My Mom and I may go to London and Paris in Sept. or Oct. We have been to Paris and loved it, but have never been to London. We will probably do one week in each. What are the "must sees" in London and are there any good hotels with breakfast included that are in a good central location (price range under $200 p/nt). Also, is London as easy to walk everywhere to as Paris is! We loved being able to just walk to just about everything in Paris. Any London info is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Me again! You again! London is my second most visited city (it's my sister's favorite city). Yes, you can walk all over London, just like Paris. And, like Paris, the subway works great, getting you from one side of the city to the other in good time. We stay in a B&B in Swiss Cottage, preferring to be out of the hustle and bustle and in a regular neighborhood. Consequently, can't help you with any center city hotel recommendations. <BR>For must sees: Art & the like: National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Hayward Gallery. War stuff: Imperial War Museum, Cabinet War Rooms, HMS Belfast. History of man/culture: British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, London Transport Museum. Dead people: Westminster Abbey, Crypt at St Paul (both also on the Diana Tour), Highgate Cemetery. <BR>Tower of London sort of incorporates all of the above categories, with over-the- top jewelry as an added bonus. <BR>Outdoors: walk along the Thames; St James Park; Hyde Park (you can rent horses or paddle boats if you feel the need for 'exercise'). <BR>For special interests, check the web for London Walks...there's everything from Pub Walks to Jack the Ripper to Hidden London. <BR>There's always the theater: half-price ticket booth in Leicester Square for same day performance. There's also lots of alternative theaters and music halls. <BR>Shopping: of course, Harrod's. Selfridge's. Marks and Spencer. For AbFab fans...Harvey Nichols. Fortnum and Mason. Covent Garden. <BR> <BR> <BR>

Michelle, <BR>I'll send you a wealth of information on London and its "must sees", as well as some websites for you to check into for information regarding accommodations, walking tours, theatre and the like. I'd recommend that you check your library or book store for some highly useful guides to London. "The Eyewitness Travel Guide to London" and the "Knopf Guide to London" are excellent, comprehensive, well illustrated guides with recommended walking tours, maps of the city, extensive descriptions of museums and their contents. Photos of telephone booths, coinage and currency, underground and bus stop signage will help familiarize yourself with the "unfamiliar" commonplaces of a foreign city. In the Eyewitness guide you'll even find photos of typical pub food and the makings of an "English breakfast". The Blue Guide to London" is an extremely comprehensive guide to London and its immediate environs. Use any and all for your initial research into what to do, where to go, but leave them home! Upon arrival in London, pick up a copy of the "AZ Visitors' London Atlas and Guide". It's available at tourist offices in London and many newstands and bookstores and costs under 3 pounds. It's about the size of a 1/4 inch thick postcard, contains highly detailed maps of the city, with underground stops, bus lines and key sights all clearly identified. All tourist attractions are listed, described briefly, their hours of operation and nearest tube stop all indicated. It's THE essential guide to London. <BR> <BR>More to come, directly.

i just got back from london about 4 days ago. YOu must see Tower of London. There is so much history there. Once you're at the tower, you're close to London Bridge, and Tower Bridge - which is also very nice. Covent Gardens are awesome at night...and dont be deceived like I was - ITS NOT REALLY A GARDEN..more like a market place. To tell u the truth, u cant go wrong in london - everything is nice to see. I saw the entire city in 5 days..imaging what you'll do in a week. OH yeah, and u might meet some interesting people in Harrods. I met Dodi Fayed's DAd - adn Aerosmith when i was there!! <BR>have fun!

My mom and I just got back from London too. Sounds like you got great information on what to do already. We had a hard time getting into some of the best recommended hotels under $200 a night, even though we were looking pretty far in advance. We ended up staying at the Radisson Kennilworth by the British Museum. It was in a great area for walking. We set up the reservation using our Mileage plus hotel coupons and got a rate of 82 pounds a night for four nights. There is also a breakaway rate of 109 pounds a night. The first room we were given was very small(most in London are) but we asked for a better room and were really happy with the one on the 7th floor that they gave us-marble bathroom-sitting area and nice furnishings. I would stay there for the location but be picky about the room and ask for a room on the 7th floor. There is also a Radisson Edwardian hotel accross the street which is rated a bit better,the Marlborough-seemed nice, again I would call the hotel directly and ask about the size and layout of the rooms. They have a website. <BR> <BR>Just a few sight notes-definately do the Tower of London-you can get passes at Victoria Station that will let you bypass the big line. We saw a play at Shakespeare's Globe theater-called tickemaster for tickets-that was great. Also, if you like art go and see the Courtalt Institute. They have one of the finest small collections of Impressionist art I have ever seen(and I have seen a lot of art). Perfect because it is not too big. <BR> <BR>Have fun! Contact me if you need more info.

We also just got back from London. We stayed at the Hotel Russell, at Russell Square in Bloomsbury, near the British Museum. We had a very nice room, for 4 people, & it cost us 95 pounds/night. We made our reservations back at the beginning of April. We purchased a 4day Visitors Travelcard for zones 1 & 2, from Britrail, before we left the States. That worked out well for using the tube & buses. But London also has some good areas for walking, especially in the Westminster, Whitehall areas, among others. In fact, there are a number of companies that offer various guided walks of different themes - info is ususally listed in information brochures at the hotels. If you wander some of the areas, just make sure you have a good map with you & know where the closest tube stop is. A boat trip on the Thames to Greenwhich & seeing the sites in Greenwich has always been enjoyable for us. There are many things to do in London that could keep you busy for a week, but with that amount of time, you may want to think about doing a day trip for 1 of those days, such as to Bath, Windsor, Portsmouth, Dover, Cardiff, Salisbury/Stonehenge, Cantebury, Stratford or other possible choices. Could even think about doing an overnight train to Edinburgh, seeing the sites during the day & return to London late in the afternoon. Have fun, we did. <BR>