Re: Question for Hide members in the UK
Not a UK member, but spent a lot of time over there and lived in Cambridge for a while.
London is FULL of cool stuff to do.
The usual Tourist things are the Tower of London (Crown Jewels), London Bridge, Parliment. Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is one of those 'must do' things for most first-timers. I prefer the changing of the Guard at the Tower of London when, around Dusk, the ceremonial uniforms come off and some really hard cases with Cammies and rifles appear on the walls! The usual tourist stuff can occupy days.
I am a museum nut, so here are a few of my favorite:
London Transportation Museum is neat. It's a history of London's transit system from Roman Roads up to present. Near Covent Garden.
The Victoria and Albert Museum is amazing and is a huge history of 'empire' when England was at its height.
The Science Museum of London is amazing and kid-friendly. It will entertain for hours.
And the Imperial War Museum, for folks with a military interest, will occupy a day easily.
Most people will want to go over to Knightsbridge and visit Harrods, if only for the atmosphere. There are some great food vendors in the place.
But if you really want some interesting shopping, go up into Mayfair. Can't afford most of it, but the looking is great. There is also a great 'antiques, books, prints and' district that I think was near the theater district. Been a while since I was there. And some neat flea markets, especially for antiques if that's your thing.
If you have kids or are bringing kids, visit Hamleys. The world's greatest toy store. Forget FAO Schwartz. Hamleys is it! On Regent street. Great shopping around it for the wife or yourself.
Don't bother with Taxi's for the most part. Take the tube everywhere. Clean, fast, easy to navigate. London Traffic is nightmarish. Don't even think about renting a car! Trains and tubes are outstanding. If you want to get out of the city for a day, you can take a train to Cambridge. University town and amazing for walking and seeing sights.
For food... anything that says "best pub" or "most historic pub" isn't. In fact, I avoid anything that looks like some Olde English Inne. When in London... Currey, Thai, Indian food... whatever. Don't bother with English cooking. Beware asking for things 'native hot' if you are into spice. Because it has a whole different meaning in London! It will hurt. Unless breakfasts are included at hotel, I would not bother ordering... I prefer to go out and find a coffee shop and grab whatever pastries are there with coffee.
Beer is still good, but so many of the locals savor "Budweiser and Coors" as to just be hilarious. Guess import is import wherever you are. Not sure if the microbrew craze has taken off since I was last there for any extended period, but there are still good beers... And warm is not warm... it's just sort of not icy cold. So don't be turned off by the idea that they drink warm beer. It's very good... I would know. Lots of wine bars, too. Many with outside seating, which is nice this time of year.
London is really safe... mostly. If you stick to the tourist areas and the main drags, no problem. There are some areas that are best left alone.
Just a few thoughts... you can spend weeks exploring. It's a great city! Don't be shy about getting out of the city, either. The trains are great and can get you to all kinds of places (Cambridge, Portsmouth, Oxford, etc.) easily. Another great city to visit is the walled city of Bath. Bit North. More of an overnight.
Just some thoughts. Have a great trip.
Cheers,
Sirhr
