I'd like to know if the Canary Wharf area is a decent place to stay for a few days while I'm in London. My hotel reservations are currently at a hotel there... if I want to be in a location convenient and to most of the major attractions, should I be looking at a different area? Is this area safe?

I don't mind being slightly away from all the action... an analogy would be in NYC I wouldn't mind staying way up town or even in Jersey City or LIC rather than having to stay in Times Square.

Thanks.

Is it your first trip? If so I'd consider moving. It's not a bad area, not unsafe or anything, but IMO it's fairly far from the major sites like National Gallery, Westminster Abbey, etc. You can get to anything in London fairly easily on public transport but Canary Wharf is farther out than I like to be.

If you don't mind a ride on the tube it's ok. It has become lively since I was there when it was first starting up. Many hotels now.
Here's a tube map.

http://www.allinlondon.co.uk/the-tub...?z=b3&t=42

Could you tell us which hotel it is - "Canary Wharf" can cover a large area when describing hotels

It's a business district and a bit of a desert. However it is extremely well connected by tube, DLR and buses so not a bad base, but don't assume that you'll be doing much near your hotel.

Pretty much business area so loads of Bankers (rytheming slang) and Journos. There is a route from here down to Greenwich or the light railway but no not a place to stay

With the Banking share prices as they are, the bars and restaurants will be pretty quiet!

It’s not the total desert that it once was. Lots of shops, bars and places to eat. There is a cinema and the docklands museum. It’s also where Billingsgate fish market is and as you are so near all the better to visit in the early morning when it is open than travelling from central London. . A short trip (5 – 10 mins) by DLR gets you to Greenwich. The problem used to be that no one lived there, so after 6 it was pretty much deserted. This has changed some what. It’s also very well connected to the City and the rest of London. In conclusion, not ideal but also not totally a bad idea, if you have a good deal with the hotel then might be worth being somewhat further out than the usual tourist hostels.

But as Alan says, which hotel may make a difference.

The Marriott, the Hilton and the Britannia International are right beside DLR stations, but a few minutes walk from the tube station. The Four Seasons is a further walk away from either, but closer to the pier for the commuter boats to and from central London.

Chains like Ibis and Travelodge have hotels in the area but still further away and in dull and workaday areas some distance from both transport and nightlife.

You should also be aware that the DLR is currently enlarging all its station platforms, which can mean that services are replaced by buses on different parts of the line most weekends.

If you've got a good deal in one of the hotels close to the tube, it's your decision as to whether this is worth 20 minutes or so's commuting to the major attractions in west central London. On the other hand, you are close to Greenwich and the South Bank is only a few minutes away on the tube.

<i>if I want to be in a location convenient and to most of the major attractions, should I be looking at a different area?</i>

<i>I don't mind being slightly away from all the action... an analogy would be in NYC I wouldn't mind staying way up town or even in Jersey City or LIC rather than having to stay in Times Square.</i>

Your 2 statements above are somewhat contradictory. Canary Wharf is not convenient to the major attractions. But I'd say it is similar to staying outside of Manhattan.

What I don't like about Canary Wharf is that you have to rely on DLR or the Jubilee line to get to most places. Whereas elsewhere closer to the center of London, one has other choices of getting around, such as buses or even walk.

The Bank station is being renovated, so there are problems with connection between DLR and several tube lines.

Jubilee line is having closures almost every weekend at least for the next 6 months, which will make getting around more difficult than not.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/livetra...k-closures.pdf

There's a bazillion buses that go through Canary Wharf.

There are buses, but most if not all head North or East bound, therefore not towards the central London attractions.

C_W - you survived Sunday then!

I did, but people were being thrown out for HUMMING!

They should have taken a bath, CW.
For niteflite, the only bus worth bothering with would be the 135 which would take you to Bishopsgate/Liverpool St in about 25-30 minutes. Handy enough for the Sunday markets in Spitalfields, but not a lot else.

If you're only there for a few days and want to see the top sights, stay somewhere else - if you want to go back to your hotel during the day it'll be a pain.

The Hilton at Canary Wharf is offering a pretty good promotion and that is why I chose it. Perhaps I will spend just a couple of nights there, and either before or after my stay there, stay at a different hotel closer in.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the areas I should look into? How is the financial district? Or Westminister?

The financial district (i.e. The City) is dead after work and on weekends...you wont find many pubs even open on a sat or sun.

I think alot of people stay around Victoria...hopefully others will chime in.

There are practically no hotels in The City, though I'd say jamikins exaggerates the area's visitor-unfriendliness greatly. It's far easier to get from The City to the pleasures of the West End than from Canary Wharf (actually easier than from tourist ghettoes like Gloucester Rd that get recommended here a lot, and a great deal easier than inner suburbs like Chelsea). Just a couple of tube stops, a mile or so on the many buses or a really pleasant stroll along one of the world's great urban walks

The City's pubs and bars, and many of its restaurants, stay open - and its bars remain lively - at night during the week: so much so that being near Liverpool Street station when the pubs chuck out on a Friday night ressembles an old-fashioned dock area when the ships come in. Only the young lads and lassies don't hold their booze as well.

On Saturdays and Sundays, The City IS deserted - but that makes it easier to explore an extraordinary mix of ultra-modern, 17th century and some medieval buildings on a street pattern that's essentially the one the Romans laid down 2,000 years ago.

nitelife- how good is the deal you're getting at the Hilton Canary Wharf, may I ask?

I have always been able to get a decent deal for a 4* hotel in London through Priceline or Hotwire. I have done this about half a dozen times and have never paid more than $120 inclu tax for a room.

Areas that are much more convenient for sightseeing would be around Trafalgar Sq, Green Park, Bloomsbury, Westminster.

it's basically a two nights for one special through the hilton rewards program using points, although it's not REALLY 2 for 1...it's more like 1.33 to 1. but yeah, it looks like hotels are quite affordable in london. the only thing about going through priceline/hotwire/travelocity/etc is that a lot of the good deals are non-refundable whereas i can change my direct reservation hours before check-in.