visiting London! HELP!
Mar 30th, 2007, 09:52 AM
#2
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Go directly to a travel guide and start reading and decide what interests you.
I'm sorry, but how can we possibly know your interests? What's the point of telling you to be sure to visit the famous museum of broken dolls if that doesn't interest you? And surely you already know about things like the London Eye, London theatres, Tower of London, etc., etc. Don't you?
I apologize if you feel turned off by this response to your first post here. You will get great and helpful responses though if you can give us at least a little background about you and your interests.
I'm sorry, but how can we possibly know your interests? What's the point of telling you to be sure to visit the famous museum of broken dolls if that doesn't interest you? And surely you already know about things like the London Eye, London theatres, Tower of London, etc., etc. Don't you?
I apologize if you feel turned off by this response to your first post here. You will get great and helpful responses though if you can give us at least a little background about you and your interests.
Mar 30th, 2007, 09:54 AM
#3
You need to tell us a LOT more.
What do you like?
What things have you already decided to see/do?
I'd start by clicking on DESTINATIONS above and follow the link to London. You will find lots of ideas. Then come back w/ more focused questions . . .
What do you like?
What things have you already decided to see/do?
I'd start by clicking on DESTINATIONS above and follow the link to London. You will find lots of ideas. Then come back w/ more focused questions . . .
Mar 30th, 2007, 10:32 AM
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It's possible that you don't really KNOW what you like. In that case a good guidebook is essential. Which one you pick isn't extremely critical to start with. Start reading, and make notes of things that sound interesting.
Get a good map, too. You'll want to pay attention to where things are so you can organize your sightseeing a little bit and thus not spend your entire trip underground traveling back and forth. A large-format folding map is a good place to start, preferably one you can write on; I like to mark out sites and basic walking routes, which will eventually evolve into full touring days. At a minimum, though, you have to gain a basic familiarity with the neighborhoods, so you know where The City, Mayfair, Soho, Wapping, Southwark, etc. etc. are in relation to each other.
If you think you're going to want to spend a lot of time just walking around, which is in my mind the best way to enjoy London, you're going to want to get a better map that shows ALL the streets: an "A-to-Z", pronounced Aiy to Zed". Buy it there, not here (unless you're obsessive like me and want to mark out your walks in detail in advance); they will have them in all newsagents. Small book-sized wire bound job.
If you're unsure what kinds of things you really want to see, you could make a list that's too long, and bring it with you, and then adjust your trip based on how you like some of the major attractions like them. So, if after visiting Westminster Abbey (which you should do), you may decide "dang, I love churches and cathedrals, where are some more?"; and then cut back on museums, for instance. Some things I wouldn't miss, like St. Paul's, but it's up to you to decide how long you want to spend there -- you you just want to look around the outside? Do you want to go up inside the dome? Do you want to spend an entire day or two walking around The City looking at the dozens of gorgeous historic churches there (delightful for some, dreadful for others).
With fifteen days, you have a lot of leeway. I'd think about dividing it up into basic walkable areas and do one a day, so you don't spend too much time traveling. There are many to choose from: City, Covent Garden, Soho, Mayfair, Spitalfields and Brick Lane, Borough Market, Oxford Street, Piccadilly, Shepherd's Market, King's Road and Chelsea, and on and on.
Spend a day on the river, cruising on one of the boats that go up and down, one trip to Kew and another to the Thames Barrier. Visit Greenwich and the observatory. Add a day trip or two, to Hampton Court Palace or even Oxford or Cambridge. Museums? If you're interested in antiquity, visit the British Museum (you could spend the whole 15 days there if you wanted to). More into the decorative arts? The V&A. Contemporary art? Tate Modern. Small, quirky museums? John Soane's Museum in Lincoln Inn's Fields is fantastic. WWII? Cabinet War Rooms, Churchill's underground bunker, and the Imperial War Museum. There are far, far more sites than you could ever see in 15 days or 15 years. The only one who can really narrow it down is you.
Get a good map, too. You'll want to pay attention to where things are so you can organize your sightseeing a little bit and thus not spend your entire trip underground traveling back and forth. A large-format folding map is a good place to start, preferably one you can write on; I like to mark out sites and basic walking routes, which will eventually evolve into full touring days. At a minimum, though, you have to gain a basic familiarity with the neighborhoods, so you know where The City, Mayfair, Soho, Wapping, Southwark, etc. etc. are in relation to each other.
If you think you're going to want to spend a lot of time just walking around, which is in my mind the best way to enjoy London, you're going to want to get a better map that shows ALL the streets: an "A-to-Z", pronounced Aiy to Zed". Buy it there, not here (unless you're obsessive like me and want to mark out your walks in detail in advance); they will have them in all newsagents. Small book-sized wire bound job.
If you're unsure what kinds of things you really want to see, you could make a list that's too long, and bring it with you, and then adjust your trip based on how you like some of the major attractions like them. So, if after visiting Westminster Abbey (which you should do), you may decide "dang, I love churches and cathedrals, where are some more?"; and then cut back on museums, for instance. Some things I wouldn't miss, like St. Paul's, but it's up to you to decide how long you want to spend there -- you you just want to look around the outside? Do you want to go up inside the dome? Do you want to spend an entire day or two walking around The City looking at the dozens of gorgeous historic churches there (delightful for some, dreadful for others).
With fifteen days, you have a lot of leeway. I'd think about dividing it up into basic walkable areas and do one a day, so you don't spend too much time traveling. There are many to choose from: City, Covent Garden, Soho, Mayfair, Spitalfields and Brick Lane, Borough Market, Oxford Street, Piccadilly, Shepherd's Market, King's Road and Chelsea, and on and on.
Spend a day on the river, cruising on one of the boats that go up and down, one trip to Kew and another to the Thames Barrier. Visit Greenwich and the observatory. Add a day trip or two, to Hampton Court Palace or even Oxford or Cambridge. Museums? If you're interested in antiquity, visit the British Museum (you could spend the whole 15 days there if you wanted to). More into the decorative arts? The V&A. Contemporary art? Tate Modern. Small, quirky museums? John Soane's Museum in Lincoln Inn's Fields is fantastic. WWII? Cabinet War Rooms, Churchill's underground bunker, and the Imperial War Museum. There are far, far more sites than you could ever see in 15 days or 15 years. The only one who can really narrow it down is you.
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