Sounds like a bizzare thing to do, but a visit to Highgate Cemetary (Archway Tube Station) is really interesting. Take a guided tour - the views from the top of the hill are amazing. Karl Marx is buried here, but most interesting thing is the victorian era part because in those time the families used to visit the cemetary as a day out and take picnic lunches. I think Frankinstein was written from here as well. Hope you have a great time

I would strongly recommend a boat trip from Westminster Pier to Greenwich. It's great to see the sights of London from the water and to be in the fresh air. Be sure to get a boat with commentary. As you near Greenwich, you will see more and more of the old wharves, giving a feel for the Thames as it used to be. Greenwich itself is very interesting - observatory on the hill with great views of Canary Wharf/Dome (an eyesore IMO but it's there so might as well look at it), Meridien, Maritime Museum, Cutty Sark. Lots to see and do with much Georgian architecture.

Otherwise, I would also strongly recommend a London Walk. There are so many subjects!! I last did the one in Hampstead which was FANTASTIC. Hampstead is another little jewel that is well worth wandering around and getting lost in the backstreets. Take a picnic for lunch on the Heath..

As an American in London, I have been treated kindly everywhere I have gone, but have been offended by some comments made on this thread. Not all Americans are fat, not all Americans wear God Bless America tshirts, and not all Americans wander through the streets. Generalizing an area of the world is a small minded attempt at belittling others. In my experience it is usually the person doing the name calling that has the problem.
As far as places not to go in London, the Britain at War Museum would be on that list. It is not a bad museum, just not interesting to some, and a lot of it is covered with the Imperial War Museum, which is free.

Hello America

Theres a very small 1550 operating theatre, hidden for years in the roof of a church. Its near London bridge, http://www.thegarret.org.uk/

If you get bored at Gallerys go in the evening on a Thursday or Friday night, you can have a glass of wine which is so civilised, sometimes theres string quartets!

Oxford street is hideously busy, and has nasty shops, if you can brave busy head for Selfridges its well designed and has a great selction of all shops in one, top food too.

After go to St Christophers place for a coffee and sit down at the various pavement cafes.

London food is arguably the best in the world, with the rich and unique ethic mix of people, blends of Asian, Indian, French food are common. You be shocked at the prices though, since food in the US is so incredibly cheap, but shell out and you'll enjoy the experience, try to ignore the number at the end of your bill.

Try eating at E&O Nottinghill for a Japenese, Asian Fusion.

Or the Tamerind, Mayfair for the most fresh and exciting Indian around, its not cheap though, but the experience is amazing.

Mirabelle is an English/French legend, as is Langhams but has simpler English food its part owned by Micheal Cane dont you know!

Try a fringe theatre at the Red Lion pub in Islington rather than the West End for a change. Whilst you are there vist a few bars its busy, but fun!

Hope that helps, Harvey Nics is great for lunch but Harrods is so tacky.

Bye bye.

I don't think Hampstead is worth a special visit any longer. It used to be enchanting but when we went there in December (I dragged my husband there, he had never been), it was a total disappointment. Cars jammed all the streets, honking horns, blaring loud rap music. A lot of the individual pubs had been taken over by chain establishments, complete with laminated plastic menus. There was a harsh "new money" atmosphere rather than the quiet village atmosphere I remembered from other visits over the years.
Hampstead Heath may still be pleasant (we didn't get there that time), but the "village" of Hampstead has been overtaken by the "new" London brash and cash.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the Cabinet War Rooms (WW II/Churchill),
the National Portrait Gallery and the new and beautiful British Library. Also, the Barbican Centre, for me, was very interesting and attractive.

MizzEve, thanks for sharing the lovely memories.

insgirl, of course, as others have mentioned, it depends on your interests. If you decide to check out the London Eye, and have any interest in theater & art, then include a trip to the Globe Theater (tour and, if you can a performance), then the Tate Modern (practically next door to the Globe - I agree with those who disliked the contents of this museum, but I enjoyed a quick tour of this refurbished factory building and there's a quite nice restaurant in the Tate Modern with beautiful views of London & the Thames. All of these sites are along a walkway on the River Thames. There are other sites within walking distance, so check a map and see what appeals to you....Houses of Parliament, St. Paul's, a theater complex, etc.

I should add that the places I mentioned are meant TO SEE, not NOT TO SEE as in the heading. Also, I agree with BTilke about Hampstead - a disappointment for me. I too was touched by MizzEve!

Aahh Mizzeve,
How touching and you said it so perfectly!
Thank you~
Scarlett

Reading MizzEve's reminiscence brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of my second trip to England with my Grandmother (Nana). She was my best friend and, as my Mother would say, "my lawyer." I was also about 19 at the time. I had met an English guy on the first trip (from college) & wanted to visit him. It was deemed inappropriate for me to go "unchaperoned" so Nana offered to come along. The guy turned out to be expendable (although I did end up marrying another Englishman many years later) but the trip with Nana was unforgettable. She was SOOO cool. I dragged her every place & she loved it all. It made me realize how much I enjoy showing a place I like to someone else. Hope she's listening.

As to "must sees" & "must avoids"-I too found the Tate modern a yawn & a "schlepp" to get to but glad I went once.

I still have vivid memories of watching a trial at the Old Bailey. I didn't visit the National Portrait Gallery until a few years ago & couldn't believe I had missed it for so long. It was great!

As others have said often, on my first visit I did the hop on hop off bus first thing on arriving & found it a wonderful way to get to know London. Enjoy!

Hi
here are my opinions
NOT: London Dungeon, London Dungeon,
Tower Bridge Experience, Madame Tussaud, London Dungeon
I also found the London Theatre Museum a big disappointment, just not much to it imo

MAYBE not, depending on your interests:
Hampstead (though I went for the Freud Museum and was thrilled)
Kensington Palace
Imperial War Museum (it was okay for once, but even though I am a history buff, I wasn't that stimulated by the exhibits, much prefer the Cabinet War Rooms)
Both Tates
Harrods (maybe once, for 15 minutes, to see the food halls)

Tops on my list, and I tend to repeat these and others on some or all of my visits:
Theatre
the Tower
Westminster Abbey
Cabinet War Rooms
Banquetng Room
Spencer House (a new favorite, but only open on Sundays, and not all Sundays)
Nat'al Gallery
Nat'al Portrait Gallery
Courtauld Institute
Fortnum and Mason (to stock up on teas, jams, etc)
V&A Museum
Wren's Churches
Greenwich
Hampton Court
Windsor Castle

I take it, then, ThinGorjus, that there are NO fat Londoners? How wonderful it must be to be so perfect!

Calimari ~ I lived in Ipswich '81-'83. I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters. I really do miss England.

Cathyh ~ I love to check out old graveyards. They can be so beautiful and interesting. To see how people are memorialized, the words that are engraved. There's a large graveyard in my city that is absolutely perfect for picnics.

Thingorjus ~ You never offend me. I drink gin (Bombay of course) and I like pink. So, what's this pink gin you're talking about? And, if I pop across the pond will you pour some for me? ((D))

To go through life wearing a scowl and no sense of humor, AND wearing GOD BLESS AMERICA t-shirts, white trainers, and tight sweatpants that display bags of cellulite! That's a good visual!

Back to the original question, I'm a museum lover but hands-down, the museum experience I've enjoyed least in my life, even though it was free, was the Tate Modern.

Sorry, ThinGorjus, must have been your droll English humor we always hear so much about!

Mizzeve.

Looks like we were living there at during the same time frame. I lived in a few different places while studying and working. (a break up with a boyfriend sort of upset the applecart and I had to move aroumd).

I lived in Highgate mostly, but also in Maidavale with friends in a house called "The Brownings" next to the Warwick tube station, Bel Gravia on Chesham Mews, a few other stops and a little dose of Kilburn just to keep it all real. I missed London for years but after my last trip last month I am definately over it. I found many of the buildngs to be vacant and run down, the locals looked pastey, sullen, smelled of cigarettes and stale beer and the prices were really out of line compared to other grand European cities.

I am thrilled though to have taken my children. It is so much fun to revist a once beloved city through the non judgemental eyes of a child.

LunaBella,
Your comment about the Tate Modern really made me laugh. We found it to be a place we'd never even consider returning to even if it were "free-er then free". My husband wanted to know why I was punishing him with a visit to the Tate!! We do look back on it with amusement tho, and we did get a kick out of the crazy piano exhibit but that was about it. We generally love museums and will spend ages in them too.

As for ThinGorjus, I just hope you are having a bad day or were aiming for humor (and overshot the mark).

London is a wonderful city to walk around but use the tube to get to a particular location because London is HUGE. First timers should try the Hop On-Hop Off bus tours to get their bearings (get the overview)

I definitely recommend London Walks; they are fun as well as informative (I prefer the neighborhood walks to the more famous Ghost walks).

DEFINITELY NOT: London Dungeon

SORT OF NOT: Kensington Palace (the grounds are more interesting than the building)

A MAYBE ONCE:
I will say that one of my enjoyable memories in London when I was 13 and my brother was 7 was going to Madame Tussaud's. If you are going to London with children, you might consider it.

Stratford-Upon-Avon (only once except to go to the theatre)

ONE TIME:
Buckingham Palace (note: I've never been in London during the part of the year when tours are conducted - I would go once)
Changing of the Guard (I prefer the horse guards)
Harrods
Tate Modern (the art stinks in my opinion but the building is terrific)
Tour of Shakespeare's Globe
Museum of London

DEFINITELY GO:
West End Theatre
Tower of London (the history is terrific)
British Museum
Cabinet War Rooms (it really made me appreciate Churchill and what the vets did in WWII)
Natl Gallery
Natl Portrait Gallery
V&A Museum
Westminster Abbey
Tate Britain (if you like Turner, go)
St. Paul's

DEFINITE SMALL MUSEUMS (if you have time):
Sir John Soane's Museum
Wallace Collection
Courtauld

OUTSIDE LONDON (time factor):
Hampton Court
Windsor Castle

Note: I haven't been on the London Eye yet nor gone to the Apsley House (next trip).

Have a great time!

Hey ThinGorjus! I guess you haven't seen some of the British tourists here in the States. The only difference is what their t-shirts say! LOL

And for everyone else, please take note of the fact that I said "some" , not all!

Onetotravel

Good recommendations!

Is the Apsley House the house frozen in time? They do not admit children under 12 so we had to miss it, but I have been wanting to go for years! Looks like I will never have that opportunity. Has anyone been?