GOING TO LONDON THIS SUMMER!

ShaniWulffe
ShaniWulffe Posts: 458 Member
So I was recently approved to study abroad in London this summer :D What are the places I absolutely CANNOT miss? I will have weekends free, so feel free to suggest places outside of London, as well

Replies

  • Cambridge/York are lovely :) Also head up to somewhere like the Peak District, the Cotswolds or the Yorkshire Dales.

    Enjoy! London is great :)
  • JeninBelgium
    JeninBelgium Posts: 804 Member
    I will try to stay away from the obvious but that may be difficult
    Spitalfields market on a Sunday,
    any speakers' corner (most famously in Hyde Park)
    walk along the Thames on a lovely day
    Chelsea on a Saturday (market then)
    Brighton (take a train from London) seaside town with a horrible beach (its rocks!) but fascinating little place- touristy but fun- must see the Royal Pavilion
    Remember that Paris is two hours by train so you can weekend there
    The Tate Modern
    try to walk a lot instead of taking the underground- you will get a good lay of the land and it may even be faster for shorter distances
    walking tour by night (jack the ripper, haunted london, tower bridge tour)

    I have found the most interesting spots sometimes just by taking smaller side streets (I "discovered" interesting things such as a bubonic plague cemetery, city public gardens, old little churches, a little park dedicated to individuals who died while saving others (a lot of died while rescuing class mates from drowning or saving children from a fire)

    and of course the usual tourist bits too!

    Enjoy yourself!
  • 143tobe
    143tobe Posts: 620 Member
    Paris. Ok, I know it's definitely outside of London but if you've never been there it's a must see since you will be so close.

    As far as London goes, all of it. I love London. Just the vibe alone is my cup of tea. :wink: I know there are people who will frown upon this suggestion, but on one of your first days or weekends there, take one of those hop on, hop off bus tours. I think they are usually about 22 pounds, they give you an audio guide of the city, but most importantly, it will give you a great overview of where everything is. Since you will be there for the whole summer, having that mental map in your head will probably make things a lot easier. Congrats and have fun!!
  • erinxo13
    erinxo13 Posts: 892 Member
    If you can head into Oxford! I did an abroad course there and I loved it. London is amazing though, I wish I had more time there. All the big attractions are def worth it (tower of london, parliament, westminster abbey, buckingham palace) but there are so many other cool places to go too! such an awesome city and the tube can get you anywhere, it's not the quickest thing in the world but much more cost efficient/time efficient than a cab, walking is also a good option as well.
    outside of england, paris and dublin are nice to do for a weekend, that is what i did. they're both really close, but many other european cities are as well!
  • alisonmarytuck
    alisonmarytuck Posts: 68 Member
    Borough market; st James park; battersea park; crystal palace dinosaurs; hamleys toy shop; Kensington gardens; kings road; Buckingham palace; parliament square; Trafalgar square; afternoon tea at Browns; Richmond park; covent garden market ( on a Saturday); Neal street and surrounding area in Soho;

    Brighton and Hove in Sussex ; York; Oxford; Cornwall - all of it!; Wales - newgale beach and Solva and St Davids; Scotland - Edinburgh and anywhere in the Highlands;

    i could go on - there is just so much ! Enjoy!
  • charissh
    charissh Posts: 91 Member
    I'm up in York, definitely visit there! But as for London, so much to do!

    Off the beaten track -
    Columbia Road flower market
    Little Venice and Regent's canal
    Primrose Hill
    Japanese Gardens at Holland Park
    Lord Leighton's House

    A little more touristy-
    The Cutty Sark and Royal Observatory
    The Courtauld Gallery
    Afternoon tea at Harrods/Fortnum and Mason/Berkley Hotel
    The V&A Museum
    Hyde Park

    Hire out a 'Boris' bike on any street and go for a ride!
    Take a stroll down the embankment at Jubilee promenade
    Hit the pubs at Covent Garden.

    Have a great summer! x
  • 143tobe
    143tobe Posts: 620 Member
    Just be careful to look both ways before you cross the streets. My friend almost got hit by a car because she forgot the traffic would be coming from the opposite direction.
  • sheepysaccount
    sheepysaccount Posts: 608 Member
    well, if you're into second hand books and little antiques and hand made jewelry definitely go see portobello road ;) also, on your way from notting hill gate tube station toward portobello there is a small used comic book store on the right where i found one treasure or another :)
  • All the usual places but they will be packed! I love st james' park, Hyde park, Buckingham palace, st pauls, London bridge, tower bridge, Trafalgar square, endless museums, the strand, HARRODS! :happy:, parliament etc. But i promise you you will not regret going to see a west end show! They're amazing. The Lion King was fantastic!!
  • _Danno_
    _Danno_ Posts: 165
    Camden market is great for shopping
    The museums are really good and free to enter!
    Loads of tourist stuff, St. Paul's, Big Ben, Tower of London etc.

    Outside of London

    Stratford upon Avon is a fantastic place to visit
    Bath is very pretty
    York is lovely
    Edinburgh is train journey away and well worth a visit
    Newquay in Cornwall during the summer months is awesome

    Have a great time ????
  • PriscillaLaine
    PriscillaLaine Posts: 124 Member
    Don't forget Camden!
    There's a great little pub called Lock Tavern, it's pretty small and can get crowded on a friday/saturday night, but it's got an awesome vibe. They have a pretty outside area that looks over Stables Market, and often have live bands/DJ's playing.
    (Also there's the market, and sometimes cool events like mini festivals on in the the summer, but that pub is my favourite place ha)

    Would definitely say get up to Brighton if you can.

    If you like theatre/Shakespeare, The Globe Theatre sell £5 standing tickets. They're pretty awesome because the standing crowd often gets a lot of interaction with the actors, also as it's an open air theatre, when it's summer time and dusk, it feels magical. Plus they do a great Pimms there.

    Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, Science Museum are all free and awesome.

    If you like Harry Potter, the Studio Tour is amazing.

    If you like cats and tea, check out Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium, it's London's first Cat Cafe!

    Every summer Film4 do an open cinema experience at Somerset house (giant screen, everyone sitting in the open etc)

    Also, there's a Rooftop cinema! http://www.rooftopfilmclub.com/

    I should probably stop now. No matter what you do, you'll have an amazing time, I'm sure.
  • nickowastaken
    nickowastaken Posts: 751 Member
    I'll avoid the obvious stuff previously mentioned but off the top of my head:

    Explore Shoreditch and walk down to the city from there so you can see the gherkin, the cheesgrater, the walkie scorchie and the shard. Go up to the viewing level of the shard, been meaning to do this for a while but from what I have seen it's awesome.

    Eat at Chinatown. C&R cafe down Rupert Court is great. Tayyabs in the east end is better than any curry you can get down Brick Lane imo.

    Late night drinking in Soho is more fun that Covent Garden. So many characters down there / around Old Compton Street. The Thai food at @Siam on Frith Street is great.

    Cocktails at FREVD… seemingly impossible (basement level on Shaftesbury Avenue) to find but absolutely thumping at night.

    Borough market, get coffee at Monmoth Coffee… nearly always have to queue but it's worth it.

    Try an orientate yourself and walk a lot! It's more fun that taking the tube :)
  • ShaniWulffe
    ShaniWulffe Posts: 458 Member
    Thank you all for your amazing suggestions! I'm really excited :)
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    <---- Londoner (well born in Liverpool by accident of birth from a family of Londoners :laugh: )

    Depends where you are in London... London is huge. Get to know your local area, especially what pubs etc other students go to. Get a bus pass or travel card (or whatever the modern equivalent is, I've lived outside the UK for nearly 7 yrs now) and then you can travel all round the London area including tubes and buses (buses only if you just get a bus pass) then you can go pretty much where you like within London. Travelling outside of London is expensive whether by car or public transport, but it's worth doing if you have the opportunity and finances. But one thing about London is you really don't have to go far to find great places to hang out and visit, and great shops. Usually everything you need is just 1 or 2 bus rides away. Or you can walk. People tend to use public transport so much that they forget how close some tube stations are to each other and how easy it is to walk everywhere (and you still have the option of public transport when it's raining).

    I don't recommend owning a car if you live in London unless you're way out in suburbia or something - you don't need one especially if you live on a night bus route (something to consider when renting accommodation, i.e. how far you are from major bus routes especially night buses) - London has the best public transport in the world. Parking in London is a very expensive nightmare and you have to pay 5 pounds a day to drive in central London (unless that's changed in the nearly 7 years I've been outside the UK). Buses get priority on London roads so it's usually quicker to take the bus than to drive, although sometimes you can wait a while at bus stops, but most bus routes have buses running every 7-10 minutes.

    Pubs are the main places where people hang out and stuff but there are also loads of cafes and similar. If you're a student you won't find it hard to find places to hang out, just go where the other students are going. Most UK universities have "Fresher's week" where you get to find out where the best pubs are etc.

    Get a London A-Z (map book) to help you find places (whether by walking or by public transport) or you can probably get some similar kind of phone app for that nowadays.
  • motivatedmartha
    motivatedmartha Posts: 1,108 Member
    Harry Potter Studio Tour was so much fun and, if you enjoyed the films a must see - the props displays are amazingly detailed.

    Oxford worth visit, Kew Gardens is lovely - personally I would avoid Oxford St but then I HATE shopping.

    Borough Market, Brick Lane, Covent Garden and Camden all very atmospheric, massive variety of street food, especially good at Camden Market.

    Hyde Park on Sundays is great; Rotten Row, Speakers Corner and of course, the Serpentine is nice; they used to have artists all displaying stuff along Bayswater Rd on Sunday mornings - people used to sail model boats on the Round Pond (Peter Pan statue there) - all to see during a pleasant walk around the park.

    Have fun!!!
  • BigBellyGoAway
    BigBellyGoAway Posts: 781 Member
    Head north and party with the Scots.
  • alisonmarytuck
    alisonmarytuck Posts: 68 Member
    I should also have mentioned the London Eye and riding an open top bus tour.
  • JCLondonUK
    JCLondonUK Posts: 159
    No one has mentioned Brixton market - South London always gets left out! :smile: Go on a Saturday when there's lots going on in the streets (usually steel band music, some kind of event in the square by the Ritzy, people shouting about hellfire and damnation from megaphones, and no doubt a fair few other weird and wonderful things) then wander up the hill in Brockwell Park for a thoroughly old-fashioned English lunch, including some kind of pud with custard, and a great view of the city.

    In general though, try and hang out with people who live in the city, rather than stick with a gang of students on an exchange programme. That's how you'll really get to know the city, and people will then engage with you rather than treat you like a tourist who is just passing through.

    And have fun! :smile:
  • PriscillaLaine
    PriscillaLaine Posts: 124 Member
    Get a bus pass or travel card (or whatever the modern equivalent is, I've lived outside the UK for nearly 7 yrs now) and then you can travel all round the London area including tubes and buses (buses only if you just get a bus pass) then you can go pretty much where you like within London.

    Get an Osyter card, you top it up at train stations or in some shops like off-licences and it can be used on all London buses and trains. Much cheaper than buying individual tickets etc, and if going by trains it won't go over the amount it would cost for an all day travel card.