MeganC

First trip out of the country, spending 2 or 3 nights in London want to make the most of our trip and stay in a great location. Also hoping to maybe do a trip to Wimbledon and or Windsor... Any thoughts/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

janisj

Your budget? Also-- which airport(s) are you landing/departing -- could make a difference.

Only 2 or 3 days and you want to go to Windsor and Wimbledon? When will you have any time for London?

nytraveler

I canm aybe see Windsr -don't get Winbledon at all - unless tennis is on - and then tickets are difficult and expensive.

IMHO the closer to the center the better in terms of convenience of seeing things (we usually do mayfair or knightsbridge) but you haven;t given a budget and those areas aren;t cheap.

Ackislander

The area known as Bloomsbury is usually reasonably priced and well located for visitors. If you really are girls and not middle aged women (say within five years of college) you may be able to get rooms in university housing if you are there when they are not in session. Dorms are called "Halls of Residence" in the UK, and you could Google that.

avalon

I prefer the area around SOUTH Kensington, good transport and lots of services and walking distance to Harrods, V&A , Natural History museums. You can get good prices for hotels on Londontown.com

flanneruk

There's no such thing as a "great location" in London. London's just too big for such a small-town concept, and wherever you are there are going to be places most people want to see that are 30 mins or more away by tube. The suggestions of South Ken, the nearby Gloucester Rd area and Blomsbury are, frankly, pretty interchangeable: it's mostly a matter of taste and cost.

BUT: both Windsor and Wimbledon (whose tennis musuem is a great deal more interesting than ghastly old Horrid's to anyone with a grain of taste, and a lot more fun than the V&A to many) require at least 4 hrs to get to and from anywhere in the centre and then see round.

For Wimbledon, this can be shortened a bit if you're staying close to a District Line tube station (like South Kensington) from where it's about 30 mins to the tennis grounds: you get off at Southfields (NOT Wimbledon) and get a 439 bus.

Which is, BTW, less than it takes to get to the Tower of London from South Ken by tube.

qwovadis

www.betterbidding.com search London

usually can pick up the Tower Hotel of similar

at London Bridge area from $80

www.londontown.com www.booking.com

pricier if you do not want to bid

anywhere in that area is best walk to everything.

PatrickLondon

University residences let out in vacations are open to anyone, of any age.

MeganC

THANK YOU everyone for the replies they all have been really helpful. This is my first post so sorry I maybe didn't give enough info.. Price isn't the major factor if we could would love to do something under 200 pounds a night but if the hotel/location is really worth it and will make a difference we're okay with spending the money. As far as the questions about Wimbledon, I am big tennis fan hence the visit. So I think I maybe going to start looking around South Kensington... Besides hotel stays do you guys have any suggestions about cheep SightSeeing tours... I was looking at the London's Orignal and Best Open Top Tour... Thoughts??

NinaSearching

Just wanted to echo flanneruk's comment on the tennis museum at Wimbledon. I went a few years ago and thought it was absolutely fascinating (and I would not call myself a huge tennis fan). It does, of course, take a moment to get there, so if you only have 3 days you need to decide if you really want to devote 1/2 of it to Wimbledon.

NinaSearching

correction: I meant, decide whether to devote 1/2 a day to Wimbledon. Hit send too soon.

Gordon_R

If you are a big tennis fan then a visit to the Wimbledon Tennis Museum really is a must - it's terrific since they updated it a few years ago. Do make sure you book ahead and take the "behind the scenes" tour they do - really amazing stuff. The above applies of course only outside the 2-week Chanmpionships held at the end of June/beginning of July. When are you coming to London?

MeganC

I will actually be in London in mid April. Thanks for all the advice on Wimbledon I am dying to see it!! It will be a tough decision. Do you guys have any other ideas on some good sightseeing tours that aren't too expensive?

jent103

The London Walks tours are really great, and not very expensive at all (walks.com). I've taken three and had a great experience every time. Some are good for general sightseeing, and some are geared for pretty specific interests, so you can pick which ones you're interested in. This one is probably most what you're interested in, but check out the rest too.

http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Ho...ult.aspx#13271

Personally I would not go on the hop-on-hop-off tours - London is so easy to get around, and you'll see a lot of that just walking around. It seems like a lot of money for not too much gain.

BigRuss

NO to the Hop on Hop Off -- just wastes your money. Take the 9, 15 or 139 bus lines through central London instead.

jkbritt

For inexpensive hotel try: http://www.tunehotels.com. I have not stayed there personally, yet, but it gets good reviews and is cheap.

kkukura

We did Fat Tire Bike Tours in Paris and Berlin. They are now doing them in London(weren't there when we were in London) and if the bike tour is as good as in the other cities I would recommend doing it! Here is the link: http://fattirebiketours.com/london

Fodorite018

I am not the OP, but thank you so much for the Wimbledon suggestion! I am meeting DD and her friend after their study abroad session, and they were tennis partners in high school. So I just booked the Wimbledon tour for them as a surprise

MeganC

Thank you guys for the warning about the hop on/off tour definitely not going to waste the money. I am going to look into the walking and bike tours.. have never done one but were young and pretty fit so should be okay... Do you guys have any other suggestions for our stay. Like I said its our first time out of the country and to London so any tips/advice would be really appreciated

carolyn

If you don't already have a good guidebook, you might look at your local library or bookstore to see what appeals to you and then buy the one you like best. The guidebooks and a good map will help you see what sites are close together and help you maximize your time.