FAQs - London About This Page:

[Momof5Cubs]

Should I order my attraction tickets ahead of time?

I ordered Lion King Theatre tickets but should I order tickets to the London Eye and The Tower, etc?

[chezp]

Hi Holly!

I would certainly order your tickets for the London Eye - the queues for tickets in person can be really long, especially in the summer. I'd also purchase your tickets for the Tower - at least then you don't have to queue and you've already paid for it, so it's one less expense when you're over here.

Having said that of course, the exchange rate for you guys is pretty bad right now.

[Sam I Am]

We asked at Harrod's and the fee for the loo is waived during the holidays. They said it is just to stop people from coming in off the street and only "going" and then leaving.

If you wish to go to the Globe Theater, get your tickets ASAP. We did not, and were not able to get tickets and we were in London for 6 days. THere was standing room, but the plays were 3 hrs. long.

[Momof5Cubs]

Can anyone recommend tours? We would like to do a Stonehenge/ Bath tour but there a million and don't know which are better than the others? Also, boy are the exchange rates terrible! 3 tickets to Lion King cost me alomst $250 USD! Yikes!

[chezp]

Do you want to PM with me any details of the tours you've found (if they're on the Internet) and I'll take a lot at them. I can't promise anything, but I might be able to help with some advice.

[TZMOM]

Hi Holly - Congrats on scoring the Lion King tickets!!

I'm headed over to London at the end of this summer and am also looking to visit Stonehenge & Bath one day of our trip. I've looked at Evan Evans day trip tour to that area. There's another website for Octopus Tours that goes there also. Evans seems to be a few bucks cheaper, not really that much. I think the BigBusTours.com also does tours out that way. I'm leaning toward Evan Evans since they pick up right from our hotel (Rubens).

Good luck on your choice!! If I could help you at all, please let me know.

[chezp]

What about evening entertainment?

One of the most popular things to do in the evening in London is to take in a West End show. London’s West End is the equivalent of New York’s Broadway and there’s always a superb range of shows playing. Some require booking months ahead, while it’s easier to get tickets for some. It’s certainly worth booking some way ahead, if there’s a particular show you do want to see on a certain night.

Some of the biggest plays running at the moment are:

Chicago
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat
The Lion King
Mamma Mia
Phantom of the Opera

For full details of what’s showing in London’s theatres, check out the Official London Theatre Guide

What else is there to do?

Chinatown is worth checking out - it’s home to lots of restaurants and the Chinese arch along Wardour Street is worth seeing.

Leicester Square is a major entertainment venue in London. It’s the site of some of the capital’s largest cinemas and this is where most film premieres in this country are held – although do bear in mind that Britain’s usually a couple of months behind the States in new releases!

Piccadilly Circus is certainly worth seeing at night – for the neon billboards if nothing else! It’s also the home to the Trocadero which includes bars, restaurants, shops and cinemas.

I’m not going to recommend individual restaurants in London, as I simply haven’t tried enough to make recommendations and everyone’s tastes are different. Instead, I’ll point you in the direction of some websites, which may be of use to you in trying to decide where you want to eat during your stay in London:
London Eating
London Restaurants Guide
Eat London

[Bert & Sully]

Wow Cheryl I haven't been up here in awhile. You must have spent alot of time on all of this!! I hope Tina or Donna can come and edit the title of this thread as it is quite chock full of wonderful useful information!!

Can't wait to use it some time.

[chezp]

What about day trips outside of London? - BATH



There are so many wonderful places to visit within a couple of hours’ drive or train ride of London – here are some of the most popular ones with foreign tourists. All are easily accessible by train and there are various tour operators, which offer day trips to these places. Check out the daytrips page on the official Visit London website for further information on those tours. In each case, I’ve tried to describe what’s on offer in each place, offer some first hand advice and either include photos or include a link to photos of the place, as we’ve been lucky enough to visit all these places.



Bath is a beautiful city, about an hour and a half from London on the train. Dating back to Roman times, but with superb Georgian architecture (c. 17th and 18th century), the beauty of Bath is that you can walk around most of the main tourist attractions – it’s a truly compact city. Major attractions include the Roman Baths, Georgian Pump Rooms, the Abbey, which is more than 500 years old, the beautiful Pulteney Bridge and the Georgian Circus and Royal Crescent houses.



Check out this website for additional information on Bath.



Images of Bath:





Pulteney Bridge, built in the 18th century - the only bridge with shops on both sides of it in England.





Bath Abbey, which dates from 1499, is called the "lantern of the west" as it features more windows than wall.





Lansdown Crescent, dating from 1789 - unfortunately I couldn't find a way to get the entire crescent in one shot!





The Great Bath, which was used by the Romans as a warm swimming pool, and was discovered again in 1880.

[chezp]

What about day trips outside of London? - CAMBRIDGE



Cambridge is one of two beautiful University cities close to London – the other being Oxford. They are both exceptionally beautiful, with the architecture of the University dating back 100’s of years. Cambridge is only an hour away from London on the train out of Kings Cross station. See my January 2004 trip report for more information and a lot more photos: A PassPorter meet in amongst the dreaming spires



Images of Cambridge:







Kings College, founded in 1441.





The Bridge of Sighs, based on the famous one in Venice, ths one was built in 1831.





Trinity College, the largest of the Cambridge colleges, which boasts some thirty one Nobel prizewinners.

[chezp]

What about day trips outside of London? - LEEDS CASTLE, NEAR MAIDSTONE, KENT



Leeds Castle Maidstone, Kent. Now I’m not just suggesting this as a day trip out of London, because it’s near where we live. It’s marketing line is that it’s the loveliest castle in the world – and you know, I don’t think they’re far wrong. It’s a beautiful setting and there are a number of special events held there during the year, so it’s worth checking out what’s happening during your stay.



The Castle was originally a manor of a Saxon royal family, possibly built as early as 860. Listed in the Doomsday Book, this Castle has been a royal residence for six of England’s medieval queens and a palace of Henry VIII. It’s now in the ownership of a charitable foundation which keeps it open to the general public.



Check out my joint trip report with Maureen (statelady01) from November 2003 about our visit to Leeds Castle:

Statelady and Chezp's London Adventure - you need to scroll down to the post headed “Sunday 16 November – part one”.



Images of Leeds Castle:

[chezp]

What about day trips outside of London? - OXFORD

Oxford - now a lot of the comments about Cambridge hold true about Oxford as well. They are both very beautiful, but they are also very similar, so unless you have a lot of time in the UK, it’s probably best to pick one or the other for a day trip. Oxford is about an hour away from London on the train out of Paddington station.

Oxford's first three colleges were established in the 14th century and over the next 200 years, it became one of the most important centres of learning in Europe. It was here that pencillen was first successfully tested on a patient and many post-war British Prime Ministers, including Margaret Thatcher, were educated here.

Images of Oxford:


The dreaming spires of Oxford.


The Radcliffe Camera, a classical rotunda, named after Dr. John Radcliffe, who left £40,000 in his will for the Bodleian Library. It's now used as a reading room for the library.


The Bridge of Sighs, built early this century.


Christ Church, the largest of Oxford's colleges, with the Memorial Gardens in front, commemorating Oxford University's war dead. [/b]

[chezp]

What about day trips outside of London? - STONEHENGE

Stonehenge is a prehistoric temple, which dates back to around 3000 BC. Although going to look at what's essentially a stone circle may sound dull, it is awe-inspiring sight and well worth seeing, especially when you look at the size of the stones and wonder how on earth they were able to put them all in position.

Be aware that you can't get close to the stones now, you have to view them from nearby paths, due to damage to them over the years. Stonehenge is close to Bath and some tour organisers have tours combining the two as one trip.

Images of Stonehenge:

[chezp]

What about day trips outside of London? - STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

Stratford-Upon-Avon - William Shakespeare’s birthplace in the middle of the beautiful Warwickshire countryside, it is today home to a number of Shakespeare’s properties and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Having seen some of their performances, I can thoroughly recommend them – they are an excellent quality and regularly feature well known names.

Stratford-Upon-Avon is less than 100 miles from London and as its name suggests, it is on the banks of the River Avon, making for some lovely river trips in the summer.

Additional information on Stratford can be found on this website

Having looked long and hard through my photo albums, I can't find any good photos of Stratford, which do this wonderful place justice. The shots I have are in taken in dull weather, but I will have another look through, as I know we did go there one summer and I remember taking some lovely shots of the town - I just can't find them!

[BritDisFan]

Cheryl, you have worked very hard on this, you must have spent a lot of time writing all this information. I hope lots of people are able to come to the UK and benefit from all your suggestions, well done .

Karen