Planning a trip to London for 1 week - need info

[RaRa]

Hi all - actually I'm not the lucky one, my brother and his wife are going and they are notorious for not planning and aren't likely to do it for this trip. Does anyone have personal suggestions or a link to a good website that can organize this info? I'd like to give them some ideas how to plan their time, otherwise they are going to end up wasting so much. My brother was thinking that 1 week was a long time while I'm overwhelmed with how much there is to see! (I've travelled alot more than he has - but never to London) They'd also like to venture out of the city. I'm thinking some nice bus tour. But where? Where do I start? Thanks!

[marmar]

1. A few suggestions:

http://www.londontown.com

http://www.timeout.com/london/

http://www.london-tourist-information.com/

[Violet_Crumble]

2. I'm going to be there for a week in October...

I'm hopeless at organising stuff, so I've booked as much stuff as I can before I go so I won't fartarse around when I get there and waste a lot of time dithering over what we should do. Evan Evans do all sorts of bus tours out of London, so there might be something that interests them on the website http://www.evanevans.co.uk/

The London Pass is worth looking at getting as well. http://www.londonpass.com/index2.asp?WT.svl=enter There's a planner thingy on the site that they might find handy http://www.londonpass.com/ml_login.asp

[Eurobabe]

9. I took a Cotswolds tour on 9/11 with Evans

It was a great tour until about 1:46pm or so...

London is so easy to get around with the Tube. Take the Hop on Hop off tour (we affectionately call it the Fuck on, Fuck off tour) it's a great way to get a preview of what you want to see.

[spindrifter]

3. What do they like to do?

There is so much! Greenwich is a total trip if you are interested in atomic clocks and naval history, as well as just having a destination going south. You can easily visit Oxford or Cambridge--in some ways I think Cambridge is easier to handle and it is interesting in that it really retains the backbone of medieval market town. The museums are great--if you go to the British Museum don't miss one of the free guided tours. The docents who lead them are absolutely fantastic and so knowledgeable about the exhibits--but it is interesting to see the same exhibits with different docents, as they each have a personal touch to their presentations.
Take the tube and just pop up to look around at the vicinity of the station, remembering that London is an agglomeration of villages, each different from the next.
If they want to spend the time, York is well worth a visit.
Food--especially if they like Indian and Middle Eastern food.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. #1. Give them a guidebook for their next birthday or

to celebrate the Equinox or as a belated Labor Day present or an early Halloween present.

If they already have their air and hotel reservations, they should read the Insight Guide to London, or if they're really clueless, Rick Steves.

I didn't use this service, but if they're really clueless, they should probably sign up for a day ticket on one of the two bus tour companies (one is Original London Tour Compay and the other of which is the Big Bus), and I think that take you around to all the sights with hop-on, hop-off privileges. They can take that tour the first day to see what interests them and then go back on subsequent days to revisit the places that have aroused their interest.

One of my pet peeves is travelers who try to make all their plans from a website or two and then wander around half-clueless because they've read no background information. So they see a historic site, and they have no idea why it's important.

[RaRa]

5. Thanks

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think the London pass is porbably a good thing. I also like the idea of a bus tour to get started - I always suggest that when folks would come to Chicago (where I lived for many years). They seem hokey, but are a nice base to figure out what you want to see moe of.

I think they have some ideas of which museums and particular historic sites they want to catch. I think they mainly need guidance to timing and geography - going in a logical order rather than trying to go back and forth over so much space.

Also, any more suggestions about day trips outside London would be great. My SIL grew up out west and loves the country and is a bit of a romantic sucker for Merchant/Ivory -Jane Austin type atmosphere.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

8. England is small, so venturing out in just about any direction

should get you into the country.

You can go southeast to Canterbury, west to Bath and Salisbury, northwest to Oxford and the Cotswolds, northeast to Cambridge, all within about two hours or less by train.

[GoneOffShore]

6. Check out "London Walks"

http://www.walks.com/ This is the "original" London Walks site - they've been around since the 1960's and we did their Jewish London - Eastend walk. Very interesting and informative. They've got a "Beatles Walk" , Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, etc.

Other option - http://www.secretlondonwalks.co.uk/

Bus tours are a good start. And you can always do your own. Get a bus pass, ride from one side of the city to the other. If you see something interesting, get off.

London has gotten hideously expensive - Do pub lunches and ethnic food. The top end restos are going to cost an arm and a leg.

Four recommends.
If they want a really interesting meal (but pricey) go to Fergus Henderson's restaurant St. John. Tony Bourdain has always said he wanted his last meal cooked by this guy. Of course, if either your brother or his wife have "food issues" this is not the restaurant for them, so I've included the web address http://www.stjohnrestaurant.co.uk/

The Seashell fish and chips restaurant near Marleybone Station. http://www.seashellrestaurant.co.uk/ One of the BEST fish & chips restaurants in London.

And The Surprise - it's a pub in Chelsea frequented by advertising types and Chelsea Pensioners from the Chelsea Hospital - Army Retirement home down the road. From Sloane Square - King's Road (0.3km)
Turn left: Cheltenham Terrace (0.2km)
Turn right: Saint Leonard'S Terrace (0.3km)
Turn left: Ralston Street (<0.1km)
Turn right: Christchurch Street
There's a darts board, a skittles table and you can play cards. Good lunches and good beer.

[wakeme2008]

7. A good forum to ask questions on is the Britain forum on Cruise Critic

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=146

It is very active and ppl get answers to things like where is a good bookstore in XXXX area...