London
Dec 29th, 2011, 02:57 PM
#1
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London
Hello I'm 15 years old and going to London with my 18 yr old brother and my dad. We are going at the end of Jan. We will be there for 4 full days. Any ideas on what we should see?
Dec 29th, 2011, 04:09 PM
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Hello justpeachy,
What an awesome trip you are going on and I think it is great that you are researching things to do! Asking questions here is a good start, but without knowing what you like, it is hard to make recommendations.
A couple of things to get you started:
1. The daylight hours will be short and you don't have a lot of time there, so you will need to really pick and choose the things that interest the three of you the most.
2. At the top of this page is a tab titled "Destinations." Look at London on there and see some of "top" things to do. Many of the museums are huge, so then go to their websites and see what galleries and exhbitions sound interesting. Also, check at your library for guide books on London - the DK series has a lot of pictures so you can see if something looks interesting, plus puts things together by area, which will help you figure out possible ways to spend your day.
BTW, I am going with my 15 year old son (who loves history and science and just walking around) to London in the Spring, and some of the things we hope to do and see are: The British Museum, the Museum of London, the Science Museum, the London Eye, the Tower of London, Imperial War Museum and/or Churchill War Rooms, and take a Ghost Walk through London Walks.
Please do come back and ask more questions once you've looked at the possibilities, or at least let us know what you like to do and see.
What an awesome trip you are going on and I think it is great that you are researching things to do! Asking questions here is a good start, but without knowing what you like, it is hard to make recommendations.
A couple of things to get you started:
1. The daylight hours will be short and you don't have a lot of time there, so you will need to really pick and choose the things that interest the three of you the most.
2. At the top of this page is a tab titled "Destinations." Look at London on there and see some of "top" things to do. Many of the museums are huge, so then go to their websites and see what galleries and exhbitions sound interesting. Also, check at your library for guide books on London - the DK series has a lot of pictures so you can see if something looks interesting, plus puts things together by area, which will help you figure out possible ways to spend your day.
BTW, I am going with my 15 year old son (who loves history and science and just walking around) to London in the Spring, and some of the things we hope to do and see are: The British Museum, the Museum of London, the Science Museum, the London Eye, the Tower of London, Imperial War Museum and/or Churchill War Rooms, and take a Ghost Walk through London Walks.
Please do come back and ask more questions once you've looked at the possibilities, or at least let us know what you like to do and see.
Dec 30th, 2011, 09:12 AM
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London is great! I wish my husband and I had had more time to spend there.
There are tons of things to see and do in London. What are your interests?
We had 2 1/2 days when we were there, so we had to really narrow down our list of possibilities. We went to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (due to my interest in Patrick O'Brian's novels), Westminster Abbey for the verger's tour, the Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum, the British Museum, the British Library (with a quick side trip to King's Cross to visit Platform 9 3/4), and saw a show one evening.
Lee Ann
There are tons of things to see and do in London. What are your interests?
We had 2 1/2 days when we were there, so we had to really narrow down our list of possibilities. We went to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (due to my interest in Patrick O'Brian's novels), Westminster Abbey for the verger's tour, the Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum, the British Museum, the British Library (with a quick side trip to King's Cross to visit Platform 9 3/4), and saw a show one evening.
Lee Ann
Dec 30th, 2011, 09:23 AM
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You can do stuff on your own, but sometimes you might like to have someone show you around an area. This is one good walking tour company:
http://www.walks.com/
http://www.walks.com/
Dec 30th, 2011, 09:48 AM
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Where are you staying?
A good starting point can be Trafalgar Sq. From there you can visit the National Gallery, the crypt of st Martin in the Fields (brass rubbings, lunch), then you can go in wither of three directions: Covent Garden OR The Mall to Buckingham Palace/St James Palace/St James Park OR towards Parliament: Changing of Horse Guards, 10 Downing, War Rooms, Banqueting House, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey.
On another day, going early to Tower of London then maybe St Paul's afterwards.
Museums there are are a lot. Depending on your interests, could so a small one or two, or maybe one larger.
Last trip I also walked through the Temple area, there is the Temple Church (Da vinci code) there and a nice old elizabethan dining hall. It is the legal area of the city, so you may get to see some peple in wigs and gowns.
http://www.templechurch.com/TC_History/default.html
http://www.middletemple.org.uk/the_i...mple_Hall.html
To at least 'see' everything, maybe a bus tour for the first half day, then go on your own.
http://www.theoriginaltour.com/
A good starting point can be Trafalgar Sq. From there you can visit the National Gallery, the crypt of st Martin in the Fields (brass rubbings, lunch), then you can go in wither of three directions: Covent Garden OR The Mall to Buckingham Palace/St James Palace/St James Park OR towards Parliament: Changing of Horse Guards, 10 Downing, War Rooms, Banqueting House, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey.
On another day, going early to Tower of London then maybe St Paul's afterwards.
Museums there are are a lot. Depending on your interests, could so a small one or two, or maybe one larger.
Last trip I also walked through the Temple area, there is the Temple Church (Da vinci code) there and a nice old elizabethan dining hall. It is the legal area of the city, so you may get to see some peple in wigs and gowns.
http://www.templechurch.com/TC_History/default.html
http://www.middletemple.org.uk/the_i...mple_Hall.html
To at least 'see' everything, maybe a bus tour for the first half day, then go on your own.
http://www.theoriginaltour.com/
Jan 9th, 2012, 01:19 PM
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Thanks for all your replies. Here are some of the things we would like to see:
1. Buckingham Palace(Tour)
2. British Museum
3. House of Parliament/Big Ben
4. Trafalgar Square
5. Tate Modern (Tour?)
6. Tower Bridge
7. Westminster Abbey (Audio Tour)
8. Victoria and Albert Museum
9. Tower of London
10. Windsor Castle
Is there any other must sees in London? We would also like to do some shopping. Any ideas? Oh and we are staying at the Marriott Hotel Park Lane.
1. Buckingham Palace(Tour)
2. British Museum
3. House of Parliament/Big Ben
4. Trafalgar Square
5. Tate Modern (Tour?)
6. Tower Bridge
7. Westminster Abbey (Audio Tour)
8. Victoria and Albert Museum
9. Tower of London
10. Windsor Castle
Is there any other must sees in London? We would also like to do some shopping. Any ideas? Oh and we are staying at the Marriott Hotel Park Lane.
Jan 9th, 2012, 01:41 PM
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justpeachy, when you go to the Tower of London make sure you take the Yoemans tour. Its free, just check the website for the times of the tour, its good fun and very interesting. If you are a Harry Potter fan there are a number of landmarks in London that you can visit. The hop on hop off bus tour is a great way to see all of London first, then get off and on when you want. Do try and see a show in London.
For shopping in London my daughter goes straight to High Street, all the shops in one very long street, hopefully you might find some sales on.
For shopping in London my daughter goes straight to High Street, all the shops in one very long street, hopefully you might find some sales on.
Jan 9th, 2012, 02:51 PM
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That's a great list. There are other things a lot of people like to see - the Eye, St. Paul's - but it's great to have YOUR top ten, since yours probably isn't the same as mine!
Unfortunately you can't actually tour Buckingham Palace - it's only open to the public during August and September. But you can walk by the palace, through Trafalgar Square, and down to Big Ben/Parliament and Westminster Abbey, then across the bridge to the London Eye all in one day - very walkable, though if the weather's cold you can take a bus from Trafalgar Square down Whitehall to the Westminster area. You could also add a visit to the National Gallery and/or the National Portrait Gallery (the Gallery is on Trafalgar Square and the Portrait Gallery is just behind it). The Portrait Gallery has lots of great portraits - not just "old" ones, but ones of the Beatles, royalty, actors, people you'd know. That and the V&A are my two favorite museums.
The Tate Modern, the Tower Bridge and the Tower are fairly close to each other, so that could be another one of your days. The British Museum and the V&A are kind of "alone" on your list, but there are other things to see near each of them (Covent Garden and the Bloomsbury district for the British Museum, and several other museums plus Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens for the V&A).
Windsor Castle will take up most of one of your days. If you're not sure how much you want to see it, you might put it off till your third or fourth day and see how much you still want to see in town, then decide if you still want to go.
The tour company that Michel recommended is really great - check out their web site. They have a lot of different tours and they're all very well priced.
For shopping, Oxford Street has a ton of British chains (plus others). It's the easiest shopping district to get to from where you're staying. A lot of the clothes will look really similar to what you can get at home, but maybe just enough different to say you got it in London.
If you want something a little more unusual, the Camden Market area might be good - it's just a little further out but still in central London.
Unfortunately you can't actually tour Buckingham Palace - it's only open to the public during August and September. But you can walk by the palace, through Trafalgar Square, and down to Big Ben/Parliament and Westminster Abbey, then across the bridge to the London Eye all in one day - very walkable, though if the weather's cold you can take a bus from Trafalgar Square down Whitehall to the Westminster area. You could also add a visit to the National Gallery and/or the National Portrait Gallery (the Gallery is on Trafalgar Square and the Portrait Gallery is just behind it). The Portrait Gallery has lots of great portraits - not just "old" ones, but ones of the Beatles, royalty, actors, people you'd know. That and the V&A are my two favorite museums.
The Tate Modern, the Tower Bridge and the Tower are fairly close to each other, so that could be another one of your days. The British Museum and the V&A are kind of "alone" on your list, but there are other things to see near each of them (Covent Garden and the Bloomsbury district for the British Museum, and several other museums plus Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens for the V&A).
Windsor Castle will take up most of one of your days. If you're not sure how much you want to see it, you might put it off till your third or fourth day and see how much you still want to see in town, then decide if you still want to go.
The tour company that Michel recommended is really great - check out their web site. They have a lot of different tours and they're all very well priced.
For shopping, Oxford Street has a ton of British chains (plus others). It's the easiest shopping district to get to from where you're staying. A lot of the clothes will look really similar to what you can get at home, but maybe just enough different to say you got it in London.
If you want something a little more unusual, the Camden Market area might be good - it's just a little further out but still in central London.
