Taking friend on first trip to London - suggestions?
 

I have been to London 6 times but am in the planning stages of a trip with a friend who has never been. I'm not paying for her but will be doing all the planning (I love it and she hates it so it works out). We will spend a couple days in town with some day trips to Cambridge and Canterbury then a couple days in the Cotswolds.

Of course I will want to show her the big tourist sites even tho I have seen them but am wondering if anyone has any suggestions that will make her first and only trip to London memorable. She is 65, has traveled, money (for her) not really an obstacle. She is healthy and loves her wine.

any hotel ideas where we would be comfortable, even pampered but not over the top expensive? She wants to do the London Eye (I'll wave to her!) and I'm thinking the Crown Jewels, a look at the Tower Bridge, lunch at a pub, the theatre, the changing of the guard (for her), shopping, the Cabinet War Rooms (which I've seen and thought very neat),Harrods, fancy tea for the experience, a good roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner, drink at the American Bar at the Savoy. I dont' think she's into museums so much and I've been to V & A, British Museum, London Transport museum, Theatre Museum...
I think we'll do Portobello Road.

Any thoughts on shops, restaurants (I'm not a foodie), special tea service, sites we shouldn't miss? I do lots and lots of research but would really appreciate those small really great suggestions of Fodorites. Thank you!

Changing of the Guard will chew up better part of a morning, with possibility of not having good view unless get there early.

Portobello Road can be really packed. So go early.

She's never been to London and you're only giving her 2 days there?? Day one may be a jet lagged fog--so you'll really only have 1+ day for London.

How long is the entire trip?

'Not over the top expensive' covers a lot of territory. What is your actual budget?

Do you plan on driving to the Cotswolds, or rely on public transport?

I'd get her the London pass. Let her pick the sights herself beforehand on the London pass website.

Considering her age, you should probably add the Travelcard.

I personally have taken the London pass once for three days and once for two days and both times it was a wonderful experience. :)

considering her age -what does this mean?

It means that I wouldn't get the Travel card for me. I'd walk A LOT. But I'm half her age.

Last time I was in London, I did an average of 28 000 steps a day. :D

I'm her age, and I walk almost everywhere, but admit that not everyone can manage as well. Still try to jog up the stairs at tube stations, although not as fast as I use to be. ;)

janisj has asked some important questions. Personally, I'd nix the Changing of the Guards. Not worth it with the time limits.

Take a look at the newly reopened, renovated St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel. I haven't stayed there but this WSJ article makes it sounds so fabulous
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...848214462.html

I think it's wonderful you're taking your friend to London. Although she's not into museums, I still think anyone would love a visit to the V&A, and the gift shop there is very nice. I'd also suggest eating at the V&A cafe where you are surrounded by the most beautiful architecture (the Morris, Poynter, Gamble rooms). http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/visit-u...-at-the-vanda/

You can easily combine V&A with your visit to Harrods.

Don't forget to take her for a walk through St James's Park.

Well everyone has different tastes but there is now way I would miss either Westminster Abbey or the British Museum (changing of the guard is way better on a video than in real life - and takes forever).

And agree for hotel recos we do need a budget.

We like to be able to walk as many places as possible - (sights, shops and restaurants) so we generally stay either in Mayfair or Knightsbridge - but hotels are not cheap.

Sorry Crane, but "<i>I'd get her the London pass. Let her pick the sights herself beforehand on the London pass website.

Considering her age, you should probably add the Travelcard.</i>" . . . is really REALLY bad advice.

The London Pass is a complete ripoff for the VAST majority of visitors . . . and even for the 1 in 100 visitors who <i>might</i> get value for ££, the LP travel option is a rip off for <u>everyone</u>.

A travlecard purchased at a tube station will be cheaper. And since there are two traveling together, paper travelcards bought in a <u>train</u> station is an even better deal because they can use the 2for1 Days Out discounts. http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/

No problem, janisj.

The lady in question is 65 and not wanting for money and she's in London for two days only - If I were in her shoes, I enjoy the time and not hunt for deals.

I'm just giving my personal opinion.

On another note, Person A is asking what would Person B like and person A is asking complete strangers... fat chance anyone would get it right ;)

We will be in London for more than two days. Maybe 3 or 4. She can walk just fine
Budget for hotel maybe up to $200 each per night (so $400) for the nights in London(we'll go cheaper in the countryside)
Probably train/bus combo to the Cotswolds. I have gone on a bus trip day tour which was actually quite nice but I really want to go to Broadway and Stow on the Wold, not easy to get to but since I've been to London 6 times I need to add some places new for me.
I have eaten in the V & A cafe and it was very nice. Will leave it up to her if she wants to visit any of the museums. I forgot about Westminster and I have seen it several times but if she is interested we will go.
I really appreciate your advice. I'll check out the paper travelcards.

I was looking at the Mayfair - it looks really lovely; price with random dates entered is around $377/night

You can also add B&Bs to the London mix. Sample:

http://www.harlingfordhotel.com/


I stayed at The Academy last trip. booked via Expedia. Nice.

http://www.theetoncollection.co.uk/c...spx?pageid=410


Both are near Tube, British Museum.

I don't travel anymore--can't afford it, too old! But when I did I always included at least one tour around favorite authors from that area. Is your friend a reader? An embroiderer? Whatever. To me one's INTEREST should be a kind of theme for your plans, whether that's WWII (great for London) or Dickens walking tour (I still remember mine I took at least 30 years ago, or gardening!

I just don't go for seeing all the top spots that everyone "does" and not think of your own favorite thing. Mine happens to be reading. Years ago (now out of print) I wrote and published Traveler's Reading Guide: Readymade Reading Lists for the Armchair Traveler, and then did 2 editions, also out of print for Facts on File. Nothing more enjoyable than, say, reading some place-set mysteries or nocels, background books, before you go somewhere, or after you come back. Ditto movies with strong sense of place. I mean, would you think of going to Savannah without reading Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil? I wouldn't!

Hope you don't think this off the point--it is probably an old-fashioned approach these days.

aurora, I agree. I often think tourists get so wrapped up in seeing the so-called top spots that they miss some of the best things about traveling. Recently while in Edinburgh, I walked from my hotel to New Town trying to locate 44 Scotland Street along with a number of places mentioned in Alexander McCall Smith's book. It was a wonderful afternoon. In fact, reading about certain places often ends up dictating my travel plans.

There is,I believe, a distinction between tourists and travelers. I think the old-fashioned approach, as you call it, is an important aspects of the latter.

My friend is a reader but I'm not really sure of her genre. She's smart but not deep. More the social butterfly type of woman, very charming. I personally loved Agatha Christie and think I'm such an Anglophile because of her descriptions of English life. I remember in elementary school wanting to have 'tea' when I went to play with friends! For example I love At Bertram's Hotel and believe Browns was the prototype for it. Interesting approach; I'll have to explore the idea.

I stayed at Brown's Hotel with my husband and 2 children back in 1956--he was sent over to start branch of a business and then we joined him. To this DAY I love old British movies with those tacky kind of lampshades.

As to Alexander McCall Smith I just DISCOVERED him couple weeks ago. I recognized his name at the library as having written a great article about bridge for the Wall St. Journal (I have a blog about bridge) and there I found he does several series of books - I think the one I read is about Corduroy Hill or some such (I forgot already, 91 is my excuse) but has so many wonderful characters plan to find more of him. I love British writers. He's Scottish I realize.
Smart, not deep! I think that describes many including me. I'm deep about politics but that's about all.

If you want to explore reading place-set stuff, some libraries are better than others in how they catalog, and you can actually find novels and such if you look up a particular country or city. I haven't really kept on top of it, when I did my books back a while they were unique bibliography. Now, with the internet I'm SURE there must be a way to Google, say, "London, mysteries set in" or some such and come up with a resource.

I think the original itinerary was pretty good, except I would definitely put Westminster Abbey above a trip to a dept store (Harrods) or a tea. I just don't see how you could go to London for the first time and not see it but go shopping instead. I don't know that I'd put the Cabinet War Rooms at the top of a list, either, but it would depend on someone's interests. But of course anyone should plan their own vacation to do what they want, but the thing I find odd about this is that this is an intelligent well-traveled 65 yr old who apparently has no opinions and can't decide for herself what she wants to see. It isn't that difficult to know about these things (Westminster Abbey, for example and the Tower of London) and think there are some main things you want to see in London. I can't even imagine letting someone else plan a trip for me like that.

But for a first trip of only two days, I would not plan a custom tour based on writers or anything (especially when it is your own ideas rather than what the person wants), rather than the basics of which you can't even see in that time frame. I really liked the crown jewels and tower of London on some of my early trips to London.

You might consider Kensington gardens and Palace, I think a lot of people like that, I know I did.

I really enjoyed the City of London museum, it is one of my favorite things in the city. It isn't a museum like the British or National Gallery with lots of arts, but if someone doesn't like museums at all (sounds like no attention span or interest in art or history), one wouldn't like that either. But I think it can be more enjoyable for a lot of people than the British Museum.

AS for hotels, it sounds like you want to be dead center, just a guess with this lady.

We loved our stay at the St James Sofitel... pricewise it's at the top of your range.
(Maybe over it -:( It's in a perfect location near the park, Trafalgar Square , Picadilly.