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London attractions within walking distance of each other

London attractions within walking distance of each other

Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:22 AM
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London attractions within walking distance of each other

Hi, I'm planning our itinerary for a trip to London for my husband and me that is coming up in September. I'm trying to find information on attractions that are close/within walking distance of each other. That way we can group the most popular attractions by area to maximize our time and not be crisscrossing all over the city. Plus, we will be using the public transportation system and our own feet. Can anyone recommend a web site or other resource that has this info. Thank you for any help. Planning this trip is very exciting , but also very daunting.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:29 AM
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Please tell us your interests and where in the city you will be staying, then I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from Londoners.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:34 AM
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If your local library has London guidebooks they usually have maps showing attractions. Also, the Frommers website has maps in the destination sections. I used the maps located at: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/15101.aspx when planning my two trips. It is of the bus system but shows all the major sites.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:38 AM
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Well...since you said walking. I stayed in Bloomsbury. From there I walked to British Museum, the City, to the Thames, to St Paul's, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Sq, etc.. I took the Tube back at the end of the day.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:39 AM
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Go to Londontown.com and look up their suggested walks -- that should give you an idea as to what attractions are relatively close to each other.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:48 AM
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We are staying at the Thisle Marble Arch Hotel. We have two and a half days of free time. London has such a rich history that we wish we had more days to explore. It seems the more we read, the more we want to see. But we will try to stick to the "headliner" attractions. Our list so far is Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, the British Museum, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, the Globe Theatre, a river cruise on the Thames, Downing St,, Ben Franklin's house, Harrods, Hyde park, Piccadilly Circus, Greenwich,and a theatre production, maybe Phantom of the Opera.

Once again, thank you for any suggestions.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:51 AM
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Thank you bellini, trvlgirlmq, Michel_Paris, and BigRuss. I will continue my research with these new leads. Much appreciated!
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 06:52 AM
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I used the journey planner on the TFL website. I mostly chose to go by bus because of MIL rather than dealing with the steps and escalators of the tube, but if things are close in proximity, the TFL site often lists multiple choices on how to get to the destination and sometimes the walking symbol appears and it shows you how to walk from point A to point B.

Also get as many maps as you can. That way you can see what interests you in a given area and then you can use the TFL site to tell you specifically how to get from one to the other.

For instance, we walked over the Westminster bridge to the London Eye after the Cabinet War Rooms because it was a fairly close walk.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 07:00 AM
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If you picked Trafalagar Sq as a starting point, you could cover a lot of places walking: Westminster Abbey, Banqueting Hall, Big Ben, Parliament, 10 Downing, Horses Guards, War Rooms....or The Mall, St James Palace, Buckingham Palace, St James park..or National Gallery, St Martin in the Fields, Covent Garden...
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 07:07 AM
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Great website, europeannovice! I think you can upgrade from novice to intermediate.
Thank you!
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 07:27 AM
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This might also help, at least as a start (you'd need to relate it to a geographical map):

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...-route-map.pdf
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 08:10 AM
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Hi again LuckyJeans. Are you planning on going into the big attractions like Tower of London and Westminster Abbey? I ask because with only 2 1/2 days it may be difficult to hit all the places on your list. We spent several hours at Tower of London and about 2 in Westminster Abbey. Don't forget there might be queues for entrance to those plus the London Eye.

Once you check out the maps and look up opening times for the places you would like to visit you will be able to come up with a great itinerary.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 08:17 AM
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Forget the Eye. You could have drinks at OXO Tower at sunset (if there's any sun) and get a fine view of London from there.

The easy groupings are Tower-Monument-St.Paul's and Westminster-Whitehall-Cabinet War Rooms-Buckingham Palace and for museums there's Trafalgar Sq-National Gallery-National Portrait Gallery and V&A-London Science, et al. (in S. Kensington area). Yes, I've left out a bunch because you simply need to go back.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 08:51 AM
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walkit.com or google maps lets you put in addresses/sites and will plot you a course. These are best uses AFTER you have a general idea from doing your own looking at a map.

You need to take into account travel time. London areas are very walkable, but the "major" attractions are pretty far apart and you will need the tube or bus at times.

Here's a suggestion for using 2.5 days that will get you to most of the things on your list:

Get to the Tower first thing; then after a morning there, you can walk up to St. Pauls OR across the Tower Bridge and along the SouthBank, by the Globe and then across to St. Paul's. This is a long but doable day.

Another day start at or near Buckingham Palace then on to Westminster Abbey/Big Ben/Whitehall/(You can't get near #10 but can walk past it)/Trafaglgar Square/NationalGallery is a long but doable day. You could include Hyde Park maybe this day.

When to fit in the British Museum? Maybe on the half day you have. It's at LEAST 2-3 hours to just get over your jaw dropping and getting on to seeing some stuff!

You don't have time for all on your list, you are discovering. I'd skip Greenwich this time, and probably Harrods and Franklins's House. You'll be near Pic. Circus (but no big deal). You might have time to go to a play.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 09:02 AM
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I notice you have the Globe Theatre on your list. If you walk towards the river from St Pauls you will get to the Millenium bridge - St P looks amazing from there and the Globe is just on the other side.

Poke your head into the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, there is usually something interesting and its worth seeing for itself. Will only take ten minutes and its free. Thee Globe is next door.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 09:35 AM
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Thank you all for your time! What a wonderful resource you are on this board. I'm continuing to create and modify my itinerary. I love all the suggestions.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 09:39 AM
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>>

Geographical map with tourist sights and Tube stations and bus routes

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...on-bus-map.pdf
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 09:42 AM
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We did the Tower first thing in the morning as Texasbookworm suggests. After we took the City Cruise (since you listed river cruise on your list), over to Westminster. You get a fabulous view of Big Ben from the water. We then walked over to the Cabinet War Rooms and from there crossed the Westminster Bridge over to the London Eye all in one long day but it is doable.

Texasbookworm--when you are leaving for your trip? We will be anxious to read your report.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 10:50 AM
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Here's my suggestion. I think with only 2 and a half days, that you should skip any rides on the Tube in favor of the buses. On the Tube you don't see anything, while on the buses you can stare out the window and see everything.

You already have more than enough suggested places to see and go. London can easily take weeks to see and in 2 or 3 days you will not enjoy yourself if you try to see everything. So count on going back.
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Old Jul 23rd, 2010, 11:04 AM
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Not to hijack your thread, LuckyJeans--but EurNov--in a week! Baring volcanoes, hurricanes, and assorted other disasters, we should be in the St.James/Embankment area, walking around to ward off jetlag having arrived noonish, this time next Friday! And I will be posting a TR asap upon return--thanks for asking--Alecia
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