united kingdom London, anybody been there and how many days for a first time visitor?

[EssexMan]

Hurrah! Do carry on asking about specific recommendations if we can help at all.

 

Bayswater/Kensington isn't the area I usually recommend to visitors - my preference is Bloomsbury (British Museum area) - but the area you've selected is absolutely fine, safe, good for shopping and eating. Do be a little cautious when it comes to hotels as there are some really crappy places, especially around Paddington Station and Hyde Park - as well as a lot of good ones. TripAdvisor is reasonably reliable for reviews.

 

Yes, late-evening shopping is fairly limited in London. It's not quite a 24-hour city in the way that NYC, for example, is.

 

In the centre stores tend to close around 8ish-9ish; smaller ones maybe more like 6-7. The further out from the centre you get, the less will be open in the evening. Sunday hours are quite restricted, by law, everywhere. However, in any reasonably central part of London, you'll never have a problem finding some kind of convenience store open for basics very late into the night, or even 24 hours.

 

Pubs generally close between 11pm and 1am, maybe a little later on weekends. Some bars will be open much later. (Oddly, pubs in the very centre - strictly speaking the Borough of Westminster - close earlier than those in slightly less central areas, a local government decision. But the concentration of bars makes up for that.)

 

Eating out after around 10-11pm isn't always easy but again, there's always somewhere.

 

The Tube shuts down surprisingly early, around midnight, but buses run all night. I always take them anyway - they're slower than the Tube but a lot cleaner and way more interesting - they have windows!

 

PS, BTW, is Jasper a Dane?

[renaissancewoman101]

Thanks for the advice so far. I will be posting more questions as the days go by, and I plan out my trip more.

 

Jasper is not a Dane. He is a Pointer-Lab mix. We adopted him from a shelter and he's been with us for about 4 years. He's a good dog.

 

Are the hotels in the Bloomsbury area expensive?

[EssexMan]

Heh. He just looked to be lying in a very Dane-ish way though now that I look closer I can see he hasn't got Dane ears.

 

Bloomsbury is probably a bit cheaper on balance than Kensington/Bayswater. Not so posh, but quieter (basically a university area), and within walking distance (15-20 minutes) to the heart of the city. Whereas the area you're looking at necessitates public transport.

[DN]

DN, I'm thinking of take a boat tour on the Thames to Hampton Court.

Great - I hope you do and that you enjoy it.

[renaissancewoman101]

Is it relatively safe to wander around London by yourself? I plan to utilization the Tube whenever possible, but I have been told to watch out for pickpockets, etc.. When I told people at work that I was going to London by myself, people were a bit surprised and told me to watch out for pickpockets, etc.

 

My dad has been to London on business before and one of the times he was there, he was pickpocketed and they got away with some cash AND his passport

[EssexMan]

Is it relatively safe to wander around London by yourself? I plan to utilization the Tube whenever possible, but I have been told to watch out for pickpockets, etc.. When I told people at work that I was going to London by myself, people were a bit surprised and told me to watch out for pickpockets, etc.

 

There are a few areas of London where I would definitely not recommend anyone to walk alone at night, and to exercise a lot of caution during the day, but they are not areas that a tourist is likely to visit in a million years - mostly inner-city council estates (housing projects).

 

Beyond that, you just need normal big-city alertness. Don't decide to count your money while drunk down a dark alley, etc. Yes there are pickpockets (there was a TV show about gangs working on the Tube the other night, in fact), but I have to say I have never in 25+ years of living here known of anyone get pickpocketed, let alone directly known someone to whom it's happened. Avoiding rush hour should minimise the already small risk, anyway.

 

There is a lot more public drunkenness than you might be used to seeing in the U.S. but it rarely translates into aggression and when it does it nearly always only concerns people in the group, i.e. not strangers.

 

In Kensington/Bayswater, where I think you said you were staying, you may see a lot of exceptionally heavily armed police. It's just embassy territory, not a mad sniper on the loose.

 

One thing to be cautious of is unlicensed "minicabs" - unmarked cabs whose drivers hang around outside clubs etc. They are generally uninsured, don't know the way to wherever you're going, can barely drive, and in some cases have been distinctly nasty characters. By contrast the normal London black cabs are absolutely safe, as are cabs from legitimate hire companies (those who you - or your hotel - phone up, rather than ones that solicit custom at the roadside).

[renaissancewoman101]

Is taking a boat tour to Hampton Court AND seeing Hampton Court itself doable in one day? I know the first boat to leave Westminster to Hampton Court leaves at 11 AM and the castle closes at 4:30 PM, I believe. I plan on taking to train back into London after seeing Hampton Court.

 

Do you think it is best to do this the day after I arrive? I fly into Heathrow on Thurs. around noon. If I can, I will try to do a few things that afternoon (like go on the London Eye and take a look at Harrods. All my friends who've been to London tell me I've got to check out Harrods.

 

Or would it be better to see some of the London sights (museums, etc) on Friday and save Hampton Court for the weekend?

 

I fly into London on a Thurs., and I fly out the following Wed afternoon. I will have a full 5 days to sightsee and whatnot.

[EssexMan]

Is taking a boat tour to Hampton Court AND seeing Hampton Court itself doable in one day? I know the first boat to leave Westminster to Hampton Court leaves at 11 AM and the castle closes at 4:30 PM, I believe. I plan on taking to train back into London after seeing Hampton Court.

 

Yes, easily. The boat trip takes between one and two hours depending on where you leave from, I believe.

 

If I can, I will try to do a few things that afternoon (like go on the London Eye and take a look at Harrods. All my friends who've been to London tell me I've got to check out Harrods.

 

I seriously wouldn't try to do too much that first afternoon, better to take it easy so you're fully energised for the first full day. You may well not be at your hotel until close to 4pm anyway.

[zztoppoochie90]

If you like your history, you may like to check out this pub: link removed

 

You have to go down a little alleyway off Fleet Street but it's more than worth the jaunt, especially as it has the literary and historical connections that you said you enjoyed.

[Lucy3]

Check out Gordons wine bar near Embankment station, it's the oldest pub/bar in London and is like a cave, lit by candle light only

[EssexMan]

Check out Gordons wine bar near Embankment station, it's the oldest pub/bar in London

 

Claims to be the oldest wine bar...there are lots of claimants for the title of oldest pub (depends how you define it, I guess).

[Lucy3]

Claims to be the oldest wine bar...there are lots of claimants for the title of oldest pub (depends how you define it, I guess).

 

Have you ever been? Its so bloody hard to get a seat there, unless you get there at about 4pm!!!

[EssexMan]

Have you ever been? Its so bloody hard to get a seat there, unless you get there at about 4pm!!!

 

Many years ago, I think...

[irishapple]

Get yourself down to Brick Lane for a curry

Do the Jack the Ripper Walking Tour

Sink a couple of pints in Soho/Covent Garden

Party Hard

See the Natural History Museum!

[renaissancewoman101]

My trip to London was a blast. I had such a good time that I now want to go back again in the near future, as well as go on to Venice for a few days. Maybe next year .

 

5 full days was plenty. The day I got in, I managed to go on the London Eye, as well as go see Harrod's food court (a lot of my friends told me to check that out). Next day I went to the Tower of London, just as it opened. Spent a few hours there, then met up with a friend (who was there on vacation too), for lunch. Since the museums were open late, I managed to go to the British Museum. Later on in my trip I went to Hampton Court, went out to Greenwich (to see the Prime Meridian line), went to see the Olympic site, and went to another bunch of museums.

 

I had a fun time, and ended up spending more than I expected due to the high cost of some of the museums (Tower of London and Hampton Court were NOT free). Food also was NOT cheap. I also bought a bunch of English tea and cookies, as well as books that I can't find here or on Amazon.

 

On my last day, I waited 2 hours by Buckingham Palace in order to get a good view for the Changing of the Guard ceremony. That was way cool.

 

I took over 900 pics and had fun. I did have to take taxi a few times, due to being lost and running late to meet my friend. The Tube was easy to get around with, and it was not hard to find a taxi.

[kz91]

I'm from the UK and I've been there three or four times, I haven't been all around London because I think my legs would drop off but I've been central London and it's jam packed, all the time. I hate going to places where it's busy.

 

But it's nice for a day out.

[kz91]

Live in England, been London a few times.

 

Personally think it's overrated and full of rude people who have never heard of the word sorry.