Need London Tour Cool Ideas
 

Any info on the ghost tours needed. Mysitical <BR>tours, castles nearby we can stqay overnight in, like how to stay the nite in Hampton Court? Can we actuaslly get a tour of buckingham palace? <BR> <BR>Going Sept 4 to Sept. 12. Please help out. Any unique ideas welcome to make the most of London and environs. Train only- no car to be rented. <BR> <BR>Cheers!

You can stay at Hampton Court Palace - but you need to book months ahead. The Landmark trust has two flats for holiday rental but they are full most of the time. <BR> <BR>Buckingham Palace is open to the public during August and September each year. You can book ahead of time - but you can buy tickets at the kiosk on the edge of Green Park right outside the palace gates. <BR> <BR>The first day you are in London - buy a copy of Timeout. It is a weekly magazine that lists everything going on in the city including most of the various walking tours. There are many good ones.

One evening my husband and I wandered over to the little Soho community and found ourselves in a very unique and super cool experience. Everyone was standing on the streets sipping beer after work and letting go. <BR>We toured Buckingham Palace and adored it. Buy the souvenir book as it is has great pictures of the palace. We bought our tickets at the booth and waited briefly in line in Aug. 1999. Don't sit on the majesty's steps anywhere on the palace grounds as you are apt to be asked to get up quickly by the guard. This was considered rude to the British. <BR>You won't need a car unless you want to drive out to the countryside. <BR>Prior to your departure, get a London map and subway map and just familiarize yourself with the sites in relation to your hotel. Or look at these at the bookstore or maybe on the net. <BR>Hampton Court Palace was one of my favorites. We spent 4 hours in the breathtaking gardens and had only 1 hour to see the palace so budget your time. We took a horse and carriage ride behind the palace. Listening to the leaves ruffling in the wind was an ear soother from all the hustle and bustle of the city. <BR>Hyde Park, Green Park, and Regent's Park are all worth taking a long stroll through. We spent 4 hours in Regent's Park one afternoon to escape the city. Plan a picnic at the park since you will need some time away from the city. <BR>Have some fun for me too. <BR>I have very vivid memories of London.

<BR>I agree with all the advice you've had so far. "Time Out" is indeed a fine resource for you. I know of no castle you can stay at in London, so I searched in Yahoo UK and came up with a hotel 80 miles from us, at about 200 pounds a night for a double room, Amderley Castle. Their site is http://www.amberleycastle.co.uk/main_nav.htm. The photo is attractive. <BR> <BR>Amberley Castle, Amberley, Near Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 9ND <BR>England. Phone +44 (0)1798 831992, fax +44 (0)1798 831998, <BR>e-mail [email protected]. <BR> <BR>Welcome to London <BR> <BR>Ben Haines <BR> <BR>

a few more specifics would help. What soert of thing are you after, how far off the beaten track do you want to go, how old are you? what are your interests etc.

I agree with Mr Haines - spot on as usual. Amberley Castle is a fabulous place to stay. We stayed there for a long weekend in February and fell in love with the place. Mind you, I may be a little biased as my boyfriend (now fiance) proposed that weekend! <BR> <BR>All the rooms in the castle are individually decorated and are very luxurious. We stayed in two - Herstmonceux and Luffa, as our favourite (Herstmonceux) wasn't available all the nights. Both were fabulous. Herstmonceux had the extra benefit of having a doorway to the staircase up to the battlements - one of only 2 rooms to do so. <BR> <BR>It's not cheap, but it is worth it. The food is great too, so I'd also recommend booking a table in the restaurant for dinner. <BR> <BR>Arundel castle is just down the road, so you can visit that. The only problem is that you will not find it easy getting around without a car. There is a station about a mile or two from the hotel, but I wouldn't want to walk that with bags. If you want to stay there and are concerned about transport, get in touch with the hotel - they were really helpful.

Thx for the kind help. here's more specs. We are 42 & 42. I lived in London 1979-80, but am not up on the best cool stuff. My real goal is to create great memories and culture-up my besat friend who has never been and doesn't get even the greatness of Sherlock. we've got to get her INTO THIS. London in September if done right can change a person's life in a little way. A touch of castle, ghost tour (do you know of any) , a dab of the bard, a palace, etc. should do the trick , but it is the alleys and the walks and the things one should not miss I am afraid i sahll fail to include--hence my request. <BR> <BR>Thx in advance.

Hello <BR>I know every guide book says to take a boat ride up the Thames to the Tower Bridge and we did this in the rain. However, I remember it like yesterday and would do it again in the sun or rain. The true experience of the city to me was taking walks recommended in Rick Steves' guide book and seeing everything he recommended. I think there is a separate book with just walking tours in London. The Michelin Green Guide is also good to have with you. If your friend has never been to London I would recommend these sites for sure: Westminster Abbey, Tower of London (The beefeater gave us a free pass to come back the next day to take our pictures since we got rained out on our 1st visit), Tower Bridge, Walk along the Thames, Walk across the bridge and sit down and gaze at the magnificent view of Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Houses of Parliament across the river, Walk down Whitehall from Trafalgar's Square and see #10 Downing Tony Blair's residence and Scotland Yard, Picnics in the Hyde, Regents, and Green Park, Hampton Court Palace, British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Gallery, Albert and Victoria Museum, Trafalgar's Square, Double Decker Bus ride to get overview of city on 1st day, St. Paul's Cathedral (climb to the top of the dome), go see a show or play, Buckingham Palace (tours are on certain days so check ahead of this). We saw all of this in 8 days. You may have to trim some off to go see some castles. I hope this helps.

Because I've moved recently, I don't have the info at my fingertips, but I'm sure someone will - check into the London Walks series -- wonderful walks of all sorts, through many interesting neighborhoods - we did an evening historic pubs tour along the Thames that, I'm sure, had a few ghosts lingering nearby. We've done this in other cities including Dublin, and they're a great way to meet other folks and get a sense of the history and fun of a neighborhood. <BR> <BR>A word of warning: if you do the London evening walks, don't plan to have dinner when you get back to your hotel since (unless things have changed significantly since we were there in '98) most restaurants close their kitchens around 10, and the tour doesn't end until after that - we couldn't even find a pub serving food, so had really BAD takeaway.