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JethroTull

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Any advice, suggestions for an American tourist in London? This is my first time there. I'm going there with my mother(she's 82) during the end of March for one week. Last time I checked ticketmaster UK there were no concerts that interested me. I already have tickets for Speed the Plow at the Old Vic Theather starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum.

Also, interesting day trips anybody can recommend would be appreciated.

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It depends what your interests are I guess. There are a number of museums/galleries etc well worth seeing, not to mention all the historical locations.

Not much happening gig-wise in March. The Eagles are playing the O2 towards the end of the month but the tickets are very expensive - presumably the reason why the dates aren't sold out.

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London can be hard on the feet if you're sightseeing (and bearing in mind your 82 year companion) it might be a good idea to go on a sightseeing trip by riverboat. Chugging down the Thames past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben is pretty cool!

St Paul's Cathedral (where Charles & Diana were married), Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London, plus Buckingham Palace are all on most people's "must see" lists when visiting London for the first time. If you go to Buckingham Palace, try to be there for the Changing of the Guard, which is a ceremony worth seeing.

You could also consider a trip out to Greenwich to see the observatory. You can see the line in the ground which marks the Greenwich Meridian (marking GMT). It's very close to the O2 Arena as well!

Hope you have a great time. :)

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Lilith kinda brought up something I was going to mention, all of the walking! I wasn't completely prepared so my suggestion is, very comfortable walking shoes.

I saw all the stuff the previous poster mentioned (apart from the observatory) and it was very cool. We walked through St. James's Park when we visited Buckingham Palace and I thought it was really nice. Don't forget about Big Ben :D

Also I loved Camden Town but that's not really for everyone so you might look into it. Bus systems there are great there if you're on a budget (you didn't say you were but I certainly was!)

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My husband and I went in 2005. London is very expensive so if you want to do something relatively inexpensive and you like history, you can go to the British Museum. They have lots of cool stuff there like the rosetta stone and lots of Egyptian artifacts, and an actual Easter Island Statue. The place is huge and you can spend hours there. When we went it was free to get in but they had a big bin to give a donation to the museum.

The London eye was cool. It was a long line but once you buy tickets they tell you what time to get in the queue. We also went to the London Dungeon which was a creepy wax museum. If you like that kind of thing there is also Madam Toussauds wax museum. Be sure to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral.

One thing we really enjoyed was the English pubs. I thought the food in the pubs was great and inexpensive. Many of the restaurants around London were outrageously priced. We did enjoy a rib place at Picadilly Circus called Adam's Ribs.

Walking shoes are a great idea. Also, the tube is a great way to get around the city. I had never been on a subway before but it was extremely easy to find your way around. We also utilized the bus system a bit.

Have a nice trip!!!

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  • 1 month later...
I know the currency used in England is the Pound, but does anybody accept Euros?

No, 'fraid not. Everyone has already mentioned a number of great places to visit, but the Victoria & Albert museum is a fantastic place for art, design, textiles, and fashion (it's also free and has a lovely place to eat inside), and the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery (in Trafalgar Square) are both really wonderful (and free). I also highly recommend the Tate Britain (not too far from Westminster--I've walked from one to the other quite a few times). Tea at Liberty (off Regent St.) is always really nice, especially if you have your mum with you. We often take my mother-in-law to Kew Gardens (reachable by tube), which is one of the most beautiful places in the world, imo. It also has nice tea rooms. Have a great trip!

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No, 'fraid not. Everyone has already mentioned a number of great places to visit, but the Victoria & Albert museum is a fantastic place for art, design, textiles, and fashion (it's also free and has a lovely place to eat inside), and the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery (in Trafalgar Square) are both really wonderful (and free). I also highly recommend the Tate Britain (not too far from Westminster--I've walked from one to the other quite a few times). Tea at Liberty (off Regent St.) is always really nice, especially if you have your mum with you. We often take my mother-in-law to Kew Gardens (reachable by tube), which is one of the most beautiful places in the world, imo. It also has nice tea rooms. Have a great trip!

Thanks. We are staying very near the Victoria and Albert and that was on our list. High tea is also on our list and I'll check out your suggestion.

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May I ask, why London? It seems every American wants to go to London when I, and other Brits know there are better locations here! Unless of course London is special to you. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a good place anyway. But it's getting to the point of be overrated.

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^ I think it's a good intro to England for Americans. I'm sure it's the same for those who come to America. There are a lot of great places outside the main cities, but people still tend to come to New York, LA, etc. When I came to London in 2002, we were only there for 6 days so didn't venture outside the city. There was so much to see, we couldn't possibly hit it all. I knew that eventually I'd like to come back and venture out, but wanted to see the main sights in London first.

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^^ That's understandable, wanting to see the sights of London. I mean I would want to go to NY or LA now I think about it, but only because really they've been glamorized. But that doesn't mean they aren't great, right? You tell me, you lucky git. :P

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May I ask, why London? It seems every American wants to go to London when I, and other Brits know there are better locations here! Unless of course London is special to you. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a good place anyway. But it's getting to the point of be overrated.

I've always seen as many parts of England and Wales as possible whenever I've gone to the UK (usually twice a year or so), but I've come more and more to love London best of all and would live there in a trice. There's always something wonderful going on, something you can't say about LA, and it's far more beautiful a city than New York, not as claustrophobic as San Francisco, more open, green, and peaceful than Paris. Ahhh, now I'm really missing it again (not that I ever stop missing it when I'm away).

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May I ask, why London? It seems every American wants to go to London when I, and other Brits know there are better locations here! Unless of course London is special to you. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a good place anyway. But it's getting to the point of be overrated.

Several reasons, I am going with my 82 year old mother. She hasn't traveled much in her life. I want to make this trip as easy as possible. Being in a big city, we can just stay in London for the week and maybe take a day trip. Being a big fan of Tull and UK music in general, London has always been appealing to me. I should have gone in the 70's. Also my father-in-law, who has been all over the world, says London is the most charming of all the places he's been.

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Any advice, suggestions for an American tourist in London? This is my first time there. I'm going there with my mother(she's 82) during the end of March for one week. Last time I checked ticketmaster UK there were no concerts that interested me. I already have tickets for Speed the Plow at the Old Vic Theather starring Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum.

Also, interesting day trips anybody can recommend would be appreciated.

Make sure you don't get stuck in central London. Explore the suburbs. A nice day trip on the District Line (underground, even though most of that particular line is overground) is out to Richmond Upon Thames. Only 30 mins from central London. It's a pretty little town by the river Thames with some great pubs and eating places. Up on the hill are some great views overlooking the river and you also have Richmond Park nearby which is a very big expansive park with herds of deer roaming around. A day trip to Richmond combined with perhaps a visit to Kew Botanical gardens (just one train stop before) would make for a very nice time.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond,_London

View from the top of Richmond Hill. There is a nice pub here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:River_T...l_down_path.jpg

Edited by Mangani
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