ealing_calling

With the strong pound sterling, the Big Smoke is now more expensive to visit than Japan . . . here's BBC News' take on tourism in London:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3931277.stm

Whaddaya think?

TopMan

I suspect we'll keep coming from the US since the allure of the Windsors AND those wonderful "style icon" busses you guys are trying to get rid of will overcome any, and all those silly little money-related obstacles like exchange rates!

rj007

I am not surprised that the Canadian visitors were shocked how expensive London is, Their dollar is worth 30% less than the US Dollar.

I could care less what the exchange rate is - I have made 7 trips to London and am getting ready for an 8th visit.
I don't consider London expensive. My costs have dropped nearly in half in the last 2 years, so for me London is cheaper now than it has been in years.

Note that comment from the chap about Norway. I have been to Norway and Iceland and they are both more expensive than London. Cheap restaurant meals in Norway were non-existant when I was there. He wasn't kidding about 30 GBP for beer and pizza. There are plenty of cheap places to eat in London and if you go to toptable.co.uk you will find specials at more expensive restaurants that will save you money.

You have world class musuems that are free. Concerts, lectures - free. Wandering around London's neighborhoods - free.

Do your research and you can avoid the grubby 90 GBP hotels. Plenty of places to stay that are quiet, clean and reasonably priced.

London expensive? Not for this traveler.

WillTravel

I didn't find Norway that expensive for food last year either. It all depends what you buy, I guess. I'd get the generous hostel/hotel breakfast buffet, and then I found a place that offered a good Indian dinner for less than 70 NOK (about 8 Euros), or you could get a full-size pizza for about the same price. No alcohol, and the occasional snack or piece of fruit purchased during the day. London and Oslo work out roughly the same for me - for traveling to Europe at most a few weeks per year, and given the cost of getting there, how does the equivalent of 2 or 3 pounds or Euros per day matter that much?

I imagine this article will scare away some potential visitors from fabulous London, and that is too bad.

rj007

WillTravel,

That is exactly what I did in Norway as well. Actually, that is what I do all over Europe. I eat a larger breakfaat than I do at home, skip lunch and then look for a place to eat for dinner. I found some good places at a shopping mall during my stay in Bergen. Pluw, they had some nice bakeries for an inexpensive snack.

So, for me there are no expensive places in Europe. And I agree with you - I hope that article doesn't keep people from traveling to London.

Scarlett

Sadly , we realized the other night how expensive London is when we started looking over real estate sights for flats to rent.
I can still afford a trip/visit but I want more!!!

FromAtlanta

I agree with rj007, and I think London is best done on the cheap. Why waste your money on expensive restaurants when you can do that at home? Personally, I want to load up on fish and chips, meat pies, etc. - all those delicasies I CAN'T get at home!! Then don't forget it is less expensive for take-away...and London has MANY places to sit, relax and eat your food.
As far as accomodations, I know what a Holiday Inn looks like. No thanks. The price isn't worth it, especially if breakfast isn't included. I can find very comfortable (sometimes even fancy) B&Bs that are relatively inexpensive -and they come with a big breakfast that will fill me up for most of the day. (Maybe for a snack I will go to Tesco and buy some granola bars) I feel very sorry for those Canadians in the article who are trying to go cheap by staying in a hostel and not eating breakfast (looks like they didn't do much research!)
I will be hitting all the free museums and just wandering around doesn't cost anything! I am definitely going to skip Madame Tussauds this year. (I've already been twice and last time wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the 1st). I can do very well without those tourist traps. I think my time would be better spent enjoying all the street performers.

I wish I was there right now!!

taggie

Quote from the American couple: "Fries are not the same as what we would expect". WHAT???!! They're fries. They're made out of potatoes and they're fried. What did they expect?

FromAtlanta

LOL!
I was wondering about too ... unless they meant the English breakfast. (Isn't that called a frie?) - Anyway, that whole thing made no sense and didn't fit into the article ... it made me laugh though.

ben_haines_london

It is true that London is expensive. For some four years now I have collected the ideas of contributors to this forum that may help keep costs down. I can e-mail notes on any of these

Free in London
Cheap in London
Meals in pubs
Meals not in pubs
Self-guided walks
Picnics
Accommodation, Victoria, Charing Cross, Bloomsbury, and student halls of residence
Also, peoples notes on places in central London that are off the beaten track and hidden places in the suburbs are not chosen for low cost, but many of the places are in fact cheap or free: I have lists with notes.

Welcome to London

[email protected]

PatrickLondon

On the fries/chips thing: McDonald's-style thin 'straws' are not native to us, they're more like what you would get in France (this is not a political point, don't even go there). What we're used to in Britain is something chunkier. But what we often get, sadly, is something that has been frozen and by the time it gets on the plate the innards have turned to mush - they might as well have been made from reconstituted dried mashed potatoes (and maybe they were for all I know).

Kavey

Breakfasts are sometimes called "fry ups" but not "fries".

Although some restaurants have taken to using "fries" instead of "chips" in their menus the terms seems to be used interchangably so you never know whether you're going to get thin, long ones or fat, chunky (traditional) ones. And there's the whole question of whether they are decent, homemade ones or crappy frozen, reconstituted crap.

But what an ODD thing to comment on about a trip abroad. WEIRD.

LondonMike

It maybe fairly expensive when you are in London but getting here has never been cheaper. Low cost airlines flying visitors from Europe mean people can get here for far less than they could 10 years ago. Also transatlantic / long haul prices don't seem to have changed much in the last 15 years despite the high cost of oil at the moment.

Enjoy London!

Ann41

I forget how expensive the UK really is until I go back to the US. Food, clothes, just about everything.

Actually, transatlantic flight prices are signficiantly higher these days. I've been flying from the US to the UK (now living in the UK) since 1989, and I routinely could get $300 roundtrip (including tax) fares from Washington or NY to London. Never once paid more than $500, even in peak season, until 9/11. Bargains still can be had if you're flexible and patient, but not anywhere near as often.

martytravels

You can definitely do London without going into receivership. If you go off-peak (say late oct.-april), you can find some quite decent deals on 3-star (at least the London version of 3-star) hotels. (We got the Thistle Lancaster Gate for about 35 pounds per night). Also, if you really love Middle Eastern and Indian food like our do, few cities on the globe can compete with London for good, inexpensive options. There's this place on Queensway called Tazo with shwarama sandwiches that rock for 3 pounds. Armed with a 3-day travel card, a late fall weekend in London need not be any pricier than one in New York.

mikemo

Here's my recent (8-12 and 20 July) experience using USDs as a first time visitor to London:
DFW - LGW via BA (upgrade to First)
ATM W/D 100GBP (BankOne $187 (US)+ $1.25).
2 nights in London and two nights at Hambleton Hall.
Auto rental 10-12 July.
Overnight @ a B&B near LGW on the 20th.
RT LGW - DFW BA (upgrade to Business/WorldClub).
Paid for the A/F and two nights in London in USDs long before the trip.
Put $5520.58 (US) on my 1% low fee USAA MC in the UK- the 1% rebate on my CC might have bought lunch with a beer in London if I went "Dutch".
Needless to say, we had a marvelous time!
M