Two friends of mine and I are going to London for the first time this summer in early June. We will be there for 6 days. All of us have an interest in art, history, and popular music but would also like to enjoy some of the nightlife in town. We'd also like to be as cheap as possible. Any suggestions for the trip? Whats essential and whats a good place to stay close to where the "scene" is?

London is one of the most expensive cities in the world - and good, reasonable hotels are quite hard to come by. I would check out hostels as a first step - since this will also help you hook up with some of the inexpensive nightlife (the truly trendy nightlife is REALLY expensive).

I would walk as much as possible, take advantage of the many museums/ activities, etc that are free - and be sure to bring picture student ID with you - so you can qualify for the many discounts.

You can probably get a whole raft of other great budget advice by consulting some of the student guidebooks and web sites.

Try
http://www.timeout.com/london
http://www.studylondon.ac.uk/discover/index.php

Most universities rent dorm rooms to tourists when the classes are not in term so check this out. They would be a good rate along with hostels.

Staying near a tube stop is always a good idea. If it has more than 1 line, even better. It would help to know what sort of budget you have. If you're American, just be prepared for sticker shock as the exchange rate makes everything about twice as expensive as the US.

There are a lot of tourist class (inexpensive) hotels in the Earls Court area.

Look for reviews of hotels on tripadvisor.com

hostelz.com has hostel info.

lonelyplanet.com has good info and a forum there called thorntree.