Since this was a week long trip and I mostly did the usual touristy things, I'll try to make this short & sweet. I was on a fairly small budget, so my experiences may help out other people watching their pounds.

My trip was back in May from Friday the 22nd to Friday the 29th. I flew British Airways on daytime flights and I *loved* it. Hardly any jet lag, though I got to Heathrow at @ 8:30 PM. At the airport I bought a 7-day Oyster card & added extra pounds for the trips to & from the airport. I didn't need a paper travel card for discounts since I was traveling alone.

The trip on the Tube to the hotel was easy (no transfers) if a little long. I stayed at Nh Harrington Hall in Kensington (won a bid for $80/night!) and it was close by the Gloucester Rd. stop. The area around the hotel had everything I needed: groceries, drugstore, ATM's, and a very nice pub which has been mentioned by other Fodorites, the Gloucester Arms. I also liked Caffe Forum for breakfast and DimT, a reasonably priced asian fusion chain.

To get oriented, the next day I went on the London Walks "This is London Highlights" tour and highly recommend it. Sunday I took the Jack the Ripper tour, which was interesting, but Donald Rumbelow was not available. Our guide (Alan?) was very knowledgeable and even managed to fend off a couple of hecklers.

TimeOut London is a must-buy if you want to check out the smaller venues for music & theater. The concert I *really* wanted to see was Talvin Singh & Niladri Kumar, but sadly it was postponed. (I'm very tempted to start checking out tickets for the end of September for the rescheduled show.) Lastminute.com was where I got tickets for Spring Awakening for @23 pounds, not bad for closing week. Loved it, loved the music by Duncan Sheik and the really great band up there. The singing was also top notch. The other concert I saw was Matmos w/London Contemporary Orchestra @ Village Underground, They are a duo writing electronic music and the 2nd half of the show really rocked, with a video artist making it a full multimedia experience.

Some other highlights:
Tower of London & Hampton Court: They have a discount if you purchase tickets for both until the end of this year in honor of Henry the 8th's 500th anniversary of his accession to the throne. The Hampton Court gardens are so beautiful, so make sure you leave time to explore them.

Great St. Barts: Lovely little church dating back to Norman times. You have to pay an entrance fee, but they do let you take photos inside.

Verger-led tour of Westminster Abbey: I would have been lost in there without a guide. Plus, you get access to restricted parts around the older tombs. Worth the extra 3 pounds, IMHO.

Bibendum Oyster Bar: I was wandering around Kensington, lost and hungry, and recognized this place from a guidebook. They have a very expensive restaurant upstairs and a much more reasonable bar downstairs. I had a cold lamb & ratatouille plate with a Pimm's Cup and fresh strawberries & cream for dessert. Everything was delicious - the only drawback was the crying baby in the large hall next door reverberating all over the place. The waiters were trying so hard to be polite about it, but you could tell it was starting to get to them too.

The Tube: I love the Tube. Maybe it's because I live in New York City and take the subway, but the Tube just seemed so easy to navigate. The seats are comfortable - how do they get away with cushioned seats like that? The Oyster card is so simple compared to our cards - just touch it to the sensor instead of the annoying swiping.

Places visited, if only for a few hours:
Westminster Abbey
Great St. Barts
V&A Museum
British Museum
Museum of London (I actually liked the prehistoric artifacts)
Tate Modern
Tower of London
Hampton Court
National Gallery
and lots of walking through Kensington, the Strand, Westminster.

Some places I'll explore next trip (because there will be a next one):
More along the South Bank. I got to spend some time at the Tate Modern, but didn't see much else on that side.
Back to the V&A Museum.
Greenwich
Highgate Cemetary
Hampstead
Islington - I stopped by one night for dinner with friends and would like to see more.
Further afield: Stonehenge & Avebury and Canterbury, but maybe not on the same trip. I almost went to Stonehenge, but decided to wait and make arrangements on a later trip to stay overnight in Salisbury.

My pictures are all up now on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hexadec...7619578439088/

Thanks for all your London postings. I never had to ask any questions here while planning, because someone had already answered them on Fodors!

Very nice, DeborahA. I like your photos, especially the statues. I had wondered what that Outer Temple building was when we walked on the south bank.

Very nice report.

I am staggered at the price of your room at Harrington Hall - well done you!

Great report! Thanks for posting!

Thanks for the report, I'm glad you had fun.

I'm staggered too. I always think I get a great deal in that area for 80 POUNDS! Did you do priceline or what?

Your pictures are great!

Thanks everyone! Avalon, this was my first time using Priceline. I read the forums at betterbidding.com & posted at Bidding for Travel (which I seem to be banned from now) to research.

Oh, and one correction: the Gloucester Arms pub should be the *Stanhope* Arms.

What a wonderful first trip, DeborahA! Thanks for posting.

How long before you started your bidding on Priceline for the hotels? a week before, 2 weeks, 3 weeks? Thanks for your posting. My husband and I will be arriving LHR in the morning of 8/27/09 for 2 whole weeks. This is our first time in London. Your information is definetely very helpful.

blade

blade, I started bidding the last week of April and got my price 4 weeks before leaving. Don't know if that's a common timeframe or not, but since the week I was going to be there was a school holiday week in England, I didn't want to wait too long.

Nice report. I also visited London for the first time last month, stayed 2 full days because I had to continue my trip to Milan, Venice, and Paris. I totally like everything about London: the weather, the accent, the historical places, the convenient Mark & Spencer stores, the clean & well-lighted tube etc etc. So the "first trip but definitely not the last one" statement is TOTALLY true I've already made plans for my 2nd trip next year haha.
Next time you visit London, you should go to:
-St Paul Church (best church I've seen so far)
-Piccadily Circus
-Harrods dept store (similar to NY gigantic Macy's)
-London Eye
-Big Ben & House of Parliament
-Stonehenge & Windsor Castle