mias_grandma

My sister, daughter in law and I are traveling to London April 22-26, then to Amsterdam til April 30. My sister will be working in London; her office is in The City, as is our hotel. DIL & I will be seeing the sights. she is an artist, so we definitely will do the museums. What should we NOT miss? This is first European trip for sis, 2nd for DIL. Where to eat? Since we have limited time, is it worth our while to go to Stonehenge?

Sister will be avialable to join us for sightseeing in Amsterdam. Thanks to responses to my previous post here, we are staying at Maes B&B. Tulip fields a must, as well as Van Gogh Musuem. Any other suggestions? Any restaurant suggestions.

Many thanks.

mclaurie

Whether to go to Stonehenge or do any day trip, is really up to you all. If one or more of you have always wanted to see it, then by all means go. The very best way to go is to get a special access tour or arrange special access on your own. Unfortunately, I think it's a bit late for that. If you want to use a tour co., London Walks (walks.com) evidently do a good "explorers day" there combining it with Salisbury. Astral Travel and Evan Evans are the other 2 cos. often mentioned that also do Stonehenge and combine it with various other things.

Given the time of year, I do think it would be nice to get out of London for a day and see some of the countryside, but I think I might pick something like Hampton Court or Windsor, both of which are a bit closer. I also notice London Walks does an explorer day to Blenheim Palace and that is one of my favorite places. Awesome gardens, fabulous home, art, history in a beautiful town.

If you do a text search here for any of those names or words (special access AND stonehenge for example) you'll find LOADS of previous info.

When you say you'll "do the museums" there are really too many to cover them all, even if you did nothing else but museum hopping, so you'll have to choose carefully based on what sort of art you and DIL like.

As far as sightseeing, most people really love the Tower of London and the Beefeater tour. Go first thing in the morning as it gets really crowded. The hop on/off bus tour is a good way of getting acclimated to what's where and you get to see a lot. I also noticed London Walks lists an Explorer Day in London which also sounds great covering a lot of the major sights and ending with a tour of the Tower.

If you or your family are interested in the law as your email address suggests, I recommend a visit to the Old Bailey courthouse to sit in the gallery and watch a trial. It's still one of the things I remember the most vividly from my first visit to London.

Have a great time. For dining suggestions, I think you need to tell us what sort of budget/cuisine and where you'll be staying. You can also do a search here. For example, budget restaurants AND london.

Intrepid1

Re Amsterdam: if you are at all "into" museums I would say the Rijksmuseum is an absolute must; even though the building is being renovated there are still 400+ of the most well-known works on view.

mias_grandma

thanks so much. We are adventurous diners, with a generous budget for meals, as we are not paying for hotels, ground transport, etc. (courtsey of my sister's company). Dover sole is my absolute favorite, so a seafood suggestion would be appreciated. We are staying at Hotel - Brittania International on Marsh st., near the docks (???)

I am tempted by 15, jamie Oliver's restaurant, and the River Cafe, although I have read mixed reviews,here as well as other sites.

My husband & I did the Rumpole Walking Tour a few years ago, which included the Old Baily. It was very interesting. (he's a lawyer; I am a paralegal)

ira

Hi mias,

>We are adventurous diners, with a generous budget for meals,...<

For a traditional English dinner, I suggest the Divan room of Simpson's in the Strand.

See http://www.fairmont.com/svy/simpsons/

m_kingdom2

"I am tempted by 15, jamie Oliver's restaurant, and the River Cafe, although I have read mixed reviews,here as well as other sites"

15 is a vile new labour wannabes infested hole. Don't dine there, the food is little better than the school dinners that Mr. Oliver seeks to abolish. River Cafe in my opinion offers very good basic Italian fare at not such basic prices. Don't waste your time on either of these going-out-of-vogue cons.

I'd recommend Gordon Ramsey on Hospital Road. Also, there are lots of cheaper restaurants that are really pretty good. I'd actually second Simpson's, the food's classic and usually well delivered, nothing groundbreaking though. The Ritz offers staid dining in incomparable surroundings, it's an experience, albeit a rather overrated one. Nobu is the trendy place to go, although I'm not really into it. It's terribly ladies that lunch, or men that wear womens' sizes (small ones). Roka in Charlotte St. is a Japanese/European barbecue style restaurant with achingly trendy floor to ceiling windows on to the street. It recently won an award and looks quite interesting to say the least. I could go on and on, but come back with specific requests and then life is easier for all concerned.

As for stonehenge, unless you plan to perfom some ritual or sacrifice there it's just a ring of stones, I'm not impressed.

jody

The seafood is wonderful at Wilton's on Jermyn St! We like Dover sole at Montepeliano on Montpelier St., nr Harrod's, too