Last minute tips or ideas for London, please.
 

We are repeat visitors and have been quite recently, but I thought I'd run down my itinerary and ask a few questions. Also, if anyone has any great ideas, I'd be happy to hear them.

We were in London for a few days in October, but I wasn't well and was under a lot of horrible stress and pressure, so this trip is a do-over. In October, we enjoyed art and shopping, but didn't get to any restaurants, other than a lunch and a snack.

This time, we are moving slowly, and have dinner reservations for every night of our week.

For art, we plan on seeing the Manet, the Man Ray portraits, and Nature photographs of the year, which are at the Natural Science Museum.

We are seeing a dance performance at the Barbican (Deborah Colker).

Places I have never been :
British Museum (I know!)
The Saatchi Gallery
Tate Modern (I know)
The Wallace Collection

Of course there are more, but these are at the top of my list.

We have a day trip planned to Cambridge. We were going to try to visit Ely Cathedral on the same day, but have curtailed that part of the plan.

We are staying in a London Perfect apartment at Queen's Gate. Using Oyster cards and 2-for-1 offers through our round trip Gatwick train tickets.

I would love to hear about the possibilities of repertory film in London. I expected to be able to easily find a lot of venues and listings (hoping it would be like NYC) but I'm not having much luck. I would appreciate any guidance on this topic.

Also if anyone has visited any galleries or exhibitions lately that were great, I'd love to know.

I guess that's it for now. I just want to talk about my trip.

The obvious places to start for what I think you understand by "repertory film" would be the BFI (formerly the National Film Theatre):
https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp

and of course Time Out may have something buried in their listings:
http://www.timeout.com/london/film

Or there's this:
http://flamin.filmlondon.org.uk/reso...emas_in_london

Or would this interest
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/...s-8390489.html

We go to London twice a year and always visit The Wallace Collection>It has an outstanding collection of paintings and is in sa beautifel house. The cafe serves a very good lunch ao wre hit it around lunch time. Your apt on Queen=s gate is nearby to 2 of my favorite restaurants, Orsini and Racine/If you like markets try for a visit to Borough Mkt on a Thus., Friday or Saturday

Non-chain cinemas are rarer in London than in New York or Paris: filmgoing isn't as big here as it has to be in cities that lack London's theatres and concert halls.

There's a list at http://www.londontown.com/entertainm...hType=category. Ignore the Vue chain, Cineworld and Odeon: the list is to do with facilities, not exhibition policy. The rest on this list do show those current box office hits that appeal to their audience, but they also select their films from a wide range of non-Hollywood (and sometimes not English speaking) sources and from back catalogue.

Some are in locations dismissed by the crappier London guides as "remote" or "unsafe". They aren't: the comment tells you more about the guides than the locations. In fact, the locations (apart from East Finchley) add up to something quite close to most intelligent people's mindmap of today's London.

Have you been to the Courtauld in Somerset House? A small but superb collection of pictures and a nice winebar in the courtyard.

When will you be in London? There is a well-reviewed Manet exhibition at the Royal Academy (good shop and restaurant there) and the Picasso exhibition coming up.

You probably know Fortnum and Mason, but go through the back to Jermyn Street, traditional men's outfitters, Paxton and Whitfield cheese shop, the lovely old Floris perfume shop.

flanneruk, thanks so much for the film information. It is exactly the sort of thing I wished to know.

On a couple of trips to London we've seen some first run films that either never made it to our US city or came much much later. Since I like English film I was hoping for a deeper choice than what I can find at the central big chains; your suggestions are very valuable to me.

tarquin, been to the Courtauld and would go yet again, but I'm trying to hit some places that I've yet to visit. I did mention the Manet in my original post,so yes, we are going there. I like cheese shops so thanks for the Paxton and Whitfield recommendation; I have not been there.

Avalon2; although I was recently at Borough Market, I plan to return on the Thursday. I do love it. The Wallace Collection is at the top of my must visit list.

PatrickLondon: thank you also. May I ask what you call film programs? Here, they are often referred to by the phrase I used.

Check out londontown.com for current exhibitions and special events.

The Tate Modern helps prove that "modern art" as a phrase is about 50% accurate.

This doesn't answer any of your questions, but if you get a chance to see "One Man Two Guvnors" at the Royal Haymarket, it's a blast.

I definitely second that visit to the Wallace Collection; thoroughly enjoyed our last visit there. And I am sorry you are not going to Ely and hopefully you will be able to do so on another visit.

Another great London resource for theater, film, art, restaurants, etc. is the online magazine Time Out London. It is searchable, has reviews, schedules, etc., often has links to websites, maps, etc. www.timeout.com/london

They hand out free Time Outs on the streets these days, too. Much more limited than online, of course, but fun to leaf through for us print fans.

If you happen to go to the Wallace Collection on a Sunday, there's a little farmer's market just off Marylebone High Street. And wander around Marylebone High Street as well; lovely shops, including some very nice food shops.

>>May I ask what you call film programs? Here, they are often referred to by the phrase I used.<<

I thought I'd posted a reply to this, but obviously not. I'm no expert, but in my mind, there are two sorts of cinema programmes - the big chains that run the latest releases that are expected to be big hits, usually only for a week or so and usually all the same across the whole chain, and independent or arthouse cinemas that offer a much wider range with a niche market, maybe foreign films, maybe reviving old movies or doing a season based around a theme of some sort. I was guessing that by "repertory" you mean the latter.

I just received notice that the National Gallery is having a free exhibit of Frederick Church"s paintings it is now at the top of my list for March.

The Tate and British Museum are great institutions and I'm sure you will enjoy them. I was "stuck" in London due to Hurricane Sandy and visited the Olympics site twice (4 stops on the Central Line from St. Paul's). Although they are tearing up the site now, their are things of interest to see including a 400 store shopping mall, and the view from the platform in the John Lewis department store of the site. A new park will be opening in June in phases. John Lewis has a nice dining area for meals, tea, and there are many restaurants and shops to view. There are so many small museums in London that it would take years to see them all. John Soane's house near Gray's Inn is interesting. There are some great Hogarth's at the Foundling Museum in Bloomsbury. Checking Time Out would probably give you a list of hundreds of places.

Seconding the Courtauld. Roger Fry's portrait of Cezanne is one of my favorite paintings.

mes, I was thinking about the Foundling Museum. Some friends went when we were there in October, and I think I missed something. It is on my list.

As a repeat visitor I of course have regularly used TimeOut.com, and certainly plan to have a print copy at hand in the city. In NYC, where they aren't free, I still get one on every visit.

As I said, we have been to the Courtauld on multiple occasions.

pl: yep, I could have asked about art houses and cinemas that show foreign films. I was just looking for one word and gave it a go.

Hi Tuscanlifeedit, I strongly second those who recommend the WALLACE COLLECTION – fabulous. I missed the Courtald in my previous trip to London but will make it my first stop when I return next June.

Like you, I am considering a jaunt to Cambridge for a day trip by train. What are your plans for such an excursion? Look forward to your trip report….

I love the Wallace Collection. The British Museum is really worth while, you can hit the highlights or be more in depth depending on your interests. Do step inside the beautiful and historic reading room. If you have not been to the British Library, I would recommend a visit. There is an exhibit room with national treasures on display, such as an original magna carta, and there are computer screes that allow you to "turn the pages" of rare books on display.

I enjoyed a day trip to Cambridge. The train is a bit cheaper if you go off peak. Once you arrive in Cambridge you can either walk into the main part of town its about a mile, or take a bus that is right at the station which will drop you nearest to the historic center. It is a short ride, and doesnt cost too much. If you would like to take a walking tour, see some colleges, mainly from the exterior and the interior of Kings Chapel, you can check what time the tours are given from the tourist information center. There are blue and green badge guides too.

You may also enjoy visiting the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, or just wandering.

lateday and maxima

That is sort of the plan for the day trip to Cambridge. We'll take the train in the morning, and try for the 1 pm walking tour. In the morning, maybe eat, shop and visit the Fitzwilliam if there is time. I'd like stay for the 4 pm service at King's College Chapel, but not sure of my stamina at this point.

Upon arrival in Cambridge, we will try for the bus to the center, but it won't kill me to taxi to or from the center. I am not healthy and I won't stop traveling, so a short taxi ride now and then is called for. However, on the tripadvisor.com Cambridge forum, there is excellent information about getting busses on a thread I started about a day trip to Cambridge and Ely. Those two words ought to pull up the thread.

I was looking online for information about blue and green badge guides, because the two hour tour might be too much for me, but I couldn't find anything. Maxima, do you have any tips for me on finding a guide?

Wallace Collection is for sure.