First time in London
 

We're planning our first trip to London in June and we're hoping you can help us! Has anyone stayed at the Radisson Edwardian Vanderbilt in South Kensington? Can we get to Windsor Castle via public transport? We plan to do an escorted full day trip to Bath/Stonehenge. Any suggestions for a second full day trip (Leeds, Canterbury, Cotswolds, Stratford-Upon-Avon, etc)? Thanks!

1. Al the Radisson Edwardian Hotels are nice. Homey, quaint and British.

2. You can take the regular train from from London Waterloo or London Paddington to windsor then walk thru the town to the castle - OR - Green Line operates daily services from Victoria Coach Station, London. Tour companies operate a daily service, collecting from many London hotels. For details ask your hotel.

3. How long are you in London? Its a huge city and in comparison Bath and Stonehenge are zzzzzzzz. If this is your first trip and you are there 7 days or less, I suggest staying and seeing as much as you can.

4. A day trip I liked was to Brighton to see Queen Victorias summer residence.

5. Don't miss Buckingham Palace tour, Kensington Palace, Madame Tussads, The Tower, Tower Bridge, Portobello Road Market, Covent Garden, museums (so many), Tea at Fortnum and Mason, Westminister and Big Ben, St Pauls, Hyde Park, Oxford Street shopping, Harrods, Kings Road shopping, Kensington High Street shopping, SoHo, Theater... etc etc etc.

You see by that list you can easily fill 10 days in London!


http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page557.asp

For windsor, I think if you take the train from Paddington, it's direct. I believe if you leave from another station, you must change trains. You can check this at www.thetrainline.com

I always try to avoid changing trains. But please check the above website as there may be some direct, some change, schedules.

I forgot to add that I always like to do days trips (schedule permitting) as it gives one a whole different feel for England. But if you don't have a lot of time, please don't forgo London itself; it's a very special place.

Although it's very touristy (but tourists are what we are!) I love the Open Top- Hop On/Hop Off bus tours. They're a great way to get a good overview of the various areas of London, and rests the feet a bit! The tickets are good for 24 hours and usually have 3 different routes. Start later afternoon and finish the next morning to fully take advantage of the 24 hours without overkill in one day - or use the bus tour as a slow and easy intro to London that first morning after you arrive if you can't get into your hotel right away.

Enjoy.

Just a correction to richarddab's otherwise good suggestions -- Buckingham Palace is not open to the public in June. (you can only tour the Palace from the first weekend in Aug. through the first weekend in Oct.)

I knew that, I was just testing you.

Trains to Windsor run every half hour from Waterloo. From Paddington, you normally have to change trains at Slough. If you're staying in South Kensington, it would be easiest to get the District Line tube from South Kensington to Richmond where you can catch the train to Windsor. If you have a travelcard, show it when you buy the train ticket as the travelcard covers the train journey within the London area, and you only have to pay from the zone boundary to Windsor. The stations in Windsor are just a few yards from the castle walls.