European vacation questions

[Mariner]

A week in London? Wow, I'd rather be repeatedly punched in the face by a spastic clown.

Sound like the act of one of the 'street entertainers' you'd find in Covent Garden.

I actually visited London at the weekend. Not too bad for a few days visit but as always I felt bloody glad I don't live there.

I recommend spending maybe two or three days there epic as you'll be able to see most of the sights in that time but then, by all means, visit somewhere else in the country.

 

[Arwin]

You'll want to stay somewhere close to the center obviously. The hotels near the business district (The City) are usually most comfortable I think, and that's not far from the city center - I always walked there, but taxis are very good in London and affordable, as is the subway etc.

The science museum was my wife's favorite there by far. She went to see some 3D stuff there and there's all sorts of cool stuff. She also liked the park just behind the St Paul's, because there were some tame squirrels that eat from your hand. I've been there for work a few times and since the hotels always tend to sleep two without additional cost, my wife has been taking advantage.

I'd recommend maybe taking one of those open bus tours around the city, as that will give you a good first impression after which you can decide what you think is worth a closer look. But definitely also get out of there for a few days and enjoy the countryside (wheather permitting, that is. )

 

[MulciberXP]

...

 

[Simon F]

If you like museums (majority of which are free) I'd suggest the British Museum (near Holborn), Science, Natural History (both in South Kensington) and the Greenwich Observatory (and I recommend a boat trip from, say, Westminster through to Greenwhich)

The parks are also very pleasant especially St James.


I'd also suggest a side trip to Cambridge or Oxford.

 

[Mize]

Food might be of concern, we are all vegetarians.

You're Hindu veggies though right? Fish is okay?
If so, Spain is hard to beat...Costa Brava near Barcelona - beaches and some of the best Med sea food in the world. Quite a few good museums too including the Dali Museam.

 

[mcsven]

epic,

All of the things you should see in London are accessible from the tube (underground) which means that your hotel location is not really that important, as long as it is within Zone 1-2 (have a look here to see what I'm talking about). People grumble about the tube, but it's the largest and most extensive underground railway system in the world, as well as being the oldest (let's see how what we're building today stands up in 140 years!). It's not particularly cheap, but then nothing in London is.

I'd recommend staying somewhere around South Kensington. The area is very pleasant and safe to walk around and it's in close proximity to the Science and Natural History museums as well as the Victoria and Albert Gallery, Harrods and The Albert Hall. There's a large Holiday Inn on Cromwell Road that would situate you nicely, right next to Gloucester Road tube stop. I've stayed there and it's OK.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

Harrdolds was a big dissapointed for me personally. Been there once and everybody was like ow you got so much stuff there and all but really I found it boring as hell. Nothing that will really make you wow.

 

[RussSchultz]

I had lunch (or was it tea?) at Harrod's, which made it better, but it was just a big fancy store, otherwise (and there's plenty of those in the US)

 

[epicstruggle]

Id love to see the English country side but from posts in this thread and conversations with the wives made me think that sticking to one location might be easier. How easy would it be to go out of London with 4 adults and 2 infants? What would you recommend?

 

[RussSchultz]

Id love to see the English country side but from posts in this thread and conversations with the wives made me think that sticking to one location might be easier. How easy would it be to go out of London with 4 adults and 2 infants? What would you recommend?

Rent a minivan and take a drive.
Take a train to some other close town. (Cambridge is nice, and the colleges there are very interesting to tour. You'd need to take a taxi from the train station, though. Its too far to walk with strollers easily from the station to the college area)

I'd recommend the train, as driving something in England terrifies me (it was terrifying enough to ride on the 'wrong' side, I can't imagine driving) and parking a minivan is going to be a pain, anywhere in the UK.

 

[epicstruggle]

just checked the price on a minivan for a week its about 150ish pounds. Whats the cost of a cab from heathrow to central london? My dad said it was about 100pounds about 2-3 years ago. So it might not be too bad of an idea to just rent a minivan and cruise a bit further away from central london. I thought driving was really expensive with city/congestion charges and what not. Would you guys recommend it?

 

[RussSchultz]

The cab ride shouldn't be that much. I took a cab from Cambridge to Heathrow for ~100 pounds. (Maybe it was 120 or so). Of course, it was a pre-arranged cab and not a metered one.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

100 pounds cheap? with the current dollar that would be almost 200dollars. Not exactly cheap i'd say.

As for driving in London (or any other big euro city) I would never do it. We tried a couple of times in Barcelona and it just wont work. Its to big and you wont have the slightest clue where you are going not to mention you'll never get at the place you want to visit anyway and indeed in London you will be paying your ass on on congestions charges and all. Just take the tube in the city. Faster, cheaper, easier.

I'd recommend the train, as driving something in England terrifies me (it was terrifying enough to ride on the 'wrong' side, I can't imagine driving) and parking a minivan is going to be a pain, anywhere in the UK.

Not if you are used to it In america everything is just supersized, its normal around here We dont need cars the size of a boat and still have more room inside

As for the english country side, its all green and a bit hilly and wet and rainy if you are unlucky. I wouldnt say england is the best place to go if you want to see mother nature.

Go to holland than Rent a bike (or buy one from a junkie for 10 bucks) and ride around in a 20km part and go see all the flowers and stuff. France also has some nice country sides.

 

[Mize]

Renting a car for a London trip is not a good idea. London is a great walking town (assuming it isn't pouring rain) and the Underground is terrific (assuming there isn't a strike). When all else fails taxis work just fine.

I used to spend a few weeks a year in England and, to get the cheaper airfares, I'd stay the weekend in London. I almost never used a taxi, relying on my legs and the tubes. Great town by the way. If you want a high-priced, but fantastic meal try Mirabelle.

If you can fly into Gatwick there's an express train into Victoria Station. I used to stay at the Crowne Plaza Buckingham Gate which was a short walk from Victoria Station - not a Sherwood but a very nice hotel. Sometimes I'd stat at the Meridian hotel out at Gatwick if I had an early AM departure - nice hotel as well with genuine NON-British plumbing )).

 

[RussSchultz]

100 pounds cheap? with the current dollar that would be almost 200dollars. Not exactly cheap i'd say.

For a week, its not bad.

In america everything is just supersized, its normal around here We dont need cars the size of a boat and still have more room inside

I'm sure there's a magical reality distortion field that can fit 4 adults and two infants inside a Smart Fourtwo.

As I said, a minivan will be hard to park, because its bigger than the average car there.

 

[dizietsma]

From Heathrow you can get the tube or Paddington Express into central London for cheap, then get a a taxi to your hotel

Rather than renting a minivan to get out of London why not try and get cheap tickets on Eurostar and visit Paris for the weekend during your stay? Make it a 2 centre holiday! It is quick and easy, even with the youngsters.

Not sure why people have it in for London, it has a lot of great sites from historic to modern, the locals speak English ( apart from the visiting northerners ) and the temperature is likely to be in the 70-80's with some sun.

The food is not as good as a lot of European places though on the whole, though there are bright spots.

 

[Simon F]

(it was terrifying enough to ride on the 'wrong' side, I can't imagine driving) and parking a minivan is going to be a pain, anywhere in the UK.

But wasn't Epic's good wife living in South Africa where they drive on the correct side of the road? She should be used to it. :smile:

As for areas to drive - the Cotswolds aren't too far from London and there are some beautiful (I think the expression in the US is "quaint") villages in that area.

As I said, a minivan will be hard to park, because its bigger than the average car there.

We have a 5~7 seater MPV and have not had difficulty parking. Maybe it lacks the, say, built-in jacuzzi of an equivalent US vehicle so is probably smaller.

 

[epicstruggle]

Im actually pretty good at driving on either side of the road. Ive taken 24 hour flights to South Africa and driven from the airport to her house from landing.

Im curious how enjoyable is the taking the train from place to place compared to taking a car ride? The places close to the hotel we will do with walking/tour buses/train, but those further away? Train or car? Places like Windsor castle.

 

[Sxotty]

I had no problem driving in Australia either, but it was probably less crowded there.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

Im actually pretty good at driving on either side of the road. Ive taken 24 hour flights to South Africa and driven from the airport to her house from landing.

Im curious how enjoyable is the taking the train from place to place compared to taking a car ride? The places close to the hotel we will do with walking/tour buses/train, but those further away? Train or car? Places like Windsor castle.

Train probably. Mainly because getting in and out of london is a bitch.