Day in London Guide
Dec 20th, 2005, 12:07 AM
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Day in London Guide
Hello, we will be in London for the day for a meeting- I think to utilize the rest of our time, roughly 6 hours it would be better to hire a guide and driver, any suggestions? We arrive at 0900 and depart at 1800 back to Paris with the meeting taking about 1 hour. Thanks.
Dec 20th, 2005, 12:32 AM
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Where is your meeting? London is a huge city
What time of year is the trip? A walk by the river is great in June but not in Jan
Have you ever been to London before?
Do you want to see sights or spend time in a museum?
How large is your group?
Have you figured in time for meals?
Are you taking the train back to Paris or flying? (I count 9 hours between 9 am and 18:00 and therefore with a 1 hour meeting I assume you are flying back and have built in travel time to and from the airport and time for security checks, etc)
As for a car and driver, London traffic can be pretty bad on weekdays, so you may spend more time sitting in traffic than getting any sightseeing done. IMO the tube would be a better way to get to sights for the most part. Also, I don't think London lends itself to being seen with a car, you will be craning your neck to see some things, and some sights cannot really be seen at all, i.e. it is hard to appreciate the Tower of London and most of the Houses of Parliament from a car. Also, you will want to get out and walk around and into some sights, and your driver either won't be allowed to stop at all, or will not be able to park and wait for you. If you really want just an overview by road, consider the hop-on-hop off bus, take a look at http://www.bigbus.co.uk and http://www.londonpride.co.uk.
With that limited amount of time, you might want to pick 2 or at most 3 sights and concentrate on them, like the Tower of London, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, St Paul's, the London Eye, Guild Hall, one of the art or other museums (British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Modern, Tate Britain), Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards. For example, the Tower would take you 2 hours at a minimum with no waiting to get in and not counting transport time there and back.
Depending on where your meeting is, you may be able to start sightseeing right from your meeting place.
If your meeting is over by 11 or so and you are in the neighbourhood and there on the right day, you could make it to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace which takes place at 11:30 am. Please note that the ceremony does NOT happen every day in the winter months. Check the schedule and be sure to go on the right day. There is a website for royal events at "royal.gov.uk". I would say arriving 30 minutes before the ceremony is enough. Aim to either be standing at the fence in front of the palace or up on the steps of the fountain.
If you will be near the London Eye, you might want to start there, you can make a reservation for a time when you expect your meeting to be over. This will give you a little overview of the city. For reservations on the Eye, go to http://www.londoneye.com/
What time of year is the trip? A walk by the river is great in June but not in Jan
Have you ever been to London before?
Do you want to see sights or spend time in a museum?
How large is your group?
Have you figured in time for meals?
Are you taking the train back to Paris or flying? (I count 9 hours between 9 am and 18:00 and therefore with a 1 hour meeting I assume you are flying back and have built in travel time to and from the airport and time for security checks, etc)
As for a car and driver, London traffic can be pretty bad on weekdays, so you may spend more time sitting in traffic than getting any sightseeing done. IMO the tube would be a better way to get to sights for the most part. Also, I don't think London lends itself to being seen with a car, you will be craning your neck to see some things, and some sights cannot really be seen at all, i.e. it is hard to appreciate the Tower of London and most of the Houses of Parliament from a car. Also, you will want to get out and walk around and into some sights, and your driver either won't be allowed to stop at all, or will not be able to park and wait for you. If you really want just an overview by road, consider the hop-on-hop off bus, take a look at http://www.bigbus.co.uk and http://www.londonpride.co.uk.
With that limited amount of time, you might want to pick 2 or at most 3 sights and concentrate on them, like the Tower of London, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, St Paul's, the London Eye, Guild Hall, one of the art or other museums (British Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate Modern, Tate Britain), Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards. For example, the Tower would take you 2 hours at a minimum with no waiting to get in and not counting transport time there and back.
Depending on where your meeting is, you may be able to start sightseeing right from your meeting place.
If your meeting is over by 11 or so and you are in the neighbourhood and there on the right day, you could make it to the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace which takes place at 11:30 am. Please note that the ceremony does NOT happen every day in the winter months. Check the schedule and be sure to go on the right day. There is a website for royal events at "royal.gov.uk". I would say arriving 30 minutes before the ceremony is enough. Aim to either be standing at the fence in front of the palace or up on the steps of the fountain.
If you will be near the London Eye, you might want to start there, you can make a reservation for a time when you expect your meeting to be over. This will give you a little overview of the city. For reservations on the Eye, go to http://www.londoneye.com/
Dec 20th, 2005, 01:30 AM
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for the purpose of this response, i will assume that you haven't been to london and have no preferences but just want to see the most of london.
i would just walk..in that short amount of time you can see a great deal of central london. trafalgar sq, national gallery, soho, chinatown, leicester sq (more of a pass through), covent gdn, piccadilly are all within close walking distance. if you are taking the eurostar back to paris then you can also walk back to waterloo from these areas (under 10 min). tower bridge may also be spied from a distance from these areas...or approached on foot in maybe 20 min. likewise it is about 20-30 min to the tate modern where you can walk across the bridge to st paul's cathedral. the london eye is about 10 min away (can see or ride it on the way back to waterloo).
as cicerone indicated, a car is not the best way to see things. you mention a car AND a guide. indeed, these are two things in london. most guides are licenced and i would not trust my day to just a driver. there was a company that did tours in a black cab but they stopped due to the traffic volumes. i suppose you could take the tourist bus but with that short a time, i would prefer to walk.
london is very spread out but most of the most popular tourist sites are within a very short and easy walk.
i would just walk..in that short amount of time you can see a great deal of central london. trafalgar sq, national gallery, soho, chinatown, leicester sq (more of a pass through), covent gdn, piccadilly are all within close walking distance. if you are taking the eurostar back to paris then you can also walk back to waterloo from these areas (under 10 min). tower bridge may also be spied from a distance from these areas...or approached on foot in maybe 20 min. likewise it is about 20-30 min to the tate modern where you can walk across the bridge to st paul's cathedral. the london eye is about 10 min away (can see or ride it on the way back to waterloo).
as cicerone indicated, a car is not the best way to see things. you mention a car AND a guide. indeed, these are two things in london. most guides are licenced and i would not trust my day to just a driver. there was a company that did tours in a black cab but they stopped due to the traffic volumes. i suppose you could take the tourist bus but with that short a time, i would prefer to walk.
london is very spread out but most of the most popular tourist sites are within a very short and easy walk.
Dec 20th, 2005, 01:42 AM
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Traffic inside London's core congestion charge area generally moves smoothly, and licensed black taxis move smoother than most forms of transport.
Many licensed drivers of black cabs act as tour guides. I've never seen the need to use them (what's wrong with buses and tubes?) but they're a great deal more able to park in tricky places than private cars or buses.
There's a list of booking operations for them at netlondon.com/London_Tours/Tours_by_Taxi/index.html
Many licensed drivers of black cabs act as tour guides. I've never seen the need to use them (what's wrong with buses and tubes?) but they're a great deal more able to park in tricky places than private cars or buses.
There's a list of booking operations for them at netlondon.com/London_Tours/Tours_by_Taxi/index.html
Dec 20th, 2005, 01:48 AM
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Incidentally, it simply isn't true that you can't see things from a car. THE best view of Parliament is from a bus stop on the opposite bank of the river, and there are a number of vantage points for the Tower on both sides of the river that every cabbie knows.
Cab drivers have the huge advantage over most tour guides (who typically belong to the car-avoiding classes) of knowing how to make London's traffic system work to your advantage.
Cab drivers have the huge advantage over most tour guides (who typically belong to the car-avoiding classes) of knowing how to make London's traffic system work to your advantage.
Dec 20th, 2005, 02:35 AM
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>>>>
it simply isn't true that you can't see things from a car
>>>>>
obviously it is possible to "see things" from a car but both responses just indicated that it's not the best way to see london...a point with which you seem to agree.
it simply isn't true that you can't see things from a car
>>>>>
obviously it is possible to "see things" from a car but both responses just indicated that it's not the best way to see london...a point with which you seem to agree.
Dec 20th, 2005, 04:34 AM
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We are going on 3 Feb from Heathrow. I only thought of a car and guide because that is what we usually use while on holiday and it has always worked really well- ie: pulling right up to the pyramids and then driving to next place. We have never been to London and while we will come back some day I still wanted to see what I could. We are not doing any musuems this trip- no time and will see plenty in Paris, really just interested in the palaces/history building. So after reading I am thinking to use the tube and walk?
Dec 20th, 2005, 04:49 AM
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Cheapest: buy a day's travelcard to use the ordinary buses/tube, combined with walking when it seems sensible. See
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tourist_map.shtml; you'll also need a guidebook for the detail of what you're looking at, but you've got flexibility - albeit it's a slow way round.
Slightly more expensive - Cicerone's suggestion of the hop-on/hop-off bus tours - you get a commentary, but you're tied to their routes.
More expensive - follow up flanner's suggestion and hire a black cab.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/tourist_map.shtml; you'll also need a guidebook for the detail of what you're looking at, but you've got flexibility - albeit it's a slow way round.
Slightly more expensive - Cicerone's suggestion of the hop-on/hop-off bus tours - you get a commentary, but you're tied to their routes.
More expensive - follow up flanner's suggestion and hire a black cab.
Dec 20th, 2005, 06:19 AM
#9
If the weather is OK I'd just take the open top hop-on-hop-off bus tour. It will show you all of the main highlights of central London and you can get off anywhere, to tour something or have a meal, and jump on the next one. Though on a weekday in Feb they won't be running every 5+ minutes like they do in summer. You might have to wait 1/2 an hour or more for the next bus. No need to book ahead, just pay the driver when you board.
if it is too wet to sit upstairs on the tour bus - then I'd just do as the others say and take a black cab.
Back when my parents still travelled a lot - whenever in London, they hailed a cab on their last night in town and asked for a drive-by tour of all the illuminated bldgs and over a few of the bridges. Always a highlight of their stay. Most cab drivers would be better company than most tour guides IMHO.
if it is too wet to sit upstairs on the tour bus - then I'd just do as the others say and take a black cab.
Back when my parents still travelled a lot - whenever in London, they hailed a cab on their last night in town and asked for a drive-by tour of all the illuminated bldgs and over a few of the bridges. Always a highlight of their stay. Most cab drivers would be better company than most tour guides IMHO.
