I'm heading to London for work in 2 weeks. I will have about 12 hours the Friday I get there and about 6 hours on Sunday to check out the city before flying back home. I'll work all day and night Saturday. My ideal situation would be to be there for a week to check everything out, but that ain't happenin'. Wondering if any of you have been and what I should hit up in my short amount of time.
I'd suggest just doing the touristy thing on Friday and get on the Hop on Hop off bus. They take you everywhere, audiotours, etc. Taking the boat ride on the River Thames is nice as well. I usually just walk around and explore personally. London is a pretty good walking city, just start in Leichester Square and check shit out. Go to Harrods (they have a dress code I believe or you can't bring backpacks inside), get some fish and chips, have a pint.
Riding the Tube is an interesting experience in itself too. When I went, I was only there like 2-3 days...had food poisoning (watch out for those Halal meats).....still, managed to walk around the city quite a bit solo for one day and saw a lot while my parents checked out some palace garden which I wasn't interested in at all.
There was a double header fight that night for HBO. We were in Montreal and the first fight was in London. Our fight got cancelled, so they are sending us over to London. Pretty last minute for such a huge show. So oficially I'm only getting 2 travel days and 1 day of work out of this. Wouldn't mind sticking around to check out the sites, but HBO said they wouldn't pay for my accommodations. Don't want to go over there and come back with no money to show for it. Plus, been a busy couple weeks and want to be with the fam.
It's called the natural history museum. Check it out. London has the best museums in the world. They stole everything during the expansion of the British empire.
Shopping is nice around and just North of Covent Garden Stn. As soon as you step out of the station walk up Neal St and there are loads of not so couture shops in the area. Liberty on Regent St near Oxford Circus Stn is a classy department store. Harrods is pretty much a mall and is usually packed so if you take a woman expect to spend hours there. Just next to Tower Bridge is the Tower of London and across the water is City Hall so you can see three things from one spot. If the weather is nice you can walk from there West along the Thames for as long as you want. The London Eye is probably a nice view from the top but I've never had the patience to wait to get on. There is a nice but not too expensive lunch buffet beneath St Martin in the Fields church in what is called the Crypt. North of Charring Cross Stn or South of Leicester Square Stn. Gives you an alternative to jumping into a pub or sandwich shop.
It's near a lot of other things to see (like Big Ben and Westminster Abbey) and I really liked the tour through the Churchill bunker...it's where Churchill planned, plotted and lived during WWII. http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms
If it were me I'd just plan on walking a lot and taking the underground. It's such a historic place it seems a shame to be indoors during the summer in London for such a short time. I'd walk along the south bank, across the Tower Bridge, check out St Paul's cathedral, Chinatown, Soho, Leicester Square, Big Ben/Parlaiment, (skip Piccadili Circus--there's really no point to it), and maybe cross the new Millenium bridge. If you must go indoors, go inside St Paul's and check out the Whispering Gallery (pretty cool effect) and take a ride on the London Eye (big ferris wheel). Once you do this walk, for the rest of your life you'll see movie after movie with shots of London and think to yourself, "I remember that!" I love that feeling. Also, you'll have a much better feel for what you like the next time you go there. I'm a huge fan of covering lots of ground the first time I visit a new city, country, fishing spot, hunting spot, hike, whatever. Take in a ton so you know where to focus next time. If you get tired of walking, hop on a tourist bus with the open second stories. I've never done it, but it seems like a worthwhile use of time. Also, London has the reputation for the best place on the planet for Indian food.
Don't drink the bitter beers there. Or at least, don't drink more than one. Worst hangover of my life after a night of those. Edit: Mook pretty much nailed it; although, I'd add Westminster Abbey to the list.
Been to Scotland and loved it. I've always wanted to go to London..... just sucks I won't have much time. Thanks for all the ideas. I think I start at the tower bridge and work my way down the river.
