Jeff

I am traveling over to Europe in late June for a conference, and have arranged it to come a few days early in order to see a bit of London and England, and then leave a week later in order to see another part of Europe. I thought that Paris might be a good choice. <BR><BR> Can anyone give me any advice with regards to London and England. I have about 5 days before I have to travel up to the area of Banbury/ Wroxton/ Stratford upon Avon area for my meeting. Does anyone have a suggestion about:<BR><BR>a) A good area in London in which to stay ? I don’t know much about the city and its suburbs. Hopefully easily accessible to sights via underground; safe area. <BR><BR>b) A recommendation for reasonably priced hotel or accommodations. 1 person only. <BR><BR>c) Some places to visit you found particularly interesting, or and also perhaps some which are lesser known but particularly interesting. <BR><BR>d) Any places to visit which are outside the city or in Southern England. Do you suggest a day tour? Which ones? <BR><BR>Any suggestions which you have would be helpful. Thanks a lot!<BR><BR>Jeff <BR><BR>

Uncle Sam

Jeff,<BR><BR>London is a very large city area wise and very populated. Do you have any particular interests...museums, historical, shopping etc that you can share?<BR><BR>There are a number of folks here that will be glad to help out..but you need to give us some help.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR><BR>US

yyy

Are Uncle Sam and Rex the same person?

Geoffrey

Area to stay: standard tourist areas with lots of budget and tourist clas accommodations include Bayswater and Bloomsbury. Both have atractions within walking distance and tube access. <BR><BR>Guidebooks have suggestions, I've only used flats lately.<BR><BR>Don't miss: Tower of London, Hampton Court. Other thoughts include a boat trip from Westminster Pier (near Parliament) to Greenwich. Some provide a lively running commentary on the way down to Greenwich, then you can see the Old Royal Observatory, National Maritime Musuem, Cutty Sark, Queen's House (I think) or just walk about. You might also try a guided walk from London Walks (london.walks.com) , they have a selection for nearly everyone.<BR><BR>A self-guided journey to Brighton, Canterbury, or Portsmouth is an easy day trip if you're interested in Regency times, medieval times, or naval history, respectively.<BR><BR>Best guide book (IMHO) is DK's Eyewitness Guide to London. Try eBay or a large bookseller, $25 list or half that on eBay.<BR><BR>Cheers!<BR><BR>

Pam

I agree with the DK London guide book. It is definitely the best. We just stayed at the Lime Tree Hotel (Ebury St.) about 15 minute (max) walk from Victoria Station. Would also recommend Hampton Court visit although Windsor Castle (train from Paddington to Windsor/Eton)is also good. If you like history, the Museum of London in The City is wonderfully laid out. Go to Evensong services (abt. 5:00) at either St. Paul's or Westminister Abbey. I love York in northern England, and you can actually take a train there, see the town, and return in the same day. Check fares when you get to London; they seem to be much more expensive on the internet. If you do go to Greenwich, eat at the Trafalgar Tavern, right on the river (you'll see it from the boat as you approach Greenwich).

Babs

The best area to stay in London is Kensington or Chelsea. You may pay a bit more, but it's expensive in London anywhere you stay. Having said that, we don't really spend too much money when we are there. Having dinner in a pub is an inexpensive way to go and the National Gallery is free! Also a takeout lunch from Waitrose, Marks and Spencer or Harrod's food hall never disappoints.<BR><BR>As far as hotels go, I've never had any luck finding a good one on the Internet or through guide books. I'm always disappointed (sorry!). What I end up doing is walking in to hotels that look out of my budget and I always get a reasonably priced room. This works every time! I haven't done this in June, however, when they may be more heavily booked. Keep it as an option though. A good British hotel web site is Smooth Hound Travel. I've always found good hotels this way (outside of London), but I'm still on the lookout for the best hotel in London.<BR><BR>Things not to miss: Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, British Museum, National Gallery. If I only had a few days I would try to fit any of those sites in. London is one of my favorite cities, so leave time to walk around and explore the neighborhoods and local pubs. Bloomsbury near the British Museum is nice, as are Chelsea, Islington and Kensington. Spend an afeternoon in Hyde Park, have lunch at the Orangery. Once you are there you will find no shortage of things to do - you will be trying to fit more things in than you have on your itinerary.<BR><BR>As far as a trip outside of London, you should visit Bath and the surrounding countryside. It is beautiful. If you wanted to take a day-trip (or longer) from Bath, Wales would be my choice. If you want to stay in England, the Cotswolds or Oxford are wonderful for your first visit to areas in this part of the country. Blenheim Palace could also be a day-trip from London and I highly recommend it to anyone. All of these places could be visited by train in less than three hours from London. <BR><BR>Your idea of visiting Paris is good. It's so easy to get there from London on Eurostar. <BR><BR>Have a great time - I miss London already...

Linda

I just returned from a visit to London and stayed at the Cumberland Hotel at Marble Arch based on a co-workers recommendation. <BR><BR>The hotel is undergoing renovations so it is offering reduced rates. The renovations in no way impacted me - my room was fine (and breakfast was included - nothing fancy: cereal, juice, rolls, yogurt, coffee).<BR><BR>The location was wonderful. The hotel was actually connected to the Marble Arch underground station which is right on the central line. <BR><BR>I bought a 4 day visitor travelcard and got anyplace I wanted to go within 10 to 20 minutes or less (take a look at a tube map). <BR><BR>The Marble Arch Station was closed one afternoon due to fire, and it was only about a 10 minute walk to the Bond Street Station. <BR>

Linda

I was in London last week and went on 4 of the Original London Walks while I was there. They were all wonderful!!! A great way to see the sights and gain some insight into the history of what you are seeing.<BR><BR>The guides were easy to find. Always right outside the underground station holding up original walks brochures. They collect the money as you arrive. <BR><BR>The Jack the Ripper Walk was excellent. They divided us up into 2 groups of 40/50 people each. I had no problem hearing everything that the guide said. <BR><BR>I went on the London Panorama walk with Gillian (approx. 20 people) which was also great (covering everything from the Tower Bridge to Westminster Abbey). The only issue was that we had no commentary while on the canal boat (we had split up thinking that the boat driver would give a commentary - Gillian found out too late that he decided not to do it because there were not enough people on board and he only does it when he thinks the tips will be worth his while, it's not mandatory. If she had known, she would have done the commentary). <BR><BR>I joined the along the Thames Pub Walk with Richard. This was fun (more historical than a drinking walk - we hit just 3 pubs). Richard was quite animated. The group was smaller - 15 or so people.<BR><BR>My favorite walk was the Old Hamstead Village walk (25 people). This was by far the best of the 4. We got a historic overview of the city while walking up many of the cobblestone streets and viewing the homes of some famous actors and artists and we visited the Hamstead Heath.

Linda

When I arrived I hopped on the Original Tour Bus (at Marble Arch) so that I could get an idea of the city layout - this took about 2 1/2 hours.<BR><BR>Other things that I enjoyed in London: <BR><BR>- The London Eye (world's highest ferris wheel built for the millenium)<BR><BR>- The Tower Bridge Experience<BR><BR>- Kensington & Hyde Parks (stop by the speaker's corner if you are there on a Sunday). <BR><BR>- Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St. James Park, Buckingham Palace (but skip the changing of the guards), St Paul's Cathedral<BR><BR>- The Tower of London, <BR>(Crown Jewels & Armor)<BR><BR>- SKIP the London Dungeon!!!<BR><BR>- A musical - I saw Mama Mia (songs of ABBA) which was absolutely wonderful!!! The Lion King was good as well.<BR><BR>- Afternoon tea at the St. James Resturaunt inside of Fortnum & Mason's Dept. Store<BR><BR>- Callaghan's Pub for late night drinks (next door to the Cumberland Hotel). The night I was there they had a band doing oldies - Brown Eyed Girl, Margaritaville sing-along type songs.<BR><BR>- Camden Market - great people watching, where all the oddballs hang out. Make sure you walk over the locks to the markets on the left.<BR><BR>- Holland park!! (stop at Maison Blanc Bakery for a snack - right near the underground exit).<BR><BR>Last - I noticed you have allocated quite a bit of time for Paris. I had the same amount of time and instead did a few days in Amsterdam which was really a great city (I didn't see anyone doing drugs nor did I ever feel unsafe - people are overly friendly and everyone speaks English). <BR><BR><BR><BR>