with the people and see the city. Well, I'm just about as fit as the next person, and my husband and I broke down on the third day and bought two 3-day Tube Tickets.

MaureenB

You have great information so far. I would add that the neighborhood called Sussex Gardens is between Paddington Station and Hyde Park. It's an easy ten minute walk to either one. The Paddington Station area is a lot of tabac shops and pubs. Not very scenic or attractive IMHO.
Sussex Gardens is a nice little residential area with little B&amp;B hotels and some restaurants. We stayed at the Hyde Park Radnor, which was pretty nice and included a full breakfast.
Try londontown.com to find reservations by area and price range.
I have to say that with seven days, since you've never been to Europe, I'd definitely consider spending some time in Paris. The EuroStar is quick and easy. Personally, I'd choose four nights London and three in Paris.
&gt;-

i_am_kane

And don't forget to look for the two-for-one coupons on London Town for tourist attractions as well as a few restaurants.

Mimar

With your interests, you'll love London. Two thoughts: if you decide to go to Paris, you can save a lot by getting your Eurostar tickets several weeks ahead. Though I'd skip Paris this trip.

I also want to recommend the London walking tours: www.walks.com. In addition to a wide variety of walking tours in town, they offer one-day trips to various English sights, like Stonehenge.

aus_nat

My partner and I are shortly departing for a month stay in London also (second timers). I have been researching stuff to do outside of the touristy attractions we did the last visit. One thing i thought i would put to you guys is a ferry ride from Westminster pier to Greenwich. It takes about half hour and i hear the markets there are wonderful. I guess if you decide to scrap visiting Paris, it is a little gem that will take you out of the wonderful bustle of the city. Have a fabulous time (how could you not!) in London, and dont forget to...stop, breath, take it all in, and remember to immerse yourself in the journey, not just the destination!

historytraveler

Ben,

I'm bookmarking your suggestions for my next trip to London. Excellent!

Thanks

ticklemepunk4739

Thanks to everyone for their replies! We have decided to extend our trip from 7 to 9 days so we will have a little extra time to make a Paris day trip possible. We are now looking for a cheap place ($80-$150 a night) to stay in one of the areas suggested ( Bloomsbury/Russel square or maybe South Kennsington?) We would like to be in an area with a good variety of moderately priced place to eat (chains are ok but I don't want to eat burger King the whole time!) We will buy our Eurostar tix to Paris as soon as our plans are finalized and we will get our oyster cards and an A-Z map when we arrive. We will definitely take a walking tour since they seem to be a nice cheap way to see some of the more popular sights. We are very excited to experience London and my husband can't wait to get to the Museums!

NeoPatrick

Into history and museums? Here are a couple of interesting alternatives:

http://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/
This place is wonderful and best on Monday nights by candlelight.

http://www.geffrye-museum.org.uk/
The almshouses are particularly interesting. I'm not sure if all the period rooms will still be in their Christmas decorations mid January.

carolyn

There is a good deal of information on the Morgan Hotel if you do a search here. It is a small, family-owned hotel in Bloomsbury, and the rate includes a full English breakfast. We stayed there a year ago, and the window in our room overlooked the side of the British Museum.

JoeTro

You might try Priceline for London hotels. 80-150 dollars is now basically 40-75 pounds, which could be tough for a double at this short notice (though it will be low season).