#281249 - 08/05/2006 12:08
London in a day?
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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On my way to Zambia in June, I have a stop in London for a partial day. I'll be there from about 7am to 4pm (flight leaves around 7pm). I've never been to London before, and would like to see as many sights as possible in the short time I have. My interests are primarily historical places, but am certainly open to anything that's interesting. Currently, unless I get a better suggestion, I'm planning on taking the tube or subway or whatever it's called from Heathrow into town and back. Right now, my inclination is to do as much of this walk as possible. I'm most interested in getting feedback on what's actually worth paying to see and what's better just to look around outside and move on. Also, there's no indication as to the distances and time involved in doing this walk. Or, should I ditch this area and see something else altogether?
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~ John
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#281250 - 08/05/2006 12:15
Re: London in a day?
[Re: JBjorgen]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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Looks like a nice walk. Just beware that Heathrow to Central London on the tube can be 1 1/2 hours. There's the Heathrow Express to Paddington which only takes 15 minutes, might be a better (but more expensive) option.
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#281251 - 08/05/2006 12:19
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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The other thing is that you'll be battling rush hour commuters both ways so travel as light as possible
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#281252 - 08/05/2006 12:27
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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Do you like walking? I might be tempted to head for Westminster in the morning and then work my way by bus/tube and foot to Paddington for the express back to Heathrow.
Although I love the area around Bermondsey it's definitely not worth paying to get into teh Design Museum and there are just as many interesting things going on elsewhere.
If you do fancy having a look around there I might head for Tower Hill or Bermondsey on the tube and then take a river tour from Tower Bridge East or West, you see loads that way and learn a bit about what you're seeing too.
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#281253 - 08/05/2006 12:28
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Ok, thanks, the updated itinerary is to catch the Express train to Paddington, than ride over to one of the stations on the walk, perhaps London Bridge station.
_________________________
~ John
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#281254 - 08/05/2006 12:30
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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If plants are your thing I'd forget all the above and just spend the day at Kew Gardens, a fabulous place.
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#281256 - 08/05/2006 12:34
Re: London in a day?
[Re: JBjorgen]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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Quote:
ride over to one of the stations on the walk, perhaps London Bridge station.
Tower Hill is easier from Paddington, you don't have to change lines.
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#281257 - 08/05/2006 12:36
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Quote:
If plants are your thing I'd forget all the above and just spend the day at Kew Gardens, a fabulous place.
If I had a week or so, I'd probably do just that for a day, but my interest in historical places overrides for a trip this short.
_________________________
~ John
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#281258 - 08/05/2006 12:37
Re: London in a day?
[Re: JBjorgen]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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Quote:
I was wondering about the river tours...how long do they take and would I be able to see more than I would on foot?
There are lots of options, the one from Greenwich is good, and yes you probably will see more.
There's some basic info here:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/river/
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#281259 - 08/05/2006 12:39
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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Quote:
Quote:
ride over to one of the stations on the walk, perhaps London Bridge station.
Tower Hill is easier from Paddington, you don't have to change lines.
And you can get a river bus to Greenwich from there.
In fact you could spend an entire day just in that area, you're at the Tower of London, a stones throw from the City and Monument, just over the river from Shad Thames (Design Museum) and Bermondsey. Plenty of decent eating in the area too, if you've got the money there are 3 Conran restaurants overlooking the Thames.
Edited by tahir (08/05/2006 12:43)
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#281260 - 08/05/2006 12:46
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Thanks for all this information! You've probably saved me at least a couple hours so far. As the information comes in, I'll get together with the other guys that are going and post updated itineraries.
_________________________
~ John
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#281261 - 08/05/2006 12:50
Re: London in a day?
[Re: JBjorgen]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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HTH, let me know if you need to know anything in particular.
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#281262 - 08/05/2006 12:54
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Quote:
If you've got the money there are 3 Conran restaurants
Excuse my ignorance, but what is a Conran restaurant?
_________________________
~ John
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#281264 - 08/05/2006 13:02
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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Quote:
Quote:
I was wondering about the river tours...how long do they take and would I be able to see more than I would on foot?
There are lots of options, the one from Greenwich is good, and yes you probably will see more.
There's some basic info here:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/river/
Pah! Have the best of both worlds with a Duck Tour:
http://www.londonducktours.co.uk/
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#281265 - 08/05/2006 13:04
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Cool. Also found an article about him in Wikipedia.
_________________________
~ John
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#281266 - 08/05/2006 13:06
Re: London in a day?
[Re: g_attrill]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 27/02/2004
Posts: 1919
Loc: London
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Quote:
Pah! Have the best of both worlds with a Duck Tour:
http://www.londonducktours.co.uk/
Yeah, must take the kids on that, they'll love it. An idea for the summer hols.
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#281267 - 09/05/2006 15:35
Re: London in a day?
[Re: tahir]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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What's the best way to handle currency exchange? Where can I get a good exchange rate? Considering my limited timetable, is it possible to do it before I go? Maybe some kind of precharged temporary Visa Card or something?
I hear that the rates at the airport are less than favorable.
_________________________
~ John
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#281268 - 09/05/2006 15:59
Re: London in a day?
[Re: JBjorgen]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3584
Loc: Columbus, OH
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Also, I think I'm going to make a visit to the Cabinet War Rooms. http://www.churchillmuseum.org/I'll probably go from Paddington to the St. James or Westminster (suggestions?) station and start with the war rooms and Westminster Abbey, Parliament, etc... then work my way toward the Tower of London.
_________________________
~ John
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#281269 - 09/05/2006 16:16
Re: London in a day?
[Re: JBjorgen]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/06/1999
Posts: 2993
Loc: Wareham, Dorset, UK
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The Tower of London needs at least a day on it's own, and it's expensive to get into - won't be worth spending the money if you are only there for an hour or so. Although I seem to recall that they have changed the rules on charging admission to UK museums - I may be wrong here, so check up first.
The cabinet rooms are difficult to get into and there's usually a queue.
Don't bother changing money before you leave: definitely DON'T change money at an airport moneychanger. Just take your normal bank pass and PIN for money out of the wall on arrival in London. If you do this, although you will pay the transaction fee (unknown for your bank), you will get the Inter-bank rate for your money, which is more favourable than the tourist rates. If you get out a decent chunk of money this will be the cheapest overall.
I know I don't sound positive here, I am just warning you about delays on a short timetable.
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One of the few remaining Mk1 owners...  #00015
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#281270 - 09/05/2006 19:07
Re: London in a day?
[Re: schofiel]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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I found it handy to change pocket money at the airport, seeing as there's no ATM there to get cash from. But otherwise, yeah, just do it at an ATM. Make sure to tell your bank that you're going to be overseas so they (hopefully) don't put a lock on your account when they see that it's been "stolen".
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Bitt Faulk
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#281271 - 09/05/2006 23:24
Re: London in a day?
[Re: schofiel]
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old hand
Registered: 15/02/2002
Posts: 1049
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I agree with using credit cards/ATM cards for money exchange. However, I think it is a great idea to change $100-200 before you leave to get you out of the airport. The airport currency exchanges are a huge ripoff. $200 in local currency means you can get in a cab, get to your hotel, and have a meal before you need to find an ATM or whatever. If you're renting a car, then I guess this isn't really necessary. I like to have a couple hundred in cash as soon as I hit the ground though.
FWIW,
Jim
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