My husband and I would like to meet our son who will be studying in Ireland for a four-five day trip to London in early Nov. I've been to the Lake District, Darlington/Durham area, and Bath but never to London. Husband has been but 30 yrs ago. I want to see all the usual tourist stuff and also have one night at the theater. Can you advise as to what area of London would be best for accomodation? We like to walk a lot and tend to plan our trips with lots of walking and local transport and have had excellent luck using Rick Steves walking trips in other European cities. I was thinking of an apartment rental and ask if anyone has a good recommendation for a website or specific apt. We need to accomodate three or maybe four if he brings a friend. Thanks, although I'm a Rome-a-holic I'm excited about London.

I was in London this May. My preference will be 'useless' in the sense that I have always stayed in this area. Last trip stayed at Academy Hotel on Gower St.

Bloomsbury is my 'hood. Easy access to Tube for Heathrow, not far either if using Gatwick Express to Victoria. I used Tube fair amount and found location good in terms of transfers requirednad location of nearby stations.

British Museum block away, shopping on Oxford/Tottinham Rd nearby, quiet, selection of decent lunch an dinner locations walking distance away. Some nice parks to hang out in also.

Hotels are all price ranges, and B&Bs as well.

Walking...I walk ed a lot last trip. From hotel went to Law Courts, Thames, St Paul's Cathedral then home. Also did the walk to Covent Garden/Trafalgar Square.

Hope this helps,
Mike

You need to start your own research and come back with specific questions. London is the largest city in Western Europe by far (more than 2x population of Paris or Rome, larger overall area than New York City) and "the sites" are all over the city so you're not going to be able to walk to all of them from wherever you stay. It's more akin to New York than it is to Rome or Paris.

Research this site -- Fodors has a big entry about London. Figure out where you want to go and what you want to see, then ask again so you can get better help.

London is so spread out - no one area will be close to more than a handful of sites. But you can stay in just about ANY central London neighborhood. All are w/i easy reach of every major site using public transport. And many neighborhoods are w/i walking distance of a few sites. The main theatres are spread from Victoria to the Barbican, and from the Old Vic south of the river to Covent Garden and beyond. So again, most any neighborhood is good for visiting the theatre.

What is your budget? (Rick Steves is good for a lot of places but not so much for London/the UK)

Bloomsbury is my favorite area as well, largely because you can walk to so much (plus I just like the feel), but you'll be using public transport (as well as walking a lot) no matter where you stay. The "tourist stuff" is not all in one area, so it's not realistic to try to be right next to everything. The only part of zone 1 I would not recommend is the City (near St Paul's/the Tower), and that's just because it's pretty dead at night.

As BigRuss mentioned, there are MANY threads on the boards about accommodations in London, at all budgets and including apartments. It's hard to make specific recommendations since you didn't state your budget.

For 3-4 people staying for 4-5 days, I think getting an apartment is a good idea. There are quite a few websites mentioned here in the past, you may find them if you do a search for London apartments. I think others have recommended
http://www.uniquelyaplacelikehome.co.uk/home.html but I have no personal experience. Other "general" rental websites are vrbo or homeaway.

For location, Bloomsbury is a nice and convenient area. Otherwise, Kensington/Chelsea is nice too.

Thank you all. My specific question really has to do w/ accomodations. I need to save some money but avoiding eating out three meals a day times three (or four) people - and two twenty-something lads could really break the budget. So specifically I am looking at neighborhoods you enjoy which will give us a taste of how people live in London. I'm not worried about sites to visit and using public transport. We are seasoned travelers in that regard. Thanks for the comments about Bloomsbury - that's what I'm looking for. Appreciate your help -

Also, I do seem to hear tht the 2 for 1 offers are good and purchasing a 3 day travel card at a rail station would be a good idea, yes?

If you are going to be in London for 5 days, you'll be better off buying a 7-day travelcard than a 3-day. The 7 day card is about 7 pounds more expensive than the 3-day; and you can easily spend £3.50/day on days 4 & 5 using Oyster PAYG (considering a single tube ride using Oyster PAYG is £1.60).

Again - what is your budget? Hard to give useful advice re where to stay w/o knowing how much you want to pay.

With older "kids" you would likely enjoy Notting Hill area. For example see this property http://www.vrbo.com/45089. I can't recommend it specifically but the area is nice and the amenities are good such as cell phones for use, porter on site and proximity to public transportation. We especially liked the Prince Albert pub also very near the Nottinghill Gate Tube station. (And see the Hugh Grant/Julia Roberts movie before you go!)

Budget....modest, I would say. I've not yet attached a figure to it as I'm just starting out. I did see a couple of air/hotel packages for around $800-ish a person for 4 or 5 days and of course our son will just Ryan Air in or something, so that's not too bad. I've heard about London being horribly expensive - true? It seems that there are so many wonderful free attractions, and we are not big shoppers and will just be either cooking on our own (I love to shop in local markets) and doing pubgrub. The splurge would be the theater. As an example, last Nov. I rented an apartment w/ a friend in Florence and we did very very well on price b/c we only ate out one or at the most two meals per day, we were with college kids so we ate cheaply (and very well) and our apt. was reasonable, partly b/c it was November. So I'm hoping for a similar experience here. Thanks.

London doesn't have to be horribly expensive. There are plenty of inexpensive restaurants, and if you do end up with an apartment, so much the better - you can stock up on groceries at M&S or one of the other food shops. Head to Borough market for a great experience and fantastic food. There are inexpensive sandwich shops (Pret, Eat) and pizza places (Pizza Express) everywhere.

Theater doesn't have to break you. Here's a website I always use to book ahead: www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk (check under special offers). You can also look for cheap day-of seats at the official TKTS booth in Leicester square.

As far as neighborhoods, you and your "kids" might like the feel of Islington. Lots of shops and restos and not inconvenient to the usual sights.

London has a reputation for being expensive, but honestly I think it's an easy city to experience inexpensively. An apartment is a great way to start, since (as you mentioned) you can eat in sometimes. All the major museums are free, and with the 2-for-1 you can save on attractions like the Tower. The grocery stores have more and better prepared foods than I'm used to in the US, and there are several chains that are pretty inexpensive and easy to find (Pret a Manger, EAT, etc). It's really easy to find somewhere to pick up a picnic lunch and enjoy it in a park, Trafalgar Square, etc.

For theatre, you can try the TKTS booth in Leicester Square (I've also used the agents in the surrounding storefronts a couple of times with no problems at all). I've also used lastminute.com with pretty good luck. If there's a particular show you're dying to see, I'd book tickets ahead and pay the full price (West End shows are still cheaper than Broadway shows). But if you're flexible on dates and shows, you can wait till you get there and see what deals you can find!

packages are really difficult to evaluate since you have to pay X 4 and everyone is paying the full amount. There is a real economy of scale to be gained booking a flat on your own. (or even 2 rooms on PriceLine)

You could easily find a 1 bdrm plus sofa sleepers or 2 bdrm flat for 5 days for between £500 and £800 (about US$800 to $1300). And PL will get you two rooms in a 4 star hotel for about $100 plus taxes (yes, $) per room ($1000 for 2 rooms for 5 days).

London is only as expensive as you want it to be. There are many inexpensive places to eat. PL and Hotwire are brilliant for central London. The public transport definitely costs more than it used to -- but is still a bargain IMO. So many of the major sites are free and many of the others are covered by various 2 for 1 specials.

So you really CAN do London on a budget.

Be careful with the air/hotel packages. The many times I've looked at them, the cheapest price offers 2* hotels located in the outskirts (eg, Earls Court or even farther out). If you want a slightly nicer hotel, the package price jumps up by $100-200.

Like others have said, it's EASY to visit London on a budget, esp if there's more than one of you. Staying in an apt is a great start. You don't even have to cook much, you can easily grab cheap sandwiches from Pret a Manger or M&S Simply foods and eat it back home. With more than 1 person, you can take advantage of the 2-for-1 offers for many paid attractions.

Every major National Rail station in London has an M&S Simply Food. Get a meal from there every day and you'll save plenty of money over eating out. Pret-a-manger and Eat are competitors and they're basically omnipresent too.

I'd be wary of packages because the hotels may not only be out in the suburbs but may also suck. Be careful about star ratings in the UK -- they relate to amenities available not quality of the place. A run-down dump that offers numerous services can obtain a four-star rating.

I agree on packages. I seldom use them. I have saved money once or twice on them but have only used them domestically when I am already familiar with the hotel. Thanks forall the great suggestions re food and theater.