I am captivated with London England. I was wondering if anyone from there or if anyone has been there can tell me anything about it, or know of any interesting links I could go to? I would love to go but if I do get to go it will be next year in August or September because I want to take the tour of Buckingham Palace. I truely think I was born in the wrong country. :) So if anyone can tell me anything I would really love it. Thank you.
2006-10-30 02:55:12 · 13 answers · asked by Amber W 1 in Travel ➔ United Kingdom ➔ London
Also, what is the difference in US money and London money???
2006-10-30 03:14:36 · update #1
I live and work in London. (Hounslow, 3miles from Heathrow Airport towards Central London)
2006-10-30 03:11:20 · answer #1 · answered by SAM M 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi
I'm an Australian currently living in London (there are lots of us here).
It is a really cool city. It is different to anywhere else I have ever been and definitely worth checking out.
I think August would indeed be a great time for you to go as the weather is pretty good that time of the year.
The money they use in London are British Pounds Sterling (abbreviated as GBP or just £) from the Bank of England. They use different looking money in Scotland and Northern Ireland but it is worth the same amount. One pound is worth about 2 US dollars. The money looks quite different to US money - bigger and more colourful banknotes (with the Queen of course) and the highest denomination is 50 pounds, but even those are quite rare as people don't tend to use money higher than a 20 pound note. The lowest is 5 pounds, as the 1 and 2 pound denominations are coins. They have pence instead of cents and there is no such thing as a quarter. The denominations are 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p (looks like a US quarter), 20p, 50p, £1 and £2.
2006-10-31 07:38:41 · answer #2 · answered by London Aussie 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hey!..I just got back from London on Friday of last week. Truly a beautiful city. Was there for 7 days, and was still not enough. Hit as many of the tours as you can. Tower of London was fun, as was the Royal Albert Hall tour. See as much theatre as you can. I seen 4 shows, and the theatres there are awesome.
The city is very very expensive!..Make sure to have a nice amount of spending money. Also, if your a partier, the clubs and bars close relatively early compared to American standarts, as do the restaurants. The city is gorgeous!..I am going to book my next trip back in the very near future:).
ALSO, Get the "London Pass" It includes a pass for the underground and admission into nearly all the exibits and tours of the main London sites.
2006-10-31 13:50:35 · answer #3 · answered by r b 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Erm, it's a honking great city with a river through the middle and incredible house prices for a country that pays people so badly and has high taxes.
Interestingly, the black stuff that comes out of your nose after you have been on the underground is mostly other people's skin. I was in Kings Cross 168 hours, before the fire started. Following the road signs is a good way to get stuck in traffic for many hours. The red light district is rumored to be around Kings Cross, though I never saw anything dodgy there.
Can you be more specific about what you'd like to know?
I'd choose September, after the schools go back.
2006-10-30 16:54:19 · answer #4 · answered by Chris H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
London I know very well, now to get a tour of Buckingham Palace
there is only one and that to go up the main staircase, as for the rest of the palace its out of bounds.
There is the London eye, all the museums, London Dudgeon,The Tower, all within easy reach, the exchange rate is £1.71 for $1, I think but check it out before you come. you have 100 pennies to the pound Stirling. The lowest coin is 1p the highest is £2, notes are £5,10.20,50. have fun
2006-10-30 13:02:43 · answer #5 · answered by charliecat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
During the end of my sophomore year in high school I heard about a trip to Europe that would happen in the second semester of my junior year. I signed up as quickly as I could, even though it would cost me more than $3,000 and was meant for seniors. We went to London, Paris, and Madrid -- all in 9 days! Much of the time was spent travelling, and (sadly) we spent the least time in London, but it was awesome.
If you're anything like I was, your expectations of London will definitely be met, and probably exceeded. When you get to go, I recommend bringing a digital camera with an extra memory stick.
On our first day they let us roam around the Tottenham Court Rd. area, which has a ton of clothing/shoe/tourist shops, restaraunts, and internet cafes. The second day we visited many of the classic sites such as Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace (saw the changing of the gaurd), and the London Eye, as well as taking a bus tour of both London and Westminster. I was amazed by all of the parks there. It's a very green city, and extremely clean. It does get VERY expensive though -- I believe London is rated one of the most expensive places to visit. Getting cheap touristy stuff like keychains and postcards isn't too bad, but buying food and clothes with quickly deplete your money. Very quickly. Especially with the terrible echange rate , which is currently about 1 USD = .5 GBP.
If you like shopping, go to Oxford St. And if you're ever in the area, you should go to Carnaby St. It's a very vintage-feeling place to shop. It used to be home to a ton of funky shops in the 1960's. Check out http://www.carnaby.co.uk/ and http://www.oxfordstreet.co.uk/ for more info.
My group also saw a play at the Savoy Theatre. If you're sure you're going, definitely look into what shows will be playing in the West End during your stay: http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/
You might also want to check out info about Madame Tussaud's wax museum. I didn't go but it's supposed to be awesome. http://www.madame-tussauds.co.uk/
One last thing -- while you're there, take a mini trip out of the city. Rent a car or take a bus and check out all the Shakespeare stuff in Stratford-upon-Avon, or just go to some neat little country bed & bath. If you have a couple days, you might even want to go to Paris via the Chunnel. (Paris is fun, too.)
I hope that helped!
2006-10-31 14:22:00 · answer #6 · answered by Chris 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well London is may favourite city and i a have been there a few times but i live in Wales (which is in the UK next to England) and "London money" is called sterling and is used throughout the UK it is usually $1 is like 50p but i am not sure, so like £1 would be $1.50
2006-10-30 18:12:56 · answer #7 · answered by Alex 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I lived in London for a few years and it is wonderful!!! Here are a few links you might check out to get a feel for the city.
http://www.londontown.com/
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Greater_London/London-309228/Off_the_Beaten_Path-London-BR-1.html
http://www.10best.com/London,UK_-_England/
The money works like this...Britain uses "Pounds" and "Pence" for their money. One Pound = 100 pence. There are coins for 1 pence (also called p), 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, and 50p. There are also coins for 1 pound and 2 pound. You might see some 1 pound notes if you travel to Scotland but they are rare. Be aware, your coins can be worth quite a lot of money! The exchange rate varies from day to day but right now it's about $1US is equal to about 58 pence. In real life terms...if you take $1000 to Britain you will get about 525 Pounds to spend. If something is priced at 10 pounds that equals about $19 (US). It's expensive but worth it!
2006-10-30 22:06:47 · answer #8 · answered by jonahbeast 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I just got back from London. You will love it. Very large city that is extremely busy.
The conversion rate from US to British Sterling is low. You will not get much with the US dollar.
Go to Londontown.com
2006-10-31 09:35:25 · answer #9 · answered by Yikes! 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I live and work in Central London
2006-10-30 23:48:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋