belgian2b
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 10:34 AM |
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Visiting London
Hello,
my wife and kids (12-10-10) want me to arrange a long week-end (4 to 5 days) in London.
Coming from Belgium by car,
when do you think we should come ( i was thinking before the O Games)
where would you recommend me to stay, and what's the best to visit.
Any advice is welcome
Gerardo
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Volvorsport
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 10:55 AM |
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having worked in belgium......
1, london aint that nice
2, visit when its cheapest
3, certainly not when olympic games are on
4, theres nicer places than london
5, premier inns are always good value , youll all be stayibg in one room tho....
6, windsor is ok .
lol
www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus
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liam.mccaffrey
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 10:59 AM |
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the science museum is in my opinion one the best places in the world and its free. I love it.
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theconrodkid
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 11:05 AM |
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1, london aint that nice
understatment of the year .
there are plenty places to see outside the touristy bits of central London.
Hendon RAF museum is brilliant,take a trip on the river thames,avoid anywhere there are queues of chinese with cameras.
generally west of london is better than the east (cos thats where i live)
who cares who wins
pass the pork pies
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Macbeast
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 11:07 AM |
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Certainly before the Games when accommodation will be impossible and expensive.
May would be good.
If you have the car, look for a hotel with parking well away from the centre and get around by tube. There is a congestion charge if you drive into or
through the centre. Use the car to visit places like Windsor, Brooklands motor museum, Leeds Castle ( in Kent, not Yorkshire )
In the centre, my favourites would be St Paul's Cathedral, Tate Modern gallery, Victoria and Albert museum or Science museum - or both if your
feet and kids will stand it . Plenty of small museums as well - Whitechapel Gallery, Sir John Soane's house, Theatres and Concert halls are
expensive but there are a lot of free shows as well. Museums and art galleries are free except for special exhibitions.
I'm addicted to brake fluid, but I can stop anytime.
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snapper
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 12:45 PM |
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London is one of the Great cities.
Worth doing some reaserch, some of the Official hop on hop off tourists busses mean you can take a whole day getting off at places and having a good
look round.
Buckingham palace, houses of parliament also have a look from the south bank of the Thames
London eye, the museums, Covent Garden market for food and street entertainment
Tower of London, always good. Boat trip up the Thames or a drink on the floating pub opposite the Ministry of Defence. Horse guards parade, where the
horses are.
I could go on.
Or you could go mountaineering in Lincoln.
I eat to survive
I drink to forget
I breath to pi55 my ex wife off (and now my ex partner)
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whitestu
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 12:46 PM |
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quote:
the science museum is in my opinion one the best places in the world and its free. I love it.
+1
The Natural History Museum is great too!
Stu
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BenB
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 01:18 PM |
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London's shit. and I was born here and have lived here ever since.
The museums and art galleries are good but that's about it.
And we're proper grumpy down here
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Dave Ashurst
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 02:31 PM |
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Hi Gerardo
As said above, there are much nicer places in UK than London. (I don't know why it's so hard to persuade our overseas visitors about
that!)
If you're determined to visit London:
May or June often has reasonable weather
For some real gems try this: http://www.greatlittleplace.com/
If you're going to a pub or bar I suggest you phone first to check whether they allow children.
Otherwise (in no particular order) perhaps google these:
London tour bus
Thames boat trip
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey
Tower of London
London Eye
Barbican Centre
South Bank Centre
Covent Garden
Spitalfields Market
Camden High Street
Royal Festival Hall
Madame Tussauds
Walk along the Thames
Art Galleries - National Gallery, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum
Natural History Museum
Science Museum
British Museum
Imperial War Museum, War rooms
Horse guards
National maritime museum
Greenwich observatory
See a London show or more (Lion King is v good, etc etc. Matilda is on at the moment and I'm told it's amazing, )
Brick Lane
Oxford street
Harrods
Hamleys
Kew gardens
Richmond Park (and Richmond in general)
Hampton Court
.... too much for a long weekend.
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blakep82
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 02:57 PM |
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lived there for 4 years, spent 4 years trying to get back out tbh. might be a nice place to visit though...
plenty of tourist type stuff to do, bus tours, madame tussords (is that how you spell it?) london eye etc, as mentioned above ^ really. 1st thing to
do, is try and get them to rethink 
sorry, but thats how much i like the place...
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RK
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 03:05 PM |
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As an outsider's view, London is a great, big, expensive city, with millions of things to do, and take your money. If you like shows, museums
etc, it can't be beat anywhere in the world. But it isn't GB, or even England. Be prepared to pay big $$$ for tiny hotels, with the usual
European, mini-me TV's. Do some reading on the history. You can inadvertently walk past some very interesting places of significant events, if
your wits are about you.
In summer, you can rent rooms in colleges, when kids are away at home. If Time Out is still around, check it for shows etc. I still love London,
although my wife doesn't get it, and prefers the small English towns and villages.
People on here will hate it because in the film Genevieve, the petrol head protaganist had a nice car he parked downstairs from his flat in Central
London. You would need serious money to do that nowadays, and I would think having a car at all would be a pain in the duff.
Boat ride down the Thames, from Big Ben. Best deal in town, and gives you perspective on the place.
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Volvorsport
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 03:35 PM |
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lol , mountaineering in lincoln , its pretty much like belgium without the ardennes .!!!!
www.dbsmotorsport.co.uk
getting dirty under a bus
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belgian2b
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 03:36 PM |
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Thanks for advices !
I think that i will start looking for some accommodation at end of May ( i still have to book for Stoneleigh before ).
I know that visiting à city as London, Paris or any other capital is not the same as the country, but that's what the wife and kits want.
In return, i hope that they will let me a few days off for trackdays.
Gerardo
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bob
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 04:23 PM |
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keep an eye on travelzoo.co.uk for hotel deals in and around london.
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D Beddows
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 04:56 PM |
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Blimey it's miserabe season round here isn't it! Gerado is only coming to be a tourist not live in London!! You'll have a great time
- my advice would be to try and get some kind of pass in advance that gives free or discounted access to the major tourist attractions or you'll
bankrupt yourself fairly quickly, try and get something similar for the tube for the same reasons and under no account eat in a restaurant in the very
centre of London because they're invariably overpriced tourist traps selling awful microwaved sh*te.......same as any other big city though I
suppose. I live within 3/4 of an hour of both Manchester and Liverpool and neither are even remotely close to London in terms of things to see and do
I actualy think the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum are rather over rated btw (especialy the Science Museum - a huuuuuuge shop and 2
floors with very little in them, the ground floor is ok though)
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MakeEverything
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 05:27 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by snapper
London is one of the Great cities.
Worth doing some reaserch, some of the Official hop on hop off tourists busses mean you can take a whole day getting off at places and having a good
look round.
Buckingham palace, houses of parliament also have a look from the south bank of the Thames
London eye, the museums, Covent Garden market for food and street entertainment
Tower of London, always good. Boat trip up the Thames or a drink on the floating pub opposite the Ministry of Defence. Horse guards parade, where the
horses are.
I could go on.
Or you could go mountaineering in Lincoln.
PMSL. Exactly what I was thinking.
There are loads of things to see and do in London. Whilst I'm not a an of rush hour or the tubes, I do think it's the best city
I've ever been to for its diversity, architecture, atmosphere and culture.
Kindest Regards,
Richard.
...You can make it foolProof, but youll never make it Idiot Proof!...
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bi22le
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 05:56 PM |
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Living in SE London all my life I am yet to be bored of it. I am a proud Englishman and proud of our capital.
Things I would advise on are:
Get an Oyster card per person. Travelling is very slow and expensive otherwise. If the weather is dry then walk places by using your phone as a navi
or a map. You will really get to see the london as a spectical and not just tube stops.
Lots of places in london are not the most pleasent and friday nights will be very busy in the pubs and restaurants.
Cabs are slow and expensive, rickshaws (SP?) are dangerous and currently unlicenced.
I would suggest staying in the west end as you will be right in the middle. The 'city' is for business and is completly dead at weekends
and has no interest to tourists except for the famous buildings.
Westfield is a very large shopping centre in shepards bush and is the biggest in Europe if you want to see some shops other than your classic oxford
street, tottenham court road and co.
Go visit a city park. Regents has a good view from the top of Primrose hill. Greenwich park has some amazing views over London and is where time
really DID begin!
Tickets for things can be quite cheap from the outlets but check for deals online before you go just incase.
Take a boat ride. My brother is a captain of one of the high speed ferry boats and they are a great way to get around london fast and still see
london.
Parking will be a knightmare, not more to be said about that really. Check your hotel has parking (you will probably have to pay for it!)
London is as amazing as it looks and you will love it. The petrol head in you can enjoy the luxury car garages you will see and the super rich driving
really expensive cars stuck in traffic!
Good luck.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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RK
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 08:18 PM |
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Sorry, one thing I did for the first time a few years ago, after visiting many times, was walk across Hyde Park. Of course, it's FREE.
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Nash
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 09:03 PM |
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Gerardo,
I have worked in London for the last 10 years and I travel around it a lot. I love London. As Wayne (Bi22le) said, make sure you get Oyster cards as
its the quickest, cheapest and most convenient way to pay for public transport.
I would go around April / May time and depending on your budget for hotels there is something to fit every budget. My wife and I stayed at the Grange
City Hotel (Grange City Hotel 5* London, 8-14 Coopers Row, London EC3N 2BQ
020 7863 3700 ) for her 40th and I can recommend it, although not cheap but your wife and kids will love it and it overlooks Tower Bridge if you get a
room on the right side of the building.
To do:
See a show. Get tickets from Licester Square box office as cheaper then elsewhere but you may be limited to what you can see at short notice. If you
want to see a particular show then book in advance. I can recommend, Billy Elliot (although you may need an interpreter as its spoken in Northern
English), Wicked (your kids and wife will love it), WarHorse is getting rave reviews but not seen it myself yet. Your choice but a show is always
good. including the Saturday matinee).
Take a trip down the river. Always good.
Stratford and or Sheperds Bush Westfield shopping centre's (wife will love it).
If you are going to take in a park then I would recommend St James's Park as it backs onto The Mall and Buckingham Palace and in April / May
time will be beautiful.
Loads to do and see, plenty of eateries. Having been to a lot of cities with work I believe London to be one of the best cities in the world.
Enjoy.
...........Neil
[Edited on 31/12/11 by Nash]
It's What You Do Next That Counts.
Build It, Buy It, Drive It:
Southern Kit Car Club
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Ninehigh
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| posted on 31/12/11 at 10:15 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by RK
But it isn't GB, or even England.
Omg a foreigner understands that!
(This grumpy comment has come from being unable to see many bands and other shows because they're often ONLY in London, which is like doing a
tour of the US but ONLY playing New York...)
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