for those in the U.K. - advice to visitors...

[housepig]

Greetings people.

so I'm going to be in London next week, and since I've never been a huge Anglophile, I don't have any particular plans. I'm looking for suggestions for cool places to see and cool stuff to do.

or, by contrast, crap things that most tourists do that I should avoid. (this can be "don't go to X, it's not worth it", or it could include behavior, I would rather not inadvertently strike an "ugly American" stance if I can avoid it.. or should I just tell people I'm Canadian?)

anybody want to hoist a pint with the 'pig?

as always, thanks for your input.

[Tommyknocker]

Although I am a "Yank", I can safely say you're going to have a great time. They may look a little stuffy the way TV portrays them but I found the English warm, hospitable, and great to be around. It will take a little while to get used to hearing English the way it was meant to be spoken, but you should pick it up soon enough.

[acd-75]

Even tho i'm only 28 I quite enjoyed visiting the Imperial War museum. There's a lot about WW2 and what it was like in the Blitz. I also liked the Transport Museum (don't laugh!)

When I go I always make a pilgrimage Heddon Street, just off Regent Street, as this was the where the picture on the cover of David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust album was taken! (again, don't laugh!!)

Hope you have a great time!

Andy

[rhegedus]

When are you going to be in London?

Are you coming on your own or are you bringing friends - I presume female company will be directed more at the shopping side of things!

And if you're coming from Minneapolis, I presume you're flying with Northworst Airlines into Gatwick (also the worst). Book your window seat early - the DC-10 is a 2-5-2 config.

[housepig]

thanks for the info, guys... keep it coming!

@rhegedus - I'll be there all next week, I leave Sunday night and get there around 9:00 am on Monday, 12/08.

it's me & my wife, her sister and her sister's husband, and my wife's parents making the trip - we spend a week in London and then sail back for a week on the QEII.

so yeah, 3 men, 3 women. And my mother-in-law is a shopaholic. My wife is more into the garden thing, so I'm going to get dragged into looking at plants if I can't find something better.

any other suggestions?

[rhegedus]

I've lived in London for the past 12 years and didn't really do the tourist thing when I got here so I can only go on the recommendation of friends.

As mentioned, The Imperial War Museum will be interesting and more suited to male visitors, as will be the Science Museum.

If you're into dining or expensive drinks, then the Windows bar of the Park Lane Hilton is recommended.

For general shopping, Oxford St and Regent St will suit most needs with all the big department and luxury stores having thier flagship branches on those streets. A word of warning - go early, it gets very busy before Christmas. Also, stay clear of the Tottenham Court Rd end of Oxford street - there's nothing worth seeing and there are lots of addicts and petty criminals wanting your wallet.

Have fun!

[rallynavvie]

I've made over a dozen visits to London and have always loved visiting (though I spent most of my time up in Scotland in either a 22B or a Cossie ). The typical tourist traps are worth a peek. I always enjoy visiting the parks most. Never visited the war museum, is that the place near St. George Circus? The Tower and the Tower Bridge are kinda neat, but really busy. Better off seeing castles in the Highlands. Oh, and the roundabouts... geez, as if it weren't hard enough learning to drive on the left of the road...

My GF went to Harrod's last I was there, I guess that's some sort of retail dive; she was gone long enough for me to see everything in all the museums just down the road from there and see Royal Albert Hall. I also tried to retrace some of the steps from "The Getaway" since I had just finished playing it

[Craig Tucker]

Oh, and the roundabouts... geez, as if it weren't hard enough learning to drive on the left of the road...

You should visit my home town of Swindon, one of the roundabout capitals of the UK. The Magic Roundabout is our crowning glory

It looks a lot more complicated than it is, and is actually extremely efficient at keeping the traffic flowing.

[Cobra]

Hey Craig!

I traversed that as a learner driver! It's not too bad, although I made it worse because I looked at it and thought no way..... Much the same as Neo looked as he was about to jump between the buildings!

Which cinema do you go to to watch your films? Is it, by any chance, CineWorld in that big retail park?

I never knew you were so close to where I live - I'm in Witney when not at uni, and Bath when I am. Swindon is bang in between the two!

CobraDMX

[Craig Tucker]

Small World.

Yes I go to Cineworld at Greenbridge for movies. There is also a multiplex over at West Swindon I hardly ever go to that one since the Greenbridge one opened.

If you look at the bottom photo you can see Swindon Towns football stadium, if you go directly left from there as you look at the photo, cross County Road into Graham Street that is where I was brought up as a child. I was actually born in no. 87 graham street. Its probrably only 200-300 yards from the Magic Roundabout.

I still live fairly close only a mile or two away from there now.

As children me and my mates used to hang around that area quite a lot on our BMX's. A car pulled up to us about 100 yards before the roundabout and an American woman asked us if we would guide her across the roundabout on our bikes, she had'nt a clue as how to get across. We obliged and she gave us £1 each. Not an insignificant amount of money to a 13 year old at that time.

[rhegedus]

You should visit my home town of Swindon, one of the roundabout capitals of the UK. The Magic Roundabout is our crowning glory

I remember driving through that road system the weekend after I passed my driving test - I remember thinking that someone told be a big fat pack of lies about roundabouts only going clockwise.

[spiderman2k1]

Last time I was in the UK I went to http://uk.yahoo.com/ no need to leave the house when you have high speed internet LOL

[zzyzzx]

If they put something like this in the DC metro area, it would be a magnet for accidents.

[luvvbuzz]

i would suggest you stay away from anything to do with the royal family, you will only be bored buy them. if you want to se real london people in real no nonsense ways, visit some open air markets, like petticote lane, or portabelo road. if youn want something a bit more sophisticated visit covent garden, this place has an undercover market selling lots of strange and unusual things as well as great street entertainers and lots of great cafes, coffee shops and pubs.
i have lived in london all my life, and i enjoy the atmosphere and diversity in cultures presented there. what sort of thing are you interested in seeing? are you into history? getting wrecked? chilling out? take a boat trip down the river thames, as you will get to see alot. what are you hoping to see and do in london?

[rallynavvie]

Werd, there is way too much to do in London. It was still overwhelming the last time I visited trying to do everything on my list. I still recommend the parks and gardens, they're much nicer than Central Park as far as huge city parks go.

I suppose you already booked your ticket out of MSP. I would have suggested flying Iceland Air over Northwest. I used to work for Mesaba, Northwest's regional carrier out of MSP, and got to know a lot of the other airlines for travelling. Northwest gets most of the business out of here because that's what people see all the time. Iceland Air is a fantastic airline and one of the cheapest ways to get across the Atlantic. Last I saw they still have one 757 in and out of MSP in the evening. Layover is in Reykjavik (sp?) and the next hop is to Heathrow, a MUCH nicer airport that Gatwick.

[luvvbuzz]

he is already here, i didnt realise he left to get here this week so he wont read this until he gets back.