London

[Barbara]

As it seems the old thread has disappeared, I thought I'd start a new one.

As I've been to London quite a few times already, I've seen most of the tourist spots (the ones I was interested in seeing, that is). I'm going back to London in a few weeks so I was wondering if someone knew of places that might not be written about in travel guides or might not be known (or less known) to tourists but which are still worth seeing. It can be anything (shops, museums, parks, etc.). Even if you mention something which might not interest me, someone else might be happy to know about it.

Thank you in advance.

[DinerLandlord]

I've never been, but I want to go. It's ridiculous really, I'm only a 45 minute flight away from London. I've been as far as California, but I haven't bothered going to London yet.

[Sabrina]

I went to London last August and while I was there I saw 'Les Miserables' and 'Wicked' in the West End. They were brilliant shows and I think everyone would enjoy them

Covent Garden, the London Eye and Madame Tussauds are also enjoyable things to see and do

[MeganSaturday]

Have you been to the London Dungeons? They're dead scary but totally worth going to!

[Laura]

I went to London Dungeons last year with my college class, and to be honest, I found it pretty boring. At first it was OK, but after all the stops and listening to people every 5 minutes telling stories, it got pretty boring. But then a lot of people say they enjoy it so you might do, Barbara And there's a "little" ride thing at the end

[Symphony]

Era. Most of London is publicised at this stage; obvious places [to me] would be;

.x. covent garden

.x. leicester square

.x. river thames cruise

.x. big wheel

.x. o2 dome is worth a visit

.x. shows in various theatres

.x. buckingham palace for changing of the guards

.x. ice bar is a good experience if over 18

.x. greenwich area is pretty

.x. the aul "london bus tour" is pretty sweet; £20 and it's like 3 hours but you can hop on/off any stage. Takes you to all the main areas of London and very informative. Includes a free river cruise too!

.x. London Dungeons as someone said

.x. it's beautiful to walk down by Tower Bridge; stunning bridge it is!

.x. madame tussauds

[Eli]

I love London! I've actually only been there once, although I'm just a two hour flight away. I really want to go back though.

When I visited a little over a year ago we went to see "The Lion King" (the musical) and it was absolutely amazing! Definitely recommend it

[Anaya]

Eeeeeeee London! One of my fav topics. Let me see what I can come up with, seeing as you have yourself a Londoner right here. That's right born and bred. I'll start with fashion & awesome places to shop (my most favourite thing to do ).

Aside from the usual well known Oxford/Regent/Bond Streets (have some great stores which I'm sure you've heard about/seen already), there is Carnaby street, which is actually behind Regent Street. You'll find lots of really nice shops there and it also leads to Kingly Court. One of the most amazing shopping places ever, you'll find 3 floors of unique one off 'concept' shops where it is possible to find items not sold anywhere else in London. Ya-huh, exclusive-ness just for you. How good is that?!

Ofcourse Covent Garden is awesome, there's Covent Garden market and you can find lots of great places on Neal street, there's also Soho for a few designer shops and there are many bars, where during the night it gets quite lively (not actually as seedy as it once was not that I hang there much though ), plus it has cute cafes as well for during the day. Very bohemian. Also Old Compton lies there... the place if you're gay. Chinatown, near Leicester square is also a nice place, lots of lovely bakeries (counting calories gets thrown out the window though ) & yummy restaurants here & chinese supermarkets.

Camden Town is the best for all the markets (there are four in total) with amazing stalls that sell great vintage clothes and antiques etc. You'll definitely get yourself some unique finds here. Also Portobello Road (in Notting Hill) is good for the markets and you can find anything from books to clothes.

Then there's Knightsbridge for Harrods obviously, and Harvey Nichols, as well as lots of designer stores/elegant boutiques on Sloane Street (not just exclusive to the sloane rangers... although you will encounter a few ), Walton Street and Beauchamp Place. Gah! There's actually so much more, Edgware Road (amazing Lebanese restaurants, shisha bars & mid-eastern type places), Kensington, Charing Cross Road... I could go on but I won't. Lol!

If you're wanting places to see & basically sights to see, Kensington Gardens, where you can find Kensington Palace, the Diana memorial, gorgeous Italian gardens, the Peter Pan statue, Albert memorial and the Round pond. There’s a whole lot to see and it’s very nice and relaxing too. Great for sunbathing & picnics in the summer months. Another option to Hyde park I guess, and well they were the same park at one stage.

The usual popular places like the London Eye, Tower Bridge, Tower of London (for the Crown Jewels) and you can also go to the Tower Bridge exhibition which is just nearby. There is also the Fashion and Textile Museum (yup the Zandra Rhodes one) which is also close by and they have loads of different fashion exhibitions there. Always changing & updating.

Well the obvious one, Buckingham Palace (the state rooms are opened for viewing some time in the summer) and of course there's the changing of the guard, it happens on a whole lot of scheduled days. Trafalgar Square (for nelson’s column), but there is the national gallery there too. The Tate Modern and Tate Britain galleries are interesting to view and you can take the Tate Boat between the two, as well as to the London Eye. The Millenium Bridge (I can vouch that it's not as shaky as it once was ) is right there too and St Pauls’ Cathedral is right opposite it across the Thames. Beautiful view.

The Museum of London, where you can see lots on the history of London, as well as see the Lord Mayor’s Coach. The British Museum where lots of artifacts/treasures are housed, such as the Elgin Marbles, Rosetta stone (nothing to do with Angelo, hehe!) and the Easter Island Statue.

Also there's the Houses of Parliament (and Big Ben), very close by to Trafalgar Square is the actual Parlaiment Square where they are situated (I think they do tours inside during the summer), also you can walk across Wesminster Bridge to the South Bank where you can get an even more gorgeous view.

For museums, there is the Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Natural History Museum. All very educational & interesting too. London Zoo and the London Aquarium are fun, but don’t go during school holidays, way too mnay kids, total nightmare! The London Wetland Centre is a gorgeous place, a wildlife reserve in London, sounds cool right? And you can just take the Duck Bus (funnily that’s it’s actual name), the number 283 from Hammersmith Tube station.

Something a little different is The Blood and Tears Walk, which is a psychological horror and history walk around the city of London. Weird eh! You start at Barbican (I think you meet up at the underground station) and then go on from there. Also you have St James' Park, St Paul’s Cathedral and Hyde Park. The British Music Experience now on at The O2, it's interactive and you get the history, as well as a chance to play instruments & record stuff. Also the O2 Arena for all the concerts, but you'd need to book way in advance for the better tickets, especially for someone amazing/popular.

And ofcourse you can't visit london and not go to the theatre, either a musical or a play, or both. There are so many to choose from, they're all amazingly well made shows, fun & entertaining to watch. There are heaps to choose from, I guess it's up to your personal taste.

I can't believe I've rambled on for so long and I've probably on touched on like 1% of it. There is so much more to explore, but I won't bore you right now. I could work for Boris Johnson in his PR department. Lol! Although I bet all londoners could say that. Haha.

[Inactive User]

Aww I should love to go to London one day and explore the interesting buildings e.g. Tower of London and Hever Castle!