Keep an open mind. Don't try...
by tizfabius
Keep an open mind. Don't try to do it all. Pick off one or two unusual activities and you'll have so much more fun. Do you really want to spend hours waiting in line with a bunch of tourists? Then forget the usual stuff - (see tourist traps)- don't get fussed about the weather and don't be fooled by tatty first impressions. We're just not big on appearances here! I recently took the train from London Bridge to Blackfriars in the middle of a weekday. Slow, slow clanking through the heart of dirty, grimy, half-abandoned warehouses, disused biscuit factories, weather-worn 1920s ads for shoe polish painted on the walls of grey-windowed buildings, echoing tenements and glimpses of maroon-painted Victorian pub fronts on tatty deserted street corners. This is London. Love it.
All Souls
by iandsmith
Most cities reward the explorer. I would suspect none more so than London. Thus it was that I strolled down a street, Langham Place as it turned out, and was confronted by this amazing spire and church.
So affected was I that I failed to notice the BBC opposite yet this very building often doubles as a recording studio for the daily broadcast service.
It is John Nash designed, circa 1824, and its standout circular frontage resplendent with Ionic columns supports a spire that was initially ridiculed as too slender and flimsy. Needless to say, as it approaches its 200th birthday, while many other buildings are absent, the All Souls church survives.
St. James' Park
by dvideira
St James's Park is probably the most beautiful and intimate of the capital's central parks.
It takes its name from the nearby Palace and it is the oldest of London's Royal parks.
It is a popular place to stroll, feed the ducks or watch the pelicans. In the summer, there are lots of sunbathing office workers. There is a cafe providing refreshments and a playground at the Buckingham Palace end.
The lake is now a wildlfowl sanctuary, with ducks, geese, pelicans and black swans. The bridge over it gives a view of Buckingham Palace, good at night when the palace is floodlit.
Tips (gratuities)
by adrianclark
Many people coming to the UK ask about tipping service staff.
It is always appropriate to tip a porter or doorman who carries your luggage for you; similarly, it is usually correct to leave a tip for the housekeeping staff of your hotel. £1 to £2 per bag or per night is reasonable.
Taxi drivers always expect a tip: I would recommend 10 - 15% of your fare, with more if he helps you with your luggage.
Waiters and waitresses should be tipped if the service is not included in the bill (the bill will always say "service included" if it is, and often says "service not included" if it isn't). Again, 10-15% is reasonable.
Bar staff in nightclubs and wine bars should be tipped up to £1 per drink if your change is presented on a tip tray. Bar staff in pubs should never be tipped.
Not the tropics
by karenincalifornia
November in London is rainy. Not everyday, but a good part of the time. Pack good shoes for walking around - something that won't let your feet get soaked. You could bring an umbrella, but they are sold everywhere. Your hotel may even have many spares - ours did. Good thing, too, since my flimsy California umbrella got completely mangled on a particularly wet, windy London afternoon.
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Cafe Rouge - Covent Garden
a few fish heading to the Night Carnival
Victorian policeman at the museum
British Museum
