Crazboos

My girlfriend and I are going to London on Feb 4 to Feb 11 and were trying to find things to do. Does anyone have any information on the following:

Nice Hotel (approx $125 per night)
Location of Hotel close to things to do (museums, pubs, sights)
Safe area
Things to watch out for (scams, bad neighborhoods, etc)

Thank You
Crazboos

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casual user

i hear the food is terrible


...i obviously have nothing constructive to offer, but i hope you have fun

jorgelito

Very expensive if you are converting from dollars. Pack half of what you need and take twice the money.

The Asian food is supposed to be top notch there.

Go to the library and check out books like Fodor's, Frommer's, Lonely Planet, Rick Steven's Europe and Rough Guide. Those are good resources. Online is good too.

PonyPotato

Honestly, you really don't need a hotel "close to stuff to do." The underground in London is cheap, reliable, and pretty fast. I'm actually headed to London and Wales in March (and I've been a few times already, family over there), and I plan on using the underground for almost everything. Driving in that city is just asking for trouble.

As for things to see.. do you want to do the normal tourist-y stuff? If so, definitely see London Bridge and Tower Bridge (a cruisetour on the river is pretty cheap), Buckingham Palace (if you're into that, it was pretty neat I guess), the Tower of London, London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc. etc. I really like Leicester square, personally, for some shopping and people watching, but the most fun for me is just to take the underground to a random stop, get off, and see what I can find to do. The open-air double decker bus tours are good to see a lot of the historical/famous bits of the city, but I'm not sure how fun that would be in February.

Have a great time! If you want any more suggestions, just PM me. I've been looking into this stuff for a few months now for my trip.

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Cynthetiq

http://www.timeout.com/london/
for things to do. Right now the dollar doesn't go very far against the pound. You will take a beating every where you spend your money.

Nice is quite a subjective word, especially when it comes to accommodations. I like to have service, space, and some nice amenities, so I don't stay at Motel 6 or even Holiday Inn (okay once in a while I'll do a Holiday Inn, but very rarely.)

$125 not anywhere in central London. You'll have to look in the outskirts of London and even then I don't think you'll find anything less than $200. Travelocity lists some sub$100 places, but I'd research them as to how far you're going to either have to take the tube or take a cab and factor in those costs.

good luck!

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World's King

Get off the plane. Put your stuff in your hotel. Find a pub. Find a nice local, buy him/her a pint, ask him/her what you should do and see.


Tell them you're from Canada.

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girldetective

Try Swiss Cottage district, the Best Western. Although it is owned by an American chain, there is nothing else American about it. It is in a large house, in a quaint, but artsy neighborhood filled with roundabout streets. The tube is 1-2 blocks away, and it is a nice station (not too crowded). It should be reasonably priced. The things in London that I would not want to miss are the Tate and Th British Museum. Have fun!

canuckguy

lol best advice, exactly what i did, great times. i hope you have a great trip.

lktknow

I simply loved the London Eye, they couldn't get me off it. and Hyde park also. I have nothing to offer as far as where to go or?? but don't miss the London Eye.
and I liked the rain every twenty minutes, it is just a part of London, I guess.

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abaya

Ah, I love London.

I recommend tripadvisor.com for this kind of travel planning... (especially for locating hotels in my price range). For that kind of money, you might look instead at bed and breakfasts or other alternative lodging... I did hostels in London and it was super cheap, but that was when I was single.

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for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
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little_tippler

London, I love it! It's an amazing city.

The food is great in London because there is so much variety - people may say English food isn't great, but London isn't exactly the most English of cities. It's very cosmopolitan, full of foreigners who live there. I have been to London lots of times and there is always more to see and I never get bored!

If you're not looking for anything fancy, you can get a very basic room with shared bathroom in a B& B type hotel in the Bayswater area. It's not far from the centre and there are tube stations everywhere so you can get to places easily.

I'm not sure if this is allowed but I always book hotels through booking.com because they usually have great prices. I saw a few on there that would get you a price of about $100 a night in a relatively central area. No frills though. One I thought looked alright was The Cromwell Crown Hotel near Earl's Court and Kensington (very central).

When you get to London, definitely buy Time Out Magazine because it pretty much has everything that's going on in London at the moment and can be very useful.

Being an art buff, I always like to visit the museums and art galleries, and there are so many you can't see them all in one visit. Tate Modern is usually my favourite. Also make a stop at Hyde Park because it's beautiful. Shopping on the high street is also a must, there is so much to see, and amidst the shops there are quirky little places to visit. There are also loads of cool markets to go to all through the week. Then you can also visit more historical places, there are plenty of palaces. The thing with London is, you can just walk out your hotel door and immediately there are things to see, and you can walk around all day and find something to keep you amused on every corner. You should definitely take a stroll around Soho and eat some chinese food in one of the little shops where they hang ducks in the window! Ah and then there's theatre - you should go to watch at least one show, they are amazing.

There is something I didn't get to do in London when I was last there, and I leave you this suggestion: Go out one night to the Absolut Ice Bar, a bar where everything (seats, tables, bar, etc.) is made of ice. I thought it sounded cool and wish I'd gone!

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Whether we write or speak or do but look
We are ever unapparent. What we are
Cannot be transfused into word or book.
Our soul from us is infinitely far.
However much we give our thoughts the will
To be our soul and gesture it abroad,
Our hearts are incommunicable still.
In what we show ourselves we are ignored.
The abyss from soul to soul cannot be bridged
By any skill of thought or trick of seeming.
Unto our very selves we are abridged
When we would utter to our thought our being.
We are our dreams of ourselves, souls by gleams,
And each to each other dreams of others' dreams.

Fernando Pessoa, 1918

highthief

Kensington has some nice less expensive hotels (maybe not $125 - more like $150), is walking distance to Natural History, Science and V&A museums and to Kensignton Palace. Kensington High Street (for shopping) and Harrods are also fairly close.

And, of course, with the Tube, there's nowhere you can't get to, but avoid the rush hour!

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Daniel_

Get a map of London.

Do not stay anywhere south of the river - that's suburbia.

Do not stay anywhere north of Camden/Highgate - that's tower-block land.

Do not stay anywhere east of Greenwich (pronounced Gren-itch) - that's full of Arabs and Albanians.

West you can go about as far as Kensington, unless you are Australian or South African - then you are required by international treaty to live in Earl's Court.

Your waiters will be Polish.

Nobody actually LIVES in central London - it's tourists and students.

The British Museum is stunning (and free). Kensington museums have already been mentioned (and they're all free).

Bankside Power Station (now Tate Modern) is a fabulous gallery and a great experience. Guess what? It's free.

Take the Tube everywhere - get a travel card for all zones for the duration of your stay - it lets you ride all underground trains (even those that don't go underground), and busses.

Take a black cab at least once, but be aware that they're costly. They're regulated fares though, so you'll not be ripped off.

Do not get in a minicab (looks like a private car) - they are unregulated and uninsured.

Brits don't hate Americans. Brits hate rude pushy arseholes. Sadly many of the rude pushy arseholes we meet are Americans. Prove us wrong.

Learn some English.

Sidewalk's do not exist. Neither do diapers, attorneys, and so on.

A bum is for sitting on.

A fanny is not what you thought it was.

Be polite.

Ask questions.

Listen.

Enjoy.

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Overhead, the Albatross hangs motionless upon the air,
And deep beneath the rolling waves,
In labyrinths of Coral Caves,
The Echo of a distant time
Comes willowing across the sand;
And everthing is Green and Submarine
╚═════════════════════════════════════════╝

Geo

LMAO, So true.

Here are a few ideas for you...

http://www.ba-londoneye.com/
http://www.madame-tussauds.co.uk/
http://www.visitlondon.com/attractio...en-attractions

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/travel/d...s/tube_map.gif


If for some unknown reason you decide to hire a car in London, you will need to have knowledge of the congestion charging zones. http://www.cclondon.com/

Be wary of cash points (ATM's) don’t use any that look as if they may have been tampered with.


£1=Quid £5=Fiver £10=Tenner

Have Fun.

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"what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger"

Wyodiver33

When I was in the US Air Force I spent 58 days in England. I only visited London a few times but in general my experience in England was fantastic. Put it like this: I would trade South Florida for England in a heartbeat. Have a great trip! London is great but get out of town a bit, too. Some of the best pubs that I found were in smaller cities.

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JonoAubrey

Neither constructive or correct!

The food in London, and much of the rest of the England (try Lake District, West Country, South Coast) is generally of a good standard, and in many cases as good as anywhere in the world.

I speak as someone who's obsessed with food and had the pleasure of living in the UK, Europe, South America, and the US, not to mention travelling as a food-tourist in many other places.

There's been a massive change in attitudes here the last 15 years - the quality of produce (meat, seafood, game, fuit/veg) can be very high indeed, with a big uptake of organic produce and direct-from-the-farm markets springing up everywhere.

It's not just London and not just foreign food - British food has had real renaissance, and some of the best restaurants are in the provinces.

funydjane

Every you'll be going in London is perfectly safe.
There are no scams to look out for unless you are completely devoid of common sense.

Check out Camden market before it's gone forever.
Go up on the London Eye after dark.
Go to a local pub - avoid ones that say Wetherspoons anywhere on them.
DON'T HIRE A CAR - learn to love the tube.
Walk around Hyde Park.
Visit the Natural History Museum, Kew Gardens and the Tate Modern.
See some art, music or theatre at the Barbican.
Go out to Jack's in London Bridge.
See some bands at the 100 Club.

If you have time (it's only about an hour away), spend a sunny day in Brighton.

freelod

You can try to search at
www.travelocity.com
www.expedia.com
There are many info about some good hotels that we can follow
Recently there is also a coupon ($20 off on 3 Night Booking at Hotels.com)
You can have a look:
http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeal...d=73445&ru=290

Crazboos

To everyone who has replied I would like to say, Thank You. Awesome stuff to work with. I really appreciate it.

__________________
There's nothing like freezing time with the flash of a bulb.

Cynthetiq

pictures should be posted or your trip as a sign of gratitude...

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.