Disagree. Too much harmony and things get all stodgy-like.

>>....and the description of London women is laughable....

hey!! as a woman living in london, give me and the rest of us a break!!

then again, i have to admit that I don't own any heels ...

Things mwy have changed, but when I lived there in the 80's, we had a saying:

Q . . "What do you call a beautifull woman in London?"

A . . A tourist

ssachida, didn't mean it as bad...heels, give me a break! the last time I was in London, lots of women were wearing all kinds of cute sandals and flip flops...I loved it.

You can't go far in London without seeing attractive well-dressed women.
Mind you, if you see one and think to yourself "Flippin' 'eck look at the size of that one!", it's likely to be a tourist.

"corli33, what a sad little post. It is the equivalent of basing my opinion of American food on a visit to Dennys. Take the blinkers off."

Sorry, if the truth hurts and don't knock Denny's. Denny's has some really good slop!!!!

I travel in the UK for work (and live here to boot) - if I have the chance I'll take a Premier Inn over the Travelodge any day...

I'm a North American transplant to London and have to say, the obsession with trying to "fit in" with the locals in terms of dress is pointless. No one really cares, and there's no real London look - on my daily commute I see everything from suits and dresses to baggy trousers and trainers, and everything in between. Honestly, no one cares what you're wearing (unless you're trying to wear football colours into a sports pub on game day).

Finally, as others have mentioned, unless you want to be the only one on any given street, avoid "The City" at the weekend, especially Sunday. There's a shocking lack of anything open, even finding a place to have a sandwich is difficult if not impossible. On the other hand, pretty much the rest of London is open for business on Sundays, take a bus or a walk and you'll find loads to do.

oh2doula - remember your planning and I'm glad you had a lovely trip.

I'm still gobsmacked that you went to the Fire Station.

I wouldn't go there at gunpoint.

As a Brit, and more specifically a Londoner, my thoughts on the dos and don'ts are:

Do:
- Go on a London Walk (www.walks.com) They're fascinating.
- Go to the free museums (NHM, V&A etc)
- DEFINITELY eat Indian food
- Walk the length of the South Bank on a sunny day. Start at Westminster Bridge, and keep walking east until you get to Shad Thames. Then walk back again when it's dark to see everything lit up. I never tire of the South Bank views, atmosphere and stuff do do (Tate modern, design museum etc). Make sure it coincides with a day that Borough Market is on and stop there for lunch.

Don't:
- Pay a fortune for an open bus tour. Walk it instead. Or use your oyster card on a normal bus.
- Go to Madame Tussauds. It's expensive and vastly overrated.
- eat at a west end restaurant claiming to be an Aberdeen or Angus Steak House. They're overpriced, rubbish, tourist traps.
- Stand on the left on escalators.
- Stand still at the end of escalators or just after you've gone through the tube barriers. If you need to get your bearings, move to one side quickly, to avoid being run over by hoards of commuters with little patience!

PS - I regularly wear black skirt suits, dark tights and heels to work. Delighted to hear this described as 'gorgeous'!

Thanks, quiUK. Very nice.

They couldn't lure me into Mme. T.'s to look at waxworks unless heavily sedated.

Corli33:

I live in Dallas. The "fashionable" people are also derogatorily known as the "cocaine and boob job crowd." Is that really the fashion someone should want to emulate? This is a fine city, but it's not quite Milan on the Trinity (River).

As for Atlanta, there is no city more full of people who think their personal waste products are odorless than that oversized small town. I can't stand that place -- where the rednecks meet the $75,000 millionaires. Just goes to prove that having money and having class are discrete concepts.

What a hateful group some of you Fodorites can be. Sad.

quiUK - agreed with your do and dont list - we didnt go to Madame for that reason!! also the Dungeon -DONT -

Glad to hear I have "arrived" -

The biggest tourist trap in london (a hotly contested award!) is the Clink Prison "museum". It is a couple of rooms with shop window dummies dressed in old clothes. Honestly, that's it. It costs about £6 to get in. That's a pound for every minute you'll spend in there.

Another don't is the Jack the Ripper walks - they're rubbish.

why someone would waste time and money on those when there are amazign museums that are free i dont understand!!!

tower of london and ceremony of the keys were our favs and we did the 2for1 for tower and ceremony was free!!!

the parks are nice too and even in march were nice.