Need London Help RE: Hotels, Transportation and Tours

[Pet Nit Noy]

We are former History/Government teachers. We like historical places and want to see as many such sites as we can.

 

Another thought for history buffs...

 

Perhaps St Paul's Cathedral is a destination on another day, but it's not mentioned in your Day 1 plans. As Americans, my husband and I got a good chuckle out of the Charles Cornwallis Memorial in the cathedral (not his burial site). The huge memorial goes into great detail enumerating the contributions of Cornwallis, especially his government service in India and rather conspicuously -- to Americans -- omits any mention of the American Revolution and Yorktown.

 

The cathedral has an interesting WII history, especially during the Blitz.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Since you like history, here's a recommendation for a museum that bridges the gap between art and history: the National Portrait Gallery in Trafalgar Square (just around the corner from the National Gallery). Thank you for the suggestion--I noted that they are open late. I think it will depend on how tired we are.

Across the street from the National Portrait Gallery is a branch of the ubiquitous Pret a Manger, an excellent soup/salad/sandwich place for a quick lunch.

http://www.theawl.com/2013/01/why-does-pret-a-manger-think-americans-are-stupid

 

 

I have already checked out the menu of the Pret a Manger. There is one around the corner from our hotel. I had thought that might be a good place to get a very quick meal before we catch the tube to Westminster station.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Day 2—We would like to visit the following on this day:

• Westminster Abbey [tour inside], Should I order tickets in advance or can I just purchase that day?
  
• Parliament Building/Parliament Square, [Can you visit inside the building without a formal tour? I do not think we would have time for the 1+ hr tour]
  
• St Margaret’s Church [tour inside—only open 10:30am to 1:30pm]
  
• Buckingham Palace State Rooms [tour inside], We need to figure out what time for our tickets.
  
• British Museum [last since it is open until 8:30pm on Fridays]
  
• Some place to eat lunch and another for dinner if we stay late at the museum
  

 

We are not sure which order to do these, since both Westminster Abbey and Buckingham palace have large crowds. [i read on another board that even with a timed ticket the line to get in Buckingham Palace can take an hour beyond ticket time.]

 

So our first plan was—be at Westminster Abbey for the 9:30 opening [1.5 hrs], then Parliament and St Margaret’s and get 1:30 or 2pm tickets for the Buckingham Palace. [but, if the lines are so long maybe we should do that first] :confused:

 

What other sites in this general vicinity should we see? When we are finished in this area we will ride the tube to the British museum. I MUST see the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles before I leave London. :rolleyes: [We visit Salisbury from our stop in Portland and will see the Magna Carta from there, so will skip the British Library.]

 

Day 3 will be spent in the Tower area and along the Thames.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Day 3-- We are staying at the Tower of London Doubletree hotel.

 

Our thinking is that the Tower is so crowded, [everyone says arrive early]that if we stay nearby we can be almost first in line to get in. So, on our last day we plan to do that and visit the small church by the Tower. [All Hallows] Our hotel is 1 block away.

 

Then we will eat lunch at Katharine's dock [for the river views], walk across the Tower bridge, and maybe do the "experience tour." We noticed there were a couple of pubs just the other side [south side] of the Tower Bridge. Should we eat there for lunch and visit St Katharine's dock area for dinner? Does anyone have a suggestion?:confused:

 

Then we plan to walk down the south bank of the Thames enjoying the experience [making any stops that appeal—likely down to the Globe Theater]. I downloaded Rick Steves' South Thames walk for commentary.

 

When we get tired we will take a tube back to the hotel or if we still have energy walk across the footbridge near St Paul’s Cathedral. This is our "let's stop and smell the roses" day. We want to see as much as we can. But, we want to get a feel for the city, too--so we will walk.

 

It is a lot of walking, but it is spread out over the day. Do you think we are being too ambitious?

 

We toyed with the idea of taking the tube or train to Greenwich [would love to stand at the Prime Meridian] after the Tower and Tower bridge. However, we felt we would not have time to see very much in Greenwich by the time we got there.

[SteveH2508]

Thanks you for the suggestion of the pub. Yes--we want to eat at pubs/interesting restaurants as much as we can. :)

 

We are former History/Government teachers. We like historical places and want to see as many such sites as we can.

 

Be aware that the Churchill Museum inside the Cabinet War Rooms may well eat into your time estimate - I spent a whole morning in there and did not see it all. It is a superb summary of British history over the last 150 years - Churchill was involved in most of it!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Be aware that the Churchill Museum inside the Cabinet War Rooms may well eat into your time estimate - I spent a whole morning in there and did not see it all. It is a superb summary of British history over the last 150 years - Churchill was involved in most of it!

 

I had read that it could take quite a bit longer than 2 hrs to see the Churchill War Rooms. But, unless we are earlier getting started we will have to decide if it is worth missing the St Martin Church at the other end of Whitehall. We can play it by ear.

[Globaliser]

No, you are shown the rate and given the option to cancel :)

However, I will not get a "market" rate at an ATM either. As many have noted each vendor determines their exchange rate. Wells Fargo will charge me $7.5 US to ship the currency to the bank. If I have several transactions in London, since there is no partner bank for Wells Fargo in London, and each one has a fee [most say this is around $5] I will not be giving up much for the convenience of having the currency when we arrive.

Admittedly, I don't currently have a card billed in foreign currency so I can't test this in UK machines. I'm going to see what I can find out about the DCC provisions for these cash machines - but at least you do get told the rate.

 

Otherwise, when using major bank ATMs, I've never had this experience anywhere in the world, whether or not the ATM operator has a partnership with my bank. If I use my debit card to draw cash at an ATM, I get charged the Visa interbank rate, plus a loading applied by my bank and a fee charged by my bank for using a non-partner ATM (if that's what I've done). In addition, ATMs in the US often charge me an additional fee themselves for my using them - but I have not seen such a fee on ATMs anywhere else that I regularly draw cash, and major bank ATMs in the UK do not charge fees themselves.

 

Again, I would be interested to know whether there are any major bank ATMs in the UK that don't operate on this basis when a non-UK card is used in them to draw sterling.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Day 2—We would like to visit the following on this day:

• Westminster Abbey [tour inside], Should I order tickets in advance or can I just purchase that day?
  
• Parliament Building/Parliament Square, [Can you visit inside the building without a formal tour? I do not think we would have time for the 1+ hr tour]
  
• St Margaret’s Church [tour inside—only open 10:30am to 1:30pm]
  
• Buckingham Palace State Rooms [tour inside], We need to figure out what time for our tickets.
  
• British Museum [last since it is open until 8:30pm on Fridays]
  
• Some place to eat lunch and another for dinner if we stay late at the museum
  

 

We are not sure which order to do these, since both Westminster Abbey and Buckingham palace have large crowds. [i read on another board that even with a timed ticket the line to get in Buckingham Palace can take an hour beyond ticket time.]

 

So our first plan was—be at Westminster Abbey for the 9:30 opening [1.5 hrs], then Parliament and St Margaret’s and get 1:30 or 2pm tickets for the Buckingham Palace. [but, if the lines are so long maybe we should do that first] :confused:

 

What other sites in this general vicinity should we see? When we are finished in this area we will ride the tube to the British museum. I MUST see the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles before I leave London. :rolleyes: [We visit Salisbury from our stop in Portland and will see the Magna Carta from there, so will skip the British Library.]

 

Day 3 will be spent in the Tower area and along the Thames.

 

I apologize for giving my own thread a bump. However, I wanted to see if I could get some feedback on going to Buckingham Palace first or if I should go to Westminster Abbey. Thoughts?? :confused:

 

DH would like to see the changing of the guard. i am not sure how I would work that in time wise.

[Pet Nit Noy]

DH would like to see the changing of the guard. i am not sure how I would work that in time wise.

 

Here's what the Changing of the Guard FAQ says: "The activity around the Palace itself starts at 10.45am. However, particularly in summer, some visitors will arrive as early as 9.30am to get a 'good position'.

 

Should you arrive early you can always walk over to either St James' Palace where the 'old guard' parade or to Wellington Barracks where the 'new guard' parade."

 

The last time I tried to see the changing of the Guard was in the 80s on our second trip to London. (I remember the 1982 date because the Falkland War was taking place.)

 

I arrived 30 minutes prior to the ceremony and found myself in the fourth row. I saw precious little of the ceremony and haven't tried again in any of our six other trips to London. We won't try in our next visit in 2015.

 

Your mileage may vary. Certainly folks by the hundreds line up daily!!

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Here's what the Changing of the Guard FAQ says: "The activity around the Palace itself starts at 10.45am. However, particularly in summer, some visitors will arrive as early as 9.30am to get a 'good position'.

 

I read that, too. We would not devote that much time to standing waiting for an activity. :rolleyes:

 

The last time I tried to see the changing of the Guard was in the 80s on our second trip to London. (I remember the 1982 date because the Falkland War was taking place.)

 

I arrived 30 minutes prior to the ceremony and found myself in the fourth row. I saw precious little of the ceremony and haven't tried again in any of our six other trips to London.

 

OK--I imagine the crowds have only gotten larger since the 80s. I may have to try to talk him out of this.

[milolii]

The crowds last summer, in the rain, were very large. The same was true in 2011. I also saw it in the 80s in February, very different crowds ; and we were with members of the Royal Navy. We also got a private tour of the Tower of London. But, my things have changed .

 

We took a short tour with the Original bus, part if our package. The tour operator(Phil) said there were 25,000 people( with umbrellas) in front of the palace. I think he might of been right. I would imagine folks lined up at the actual gates (to see the action in the forecourt) were there long before 0930.

 

This site might be helpful. http://changing-guard.com/guard-change-route.html

 

We caught the guard departing from St Janes Place, then followed them along the Mall, Moving quickly, mind you,with Phil waving a flag, We then jumped over to see the guards marching from the Wellington Barracks to the Palace. We could not see the action inside the gates. For that you would need to be there very early.

 

Hope this helps. Some if the local experts may have more to add.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[DragonOfTheSeas]

The crowds last summer, in the rain, were very large. . . .

 

This site might be helpful. http://changing-guard.com/guard-change-route.html

 

We caught the guard departing from St Janes Place, then followed them along the Mall, Moving quickly, mind you,with Phil waving a flag, We then jumped over to see the guards marching from the Wellington Barracks to the Palace. We could not see the action inside the gates. For that you would need to be there very early.

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Thank you this link is very good. Your route sounds like a good plan. I think DH would be happy to catch any part of the ceremony.

[loma linda ca a & j]

the pub across street from british museum called museum pub

was our favorite pub - had great appetizer type food & good beer ~~

your schedule looks ambitious but luckily you both walk a lot -

we cannot do as much so just choose 1 or 2 main places each day

we stayed at luna simone - bus 24 right in front of it runs 24 hrs !!!!!

the day we arrived umpacked, took a short afternoon nap,

ate at italian rest on corner, then took bus ride all the way

to the end and then all the way back - got a good night's sleep &

then spent 4 days seeing the following:

 

bought a week pass for our 5 night stay - bus stopped near everything

we wanted to see - westminster cath. & abbey, churchill, british museum,

took another bus from traf sq to st pauls & london tower -

did not go in london tower - long line - instead took boat ride

to greenwich - return boat ride to westminster stop to catch bus 24

 

we shall return again to stay at luna simone to see more !! ;)

 

have a marvelous time !!!:)

Edited August 10, 2014 by loma linda ca a & j

[DragonOfTheSeas]

the pub across street from british museum called museum pub

was our favorite pub - had great appetizer type food & good beer ~~

your schedule looks ambitious but luckily you both walk a lot -

we cannot do as much so just choose 1 or 2 main places each day

we stayed at luna simone - bus 24 right in front of it runs 24 hrs !!!!!

the day we arrived umpacked, took a short afternoon nap,

ate at italian rest on corner, then took bus ride all the way

to the end and then all the way back - got a good night's sleep &

then spent 4 days seeing the following:

 

bought a week pass for our 5 night stay - bus stopped near everything

we wanted to see - westminster cath. & abbey, churchill, british museum,

took another bus from traf sq to st pauls & london tower -

did not go in london tower - long line - instead took boat ride

to greenwich - return boat ride to westminster stop to catch bus 24

 

we shall return again to stay at luna simone to see more !! ;)

 

have a marvelous time !!!:)

 

Thank you for the suggestion of the pub near the British museum. We will need to find something to eat near there.

 

While we walk a lot we will get just as tired after travel as everyone else. So, we will need to see how it will go.

 

On our last TA from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale we took a short nap the first day, too and then we just stayed up until a normal bed time and set an alarm to get up the next morning. by that night we were mostly on Barcelona time. We hope we are that lucky this trip.

 

We have thought about using a bus for at least one of our trips to experience the double deckers. I read that we are on one of the routes that use these.

 

edit: Were you using the regular bus or the HOHO bus?

Edited August 10, 2014 by DragonOfTheSeas

[orchestrapal]

Thank you for the suggestion of the pub near the British museum. We will need to find something to eat near there.

While we walk a lot we will get just as tired after travel as everyone else. So, we will need to see how it will go.

On our last TA from Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale we took a short nap the first day, too and then we just stayed up until a normal bed time and set an alarm to get up the next morning. by that night we were mostly on Barcelona time. We hope we are that lucky this trip.

We have thought about using a bus for at least one of our trips to experience the double deckers. I read that we are on one of the routes that use these.

edit: Were you using the regular bus or the HOHO bus?

 

Skip the nap and just get going. The HOHO bus once around it's route is possibly a good way to begin your day. London needs weeks and years to see it all which we have not yet done in over 36 two week or more trips.

Pick one or two places to see in depths and plan to return many times.

Enjoy!!!

[HRPro]

Having spent quite a bit of time in London over the years and crammed in as much as possible, I would recommend that you try to get tickets to Buckingham Palace first thing and do that tour before anything else. Between the State Room tours and the Changing of the Guard, the crowds will likely be massive. Then I would head down to Parliament Square and see St Margaret's Church before the 1:30 close and then tour Westminster Abbey--it's really worth it to do the Verger's tour but otherwise get the audio guide. The Abbey might be a little less crowded after 2pm. if you have time, you could make a quick stop at Parliament if the line is not too long and then head up to the British Museum to end your day. The pub across from the Museum is excellent and you could also eat dinner there after touring the Museum. You will not have time to fully tour the British Museum unless you planning to stay late and my guess is after that much touring, you'll be too tired to do more than the highlights on the first floor. The museum is far less crowded in the late afternoon or early evening, so that's a good time to visit.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Having spent quite a bit of time in London over the years and crammed in as much as possible, I would recommend that you try to get tickets to Buckingham Palace first thing and do that tour before anything else. Between the State Room tours and the Changing of the Guard, the crowds will likely be massive. Then I would head down to Parliament Square and see St Margaret's Church before the 1:30 close and then tour Westminster Abbey--it's really worth it to do the Verger's tour but otherwise get the audio guide. The Abbey might be a little less crowded after 2pm. if you have time, you could make a quick stop at Parliament if the line is not too long and then head up to the British Museum to end your day. The pub across from the Museum is excellent and you could also eat dinner there after touring the Museum. You will not have time to fully tour the British Museum unless you planning to stay late and my guess is after that much touring, you'll be too tired to do more than the highlights on the first floor. The museum is far less crowded in the late afternoon or early evening, so that's a good time to visit.

 

Thank you --you seem to have hit all of my high points. I have kept researching online regarding Buckingham Palace times. Everyone [including you] seems to say get there early, so that is what I will do.

 

I would be a little disappointed to miss seeing inside the St Margaret's Church, but if I can, I would rather see the inside of Parliament. [can you go inside without taking a formal tour? I read they take 1-- 1.5 hrs] I will have to play that by ear. Travel is a series of trade-offs. :)

 

As to the British Museum--I do not have plans to see all that much. I would like to see the Rosetta stone, some of the Egypt exhibit and the Elgin Marbles. If I did that I would leave the museum happy. I know that does not scratch the surface of what is available.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Skip the nap and just get going. The HOHO bus once around it's route is possibly a good way to begin your day. London needs weeks and years to see it all which we have not yet done in over 36 two week or more trips.

Pick one or two places to see in depths and plan to return many times.

Enjoy!!!

 

I hope we return again to London in a few years. :)

 

We are planning to spend time in the Churchill War Rooms, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Other sites will be shorter visits. But, we have found that timing is everything! Thank you to all you CC posters for helping organize my time. :D

[HRPro]

Thank you --you seem to have hit all of my high points. I have kept researching online regarding Buckingham Palace times. Everyone [including you] seems to say get there early, so that is what I will do.

 

I would be a little disappointed to miss seeing inside the St Margaret's Church, but if I can, I would rather see the inside of Parliament. [can you go inside without taking a formal tour? I read they take 1-- 1.5 hrs] I will have to play that by ear. Travel is a series of trade-offs. :)

 

As to the British Museum--I do not have plans to see all that much. I would like to see the Rosetta stone, some of the Egypt exhibit and the Elgin Marbles. If I did that I would leave the museum happy. I know that does not scratch the surface of what is available.

 

Yes, I believe that you can go inside if Parliament is in Session. The flag will be flying from the Victoria Tower if Parliament is in Session. The tours are only during the summer recess and generally Tuesday-Thursday. I think you can only gain access via the tours during the summer recess. Since you're planning to see the State Rooms tour of Buckingham Palace, I presume that you are cruising during that August-September time frame. If so, the only way you can enter the Parliament buildings is the tour. It lasts 75 minutes and cost about 15 pounds-- you need to book ahead. Opening time for Buckingham Palace is 9:45 am. I know you will enjoy London. It's one of my favorite cities, and you are planning to see all the highlights. What you've planned to see at the British Museum will take about an hour--of course, you can linger much longer but what you want to see is all on the first floor. Have a great cruise and a wonderful few days in London. I predict that you'll want to go back.

 

Susan

[DragonOfTheSeas]

Yes, I believe that you can go inside if Parliament is in Session. The flag will be flying from the Victoria Tower if Parliament is in Session. The tours are only during the summer recess and generally Tuesday-Thursday. I think you can only gain access via the tours during the summer recess. Since you're planning to see the State Rooms tour of Buckingham Palace, I presume that you are cruising during that August-September time frame. If so, the only way you can enter the Parliament buildings is the tour. It lasts 75 minutes and cost about 15 pounds-- you need to book ahead. Opening time for Buckingham Palace is 9:45 am. I know you will enjoy London. It's one of my favorite cities, and you are planning to see all the highlights. What you've planned to see at the British Museum will take about an hour--of course, you can linger much longer but what you want to see is all on the first floor. Have a great cruise and a wonderful few days in London. I predict that you'll want to go back.

 

Susan

 

We will be in London August 28-31. Thank you for the Heads up regarding tours of Parliament. We are planning on visiting that area on a Friday. so, we may not get inside. [we will put that on our list for next time]

 

It is good to know our must sees in the British Museum can be viewed easily.

 

Yes--I already want to go back--and we have not gotten there yet. :p

[milolii]

We loved London as well. Buckingham Palace is fabulous! Do you have tickets to visit the state rooms at Buckingham Palace? You will need those in advanced. Do not attempt to get them the day of. I believe the tours opened up last week. We opted for the Royal Day Out. it included the Royal Mews: Cars, Coaches and Horses. Apologies if I missed that fact.

 

 

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[TheCruisingBrewers]

We used the HOHO bus too with the Original Line and it was easy to get around on, I really loved the sights and know exactly where to get on off and back on. Plus getting out and getting some light is helpful to reset your internal clock.

 

We did the British Museum and the Tower of London and then later walked the area between Big Ben and Westminster, carefully skipping the changing of the guard chaos. The Horse Guards and Royal Mews are fun and there are guards on horseback most the day so I have plenty of close up pictures of them. We really loved the British museum and all of its halls and spent a good 3 hours there and another 2-3 at the Tower.

 

I agree you could spend even a week in London and still see very little of it. It is an amazing city.

[Cotswold Eagle]

We will be in London August 28-31. Thank you for the Heads up regarding tours of Parliament. We are planning on visiting that area on a Friday. so, we may not get inside. [we will put that on our list for next time]

 

Both Houses are on recess then. There are tours on that Friday, but I haven't checked availability.

 

http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/

Edited August 11, 2014 by Cotswold Eagle

[insanemagnet]

For the British Museum, check out BBC radio series called 100 Objects, which focused on significant, but often overlooked items. It should still be available as podcasts. The objects are spread throughout the museum and they used to give out maps to locate them. Choosing to see those objects, or at least using as a starting point, stopped you getting "trapped" on one floor.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

I promised I would come back to tell you how I did exchanging currency at my bank. DH and I determined that any loss of value through a bank exchange rate was the “cost of travel. “

 

We got our currency from our Wells Fargo bank. They do not charge any fee other than $7 for the Priority mail postage.

 

I exchange $752.29 for £430. [bank exchange rate was 1.7405] I did not write down the open market exchange rate for last Thursday, but yesterday it was 1.6726 and would have given me ~ £449.

 

In addition I exchanged $252.99 for €180. [bank exchange rate was 1.4055] I have some euros left from our trip last fall. They will come in handy this trip. The exchange on the open market yesterday was 1.3387 and would have given me ~ €188—but, I remember the open market rate was closer to 1.4 on Thursday.

 

Thus, I lost about $28 [or less if the euro rate was better] on the bank conversion vs the open market. I addition, I learned my bank would charge me $5 each time I used an international ATM--even if the UK ATMs do not charge me any fee. When you figure in several [at least 3] ATM fees there is not much difference and there is a big “peace of mind” factor.

 

We will use our credit card for any big purchases and to buy our Oyster cards. We have one credit card that does not have a foreign transaction fee and one with a chip that does have a fee. I called the latter and they sent me a pin number to use in Europe. We will only use that when our old swipe and sign [no fee card] does not work.

 

Of course, YMMV.