what places would you recommend i go to on my first vacation in London?

Answer 1

Hi, Here's what I always pass along!
Wow...you're in for a treat! Wear good walking shoes because London is a superb walking city. Bring a good map of the city and begin. Be a happy tourist and first hop on one of the major red double decker tour buses which afford you a perfect overview of London and you can "hop on and off" as often as you please...some for two days! I love www.theoriginaltour.com ! Highlights (see www.londonwalks.com): National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Tate Modern Museum, London Eye, Covent Gardens (great shops n restaurants), St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, see a play!, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Tower of London.
Know London has many beautiful parks which can be your oasis when needing a rest. Kensington Gardens in one of the world's wealthiest areas - See Princess Di's Kensington Palace and shop Kensington High St. and wander up Church St. for boutiques and such. Nearby: Royal Albert Hall, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum. Hyde Park connects to Kensington Gardens. Explore Chelsea for boutiques as well. St. James Park - beautiful, sole restaurant inside. Green Park - high tea at the Ritz, Fortnum & Mason, Picadilly Circus (think Times Square). Shopping streets: Oxford, Bond, check for weekly markets...BUY "TIMEOUT LONDON" weekly magazine. Boat trip on the Thames - a must. Don't forget - you can take the EUROSTAR Chunnel train to Brussels or Paris for day trips (2.5 hrs +/- each way!) Hope this helps. Have a fantastic time! :)

Answer 2

Go on one of the bus tours that take you around and tell you where everything is. You can get on and off these buses during the day so if you hear about something that you want to see more of, just hop off, take a look and get on the next bus after you have seen enough.

I'd recommend seeing a show at the theatre.
The London Dungeons are good.

There are quite a few free museums as well, some of which are huge and you can spend a whole day in.

I personally thought the London Eye was a bit over-rated, after all it is just a big Ferris wheel, but it does give you some good views over the city. I think it would be more impressive in the dark though.

If the weather is nice, Hyde Park is a nice place to go for a bit of greenery and a relaxing stroll.

Leicester Square is a must... it's a bit of a touristy area but worth a visit. You can also get cheap theatre tickets here as well in the Half Price Ticket Booth near Nat West.

Enjoy!

Answer 3

Do some research on the walking tours that are scheduled day and night. When I went we did three walking tours - one was a pub crawl that was at night, another was a Beatles walking tour that took us to significant places in Beatles' history and the last (and my favorite) was a Jack the Ripper walking tour at night that was led by one of the foremost authorities on the subject.

Make sure you go look at Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey and Houses of Parliament. When you are at Parliament, go across the street and ride the ferris wheel type observation deck (can't remember what it is called). Go take the tour at the Tower of London and see the crown jewels. If you are there on the weekend, check out one of the street markets - very interesting people there. And be sure and ride the subway system - it's a very convenient and economic way to get around (just be sure to "mind the gap". And if you can, find a tour that will take you places outside London - like Stonehenge or the castle where the royals live (can't remember that name either).

Have a great time!

Answer 4

There's lots to see.and visit. Here's a brief list of the main attractions.

Palaces - Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace. All of these are open to visitors.

Museums and Galleries - Natural History Museum, Science Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, The Tate and Tate Modern, British Museum, Imperial War Museum.

Famous Buildings and Monuments etc - The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Whitehall and Downing Street, Clarence House, St James Palace, Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, Marble Arch, Monument, Tower Bridge, London Eye.

Churches - Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, St Clement Dane, Temple Church, Saint Martin in the field.

There's such a lot to see I can't possibly list them all here. I'd recommend an Eyewitness Travel Guide as they're very comprehensive and include attractions, opening times, photos and maps.

Try the website for The Original London Walks as they do loads of guided tours around the city, They're very cheap and you can take Jack the Ripper, Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Charles Dickens, Museum and Ghost walks. They are very good indeed and you get to see the places lots of tourists don't eve know about.

Travel by tube or bus, It's cheaper than by taxi and very convenient. You can get travel cards from your nearest tube station.

The main shopping streets are Oxford and Regent Street. You can try New Bond Street for Designer labels. Camden for alternative clothing. There's a big mall in Brent Cross also.

As for food, there are places to eat everywhere. China Town in Soho is good and Brick Lane for Indian Food in particular.

For theatre and concert tickets try www.lastminute.com

Have fun.

Answer 5

British Museum, Natural History Museum, V & A museum, Tate Gallery, Tate Modern, Imperial War Museum... (museums, art)

Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Dunguens - (sightseeing, history)

Buckingham Palace - changing of the guards

Harrods, Harvey Nicholls - (shopping)

London Eye, Southbank, Covent Garden, Soho, Kings Road, Chelsea

See a musical, or go to Shakespeare's Globe and see a Shakespearan play in the outside theatre

Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, St Paul's cathedral

Answer 6

You have got to do the big ones like buckingham palace, westminster abby, st pauls, horse guards parade, parliment. You could try a bus tour. We have lots of them. The british museum, the rock circus, London Dungeons.

You could go shopping in Oxford street, regent street, Knightbridge for Harrods, Bond street

Free museums - Science museum, Natural History Museum the Victoria and Albert museum and then there are loads of Art places to go which really I have no idea because I don't know one end of a painting

Answer 7

Hi,,, i went to college there,so here goes,,,,,,
The British Museum,,,, the Tower of London,,, Trafalgar Square,, (where the big lions are). down the street to Parlement building and Big Ben,,, and across and down to Buckingham Palace for the guard changing... then the Abby.... then Hyde park on Sunday for (Speakers Corner) and Church at St Pauls.....then take in Madme Tussaids Wax Museum.... and if that isnt enough there are other museums,, and pop on a bus day trip to Canteberry....
That should get you going.....
if your a dancing machine also,, check out Tiffanys near Picadilly Circus..... on the right side after you come out the tube....

good luck........and take lots of pictures......

Answer 8

Victoria & Albert Museum----free –really great museum but huge
(South Kensington tube stop)
also at this stop
Natural History Museum & Science Museum –both also free

British Museum----free –also huge museum
Great Russell Street
(# 7 bus or Russell Square tube stop)

Kensington Palace —admission charge---and Gardens---free (if you don’t want to pay to get inside but you do want to go to the garden be sure to go up near the building and see the Sunken Garden)
(#94 bus or Queensway tube stop)

Wax Museum & Planetarium — admission charge -- separately or combination ticket
(Baker Street tube stop)

Harrods Department Store
(Knightsbridge tube stop)

Oxford Street —shopping (main central area)
(oxford Circus, Bond Street, or Marble Arch tube stops, numerous busses)

Regent Street ---shopping & architecture
Liberty of London Store (fabrics & clothing and more) --Tudor style building
runs from Oxford Street to Piccadilly Circus
(Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus tube stops, numerous busses)

National Gallery — free
Portrait Gallery - -behind it, also free
Trafalgar Square
(Charing Cross or Leicester Square tube stops, then ask for directions, you will be very close but you may not be able to tell)

The Globe Theatre – charge for a tour
this is an authentic recreation of Shakespeare’s theatre
(Mansion House (a 10 minute walk), Blackfriars and Cannon Street (a 15 minute walk), London Bridge on the Northern and Jubilee Lines (a 15 minute walk), Southwark on the Jubilee Line (a 15 minute walk); St Paul’s and Bank on the Central Line (a 15 minute walk). Lots of signs to direct you.

Tower Of London –admission charge but well worth it
(Tower Hill tube stop)
Tower Bridge (can be seen from the Tower)
this is the bridge most people mistake for London Bridge

Museum of London — free
great history of London
(Mooregate tube stop)

Houses Of Parliament – usually very limited or no access to interior – Big Ben
Westminster Abbey —across from Parliament
(Westminster tube stop)

Holland Park — free
The Japanese Garden in the park is beautiful. There are mansions off Holland Park Road
(Holland Park tube stop)

Royal Albert Hall & Albert Memorial – across from each other
south side of Kensington Gardens

Greenwich
Observatory – free
Queens House – free
Maritime Museum – free
Cutty Sark

the London Eye--- admission charge---- really worth it
even if you don't like rides and never go on ferris wheels you must go on this. It moves so slowly you do not know it is moving.
It isn't a ride it's an observation wheel

Answer 9

British museum is free admission (or at least it was a few years ago) and there is so much to see there!

Covent Garden is a nice place also...offers shopping, cafes street entertainment, close to many theatres, etc.

Piccadilly Circus and Leicster Square are also lively spots offering street entertainment, near theatres, etc.

I believe it is the National Gallery that is near Tralfagar square (i'm not sure of my spelling) and it's nice and free admission as I recall

Oh, and of course Buckingham Palace...my favorite park, St. James Park, is near there and it is lovely and quiet with swans and other assorted wildlife.

Enjoy!

Answer 10

Leicester Square. Buckingham Palace.