david west

The article below is from the Observer, a quality sunday paper regarding the london tourist experience, and is of course, spot on. <BR><BR>One thing I would hope that tourists get from sites like these is the facility and confidence not to be taken in by this tourist trap junk (Not including the tower in this, it really is very good).<BR><BR>As I have said many times before, no british people go to these places (at least not twice!)<BR><BR>http://204.29.171.80/framer/navigation.asp?realname=The+Observer&charset=utf-8&cc=GB&lc=en-GB&uid=201068759&frameid=1565&providerid=113&url=h ttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.observer.co.uk%2F<BR><BR>I suspect that this URL may not work, in which case go to www.observer.co.uk <BR><BR>select review section and the article is called capital punishment. It should be there until next sunday.

s.fowler

Here's a more direct url: http://www.observer.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,660694,00.html<BR><BR>Thanks for posting this David!

Sheryl

Just read this article as I am going to London in two weeks. Please tell me it isn't this bad!

Judy

Well david, I will just have to bring my rose colored glasses! <BR> I liked the other interesting articles in the Observer esp. the one on the West End musicals. I had no idea.<BR>&gt;g&lt;, Judy

Keith Legg

This article is - sadly - pretty much spot on. As a resident of London, I usually try to avoid places like Leicester Square, Soho and any pub that looks in the slightest bit "touristy." All three usually are dirty, crowded and - in the case of the pub - have food which tastes like cardboard and drinks which taste....well, I won't even go there. I'd also avoid Picadilly Circus - a complete letdown, it's just a really busy traffic intersection - and anyone thinking of visiting a pizza restaurant around Leicester Square should try and see the British TV programme "Restaurants from Hell" before deciding where to eat!<BR><BR>The fact is that the tourist buses are probably a good way of getting some orientation in a short period of time - if you're just wanting to see things, then ditch the commentary and just look around. <BR><BR>The ticket booths for shows are (as has been posted before) invariably a rip off - they are not much better value than the ticket touts outside the theatre. Be organised and choose and book your shows in advance.<BR><BR>Like David says, "no british people go to these places" so take a look around. If there are lots of tourists, and not many locals, then ask yourself - do you want to go there?<BR><BR>To be fair, there are a lot of great things to do and see in London, and you can avoid the hassles if you want.

kate

The first time I went to London was about 8 years ago...there were homeless teenagers on the streets then and parts of Soho were not the cleanest nor most pleasant part of town. We have never traveled the tourist route-bus tours,walking tours-so I wouldn't know about that part...but this doesn't seem to be different from the times I was there.I think that because we like to travel as if we were living in the country ,it helps, we see things as locals as much as we can,eliminating the tourist trap effects.The British have unfailingly been polite,and helpful to us wherever we have gone, I have nothing but lovely memories of our visits and look forward to more.<BR>The one and only thing that has bothered me lately about this sort of thing, is the idea that the British view us (Americans) in a bad light...that disappoints me.&lt;Ugly American thread&gt;

wes fowler

I found the article particularly interesting in light of a posting I had made back on February 7 or so and some of th responses it prompted. If curious, do a search on "Some Random Thoughts and a Question or Two From Fowler" or go to <BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...=2&tid=1344667

Marc David Miller

A poster in another thread said to just substitute Paris, New York, or any other major city and you could experience the same. True. It is a cautionary tale about not falling for the conveniently packaged traps. <BR><BR>When I was 18 on my first overseas trip I saw a man wearing a sandwich board (in St Tropez) advertising lunch for some low price--I jumped at it. When I was served the items from the menu (a reasonable choice) I was amazed at the smallness of everything--the food was not that bad, but I remember the desert brie was smaller than the first paragraph in this posting. <BR><BR>There are reasons that some places are tourist traps--location, pricing, fame from past generations--but after traveling for a while one can get the feeling when they are being marketed to in a condescending manner. Look at the old postings on buying Mickey Mouse toys in Italy for more on that topic.

Keith Legg

Kate, don't worry - we're not all like that. There may be much about which we disagree, but there will always be more things on which we do agree. Much of any disagreement is based on a lack of understanding of one another's culture - and isn't travel about discovering other cultures? If you are avoiding the tourist traps and trying to find the places of the locals, then you will always be welcome.

kate

Oh Keith, how kind.Thank you<BR>Kate

Grasshopper

Funny, it doesn't represent any London I have been to! But it does sound like Fisherman's Wharf (except maybe this weekend, with weather so absolutely glorious nobody could complain about anything!)<BR><BR>I have to admit, I take taxis and skip the underground. And walk through interesting neighborhoods more than visit the tourist traps.

Vita

It's always so hard for me to resist the tourist attractions, even though I know there will be more charm off the beaten track. I guess the key is to not expect too much, be flexible about changing the program, and balance touristy with non-touristy things. So Grasshopper, which neighborhoods do you find interesting?

John

Y'know, I didn't think his report was terribly different from a lot of people’s perceptions going back 20 or more years. The Leicester Square/Soho/Picadilly areas have been grimy for a long time. So was wonderful Covent Garden before it got sanitized into shopping-mall oblivion in the '70s. And being touted into crummy bars or shops by tour guides on buses? Hello... What I didn’t like especially was a somewhat patronizing tone (poor schnooks, lured into ripoff London, trying to pay for beers with credit cards…) <BR><BR>If you're looking for big city squalor or traps for tourists, London will do fine, but so will Paris and Amsterdam and San Francisco and Tijuana. The new Times Square may be more sanitary but there has been a price and no mistake. If visitors are na&iuml;ve or unprepared enough to buy a tour featuring an “authentic Victorian era pub” or medieval banquet in 2002, let ’em. They probably won’t make the same mistake twice. Fortunately, all these cities (maybe not TJ) have plenty of alternatives for visitors, many of which do not involve pizza on the stairs.<BR>

xavier

ttt