London Travel Forum

Hello everyone,

My sister and I are going to Kenya in early December. We will have stop over in London on our way to Kenya and back. We will arrive at Heathrow airport on Friday at noon and leave on Sat at 11:00am. On our way back we will arrive at Heathrow at 3pm on Sat and leave at 9am on Sun. We're planning to leave our luggage at the airport. We're mainly interested in historical sights, maybe some shopping. We also enjoy walking around.

I have several questions.

1. Should we sleep at yothel at the airport or should we get a room at the hostel? We just need a room to sleep. The price for 8 hours of yothel room was 58 pounds.

2. We want to see Westminster abbey, Parliament, Bucchingham Palace. So what I was thinking about doing free new-london tour. It starts at 4pm and is 2.5-3 hours. It says that they meet by Wellington arch. How do we get there and how early before the tour should we come. I was thinking about going from Heathrow to the Wellington arch. Eating lunch in that area, doing the tour. Also I wanted to go inside either Westminster abbey or Cathedral. Is it doable? After the tour take tube to Tower of London. (we just want to see it from outside) and walk the bridge of Towers.

3. I'm not sure what we should do for the evening. We're not into bars or clubbing. Maybe eating dinner after we walk the bridge of Towers?

4. On our way back I want to go shopping and just walk around in the area that we shop. Given that we arrive at 3pm on Saturday, will the shops be still open when we arrive in London?

Thank you

Can someone tell me,is it easy to find Terravision bus to Victoria station from Stansted?We will fly with Ryanair,and arrive very late,so weīd love to catch first bus possible.We used train last time,so I donīt know where the buses are.
Terravison tickets are sold here in Finland,at the airport,so we will buy them,even if I know itīs not the only bus-company.But at the middle of the night we want to be quick,so we can get some sleep at first night also ;)

Am planning a trip to London in April 2010. (never too early to plan). I am a smoker and since I haven't been to your lovely city in 20 years I am wondering what the policy is in smoking in London hotels currently. Can anyone shed some light on 1) policies and 2) does anyone know of hotels which do permit smoking in rooms. Thanks for any information you can offer.

Hi

i'll be travelling to London for 4 days next week and am interested doing some shopping for my wedding ... flowergirl dress, bridesmaid dress, mother of the bride dress, souvenirs, etc ..

ill be staying in a hotel very close to Marble Arch ... very central ...

Any names of shops I can visit around this area please?

Thanks

Rgds
Elaine

I will be in London for 1 week and would require to purchase a temporary SIM for my mobile phone.

What are the cheapest options available? Where can I get the connection (I will stay in Docklands near Excel)? Also, pls. let me know average rates for calls within UK and the average cost for the SIM. Thanks!

I found this:
http://www.stpauls.co.uk/Visits-Events/Events/Advent-Procession
Looks like itīs free,can someone tell is it?Iīm a fanatic about everything about christmas..And my husband loves light-shows,there seems to be some kind of light-show.
I allready asked this at my another question,but maybe no-one noticed it inside so much other text.

Hi all,

My family (2 adults, 2 teens of 12 and 14)is planning our first trip to London-Paris.

Have the impression many spots will be closed during winter but we believe there should still be enough to see.

Any recommendations for apartments, historical site, countryside, scenic route and nice local market?

Thanks!

Regards,
Singa89
Singapore

Is Cologne christmas-market and German christmas-market different markets at London?I had thought they are the same,but now they were mentioned seperetly at some tourist-pages.
I didnīt understand does the other christmas-markest open later?There was no date for that.We will be at London from 27th November to 30th.
Is the chrismas-lights on then?I first red somewhere,that they are,but now I found something about light-switching-seremony at 3rd December :(
Is there anything else "christmassy"we might like to see?
And one other thing.When we were little,we both have loved stories of "Bear-gentlemen Paddington",I donīt know the real English name.But if you know it,is it a English story?If so,could we find those"bear-gentlemens" sold somewhere?We are now god-parents of 1,5years old boy,and it just came to our mind :) We might try to do some christmas-shopping there.We will take one empty bag with us ;) Also we will go to Camden,even if it wouldnīt yet be a christmas-market there,but we love those gothic-clothes,and pound is now cheaper than 4 years ago,at our last visit.

I will be going to london during the last week of January will there still be good sales please ?? . . thanks :)

i will be in london dec 10-14 and will be staying at the kensington and was looking for information on pub crawls in that area and that our handy cap freindly.i get around pretty good but use a cane after major operations last year! looking to hook up wit some fellow vt'er"s any help and information will be helpful!

Hey,

I'll be in London on November 21st and 22nd - anyone want to meet up? I used to be fairly active on here but not as much for the past little while. It would be cool to meet some VTers again, whether it be just for a coffee/meal/drinks or wander around.

I'll be arriving in the afternoon on the Saturday and leaving on Monday morning.

Let me know if you are interested!

Cheers, Brandon

Any recommendations of out of the way restaurants, or "inner suburb" areas which are "real neighborhoods," as opposed to tourist eye candy? How about East London? thanks for your help!

I have never been to London or England so I am unsure about many things. The first questions I have are this:

1) The cheap ticket I found would be from December 20-December 26. Is it snowing in London at this time?

2) If it is snowing do the trains still operate smoothly?

3) Are the museums open around Christmas time?

4) Would it be easy to get a tain ticket to Windsor and tour Windsor Castle?

Have friends arriving into Heathrow from South africa,intending to travel on to Edinburgh.Any member kindly advise on what this will entail, time to Edinburgh, departure terminal.Mode of transport required,if any,, thank you.

What are the cheapest transport methods (public/private) from Heathrow Airport to London Docklands. How much will they cost? Also I would like the transport to be convenient as well. Thanks!

What is the best/cheapest way to get from Gatwick Airport to London (Victoria Area)?

Thanks!

This is a follow-up to a previous post about taking grandchildren, 11 year old grandson and 15/16 year old granddaughter, to London. Are there reasonably priced hotels where we could stay in one room? We would need two double beds and a bath. Preferably, the hotel would be in one of the active areas of the city and not isolated.

I really appreciate the responses to my previous posting on the subject of grandchildren and London.

my kids are crazy on chocolates. what is the best english chocolate that i can get and where. i have only a few hours left.
i can pop into a tesco or hopefully a duty free shoppe back in heathrow.

Hi everybody. I'm an italian student and this December i'm going to visit London for the forth time in my life, nonetheless i'm very excited and I can't wait to arrive...
I took a look for two tickets to buy for the musical "we will rock you" at Dominium Theatre.
I would like to have an advise for the seats. I noticed that seats "S32-S33" are available at about every audition, and I asked myself if there is a particular justify...
Anyway, can anyone tell me if some seats are particularly inadvisable? Is it better to stay in the stalls or in the circle?
Thanks in advance.

I'm planning to visit London in April 2010 with my son and I'm looking for a place to stay.

Has anyone been at Holland Park Youth Hostel? I would have preferred a hostel outside the city centre, but as they recently closed Hampstead Heath, Holland Park seems to be the only hostel with a bit of greenery.

Alternatively, has anyone stayed in a hostel just outside London? Lee Valley looks quite promising, 20min train to Liverpool Station.

we have the morning of thursday to ourselves. 9-11. which are best places for shopping here.
we are tourist who gape and shop. nothing fancy.

i prepaid my return ticket to the airport and am staying in bayswater. how long does it take to travel to airport from my hotel. my flight is at 3.30 on thursday and want to tell the guy to come in on time.

what part of the vat are refundable?
we ate lunch at burger king and i saw vat on it. should i save all my receipts to claim refunds

I have real womens question.Does anyone happen to know if there is Magic stylo make-up pens sold in London,and if so-where?
http://www.cosmeticpen.com/
They donīt sell it at Finland anymore,and Iīve only found it sold at web-shops anymore.I donīt rember my favourite colors name/number so Iīd rather buy it from shop,where I can see it.Photos donīt tell all the truth in lip-pens.
We are going to London at the end of November.

Which is the most reliable and economical mobile phone and/or laptop internet service/package to subscribe to on arrival in London, for a tourist?
My 02 line, which was the first stall i saw at Heathrow, proved too expensive to run on my last visit and cross continental roaming charges rule out my home phone as an alternative.Are hotspots widespread? pls recommend.

I noticed quite a few tough looking guys in the streets and alleys off Oxford Street particularly, Soho, on my maiden trip to London last year,is it safe for an adult male tourist to wander alone or go for a drink in this area these days? I am visiting early November and my hobby is discovering joints and bars on my own which i didnt have time for last time.pls advice

i bought a flat pin convertor for my laptop to use in india. i realise that the Uk electic sockets are round pins but not sure of its dimensions. can anyone clarify if uk uses the same round pins like india.
or else where can i buy a flat pin convertor in london. i will be staying in bayswater

what time is it on mon tues or wednesday.
how long does it take from Bayswater to go and see it and back.

I'm visiting Germany in March/April. Flying through British Airways, I can have a 7 1/2 hour layover in London (Heathrow). Is it practical to try and take a small bus tour or tour on foot in that amount of time? It will be just me and my 12 yr old daughter.

i am planning to visit london next week. myself, wife and 2 teens.
we plan to stay in Grand Plaza Serviced Apartments
i am following the frommer plan.
land monday afternoon in heathrw and travel to hotel.
tuesday.:
westminister
big ben
parliment
jewel tower
westminister bridge
london eye
millenniumst paul cathedral

wed
tower of london
tower bridge
british museum

fly from heathrow thursday noon.
i want to see the buckimham palace but dunno how to fit it.

1.what kind of transit pass should i purchase
2.how much will cab cost from airport to hotel
3 whic is best way to move from airport to hotel. i got 7 luggages as we are travelling to other places and have no choise but to lug it all.
4. is there any other sites that are worthier than i listed