London for a day.....

RunRideRay

This is fitness related, ya...for sure!?!. I get a day to walk around London in June and that sounds healthy to me.

I know we've got a big contigent of UK folks on here and would LOVE some advice from the locals, or travelers on the best things to do or see in a day. I have never been to London and think it is an amazing city and excited to get a freebie day during a business trip to Europe.

Thanks sooo much for any help and advice.

Cheers
Raymond

Kwipke

Hampstead Heath for the day is lovely, Hampstead itself is a nice little town, the Heath is a large park nearby. On a clear day, great views of London!
Of course, usual tourist spots in the city, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Covent Garden etc
lastminute.com has some great deals on days out in London as well as really good restaurants

RunRideRay

Thanks!!

Fit4Europe

I'm not from the UK, but been to London a time or two...

Westminster Abbey is one of my favorite spots to go. Just beautiful and history is amazing. Churchill war museum is across the street from Westminster if you are into history. A very neat place to visit. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are all right there in the same area too.

I would also recommend the London Eye just for the view. The Tower of London is also one of my favorite spots to visit.

When I go I usually stay at a hotel right across from Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens and always enjoy a beautiful walk there in the morning.

Enjoy your trip!

erikazj

I second the London Eye, give you a really good view of the city. You can pre book online to avoid the queues.

http://www.londoneye.com/

Before/after take a walk along the southbank, it's all signposted.

http://wikitravel.org/en/London/South_Bank_Walk

There are lots of things to see/stuff going on at the southbank centre. Restaurants/art gallery etc.

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/

There's also Pall Mall, Buckingham Palace (the changing of the guard), Westminster etc

http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsandCeremonies/ChangingtheGuard/Overview.aspx

If you like shopping there are all the shops on Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street and Regent Street. Also Covent Garden.

Enjoy your day!

Erika

bebbjeb

If you like modern art you should go to the Tate Modern - it's housed in an old power generator - great building and fantastic art. You can walk there from the Southbank or from St. Pauls (cross the Millenium bridge) or you can take a boat there!

jljohnson

I was in London for just one day, and I really enjoyed the "Red Bus" tour. They have red, open-top tourist busses that run a route around London, stopping at all the major tourist destinations. You can get on and off the busses as much as you like, take your time at the places you want to see, and stop just long enough to get a photo at others. It was a great way to see a lot in a short amount of time, and not have to worry about finding your way around. If you'd like more info, let me know. Have a great time!

RunRideRay

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I do plan to hit the Palace, Westminster, etc.... The bus tour sounds great too. I am such a tourist, and not afraid to walk all day. I plan wake up, and head somewhere, and not stop till late.

Any advice on a great pub or restaurant. I'll be alone, so a place where I won't look out of place to eat alone. The southbank centre seems good.

Also, what is the best way to get from heathrow downtown or to a good rail line? Most of the maps I have are not very clear about this.

Thanks just one more time!!!

erikazj

A really useful website for transport around London is this:

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

Buses, tube (subway), walking, train etc. You can generate maps too.

I know there's a train from Heathrow to London Paddington every 15minutes or so, and then you can eithr walk around, get the tube or buses.

You might also find this link helpful:

http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/page/Heathrow^General^To+and+from+Heathrow^To+and+from+London/fd0d9b25f9599110VgnVCM10000036821c0a____/448c6a4c7f1b0010VgnVCM200000357e120a____/

lilmissy2

Don't get a national rail train from heathrow, it will cost way more. You can get the Piccadilly line (underground) from heathrow all the way into town - leicester square, piccadilly circus and convent garden are the main 'town' stations on the line. If you knew your way around, it's actually quite easy to walk between the majority of tourist destinations, but for people who don't I definitely recommend getting a one day travelcard and using the tube... there will be stops near all of the main attractions in town.

As for what to do... hmm when I first visited here I spent a month just being a tourist but now that I live in London, I feel like there's nothing to do! hahaha.

I love regent's park and hyde park for good walks with lots of cool stuff to see as well but they take a bit of time, unlike just trekking around some of the other tourist things. Apparently there's this cool boat ride thing called 'little venice' that is kinda like a gondola ride... I'm very keen to go on that! It goes around the areas of the zoo (which is technically part of regents park.

For the main touristy things, I love trafalgar square and the parliament house buildings. Oh, if you get rubbish weather (lets face it, there's a pretty high chance!) head to south kensington for the bulk of the museums and harrods.

Where to eat for one I'm not so sure on... but there are quite a few restaurants around piccadilly circus/leicester square... or just kind of behind oxford st so you should be able to find something easily.

Have a great time and let us know what you saw!

lilmissy2

Oh also on the trains vs tube thing from the airport... the tubes go every few mins so you won't have to wait long!