favorite non-obvious things in london
 

i will be going to london next month and would like to sample the variety of experiences of people on this list to enrich the trip. I like historic things and museums. shopping is not a big deal. I will go to the national gallery and the national theatre. I probably will go to one evensong at WEstminster abbey or st pauls.

any personal favorites I should add?

We spent time at the British Library "treasures room," the British Museum, the Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum, and the National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory in Greenwich. All were fascinating.

Lee Ann

hi, youngtom,

I recommend spending half a day or so around the strand/fleet street area - on a nice day, you can walk through the Temple [where most london barristers' chambers are], see the ancient Temple church [think crusaders and da vinci code] and have lunch in middle temple [wear smart clothes and look as if you belong] where at least one shakespeare play had its first performance - 12th night I think.

you might also be interested in Dr. Johnson's house, further down Fleet street, and if you are interested in other legal doings, you can carry on up Ludgate Hill to the old bailey, where all important criminal trials are heard.

hope this helps,

regards, ann

then cross the strand at temple bar, walk through the royal courts of justice opposite [security check but open to the public] and look for the exhibition of legal dress, if you want a laugh.

find the carey street exit, cross the road, and you are in lincoln's inn fields - and to your right is lincoln's Inn - another haven of legal peace amongst the mele of central london.

Along with many, many others, www.walks.com does a walk of the area Ann describes called Legal & Illegal London. The walks guides meet the groups at different tube stops, and your hotel will have a brochure to describe all of them (or you can look them up on the internet). They cost £6 and are excellent.

Some places we have enjoyed are the Denis Severs House, the Globe Theater, the Dickens House, the Geffrye Museum, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum if you are a fan.

what kind of museums do you like? paintings? arts and crafts?

Apart from National Gallery, other art museums include
Courtauld Gallery (wonderful Impressionist collection)
Tate Britian (with most Turners, though many are on loan to Met right now)
Tate Modern
Wallace Collection

V&A has costumes, arts and crafts

British Museum has everything under the sun

Historic things - apart from Churchill War Rooms, you should go to the Imperial War Museum. Very well done.

Sir John Soane's museum.

I liked the displays at the British Library as well (I got a library card and did some research too). I also enjoyed Keats' house and Sigmund & Anna Freud's house (both in Hampstead). Wandering around Hampstead Heath one early morning was lovely, and then I spent the afternoon taking a tour of Highgate cemetery - which was totally worth it for the photo opps alone, but also for the history. I actually liked just sitting in Hyde Park more than anything.

Hi
After all those museums, a good way to rest the feet is by taking the London Waterbus (a converted narrowboat) on the Regent's Canal from Little Venice to Camden Lock.Or vice versa. Canals have a speed limit of about 4 mph so it is definitely the slow lane but I enjoy it and do it (weather permitting) every time I go to London. I don't know what the situation in Camden is after the fire, but it was always worth a wander.
Rosemary

The Royal Opera House tour...but you have to book it in advance. The guides are knowledgeable and funny and the house has a long story !!

It has been a while and I hope it is still offered but we took a boat on the Thames to Greenwich. It was a highlight, here is a idea of it:

http://www.londonsight.com/tour_rive..._greenwich.htm

another vote for the Inns of Court and Old Bailey. Watch a few of the Rumpole BBC mystery episodes to get in the mood before your trip

The thread London Dayz has some good suggestions
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35129469

How long will you be in London?

British Museum
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
Museum of London
V&A
Cabinet War Rooms
Jewel Tower
You cannot miss the Tower (have you been watching the Tudors on Showtime?)
Tour the Globe Theater
Museum of Moving Image (I think it's called - tv and movies interactive and fascinating)
Get into Parliament if you can (Not sure if it's in session)
Greenwich - Prime Meridian and Maritime Museum
Windsor Castle

Westminster School
Whitechapel Bell Foundry
Royal College of Surgeons
Physik Gardens
Geffrye Museum
Bank of England Museum

Here's another vote for the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House. They have a wonderful collection of Impressionist works, including some sculpture. We have visited 3 times, and like the Rodin in Paris, I love its' manageable size. Two hours well spent.
Barb

Leighton House

Hunterian Museum

Another vote for the Churchill Museum and the Wallace Collection.

The Imperial War Museum currently has an exhibit called "The Children's War" which is WW II as seen through the eyes of English children: http://london.iwm.org.uk/upload/pack...tion/index.htm

If you have some spare time, you might like to attend some free lectures (usually last one hour). For some samples, please check: www.gresham.ac.uk, www.thersa.org. Both lectures hall are beatiful historical buildings.

Many churches in the City offer free lunchtime conserts also.

Shakespeare's Globe Theater: get a standing room ticket for "the yard" and see the play from the groundling perspective.

Most weekends, England offers sports courses. Boating can be had either by hire or commercial trip. The canals are busy, locking yourself through is exciting. Inquire of the national sports organizations for courses.

look east...e.g spitalfields area. a vibrant part of london often ignored by tourists.

Be sure to check and see if you can do the Verger's Tour of Westminster Abbey. We have done it a couple of times by just showing up around 9:30 and signing up. It has been a several years since I did that, but it was a great "insiders" look at things. I had my young niece and nephew with me last time, and the verger let them sit in the queen's box and he took their pictures with each of their cameras. It was the highlight of the trip for them.

Highgate and Harrow on the Hill

The V&A museum is open late on Wednesday and you can have dinner there and attend a free concert. The concerts vary as well as the times so check ahead to see if this is of interest to you. We have done this several times and found the concerts enjoyable.

You requested non-obvious things in London so perhaps you would consider the Sunday 6:30 pm Evensong service at St. Bartholomew's in the City of London. It is a lovely place and has an interesting history. You may recognize the interior as it has been used in several popular films.

They have a newish website at www.greatstbarts.com with more information.

If you go to the Temple area as annhig recommendeds, and do go, the Middle Temple 12th night debut building closes a couple of hours in the middle of the day for guard's well-deserved lunch break.

thank you so much! many great ideas, as i had hoped.....

Whoops! I forgot Westminster Abbey. We also did the verger's tour, which was really interesting and allows you to see bits of the Abbey you can't visit otherwise.

Lee Ann

The Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Man (or whatever it might be called these days) would be high on my list.

Walk along the Southwark side of the Thames, Hampton Court Palace is wonderful...spend a day! See some theatre, Portobello road ...just walk the streets...amazing! Enjoy!
Rosie((R))

A previous poster may have given the impression that Tate Britain contains little but JMW Turner in the collection and that much of that is on loan. Not true.

The Clore Gallery attached to the Tate and devoted to Turner "comprises nearly 300 oil paintings and around 30,000 sketches and watercolours (including 300 sketchbooks)".

In addition, the Tate collection contains works by Hogarth, Gainsborough, Stubbs, Constable, Whistler, Sargent and a host of others.

A visit to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, the oldest public picture gallery in the UK, is a treat with works by Rembrandt, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Poussin, van Dyck, Canalletto, Rubens, among others. Sir John Soane was the architect.

Go to an evening performance at the Open Air Theathre in Regent's Park. Very nice.

bookmarking, thanks!

If you want a bit of a shudder, the Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret Museum is worth a visit

http://www.thegarret.org.uk/oot.htm

Someone else already mentioned Sir John Soane's Museum, but I want to second the recommendation. It is unbelievably cool, an incredibly personal collection of fabulous art displayed in the most eccentric and compelling fashion. A true London experience!

I know you aren't interested in shopping, but if you like food you should make time for Borough Market on Saturday. Even if you don't like food, it's great for the sights and sounds and smells and people watching in a very old marketplace that is now very fashionable. The whole South Bank area is well worth visiting.

The WWII codebreaking facilities at Bletchley Park. Arguably one of the most important undertakings of the entire conflict, it gave the allies vital information on enemy troop dispositions and plans.

I've recommended this already on another thread, but since it's so good, I'll give another plug to Time Out's '1000 things to do in London', which has slightly more off-the-wall ideas than normal guides - like a list of 'secret' gardens, butchery (!) courses, tours of the BBC, old umbella shops etc

Thanks, Miss Prism and Robespierre! We will be checking out the Old Operating Theater and Bletchley Park in September -- both sound interesting and will be new to us.

Try visiting the silver vaults in London. Maybe you cannot afford anything but it is a great way to spend a few hours dreaming!!!
http://www.thesilvervaults.com/