What's great about London?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>I'm going to London next week, not because of the olympics, but have you guys heard of or done any fun and interesting things there that you would recommend?</p>

<p>Thanks! :D</p>

2

<p>Nothing. There is nothing good about London or England.</p>

3

<p>@efeens44 Why?</p>

4

<p>He’s clearly kidding. London is amazing. If you’re 18, there are tons of clubs and bars to keep you busy in addition to the endless cultural attractions the city has to offer. I love London. Granted, it is quite a bit more fun once you’re 18 (or look 18).</p>

5

<p>There’s a ton of historic stuff to see there.</p>

6

<p>Can you please give specifics, names of places?</p>

7

<p>If you’re staying for a little extra time, there’s the England-South Africa Test match on the 16th of August at Lord’s. May well be a battle for the #1 spot if England can get their **** together.</p>

8

<p>Tower of London (super expensive)
Tower Bridge
The Embankment (includes a replica of Shakespeare’s Globe, the London Eye, bunch of other things)
Trafalgar Square
Buckingham Palace
Houses of Parliament
Westminster Abbey (literally across the street from Parliament)
St Paul’s Cathedral
Various soccer stadiums (if you care about that)
Windsor Castle
Lots of theaters in the West End</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Ha, my brother saw a day at the Oval. Wasn’t much of a battle.</p>

9

<p>@Thiscouldbeheaven What’s at Trafalgar Square? Are you from London? Would it be super expensive to shop for clothes there?</p>

10

<p>

</p>

<p>[url=<a href=“http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EPjDKiWr7rs/TVmdqKabMmI/AAAAAAAAACg/jIkXrHyNjLY/s1600/columna-de-nelson.jpg]Picture[/url”>http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EPjDKiWr7rs/TVmdqKabMmI/AAAAAAAAACg/jIkXrHyNjLY/s1600/columna-de-nelson.jpg]Picture[/url</a>]. Nelson’s column, a statue of Wellington, a fountain, some lion statues, a rotating art exhibit, it sits in front of the National Gallery (an art museum with a massive collection and some very famous paintings - pretty sure it’s free). I would definitely suggest visiting it, even if you don’t spend much time there. It’s right in the heart of the city too, so it’s easy to stop there on your way to somewhere else.</p>

<p>

No, but I’ve been there many times.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I don’t know, I’m not really a shopper. There are some very famous department stores, but I don’t know whether they’re expensive.</p>

11

<p>@thiscouldbeheaven have you ever gone to Paris?</p>

12

<p>So you’re going to London during the Olympics - but not for them? I’m actually going August 1st to 16th!</p>

<p>I’ve been to England so many times that I don’t really enjoy it anymore. It’s the same as New York but with an accent. </p>

<p>However, I got tickets for two gold medal tennis matches, which pretty much makes the whole trip worth it.</p>

13

<p>It’s always nice to go to Hamleys Toy Shop, though for the next two weeks it’s probably going to be impossible to get inside.</p>

14

<p>

</p>

<p>No. I’ve been around England (and Wales a long time ago), but never on the continent.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Acquiring tickets was not easy.</p>

15

<p>I know it wasn’t easy. I signed up wayyyyyyyyyyyyy back when bidding first occurred, didn’t get any, and went on one day to find more tickets on sale. My mom cried. </p>

<p>But still, there’s still something to do with the Olympics - I’m sure there’s going to be many areas showing events (my cousin lives 10 minutes from the Olympic Stadium, and Victoria Park is going to have three big screens showing events for free).</p>

16

<p>I can’t believe nobody has said fish and chips yet.</p>

17

<p>Ride the London Eye (that giant ferris wheel)</p>

<p>Buy a day pass for the underground subway (ridiculously cheap, about 4 pounds for all over London stops) and explore :)</p>

<p>Be the typical American tourist and have fun!</p>

18

<p>The London Eye really isn’t that great. You have to queue for about 2 hours to get on, then you go round, can see a few cool sites, but not that much. Definitely not worth the expense or time.
Getting a tube (underground) day ticket is a really good idea, it’s cheap and you can get to so many places really easily. I live outside London, but I’m the last stop on the tube line so I can still get into London with just one of these tickets. If you’re staying in London for a while, it may be worth getting an Oster card, which only cost £5, which you top up to use on the underground and most other London transport. You get discounted rates with them, and it’s a lot easier than buying a ticket every time you want to go somewhere.
The parks will all have big screens in, which could be quite cool to go and see, but if you’re not there for the Olympics the parks are still really nice for a picnic or walk.
The big museums are cool, such as the Natural History Museum, the Science museum, the Imperial War Museum etc. A lot of them are also free access, so that can be good if it’s raining or you’re looking for something cheap.
Covent Gardens is a must see for anyone visiting London. There are great shops, a market, amazing street performers and it’s really close to all the theatres if you are seeing anyhting whilst you’re there.
There’s a lot going on for the ‘cultural olympics’ at the moment, including live music, art exhibitions, strange performances. Have a look what’s on on the website.
There’s also the typical tourist sites such as the Tower of London, Madam Tussauds that you can go to, but I don’t think these are particularly interesting.</p>

<p>Feel free to pm me if you want any more information on London, the weather or travel, I’ll be happy to help. You may also see me there, as I’ll be in and out of London a lot with all the stuff that’s going on at the moment :)</p>

19

<p>It depends what type of holiday you want to go on. More touristy, seeing attractions? Or shopping, going to cool places, finding the /real/ London?</p>

20

<p>The British Museum also has a ton of interesting things.</p>

<p>Greenwich is a nice place to visit.</p>