London pubs advice
 

My sister and I are traveling to London for the first time. We are both in our late 20's/early 30's and would like to experience the "true" London nightlife. Are there good pubs to go to where people are outgoing?

Hi Bronwyn!<BR><BR>There are thousands of pubs to choose from in London, with lots of different atmospheres. First, where are you going to be? Also, are you looking for somewhere that's big and busy, or somewhere that's quieter and more traditional? <BR><BR>Maybe if you narrow it down a bit, the posters here could recommend some individual pubs<BR><BR>Maccy<BR><BR>

I'm not sure there is a 'true' London nightlife. There are neighbourhood pubs, pubs and bars that focus on particular clienteles (some with a 'chain' brand and some independent), well-established night-clubs, and club nights that move around various different venues.<BR><BR>There was a thread recently that linked to a site with all sorts of information and advice - generally good but a little tongue-in-cheek - on the 'local' pub, but I think you might need something a bit more like Time Out's guide:<BR>http://www.timeout.com/london/bars/<BR><BR>As ever, you have to bear in mind that London is a very spread-out city, and you need to factor-in travelling practicalities.<BR><BR>

Thank you for the above reference. I have a question that's related to the original one only by &quot;pub&quot; topic. The article cited said &quot;A pint is 0.568 litres (i.e. quite a big drink). ‘A half’ means a half-pint. The ‘pint’ element is silent.&quot; Is the British pint the same as the American pint, i.e., 2 cups or 473.6ML? That would make the half pint equal 1 cup or 8 ounces.

MHS, An imperial pint is 20 ounces, where an imperial ounce is 28.4 ml. An american pint is 16 ounces, where an american ounce is 29.6 ml. So a half is 10 imperial ounces, or about 9.4 US ounces.

Try to find Time Out's guide to bars and pubs in London. You should find it at any branch of WHSmith, or at book shops like Borders or Waterstone's. <BR>Look in Time Out's weekly guide for a good overview. The Coach and Horses just off Compton Street is a good place to go. Lots of locals. It's not at all posh and has lots of history, but not in an olde-worlde, oak beams kind of way. Basically, it's kind of a louche bar for non-poseurs. You can sometimes sit outside.

`<BR>I'd seek out suggestions from one of our posters who lives there,<BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums_reg/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&amp;tid=34399045<BR>

London Walks http://london.walks.com/ has many evening walking tours that visit pubs. <BR><BR>From their site: We normally stop in two pubs enroute and end at a third pub. Which is by way of saying, a pub walk is not a pub crawl... It's a proper guided, literary-historical walk that's punctuated by brief stops - 15 minutes or so - at two interesting old pubs enroute, and then ends at a third pub. And incidentally you don't have to spend any money in the pubs. You don't have to drink. Or for that matter, if you want to have some refreshments, but don't want to drink beer or wine...well, all pubs have fruit juice and coca cola and perrier water and so on. And also you can normally get food at at least one of the pubs.

Keith,<BR>Which Pub walk did you go on?Do you happen to remember the names of the Pubs?