London in March: recommendations
Mark Borgerson
convention. I plan to spend an extra 4-5 days traveling about with
the following in mind:
1. Visits to art museums
2. Visits to military and Naval museums (esp. around Portmouth).
3. A possible side trip to France to visit some clients
near Brest.
What should I budget per day for food, lodging and travel, given
that I'm a computer nerd that never wears a suit and stays at
Best Western when traveling in the US?
My last experience with European travel was a 30-day leave and
21-day EurailPass while in the Navy in 1970. I figure I've
got a lot of research to do! ;-)
Thanks,
Mark Borgerson
Gard Karlsen
I went to London with my gf in the summer of 2000 for a few days. I have
written a travelogue that I have posted on my homepage together with some
pictures from the trip. Feel free to visit it on
http://donar.netpower.no/~ghk/
Have a great trip.
Regards
Gard Karlsen
ga...@karlsen.ms
"Mark Borgerson" <mborg...@home.com> wrote in message
news:3BF30589...@home.com...
J J MIO
you reconsider your list. We have foun that London can take up to 2-3 weeks by
itself.
Here are some items to think about:
On our trips to England we no longer obtain English money before reaching
London. A “Cashpoint” (same as our ATM) is located only fifty feet from the
customs exit in Heathrow. We usually get about £150 and when we run low we
find another one. They are located throughout the city We also use a debit
card in order to avoid credit card fees. )
A nice introduction is a ‘hop on-hop off’ bus that visits the most famous
landmarks http://www.bigbus.co.uk/
WESTMINISTER AND WHITEHALL
*Trafalgar Square The heart of London. A place for pictures U=Charing
Cross or Leicester Sq.
http://www.angelfire.com/in/uktravelinfo/trafalgar.html
*St. Martin’s (Actually “St-Martin-in-the-Fields”) is on the corner of
Trafalgar Square and has a relaxing cafeteria and a brass rubbing center in the
basement.
U=Charing Cross http://britannia.com/travel/top/stmartins.html
*National Gallery We saw it on an “Original London Walk” We are
novice when it comes to the arts and the docent added so much to this visit.
U=Charing Cross or Leicester Sq.
http://britannia.com/travel/top/natgal.html &
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk
National Portrait Gallery http://www.npg.org.uk U=Charing Cross or
Leicester Sq.
*Buckingham Pal. I think the guards change at 11:30 in the summer but
check that time.
http://britannia.com/travel/top/buckingham.html or
http://www.royal.gov.uk
*Royal Mews On the side of Buckingham Palace. This is easy to walk
by but we liked the ‘Cinderella’ coaches. £4.50
U=Victoria Sta.. M-Thurs 12-6pm
http://www.s-h-systems.co.uk/tourism/London/royal-mews.html
*Cab. War Rooms We enjoyed this because we like WW II history. The
basement headquarters of Churchill was a surprise because we didn’t realize how
confined it was.
Clive Steps, King Charles Street
Daily 10-6 U=St. James or Westminster www.iwm.gov.org.uk
*Parliament One day when walking by, we joined a queque and were
admitted into Parliament to watch the House of Commons and the House of Lords
do their thing . If they are open and you have time when, it’s worth the
visit. But wait until you’ve seen all the “biggies” before spending valuable
time here.
Adjacent to Parliament is the Victoria Tower Garden, with a copy of Rodin’s
‘Burghers of Calais’
http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/VIASCI.HTM
http://www.parliament.uk/
*Big Ben Another must for pictures. Supposedly named after
pudgy Benjamin Hall, the Commissioner of Works
when the bell was hung
http://www.aboutbritain.com/BigBen.htm
*Westminster Abbey. A great place. So much to see. We enjoy taking one of
their “special tours”.
£5 entrance fee M-F 9:30-4:45 Sat 9:30-2:45
U=Westminster or St. James Park www.westministerabbey.org
Tate Britain Now devoted to British art. Many Turner paintings Daily
10:30-5 free
www.tate.org .uk U=Pimlico
ST JAMES, PICADILLY,MAYFAIR, MARLYBONE
Wallace Collection A museum-gallery of French artists. We were
upset with ourselves because we reached it late in the day. Did not realize
how many wonderful paintings it had. Be sure to rent the earphones.
Mon-Sat 10-5; Sun 2-5 free
www-wallace-collection.org.uk U=Bond Street
BLOOMSBURY
British Museum Awesome. Good to take a preliminary tour of highlights.
U=Tottenham Court Road, Holburn or Russell Square No fee It would be easy
to spend the entire day here. It also has a good cafeteria for a snack break.
M-Sat 10-5; Sun 2:30-6
http://britannia.com/travel/top/britmus.html or
www.british-museum.ac.uk
The library has now moved and a Great Court created in its space
British Library Now on Euston Road www.bl.uk
U=King’s Cross or Euston
STRAND, HOLBORN AND CLERKWELL
Courtauld Gallery Located in the Somerset House, it was one of the places
we kept putting off. When we finally went we kicked ourselves for not
going sooner. Wonderful Impressionist and Post-Impressionis paintings.
Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Renoir, Manet, etc.
www.courtauld.ac.uk U=Temple or Covent Garden
Sir John Soane’s This was a pleasant surprise. John Soane, famous
architect, left his house to the government provided they left as it was.
His way of displaying Hogarth’s “Rakes Progress” was a new experience for us.
The guard that day explained the message of the paintings and added much to
our enjoyment
U=Holborn Tu-Sat, 10am-5pm (free) http://www.soane.org/
THE CITY
St. Paul’s Cathedral is a must. If you have stamina and good
lungs, make the climb to the very top-not just half way. Keep going up after
the gallery. I made it when I was 60 and thought I was going to die on the
climb up. M-Sat 8:30-4 U=St. Paul’s
http://www.angelfire.com/in/uktravelinfo/stpauls.html
Mus. of London Built along the old city wall showing times from the Romans to
now. Very well done.
£5 M-S 10-5:30
U= St. Paul’s http://www.aboutbritain.com/MuseumofLondon.htm
Monument daily 10-6 £1.50 Breathtaking view after climbing 311
steps U=Monument
*Tower of London £11 M-Sat 9-5; Sun 10-7 U=Tower Hill
http://britannia.com/travel/top/tower.html
http://www.angelfire.com/in/uktravelinfo/tower.html
*Tower Bridge Go up in the elevator £6.50 10-6 U=Tower Hill or London
Bridge
http://britannia.com/travel/top/towerbridge.html or
www.towerbridge.org.uk
LAMBETH AND SOUTHWARK
London Eye Ferris wheel £8 Across from Parliament
U=Waterloo or Westminster
To get reservations, you go to the ticket office in County Hall adjacent to
The London Eye, and buy your ticket for a particular day and time. You can
also get a voucher and a reservation in any Tourist Information Office.
www.ba-londoneye.com
Imperial War Museum Daily 10-6; £5.50 www.iwm.org.uk
U=Lambeth North or Elephant & Castle
Tate Modern Daily 10-6 www.tate.org.uk U=Southwark or
Blackfriars
Britain at War £5.50 Hundreds of wartime artefacts
www.britainatwar.co.uk U=London Bridge
HYDE PARK & KENSINGTON
Apsley House Museum for Wellington Tu-Sat 11-5 £4.50
www.vam.ac.uk
V&A Museum Takes 2 days to see www.vam.ac.uk £5 U=South
Kensington
Harrods Too expensive for me but seeing the ‘loo’ is worth the visit
www.harrods.com U=Knightsbrige
SOUTH LONDON
Dulwich Picture Gallery Designed by Sir John Soane Includes
Rembrandt’s Picture of a Young Man
Take a train from Victoria Station to West Dulwich
www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk £4 free on Friday
OUT OF TOWN
*Windsor Castle Daily 10-4 Tour of castle £8 Trains leave every 1/2
hr from Waterloo Sta.. 30 minutes
*Greenwich A 15 min. train from Charing Cross Sta.
or take a boat from Embankment Pier (£7.5)
or take the Dockland Light Railway to Island Garden
http://www.greenwich-guide.org.uk/greenwich.htm
We saw this once on our own and once on a walking tour When on our own, we
took the Docklands Light Railway to Island Tunnels and walk through the tunnel
under the Thames.
*Hampton Court Tu-Sun 9:30-6 Train from Waterloo, Boat from Westminster Pier
£10.50 To reach it means bus, car, train
or boat. No tube
WEBSITES & INFORMATION
Brit. Tourist Center 1 Lower Regent Street London SW1
Tourist Board http://www.LondonTown.com/ Very Good
GALLERIES & MUSEUMS
Nat’l Portrait Gal. M-Sat 10-6; Sun N-6 U=Leicester Sq
Nat’l Gallery 2000 paintings M-Sat 10-6; Sun N-7 U=Charing Cross
Tate Gallery M-Sun 10-6 £5 U=Pimlico
Vic. & Albert Mo-Sa 10-5, Sun 2:30-5:30 U=Kensington High
Coutaud Gallery Somerset House, Strand U=Covent Garden, Temple
Impressionist and Post-Impressionists M-S 10-6
Apsley House Home to 1st Duke of Wellington Tu-Sun 11-5 £4
U=Hyde Park Corner
Bank of England M-F 10-5 U=Bank
British Museum M-Sat 10-5 Sun 12-6 U=Tottenham Court Road
Fan Museum Tu-Sat 11-4:30; Sun N-$:30 £3 BR=Greenwich
Geffrrye Mus.. English domestic interior from 1600 to present
Tu-Sat 10-5; Sun 2-5 U=Liverpool St. then bus 22
Guards Mus.. Open 10-4 (closed Fri) Birdcage Walk U=St. James Park
Imperial War Mus.. Daily 10-6 £5 U=Lambeth North
Kew Br. Steam Mus. Next to Kew Bridge Daily 11-5 £2-4 U=Gunnersbury, Kew
Gardens
London Canal Mus. Special talks Tu-Sun 10-4:30 12 New Wharf Rd £3
U=Kings Cross
Toy & Model Mus. Daily 9:30-5:30 £5 Daily 9-5:30 21 Craven Hill
U=Paddington
Transport Mus. Daily 10-6 £5 Covent Gardens U=Covent Gardens
MOMI Mus. Of Moving Images Children and adults Daily 10-6 £6+
South Bank Centre U=Waterloo
Mus. of London Tu-Sat 10-5:30; Sun N-5:30 £4 150 London Wall
U= Barbican, Moorgate
Nat’l Army Mus. Soldiers from Tudor to now Daily 10-5
Royal Hosp. Rd Chelsea U=Sloan Square
Nat’l Maritime Mus. Daily 10-5 £5.50 Old Royal Observatory & Queens House
Greenwich
Natural History Mus. Plant & animal Tours hourly Daily 10-5:30 £6 U=South
Kensington
Science Mus. Daily 10-6 £3 Exhibition Rd U= South Kensington
S. Holmes Mus. Daily 9:30-6 21 Baker St. £5 U-Baker St.
Theatre Mus. Tu-Sun 11-7 £5.50 Russell Square U=Covent Garden
Vic. & Albert Mus. Tu-Sun 10-5:30; Mon, N-5:30 £5 U=South Kensington
Britain at War Daily 10-4:30 £6 64 Tooley St. U=London Bridge
Jack (California)
Louise Smith
Their naval college is there, also a museum of naval history and some
fascinating things about navigation at the observatory. The boatride there
is wonderful too.
You'd probably also like the Imperial War museum and the Royal Hospital in
Chelsea.
Have a wonderful trip!
Louise
Go Fig
"Louise Smith" <swan...@adelphia.net> wrote:
> I strongly suggest you go to Greenwich since you're interested in the Navy.
Its a MUST... if only for Harrison's Clocks alone... but there is so
much else... take the river cruise from Tower Bridge.
jay
Thu, Nov 15, 2001
mailto:go...@mac.com
--
Legend insists that as he finished his abject...
Galileo muttered under his breath: "Nevertheless, it does move."
Mark Borgerson
Louise Smith wrote:
>
> I strongly suggest you go to Greenwich since you're interested in the Navy.
> Their naval college is there, also a museum of naval history and some
> fascinating things about navigation at the observatory. The boatride there
> is wonderful too.
> You'd probably also like the Imperial War museum and the Royal Hospital in
> Chelsea.
> Have a wonderful trip!
> Louise
OK, Greenwich is on the list! And a boat ride to boot! (I ride the
ferries in Washington State for the fun of it!).
Mark Borgerson
TW
I fully endorse Greenwich - living just 15 minutes walk away. Make sure you
walk around the full perimeter of the park, rather than just going to the
famous clock. With luck the first spring flowers should be a splendid sight.
Another naval place outside London is Dartmouth. It has a lot of history and
is very pretty too. You can also take a boat trip up the river Dart and
there is also an old steam train line as well. See
http://www.devon-online.com/towns/dartmouth/dartmouth.html for a taster.
Tim
"Mark Borgerson" <mborg...@home.com> wrote in message
news:3BF4B038...@home.com...
Peter Ellis
from "Louise Smith" <swan...@adelphia.net> contains these words:
> You'd probably also like the Imperial War museum and the Royal Hospital in
> Chelsea.
And the Army Museum next door to the Royal Hospital.
If you want a really good cultural spot without being overwhelmed, I
strongly recommend the Wallace Collection, in Manchester Square, just
North of Oxford St. Many well known artists as well as medieval
armour, furniture and ceramics.
Cheers
Peter
BSCSchmidt
>Another naval place outside London is ...
If it's possible for you to tour outside London, I'd suggest Portsmouth (given
that you seem to be interested in naval things...). Years ago (I must admit)
I've visitied the HMS Victory where Lord Nelson died. The best thing was that
the ship belongs to the Navy (hope that's right, I'm not British :-) ) and
an
officer made the tour which was great fun to me...
There must also be an older ship nearby in a hall.. "Mary"??? can't remember...
Baerbel.
Chris Cooke
> There must also be an older ship nearby in a hall.. "Mary"??? can't
> remember...
The Mary Rose? http://www.maryrose.org
--
-- Chris.
Mark Brader
> 2. Visits to military and Naval museums (esp. around Portmouth).
If you want to go to Folkestone, you can go aboard a 1960s Soviet
submarine there. (It was nuclear-armed but not nuclear-powered).
I saw it when it was in London a few years ago and found it quite
interesting. See <http://www.sovietsub.co.uk/> for more details.
However, while Folkestone and London are both on the Channel coast,
they are farther apart than either one is from London, so this would
have to be a separate trip.
--
Mark Brader "When a supposedly indivisible transaction
Toronto fails to complete properly, this is known
m...@vex.net as an atomic bomb." -- Peter Neumann
My text in this article is in the public domain.