London Bank Holidays
 

Can anyone tell me exactly what I should expect to be closed and opened during a bank holiday? Does it affect tourist attractions/buses/underground etc.? My first day in London is May 30th and I want to try to plan my itinerary.

So funny-- I was just going to post this exact same question! We arrive on May 29th, and I just noticed that May 30 is a government holiday. Will restaurants, sites, transit, etc. be shut down or on dimished schedules?? Anyone been there May 30?
By the way, Rshersnow, if you're in London on June 2, I also read that a special royal salute of some sort happens in Hyde Park that day at noon, involving about 70 horsemen and lots of fanfare. Would be cool, I imagine. We're going to plan on catching it.)

Maureen,

We will be in London on the 2nd, it's our last day there. As of now, we're planning on hitting Trafalgar Sq, Brass Rubbings and taking a stroll passed Buckingham Palace. We're catching a coach at 330pm. Perhaps I can rework things and we can make it to Hyde Park at noon. Maybe we could have a mini-GTG in Hyde Park?

Let me know what you think. Any other Fodor's folk going to be in London that day?

I just found some more information on what I think Maureen is talking about.....this comes from www.ukstudentlife.com

Coronation Day: gun salute
Gun salute to mark the anniversary of the day when the Queen was crowned (on 2 June 1953). Cannons will be fired in the following locations:

- A 41-gun salute at 12 noon fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Hyde Park, London (opposite the Dorchester Hotel: map ; nearest Tube: Hyde Park Corner or Marble Arch)

- A 62-gun salute at 1pm fired by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London (from the gunpark at the western end of London Wharf: map ; nearest Tube: Tower Hill)

For background information about the gun salutes, see: http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page380.asp.

For a similar thread from last year, see

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34493452

Well, VisitLondon.com (the official London tourism site) has an extensive listing for the next bank holiday--Easter weekend. And they have an events calendar. They might do a list for the May holiday sometime closer to that date.

To look at the current list, go to:


http://na.visitlondon.com/whats_on/e...ning_2005.html

Dave White
[email protected]

I will be arriving in London on the 27th and leaving on May 31st and unfortunately, the Victoria and Albert museum will be closed the entire time for the bank holiday. I am so bummed since that is the one museum I was especially interested in visiting.

Thanks for the details on the royal salute, mamarosa, my book wasn't so specific and I wasn't sure it happens every year. I think it sounds really interesting.
I hope the museums, etc. won't be closed past the 30th. Are you sure Victoria and Albert is closed the 31st, too, nicolep91? I thought the holiday would be over after Monday.

MaureenB - Sorry, I should have been more clear. The V&A reopens on the 31st but since we will be leaving early that morning, I'll have to miss it.

Thanks for clarifying, nicole. Sorry you'll miss it. I'm surprised they simply close the V&A over the holiday. As I've read other places, lots of Londoners hit the sites on holidays.

Are you sure? I think it might be bad page layout on their website - there are separate closure periods listed over Bank Holiday weekends under the headings for the National Art Library and Study Rooms, which makes me think they only apply to them and not to the Museum as a whole.

I've emailed them to ask them to clarify the page.

Patrick, I agree. Besides, there's a huge arts and craft exhibition opening this month and going through July. Tickets are being sold for May 27-31 period. The exhibition looks fantastic!

Thanks for the information on the royal salute I will definitely look into it some more!!!! Still back to my orignal question though... how many of the sites are going to be closed. What about resturants?

To try to answer the original question. 10 million people, and the organisations they own or work in, do 10 million different things. To describe this exactly would take several telephone directories. But, in principle, the only things different on public holidays are:

- ordinary businesses, like offices, close. So do banks (but not, of course, private bureaux de change) and government offices
- public transport runs to slightly different frequencies. It's unlikely a visitor would notice the difference, but if you really need a bus or tube very early or very late, you should check the specific journey.
- some minor tourist attractions (like the exhibition areas atached to libraries) might close. Major ones don't. Nicole's got it wrong.
- Britain's national rail system sometimes uses holiday weekends for serious engineeering work, so you must check if you're using trains.

Restaurants and shops do what any sensible business does. If they depend on business from businesses, or from a flow of workers, they close: the City of London is a desert on holdays. If they depend on local tourists, they stay open,though sometimes for slightly fewer hours: the West End of London, where most tourists hang out, isn't that different from any other day, though many shops open their doors an hour or two later, and a number of independent shops in secondary locations will stay closed.

Flanner and Patrick are right - it's inconceivable that the V&A would shut over the Bank Holiday. The website is very confusing, but I suspect they are referring to the Library (used by academics and students who will be zipping to Paris for the weekend, rather than working), rather than the public galleries.

I think the only difference a tourist would notice on a Bank Holiday is the SWARMS of people crowding the major tourist attractions.

We are arriving at Gatwick at 9 am on May 29. We then plan to take a train from Gatwick to Rye. I noticed flanneruk's mention of the possibility of Britain's National Railway system using holiday weekends to do major engineering work. How do you find out what routes would be affected?

Thanks for your help.

Thanks to everyone for the helpful information on this question!

Railway engineering.

The government-owned company that manages the track is supposed to give several weeks' notice - though it pays as little attention to its obligations in this matter as Tony B Liar pays to the right of habeas corpus.

If you go to http://nrekb.nationalrail.co.uk/incident_index.html from four weeks or so prior, there's normally reasonably reliable information.

Minor engineering works happen in lots of places practically evrey weekend, BTW, and it's always wise to check weekend train travel, as most lines get some disruption. What can happen some holiday weekends is the really serious
stuff that can shut whole sections out for a couple of days.

Flanneruk, thanks for the website. I will check it closer to the time we leave and hope that there will not be any construction affecting the rail lines between Gatwick and Rye. I appreciate your warning me about a possible problem to be aware of.

For the sake of completeness the webmaster at the Victoria and Albert has just emailed me to say:

"The museum will be open over the Bank Holidays, but the National Art
Library and Study Rooms will be closed as stated on the Opening Times
page.

Sorry you have found this page misleading - we will revisit how this
information is displayed."