Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner, that I love London so...
Written: Mar 16 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: More to do than you can shake a stick at...
Cons: Expensive, transport will make you want to shake a stick at somebody...
The Bottom Line: Maybe I'm biased, maybe I'm not. Read my review and decide for yourself, then put it on a blank envelope addressed to CaptainD. I'll never see it but it's_the_thought_that_counts.
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| captaind's Full Review: London |
Here’s a short guide to some of the attractions of the great city of London by someone who lived there for the first 25 years of his life, and thus has only seen it through the eyes of a tourist since then.
The trouble with writing this is, just where do you start? It’s such a big city (if you count the outlying suburbs, anyway), and is one of the most famous cities in the world. It’s by far the most populous city in England, and indeed no other city seems to be more than toy-sized in comparison. (I now live in England’s “Second City”, Birmingham, and while Brum is a nice enough place there’s simply no comparison.) But I’ll just try to point out some of the highlights of the city in different areas, as far as I’ve experienced them. I’m not going to go into detail about where particular things are as I’m sure if you want to go to them you’ll be doing your own research and if not there’s no real benefit in your knowing.
For those who like Historical Houses and the like, there are multitudes in and around London, most of which are open to the public for a (usually) reasonable price – the cost tends to be around £6-8 per person. (Most offer concessions for groups / children / OAPs / Senior Citizens and British Heritage can also get money off many of them.) Disabled access is sometimes a problem but great efforts have been made to improve this in the last couple of decades. (In fact everything – from Public Transport to Theatres – is now much more accessible for disabled users than 20 years ago.) Of course, Windsor Castle and The Tower of London are pretty much prerequisites for the itinerary of anyone who’s visiting London for the first time. For those who like Parks there are quite a few nice ones available, my two favourites being St James’ Park and Hyde Park. Kew Gardens is a little outside the City of London itself but is very well worth a visit, containing not only beautiful grounds but also a huge tropical greenhouse and a Pagoda sent as a gift to the Queen from Japan.
For Art Lovers, there are a fair number of galleries, the most important being the Tate, Tate Modern, The National Gallery, and The National Portrait Gallery. Personally I’ve never been to the Tate Modern (I’d rather look around the old Battersea Power Plant from which it was converted than modern art!) or the National Portrait Gallery, but the Tate and National Gallery are well worth a visit (albeit a little pricey) – obviously that’s mainly a matter of taste however. Various exhibitions are held throughout the year, sometimes exhibiting extremely rarely-seen masterpieces. (If you want a comparison to other famous art galleries, I think the Louvre in Paris is better, though I prefer both the Tate and National Gallery to the Museo del Prado in Madrid and the Getty Museum near Los Angeles.) There, that makes me sound like I know more about art than I really do so I’m quitting that subject while I’m ahead.
There are surprisingly few Restaurants on the south side of the river, so try to plan your day to be north of the Thames when you want to eat. There’s an eclectic mix of good quality restaurants scattered around, particularly in and near Covent Garden. Look out for some discounts available in conjuncture with London Transport – just look for the leaflets at any Tube (London Underground) Station. Speaking of which, the cheapest way to get around London is to get a day’s Travel Pass, which covers unlimited travel on both the buses and tube network. They are quite cheap (somewhere in the region of £6 for a day, but it depends slightly on when you get them – the later in the day the cheaper – and how much of London you want to travel in. There are 6 “Zones” – charts explaining which stations are in each zone are displayed prominently at Tube Stations – so you will want to check first where you will be going unless you just get an All Zones pass. London Transport is not always very quick or reliable but it’s really not all that bad – though if you are on the tube in the rush hour, don’t expect to get a seat and do expect to have someone’s armpit in your face. Well it’s not always that bad to be honest but it’s best to be warned. The quickest way around is probably by using the Black Cabs, but they’re horrendously expensive. I wouldn’t really recommend hiring a car as there’s so much traffic and driving around London can be very confusing even if you are used to it (and, of course, are used to driving on the right side of the road… er, by right I mean left, of course… oh you know what I mean…). Just in case you do hire a car though, be aware that there's a "Congestion Charge" for entering London by car now - as far as I know it's still £5 per day. Walking can often be quicker than anything but of course you have the English weather to contend with…
Since it rains so often it’s just as well that there’s so much to do indoors, and one of the best things about London is that the many excellent museums are all FREE - well all the public ones, anyway. On my recent trip to London I went to the Science Museum, which was extremely well laid-out and had a whole host of interesting exhibits. There are also several simulators (you have to pay for these) and an IMAX cinema. Among the others you might want to visit (they’re all located close to my second favourite Theatre in London - The Royal Albert Hall - more of that in a minute) are the Natural History Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and the The British Museum (which contains some of the most important archaeological findings of all time, including the Gates of Nineveh and Sennacharib’s Prism, along with the impressive British Library). Okay they’re not all quite so close by - The London Transport Museum is in Covent Garden, and if you look closely there’s even a Tea Museum hiding just over the river from the London Monument (you get a certificate if you climb to the top unaided…)
Theatres abound in London, most obviously in the famous West End. My personal favourites however are The Barbican and the Royal Albert Hall. If you’re a real theatre enthusiast, there are few places in the world to pander to your tastes quite as much as London.
One of the few British engineering success stories in recent times has been the London Eye, which is a good way of getting a birds-eye view of the City of London. It’s quite nice but expensive and I wasn’t particularly impressed with it, however I have been spoiled by having seen such amazing sights at Eiffel Tower lit up at night, the Grand Canyon from a Cessna, the Everglades, the Austrian Alps from Gondolas, Cable Cars, and Chair Lifts, etc… otherwise I might have been a lot more impressed. I’m glad to have been on it but wouldn’t go again. However, close to the Eye is a launch point for one of the River Cruises, which was definitely well worth doing.
If seedy nightlife is your thing (you don’t have to admit it right now…) then don’t ask me as it’s not mine… however if you head in the general direction of Soho I’m pretty sure you’ll find what you’re looking for.
Incidentally, there is something you can get called The London Pass (available from the British Tourist Office) that gives various free entries, discounts, and deals across London. This can be very good value but only if you are very organised, are willing to start early in the day, plan your route well, and don’t get held up too long by whatever form of transport you’re using. So if you’re not an early riser or very organised person, then it’s unlikely to save you money. But if you are it would be a very good idea to look into it and see if the places covered (I’m not going to give you a list as it’s periodically updated anyway) are of interest to you.
Well I’m pretty sure you’re brain has atrophied by now so I’m finishing up here. There’s so much more to see and do in London than I’ve covered, so if you are going to visit for the first time, doing some research isn’t really optional. Having said that, give yourself at least one morning or afternoon to just wander along the Thames (or next to it, unless you have a divine gift of walking on water) and really discover London for yourself. I personally couldn’t even think of giving it less than 5 stars, despite its faults!
This is only my second review in Travel so the only link I’m giving you right now is the first – from my visit to Universal Studios, Orlando - but when I come back from Austria :-) in June then I’ll be doing Salzburg and Kitbühl - have to see if they’ve changed much since I last went there before I review them. (Nothing ever seems to change much in Austria – thankfully – but you never know!)
Thanks for reading my inane rambling,
CaptainD
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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