Going to London. - Things to see/do? Things I need to bring?

[Katlan]

Oh wow, I havent checked recently, but not to long ago the pound was double to the dollar, now it's 1.5, crazy.

Yeah it sucks... American dollar is worth total crap there.. I though American Express has a good conversion rate and they didn't charge you extra? Dunno, maybe it's only if you pay for one of their yearly service packages... but I love my AE for traveling abroad

[SephYuyX]

Well it seems the dollar is better there now, not as it once was years ago, but this is the best it's been in the past year or so. x1.5 is great compared to the x2 I was familiar with. So instead of buying something there for 20£ and paying 40$, im only going to pay 30$ now (Rounding all of this to make it easier).

There was some sort of bank merge in Europe was it? I remember hearing vaguly about something happening, but I didnt catch it.

[Venga]

Things to do.....

Camden - Cool place to go for a couple of hours. Used to to be amazing but now its overated, same with anything thats cool and trendy. Still a few hours spent in there will be time well used. The shops always provide soemthing interesting and unique, especially with things like earrings and t-shirts.

Brick Lane - Frist thing to say about this is, is heavily asian, and not as in JPs. Im not goin to lie to you dude, but i was pickpocketd in brick lane but luckily i had my wits about and got my phone back. Still during the day the place its a great place for photographs and has a cool little market on most days with some interesting wears. It's rare i spend money there, but the shops there can hold some great goods, like shoes, lime green and pink converse.

Niightlife - Theres some seriously amazing clubs up in london. I am however limited and slightly biased towards dance/techno/dnb clubs such as ministry of sound (which is in elephant and castle, so not centre london). The atmosphere is amazing and it can often be cheap on weekdays, but for obvious reasons the crowds of teens arent there so i normally go friday/saturday. Fabric is another hotspot for tourists, aged 18-26 i would say. Heavily dnb club but it's amazing sound system and nuts atmospshere in there most friday nights. Note though this isnt everyones cup of tea as it is very dirty and grimey in there.
Your mate will most likely know more about what you're into, but these are obvs just a few of londons known clubs.

Ill add more to this later, my parents know more about London from an adults pov than i do so im sure they'll have a fair few places that are worth seeing.

[Shuemue]

Bring me some nice weed.

[Bearsan]

If you do plan on leaving London to see the country, you might want to consider:

St Michael's Mount - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've never been able to go to Europe, but that's one of my #1 destinations. It's also located in Southern Great Britain, but I'm not sure how long of a drive it is.

[Draggy]

Cornwalls about 300 miles away from london, is a fair distance

[Shuemue]

You're talking long weekend at least for a jaunt to Cornwall from London

[The Stig]

Depending on traffic/knowledge of roads/driving style, getting to Cornwall is about 3-4 hours from London. By train, via Paddington, it's usually a 3 hour train ride and will cost £75+ depending on when you book tickets. And the weather is generally unkind. Bring a brolly.



Also a note about Camden: Do NOT go at the weekends. You have been warned.

[Draggy]

I go to camden at weekends
but thats coz friends live/work around there
and im usually trashed

[Lliandra]

I <3 Camden, so many class shops to visit and the little food markets are really good too.

Basically ^ all of the above. If your into taking in museums n all that then visit the Science Museum and the History Museum. Both are really good and will make your feet hurt at the end cause they're so big.

For Foodies you can't really go wrong with stuff in Leicster Square or Picadilly, but take the time to visit smaller establisments too, especially in china town. They do some wicked foods there.

I reckon 0 places will take dollars, so get some sterling at your nearest opportunity. I dunno if your CC/DC allows but it should be able to be used abroad with no penalty. The only penalty i think you incur is if you withdraw money from an ATM. Could be wrong, hope i'm not ; ;

Oh if you have time, catch a football match. I mean a PROPER football match. Not sure whos playing this weekend, your friend will know. You've not experienced England until you've sat with a bunch of drunken, burly men singing "WHO ARE YA, WHO ARE YA" right in your ear.

If you get VERY bored, come to Stockton on Tees where I am. You'll gladly wish you were the fuck back in London lol (Its about 3.5hrs away so i'm obviously not srs)

Oh and ignore anyone throwing abuse, thats just the locals being, well, local.

[Kuya]

Don't get stabbed too often.

[Eldelphia]

Dollars aren't generally accepted.

Oyster/travelcards are a must and will save you a heap. Travel most places by underground.

Depends what you're into, if museums are your thing then the British Museum is pretty good. Shopping in the city centre is pretty expensive. Camden is alternative and cheaper but not as good as it once was.

A lot of people talk highly of the Tower of London if you're doing touristy stuff. The West end is good for theatres and cinemas.

Eating and drinking is expensive in central london.

[Cesaria]

Just pissing myself laughing at the Stockton on Tees comment - and some of the perceptions of where things in the UK are relative to each other (but that always amuses me when Americans ask me if Nottingham is near London and stuff).

Nowt much to add really - rare I go to London and I'm still scarred from my experience driving there once :D

[Venga]

Don't get stabbed too often.

lol it's such a sterotype, but then again sterotypes usually play themselves out, so yh be careful. Don't think it's "being a pussy" if you apolagise if you tread on someones toe in a club, it's just smart.

Realisticly you're not going to get stabbed (stating the obvious much...) but if you're a "loud" american then someone may think they can take you for a ride and you'll have your wallet, phone and whatever else stolen bu the end.

[Erza]

If you're there on March 1st go to a pub in Holloway and cheer on the team in white.

[Ksandra]

make sure you go to a beefeaters once. It'll be the only good food you'll get while you're there.

[Lliandra]

Just pissing myself laughing at the Stockton on Tees comment - and some of the perceptions of where things in the UK are relative to each other (but that always amuses me when Americans ask me if Nottingham is near London and stuff).

Nowt much to add really - rare I go to London and I'm still scarred from my experience driving there once :D

Um, whats funny about that? lol i LIVE in Stockon on Tees, and was obviously joking (hence the "its 3.5 hrs away so i'm obviously not srs")

Odd people... But to keep on topic, i sometimes have to tell people i live near Newcastle in order for them to grasp where i live ; ; Nowhere NEAR Newcastle but if it helps ; ;

[Dak Rey]

The £ is really weak compared to the $ or € at the moment so it is a good time to visit London. For some reason, the UK is doing pretty badly in the global economy right now. £1 = €1 near enough now, down from £1 = €1.50 and as you say, £1 is down to $1.50 from $2.

[Vigilia]

If you're into history, The Tower is definitely worthwhile, especially if you get on the tours led by Beefeaters. It was a couple of years ago since I visited but they had tours going every hour or thereabouts explaining in detail the history etc. Way better and more interesting than your average tourist guide. There's a lot of nice places close to London you can make a daytrip to also, a proper London guidebook will be your best friend because there is just that much to see and do. Again, if history is your thing check out the websites for National Trust and English Heritage, two organisations dedicated to maintaining historic sites, they have interesting old castles and manorhouses they maintain all around the country and lots in London area and the entrance fees aren't astronomical. If you visit lot of places they sell yearly memberships for about £40 and that's free entry to everywhere, I joined English Heritage couple of years ago just because I was holidaying up north and within the two weeks I would had easily raked up much more in entrance fees to all their sites than the £40 fee. Lot of places do discounts like that, visit one of their sites and get discount/free entry elsewhere, keep your eyes open.

Just walking around all the different parts of the city will keep you busy for several days though.

As per the stabbing comments, London's the same as any large city around the world... some areas should be avoided after dark and keep your wits about you, I haven't ever lived in central London, only visited, so can't give any more exact advice but don't really need to be a genius to figure it out.

[Shuemue]

Don't worry about the stabbing thing, it's media bullshit.

London is just another major city, don't act like a prick and you'll be fine.