Help with London Please
 

I am in the early stages of planning a UK/Europe vacation and will be starting in London England. We aren't spending alot of time in England and really only want to see a few things, not really do any tours. We are staying at the Comfort Inn Victoria which looks close to all the things we want to see. Can someone help me with what order to see things?? We aren't afraid of lots of walking.
We want to see
Big Ben
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
Trafalgar Square
St Pauls Cathedral
Piccadilly Circus...
Then maybe head to the Roman Baths in Bath England.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kim

For starters, up above "Post a Reply", click on "Destinations" then "Europe" then "London". Among many other things included are some "great intineraries". I think that will help you a lot. How many days do you plan to be in London?

Thank you.

We really only wanted to spend a full day in London and then move to Bath for the day??? Is that totally unrealistic???

I suppose you could probably cram most of those things into one (reaaaaaally long) day, but it would be a shame to give such a great city such short shrift. Any particular reason for staying only one day?

Kim,, it looks to me that you have a list of places to walk pass, cross that site off of your list and continue on. For heaven sakes, slow down and stop and visit the places to want to see. You cannot do London in one day!!

When is your trip? It makes a difference.

If you are flying in to Heathrow, you could take a bus from there to Bath directly. It's a better place to get over jetlag. Then train to London. If you are interested in Roman ruins, part of the Tower of London is Roman.

To get a quick overview of the highlights of London, you could take the Hop on Hop off bus, which combines transportation with sightseeing information.

How are you getting to the continent? More options from London, in particular the Eurostar "Chunnel" train to Paris or Brussels, which is quicker than flying and not too expensive if you buy the tickets early.

I agree you can "see" all those things in a day, but without lingering at any of them. Personally, I would skip Bath (I've been there, and liked it, but I wouldn't give up another day in London for a day in Bath).

Big Ben, Traf Sq, the Palace and Piccadilly Circus (as a matter of interest, why?) are things to be looked at for about a minute (or in the case of Pic Circus, ignored), You can do all that - if you want to, and I really can't stress the pointlessness of Pic Circus too strongly - in an hour's walk. Absolute tops. Any longer and you're wasting time.

That leaves the Abbey and St Paul's. Allowing two hours for each, and half an hour to get from the Westminster complex to St Paul's you've got a pretty easy day. And anywhere in central London is equally handy to stay.

All except Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's are walk bys. You haven't included the Tower of London--maybe for good reason but it is quintessential London attraction and will take several hours at the minimum.

Check opening times.

I would start at the Tower of London, move on to St. Pauls. Cross the Thames using the Millenium Bridge and then walk up to Big Ben on the south bank. From there go to Westminster Abbey. Walk up Whitehall from there to Trafalgar Square and then on to Piccadilly Circus. The only site on your list that I've missed is Buckingham Palace. Perhaps, if you are still able to take on more, you can walk past the Palace after dinner.

The other thing you can do after dinner is the London Eye - a little pricey in my opinion, but if it's good weather, it gives you fantastic views of London.

Thank you all for the input. We really are in the beginning stages. We would be coming over in late May early June. We will probably fly into Gatwick (sp) but will check prices to Heathrow as well. Unfortunatley England is a add on to a European trip. I really would like to see a bit of England since my MOM was born in Manchester so we wanted to just see the things that I was really interested in and then move on to France.

I thought I read that Picc Circus was kinda like Time Square in New York?? Is this not right?

We just thought we would see some sights, check out a really great English Pub and move on but maybe we will rethink a bit.

Hate to say it but didn't even hear of the Tower of London. Will have to go check that out.

Thanks for any input....all in considered and deeply appreciated.

We will be flying across from Canada so will need a bit to adjust to the time difference also.

Thanks

Are you flying to England because you have to? Or could you fly straight to France? I definitely would not stop in England for 2 days, one of which will mostly be lost to jet lag. Honestly, I think you should rethink the whole concept.

" thought I read that Picc Circus was kinda like Time Square in New York??"

Well, I've never quite seen what the appeal of Times Square is either, unless flashing lights are a novelty for you. And if they are, Piccadilly Circus has got a lot less.

It's a traffic interesection, with a virtually inaccesible statue in the middle. Appropriately enough, of Eros, since its fame was where hookers hooked till they were banned from the streets in 1957. Since then, its main role in life is somewhere our scruffier young European tourists sit on steps, getting wet, looking miserable and trying to pick each other up.

Look. This really is the greatest city the world's ever seen. There's a million trillion better things to do than find out the ugly way that Italian teenagers get pimples just like anyone else, and most Swedish adolescents aren't Nordic gods.

Piccadilly Circus yes is the closest Europe gets to having a Times Square - a hub on activity night and day.

Though it technically is only a traffic intersection - mind-bogglingly busy one like flimflanner says it nevertheless is at the heart of the theatre district (from it to Leicester Square and environs) - i find it interesting at night when yes, there are huge neon advertising lights and yes there is the human comedy on the steps of the famous Eros Statue where flimflanner seems to have spent much of his long-gone youth.

But tacky as it is it is something you have to see - even if there is really nothing special to see there.

It is perpetually thronged, esp at night and a great people-watching area. For tacky to the hilt, traipse into the Trocadero Center at Piccadilly - this is my choice for the tackiest emporium in all of Europe - a multi-level arcade of video games, billiards, foos-ball, even bowling - several stories of it - i always take the escalators up and down just to see how tacky it is (and a respite in London for the many many German and French and Italian school groups who perpetually haunt this area.) I'm sure most Britons like flanner have never set foot in the Trocadero but for something different in London take a look. You can even buy Mrs Fields Cookies there i think.

What you could do if you just want a long day in London is to fly to Paris and take a day trip from there to London via the Tunnel train. It gets you from city to city without having to go out to the airports, and, again, the tickets will be cheaper if you get them early.

read DESTINATIONS above and then decide IF you really want/need to go to London at all.

It is an amazing place and HUGE w/ some of the most famous sites/museums/theatres/whatever in the whole world. If your only reason to go to The UK is to walk by a few places, go to the Abbey and St Paul's, and see the Roman Baths, you might be better off skipping it and concentrating on the Continent.

Also - if this plan is your arrival day, you will probably be pretty jetlagged and even those few walk-bys will be tough to accomplish let alone 2 major Churches that each take a couple of hours minimum.

Why would St Paul's have to take 2 hours? It's just a big rather ordinary church IMO. Now if you want to climb to the very top then maybe but otherwise the OP it seems is satisfied with a quick look.

Kim - yes janis is right though about if it's your landing day and could be wiped out - spend two nights there if you want to see the things on your list - which IMO can easily be seen in a day - even if you do have to suffer thru two hours in each church!

st paul's at it's best is a bore. well worth skipping. flanner's 4.5 hours of st paul's, the abbey and travel between each might be heaven for some alcoholic 67 year old men but for the rest of us, we would be bored to tears with such an itinerary. best ignored.

St Paul's is most definitely not a bore and is not a place one can see in a few minutes. If that is your plan - then, <u>of course</u>, skip it. Christopher Wren's amazing building, the dome, the American Memorial Chapel w/ the roll of honour, the Crypt, just soooooo much to see.

Now, Westmister Abbey does have even more to see -- but both are worth a LOT of time.

I would suggest you try the Hop on Hop off bus tour of London, you'll get to see all the sights you mention and you decide which ones to spend more time at.