Traveling to London for a few days - where to stay as a 26 y/o male?
 

I'm a 26 y/o male that's traveling to London in early December by myself - this will be my first time traveling out of the United States alone. I'll be in London for 5 days before I take the Eurostar to Paris. A little background on me: I'm from Brooklyn, NY and work in Midtown Manhattan with a decent salary. I enjoy eating great food - I don't mind the cleanliness of it as long as it's good; I enjoy drinking at pubs and also love the night life. Of course museums and the walking tours and any touristy stuff are on my list for my visit to London as well.

Which district in London would you suggest I stay in that is reasonably priced and hip based on my brief background? Also, which airport to fly into?

If you can answer the same about Paris, that'd be great as well.

Thank you all very much in advance.

<<which airport to fly into?>>

This is price-sensitive. If the price is lower into Gatwick than Heathrow, fly to Gatwick; if not, fly to Heathrow. The others don't count for you because you're flying from NYC area.

Explain "reasonably priced" in dollars and cents for nightly lodging costs.

Staying in or near Leicester Sq/Covent Garden area would be optimal; Bloomsbury would be good and probably cost less.

What night life? It's London - there's any and everything from pubs to bars to clubs to concerts to stage productions . . .

<< I enjoy eating great food - I don't mind the cleanliness of it as long as it's good>>

What's that mean - you'll eat something marked up with insect detritus or prepped in unsanitary conditions? Seems unwise - NYC has health code grading to prevent exactly that.

As for "great food" - what does that not include? If you don't like Thai, great Thai won't change your mind.

If you do like various Asian cuisines and stay in/near Leicester Sq area, you can feast along Charing X Road throughout your stay.

As for Paris - I'd lean toward 4-7e over the others.

And if you can take a Fat Tire Bike Tour in each city, you may find some traveling/party companions.

I don't think you'll have a lot of choice of which airport to fly into, go with whatever matches the flight you want. If you truly have a choice, I'd choose Gatwick as it's closer to the city.

For Paris, you won't have a choice, either, same reason--all flights from North America fly into CDG, I believe. If you decided to transfer in London or some other place in Europe, for example (wouldn't recommend), you might fly into Orly. Again, if you really have a choice with flights you don't care to choose between for other reasons, choose Orly as it's closer.

I don't know best place for you in London, but I know Paris fairly well and for there, I'd recommend the Marais or Bastille area (11th arrondisement), or Latin Quarter (5th arr.).

>> I'd choose Gatwick as it's closer to the city.<<

Huh? LHR is much closer to central London than is LGW. LGW is nearly twice as far out. But that doesn't matter since both airports have pros/cons and different but equally easy ways to get into the city center.

>>Which district in London would you suggest I stay in that is reasonably priced and hip based on my brief background?<<

There is no best area, and all areas are easy to get to from anywhere in the city by the extremely extensive public transport.

But w/o your budget can make actual recommendations. I agree that Covent Garden and Russell Sq are good -- but so are a lot of other neighborhoods. For 'trendy' places a little farther from the very center there are Shoreditch and others. Or the South Bank . . .basically anywhere in central London can work.

I appreciate and thank you for your replies. I apologize for not clarifying some of the questions I asked.
- Reasonably priced for lodging would be about £95 and under.
- Night life would be bars and pubs; not sure if I want to go clubbing by myself.
- Great food varies - I'm opened to any type of cuisine. Thai, Indian, Mexican, Colombian, the typical fish and chips, etc..
Also note that not all places in NYC has a grading system - Food trucks and corner stands for example.
I'm currently leaning towards Bloomsbury, Holborn, Shoredich, and Clerkenwell.

>>- Reasonably priced for lodging would be about £95 and under.<<

If you mean a hotel that is low-ish by London Standards. But you should be able to find something w/o much problem. If you use londontown.com or booking.com you can often get real bargains if you are willing to book non-refundable.

>>I'm currently leaning towards Bloomsbury, Holborn, Shoredich, and Clerkenwell.<<

Any of those would be fine. Bloomsbury/Holborn (right next door to each other) would be easier transport/closer to more sites.

TravAly,
Your budget isn't a lot for London but the good news is you're heading in the right direction in terms of the areas you're going at. Bloomsbury/Holborn is both in the center of London and an area near (UCL) University. The areas you mention further east (Shoreditch and Clerkenwell) are part of the hipster/trendy/media/artsy club/bar/restaurant land.

In that areas somewhere like The Hoxton would be an option, they also have a place in Holborn.
https://thehoxton.com

Ok scratch that the prices are much higher than £95 and under. RE Shoreditch often has cheap rates but it's in Bethnal Greenrather than Shoreditch and that's taking you further from the tourist stuff.

Ok, rethink - at that price range you'll find something but you may have to really shop around to get something modern in the right location.. The Tune Hotel at Liverpool Street looks simple but modern and you'd be close to Spitalfields and Shoreditch (which will look very familiar from Brooklyn) and close to the Tube. I'd also consider their Kings Cross location which would be good for the train to Paris and is a regenerated area.
http://www.tunehotels.com/my/en/our-...nited_kingdom/

There's also a chain called Go Native and you could try their place in Bermondsey south of the river which is also a trendy area and fairly close in. Citizen M is a place I've considered around there.

Lots of stuff on museums, walks etc in London on my blog. I'm sure you'll have a great time wherever you land.

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/London

If you do stay in the East End I'd suggest getting free tickets for the Sky Garden before you go as it will be right around the corner from Liverpool st.

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2015/...ie-london.html

Hope this helps!

With five nights in London, maybe you can land a studio apt in one of your favored neighborhoods. London is filthy with rental properties whether VRBO, homeaway, or various rental sites. That may be the best way to get more bang for your $145 per.

Thank you all! The information provided will definitely be of great help! Welltraveledbrit - AMAZING and well detailed blog you have there. I am going to save that for offline use while I am in London. BigRuss, thank you for the suggestion, studio apts will definitely be considered.

A friend of ours has a son your age. He always stays in hostels. Has a great job and plenty of money but stays there because of the opportunity to meet other young people. Wouldn't stay in hotels like us fuddy-duddies.

If you're travelling by yourself, you should really stay in a hostel (just in case you hadn't already planned to do that anyway). It's lonely staying in a hotel by yourself in a foreign city.

The east end has become very hot and hip lately so I agree with other posters to concentrate your search on Shoreditch area. It's not so far out that you can't access the rest of the city. Lots of interesting resto's and places to see in that area.

So glad the blog was useful!

I am actually considering hostels and did a lot of research on it. I am going to search for one that has good reviews. Do you have any recommendations on which hostels to stay at? I am planning to pack pretty light - a phone, a battery adapter for my phone, a universal AC adapter, cash, credit card, passport, 1 jean and 2 pants, towel, 3 t-shirts, pjs, 1 button down, toothbrush, toothpaste, and of course a few boxers. Shampoo and soap can be purchased there.
Any recommendations on what else to pack, especially if I will be staying at a hostel? I'll be staying in London for 5 days and Paris for 4 days.

It will be cold and most likely wet (in both cities, generally wetter in London/colder in Paris). You'll need good outerwear and a hat or hood and probably an extra pair of shoes in case you get soaked.

pack earplugs

Great, thanks for your input! I found this Hostel with great reviews called SoHostel located in SoHo. What do you think of that area?

It is about as central as you could get . . .

In that case, booked! Pretty impulsive booking but I just couldn't turn it down.