London

[heyelander]

So, one of RJEL wife's stipulations when we moved to Cali was that we would go see the Phillies wherever they were on her birthday each year. Back when schedules were announced I mentioned that the Phillies were home on her birthday, but earlier in the Month they were in London... which did she want to do? So we are off to London to see the Phillies for the Saturday game.

Anything else we should do in London, or is MLB the only gig in town? We will be there the first week of june.
Also making a few days stop in Dublin on the way over. My only wish there is to see the Irish bog mummies.

[The Feral Slasher]

Lots to see in London. I'd start with the things I think any visitor should see or do if they are there a week. At least observe them from the outside, not necessarily paying to get in, although that is often worthwhile as well

1) Tower Bridge/Tower of London
2) St Paul's Cathedral
3) Big Ben/Parliament
4) Westminster Abbey
5) Piccadilly circus - I hesitate to add this, but it is as easy as taking a bus or walk thru, not a large time investment
6) Visit an old historic pub
7) Nelson's column and surrounding area
8) At least one Museum - lots to choose from
9) Ride the tube and ride in the top of a double decker bus

I probably missed something, but in my mind those are the must see items. EDIT: I added a link to Rick Steve's must see forum for London.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/must-see-attractions-in-london

Next UP- Possible Day Trips
On Deck - Sights that just missed the "must see" category

[madducks]

Stay away from the werewolves.

[The Feral Slasher]

Possible Day Trips from London

Oxford - Historic universities
Cambridge - same, but I've never been so don't know if it is worthwhile
Windsor/Windsor Castle
Richmond - If you are a Ted Lasso fan it is a nice town on the river
Bath
Stonehenge - Never been, mixed reviews from what I've seen
Leeds Castle
Visit a seaside city/town
Cotswolds - small towns in the English countryside

Oxford and the Cotswolds are really nice, but may need a car or pay for a tour.

Richmond can be reached by London Metro, it isn't too far from Heathrow. If you consider going there or to Windsor, it is also near the airport, so maybe do that when you arrive or leave since it is about an hour outside of central London.

[The Feral Slasher]

Lots to see in London. I'd start with the things I think any visitor should see or do if they are there a week. At least observe them from the outside, not necessarily paying to get in, although that is often worthwhile as well

1) Tower Bridge/Tower of London
2) St Paul's Cathedral
3) Big Ben/Parliament
4) Westminster Abbey
5) Piccadilly circus - I hesitate to add this, but it is as easy as taking a bus or walk thru, not a large time investment
6) Visit an old historic pub
7) Nelson's column and surrounding area
8) At least one Museum - lots to choose from
9) Ride the tube and ride in the top of a double decker bus

I probably missed something, but in my mind those are the must see items. EDIT: I added a link to Rick Steve's must see forum for London.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/england/must-see-attractions-in-london

Next UP- Possible Day Trips
On Deck - Sights that just missed the "must see" category

10) "Get pissed", ha ha

[The Feral Slasher]

Stay away from the werewolves.

I disagree. On my trip I saw a werewolf drinkin' a pińa colada at Trader Vic's....His hair was perfect

[The Feral Slasher]

On Deck - Sights that just missed the "must see" category

Other sights that aren't quite "don't miss", but are interesting

The London Eye/Globe Theater - right next to each other
Southwark Cathedral (also not far from London Eye)
Millenium Bridge
Covent Garden/Theater District
Buckingham Palace
Harrod's - amazing store, almost like a museum in some parts
Oxford Street - shopping if you are in to that
One of the parks in central London - Green Park, Hyde park, St james Park
Greenwhich - see the PRime Meridian. Also a market and a museum, if I recall
Walk thru one of the upscale neighborhoods - Mayfair, marlybone, Belgravia if I recall

Hmmm...probably more than you asked for. So much to see in London, but with a week you can see a lot. And go Phillies ! Where is the game ?

[heyelander]

Jen wanted to go to Herrods so we are doing afternoon tea there one day.
Got tickets to see Tom Holland in Romeo and Juliet at the London Theater.

[Kevin Seitzer]

Slasher's list is good. The only things we did in London that I enjoyed and weren't on your list were taking a river taxi on the Thames (not amazing but short and an easy way to see a lot of the city from a distance in one fell swoop) and doing a guided food tour in the Borough Market area.

[The Feral Slasher]

Jen wanted to go to Herrods so we are doing afternoon tea there one day.
Got tickets to see Tom Holland in Romeo and Juliet at the London Theater.

London has a great transport system...but it is pretty big, so one key is figuring out what is close to the places you plan to go and seeing the sites in one general area. Harrod's is about a mile from Buckingham palace, and then only another mile to Westminster abbey, Parliament, Big Ben. So my somewhat obvious recommendation is to figure out what places you are going to for sure...then make sure to see the other sights nearby at the same time.

Last time we went we all got COVID and only ended up with one day for my kids to see the city, so we did the hop on hop off bus. I don't know whether to recommend it or not, but it does get you to all the sights and requires less planning. And it is kind of fun to ride on the top level outside.

[The Feral Slasher]

Slasher's list is good. The only things we did in London that I enjoyed and weren't on your list were taking a river taxi on the Thames (not amazing but short and an easy way to see a lot of the city from a distance in one fell swoop) and doing a guided food tour in the Borough Market area.

I love boat rides, I wish I had done that. And there are some good markets. I'll add a couple in a bit. Bricklane if you like Indian food is a good stop.

I think I just missed you in London, you were there maybe a few days before me if I recall

[Sour Masher]

Things my wife and I did when we went in January many years ago that I don't recommend:

1. Don't leave your wallet in a taxi on your way to your hotel.
2. Don't get the flu 2/3 way through the trip.
3. Don't lose your digital camera filled with all your pics on the last day.

Despite the trip being the worst luck trip we have ever taken, we still had a lot of fun. We were there for New Year's and it was a blast. London is a great city and FS outlined a great list of things to do and see. Even if you are not religious at all, St. Paul's is amazing. You can't go wrong, really, as long as you follow my three don'ts above .

[Kevin Seitzer]

I love boat rides, I wish I had done that. And there are some good markets. I'll add a couple in a bit. Bricklane if you like Indian food is a good stop.

I think I just missed you in London, you were there maybe a few days before me if I recall

We were there the week before Christmas. I heard from our food tour guide that the Bricklane market was good but we didn't go there.

One thing I really loved was that we took a private guided tour one day. It was an older English gentleman (born during WW2), and he drove us around in a van and showed us the sights in the Kensington-Mayfair-Westminster neighborhoods. He took us through Westminster Abbey, and then we went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. He knew the back way to go see the guard and the band march out of their barracks, which was cool. Our travel agent arranged that for us, so I don't know his name, but I could probably find out if that is of interest.

[Kevin Seitzer]

Things my wife and I did when we went in January many years ago that I don't recommend:

1. Don't leave your wallet in a taxi on your way to your hotel.
2. Don't get the flu 2/3 way through the trip.
3. Don't lose your digital camera filled with all your pics on the last day.

Despite the trip being the worst luck trip we have ever taken, we still had a lot of fun. We were there for New Year's and it was a blast. London is a great city and FS outlined a great list of things to do and see. Even if you are not religious at all, St. Paul's is amazing. You can't go wrong, really, as long as you follow my three don'ts above .

4. Don't travel with Sour Masher. He's bad luck.

[The Feral Slasher]

We were there the week before Christmas. I heard from our food tour guide that the Bricklane market was good but we didn't go there.

One thing I really loved was that we took a private guided tour one day. It was an older English gentleman (born during WW2), and he drove us around in a van and showed us the sights in the Kensington-Mayfair-Westminster neighborhoods. He took us through Westminster Abbey, and then we went to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. He knew the back way to go see the guard and the band march out of their barracks, which was cool. Our travel agent arranged that for us, so I don't know his name, but I could probably find out if that is of interest.

That sounds fun. We did a walking tour of haunted London, or haunted pubs a long time ago, and it was fun to walk around at night and hear old stories. This thread is making me want to go back to London. Except for the werewolves part