London: Can't walk far. Where should we stay.
 

I am considering spending about ten days in London in September or October. The problem is that I can't walk for more than about a mile at a time, and I do very poorly on hills (inclines over 3%).

We like to go to theater and to explore museums, historical places, etc.

With this in mind, where would be a good place for us to stay in London?

HTtY

I am wondering how much you are willing to budget for taxis, and also how many times you are planning to go to the theater, and which historical sites and musuems you most want to see.

For 10 days, I would look for an apartment at a price that gave me extra money to spend on taxis -- but exactly where would depend on the answers to the above questions.

My husband was having a knee problem on a trip to London. We stayed at the Sofitel St. James and he managed pretty well . The hotel is right across from St. James Park, near Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, National Portrait Gallery, etc. But for a 10 day stay you'd probably need to rely on cabs, too.

In May we spent a week in New York--a city with which I am very familiar because I lived there for thirty years.

We stayed at a hotel located at 48th Street and Lexington. From there I could take the cross-town bus to the theater district, and I walked the one mile from the theater district to the hotel after a performance when there were no taxis available. We took the Madison Avenue bus uptown to the Met and other museums, and we took buses or subways to the other places we visited--the Whitney, etc.

We only took taxis to and from JFK.

I plan to stay in a hotel rather than an apartment, I plan to go to the theater at least four times, and I can budget for taxis if that is the only way to get from place to place. However, I hope to learn that there is a neighborhood in London from which one can access most of the city using a combination of busses and subway and which is within a kilometer or so of many places one might want to visit on foot.

HTtY

Stay as close to the center as possible - it will give youmore options on the tube (but do realize some changes are quite a bit of walking) and will reduce the taxi fares versus staying in hell and gone.

The Sofitel St James is a reasonable option. Staying near Covent Garden, southern Mayfair or nearby is probably most convenient. We often stay in Knightsbridge - OK if near the tube.

Avoid more distant places like Kensington, South Kens, Earl's Court and also places to the east of the center (Picadilly is usually considered the center).

I have much the same problem but I also became very familiar with the buses which go everywhere. They are somewhat congested especially during rush hours and traffic can be very heavy but even at night, say after a theatre performance, they run very frequently and traffic is much lighter. With an oyster card (a credit card like payment medium) you can buy a 1 week all transport ticket and if you go day by day after the first 7 day period, and use only buses, the fare for the day will cap. At congested periods, say around 1700 when you are heading out to go to the theatre and eat dinner, you might have to resort to the tube but if you can walk a mile (I really can't anymore) you can negotiate the tube without problems. Just don't be afraid of public transport in London. It works and is relatively inexpensive and will take you from most anywhere to most anywhere.

You can stay almost anywhere w/i the general area of Circle Underground line. The buses are terrific in London (most tube stations involve a LOT of walking and many steps so you'll use the buses more if you're smart). Besides a few specific areas (Hampstead, around Embankment station, Tower Hill station, etc) London is generally quite flat.

Staying in the covent Garden area and along the Strand, or Victoria, or Near the British Museum, or South Kensington/Gloucester Rd or many other areas will have good bus links.

What is your budget?

Hi HAPPYTRAILSTOYOU,

I have stayed at the STRAND PALACE three times and was quite satisfied. Only a 5 minute walk to Trafalgar Square and quite near to the theater district.

http://www.strandpalacehotel.co.uk/

To me it was an excellent location. I used the Tube mostly to get around, but there are tons of buses along the Strand which might be easier to access for those having any mobility concerns. Stairs and long passageways (I think they are called "subways") can be very tiring.

In any case, have a great time in London...

Yes, there is really excellent bus service along the Strand and around Trafalgar Square.

I stayed at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street Hotel in Covent Garden, which is right on Seven Dials. It's right in the middle of the theatre district, easy walking to many attractions, and a very pleasant neighborhood. If you do stay there, though, it's worth paying a bit more to avoid the smallest rooms.

Thank you for these excellent suggestions. I'm getting excited about being in London again for the first time in a long time.

HTtY

Just to help your researches, you can get "spider maps" (diagram maps of the bus routes from any given stop or area) as well as overall maps of the system:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/maps/bus

But for your range of interests, Covent Garden/Seven Dials would be an excellent location.