For all the U.K. HL2.net'ers . . .

[scoobSMN]

I'm going to London in a few days (first time for me, my wife has been many times). Do you have any suggestions as to what I should do while I'm there? (I'm already planning to do as much of the touristy stuff as I can). Anything out-of-the-way or off-the-beaten-path that I should look into? Any suggestions welcome. We'll be there for ~6 days or so. Thanks.

(I'm going to be gone when HL2 releases. Grrrrr. Then my mother in law comes for a week when we get back. double grrrr. I guess I'll be spending alot of time in my basement with my headphones and HL2.)

 

[Sui]

i love london, the busy streets, the haphazard buildings- modern mixed in with old... every part of london reeks history, yet at the same time boasts asense of superiority. the contrast in age is suprising- there are huge skycrapers and small but extensive brick buildings. i love every bit of it... it feels like home. to bad i nevr go there my dad is allways travelling through there though, dipite being a fair bit away he goes there like 3 days a week for work (he works for himself, meaning he has lots of meetings to go to!)

anyway, have fun

PS, i went to manhattan once and i loved it. it was like london only newer, cleaner and bigger. I LOVE CITIES

 

[Viperidae]

Lol, I went 2 weeks ago and I thought of posting the exact same thing. Don't go to the Tower of London (especially the tour) unless you're planning to be their half the day. Cabs are expensive, take the Underground... but don't take your luggage on the Underground (that was dumb). Try to get a hotel with complimentary food, because things are so expensive. Oh and get a good map of London. Boy did I have trouble finding my way around...

 

[scoobSMN]

Thanks, Viper; we actually ARE going to the tower, can't miss all that torture, death, and jewelry you know. Our hotel has free breakfast, and my wife knows London like that back of her hand, so we're cool there. We are, however, taking our luggage on the Underground from Heathrow to the hotel, although it will be around 7:00 in the A.M. on a Saturday, so I can't imagine problems there. Plus , we're trying to pack light. Though, with my wife, that can sometimes be a laugh. :upstare:

 

[oldagerocker]

London is great, head down to Soho and into China town, get some decent chinese food... and take a good walk and shopping down Camden on sundays (if you like gothy stuff, not a great place to take the kids but its interesting place all the same) and Oxford Street.

Make sure you visit some of the museums, natural history and science museums are very good... and theres the modern tate for a laugh and i think it's still free.

Get a decent A to Z of london, and you cant get lost. you can get very good pocket versions.

 

[SAJ]

1: AtoZ(pocket version) , dont be afraid to scribble and annotate in it.
2: A copy of TimeOut, weeky listings guide.
3:Upgrade your tube ride from heathrow to the heathrow express(costs extra , but worth it for weary travellers).
4: Dress pessemisticly, the weather here in november is GRIM (caps intended).
5: Dress casual, Londoners are snobs and can spot a tourist from thirty metres.
6:Get on a bus, the famous routemasters are being withdrawn next year(after 60-odd years) so this time will be your first and last chance(good views from front of top deck, if you can get it.
7: If you go to camden market, primrose hill is just around the corner and has one of the best views of london going(clear weather not guarenteed).
8:British museum is a must, full of priceless artifacts the we , er , "liberated" on our imperial travels.
10: Have fun.

Thats all , unless you care to name any specific interests that you have.

 

[Burn]

Get robbed. Pee in lifts, park badly and buy cheap watchs from people on the street. I guess you can also do other stuff too.

 

[KagePrototype]

Bleh, London. too cramped and dirty. :|

 

[The Monkey]

Been there three times. I lived in a rathole the last time. :|

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

Where to go in London...

The exit?

 

[Crushenator 500]

Go to where me and kage live, london sucks imo

 

[Kangy]

It's a nice place to look and visit, but I'd hate to live there.

Derby roks ur soks

 

[KagePrototype]

Heh, it seems everyone in the north hates London.

 

[oldagerocker]

I love london I wouldnt want to live there no, but you wouldnt live in Central london... my dad lives in one of the burroughs and its just like a small town, just without the suburbs and country around it

 

[Farrowlesparrow]

I don't hate london, I've had lots of fun there :naughty:....but I wouldn't live there and I also think its different to the rest of the UK. London somtimes seems so....Americanised. (Thats not entirely true, but its still not the same really)

 

[Sulkdodds]

Ah, London. I always found the bottom fo the Thames very interesting but I'll appreciate that might not be everyone's cup of tea.

 

[baron insig]

Live in Bath the lovely world heritage site thats a city / Pwned

However there is a slight problem of the like 300 homeless peoples
And te shite hawks but they aer everywhere and a

Bizilion bloody tourists (the ones whihc walkat 0.5 mph and randomly stop :angry:

Saw a japanese coupl taking photos of a drain pipe .....

 

[Hazza]

London has been ok some of the times I've been there, but I have been when it was very busy and seen little more than the people walking next to me, for example when we, for some reason, decided to visit Oxford Street on Christmas Eve and we went to Hamleys but I couldn't appreciate all the weird and wonderful toys because I couldn't see them behind the crowds.
Anyway, it would seem London has an official website - http://www.visitlondon.com/ I remembered some weird adverts for it that I saw on TV a while back.