London

[NYCfixie]

My wife and I went two years ago, had a blast, and did the typical sights (i.e. Churchill war rooms, Kensington Palace, Portrait gallery). We love London and really enjoy urban vacations. We will be there next week and are staying near the Victoria tube station.

What should we see/do/experience this time (the non-bike related stuff)?

[maunahaole]

Do Borough market if you haven’t. Touristy, but fun. A pal of mine took us to Maltby St Market, which is a good deal smaller, and much more low key and funky. Get gin drinks at Little Bird. Touch base with the London folks here.

[dbh]

I went to grad school in London. A colleague of mine went last year for the first time and asked for recs, so I wrote her this lengthy list.

Food:

I like Stevie Parle a lot and he’s got a new restaurant in Clerkenwell opening: How Stevie Parle matches food and wine at his restaurant Palatino | The Independent

For tail to snout eating, nothing beats the St John: St. JOHN, which reinvented elevated whole animal dining.

Borough Market. If you call yourself a foodie, you owe it to yourself to go. It’s the Chelsea Market of London: Borough Market | Your go-to market for fresh produce in London Bridge. It’s in South London. Bring a full wallet and empty stomach.

Gastropub: The Eagle in Farringdon: The Eagle Farringdon, The Eagle Pub, Pub in Farringdon, Eagle Pub. I hate the term gastropub, but this is the place that started it all. It’s a great pub with great food and doesn’t smell like a million alcoholic British men have defiled the carpet.

Jerusalem Tavern. No food, just a really solid pub serving St Peter’s beer. I went there as a grad student. Timeless, but not in a touristy way: London Pub | St. Peter's Brewery It’s in Clerkenwell.

If you’re around Bloomsbury, the academic heart of London, another great and timeless pus is The Lamb, on Lambs Conduit Street near Corams Field. The Perseverance is another gem and just a few yards away. There are tons of cute squares and pocket parks in this part of town as well. The Senate House, which is the administrative center of the University of London was the inspiration for Orwell’s Ministry of Truth. Worth popping into the public rooms on the ground floor to have a look if you’re nearby.

For a taste of unreconstructed traditional working class London grub, go to F Cooke Pie and Mash on Hoxton Street: http://www.piesandmash.com/. Eels and Mash with extra liquor.

There’s also an F Cooke at Broadway Market: http://broadwaymarket.co.uk/. Basically it’s a hipster/foodie version of a traditional London Saturday street market.




Shopping:

Old Spitafields Market for vintage shopping and snacks: https://www.oldspitalfieldsmarket.com/. It’s in East London nearish Whitechapel.

In the same vein and in the same part of town, the Old Truman Brewery hosts a variety of markets and casual but really good restaurants: http://trumanbrewery.com/cgi-bin/index.pl
Of particular note is the Sunday Upmarket: http://www.sundayupmarket.co.uk/cgi-bin/web/v2/index.pl

Columbia Road Flower Market: http://www.columbiaroad.info/. A real East London institution that is well worth a visit on a Sunday. Feels like you’ve walk in the middle of shooting for an episode of East Enders.

Camden Market. I think it’s lame, but lots of people like it. You be the judge.

Parks:

Yes, Hyde Park and Regents park are lovely. They are well worth a visit – but can be very crowded. Who goes to New York for the first time and doesn’t go to Central Park.

Hampstead Heath in North London is my favorite park in all of London. As the name implies, it’s more of a rugged heath than a well manicured park. The views from Parliament Hill are the best in London. Lunch or a pint in the village of Hampstead where the liberal moneyed elite lives is always nice.

Farther afield are the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew if that’s your sort of thing and Greenwich Park adjacent to the Royal Greenwich Observatory (see where GMT begins).


Museums:

Tate Modern. Yes, everyone goes there. Just like every tourist in New York goes to the MoMa. They go for a good reason.

Tate Britain (the original Tate). If you like Turner’s there’s no better place.

The National Gallery is the national gallery but can be mobbed given its location on Trafalgar Square. A museum just as interesting is the Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House off of The Strand. The building alone is worth the visit, and I believe it’s free.

The V&A is great. I wish we had a museum like that here. Tea in the period rooms is an absolute delight. If you’re game for a proper high tea, this is the place to do it (not some snooty hotel in Mayfair).

British Museum. Yes touristy. Where else are you going to see the Elgin Marbles (not Greece) and all the booty of empire?

The British Library (used to be housed within the British Museum), now in its own building near St Pancras Station is rather fugly, but they’ve got the original Magna Carta and usually other interesting exhibits. While you’re there, you should pop into St Pancras station, which was renovated to house the new London terminus of Eurostar and is an absolute marvel of Victorian architecture. Amazingly, they almost tore it down.

[robin3mj]

Peking Duck

[72gmc]

Don’t cut in front of me and my girls in the Tower line!

We’ll also be there next week. Pretty excited. And I’m going to review that list of ideas above ^^^

[vertical_doug]

Liberty London. - Its a department store built in 1875, it's old London. You just need to see the inside wooden beams.

Hamilton at the Victoria Palace Theatre- You can't scalp tickets, so tickets always get returned to the box office the week of the show for refund. You should be able to by tickets at face. It's cheaper than seeing it in the States and its worth it just to hear King George sing 'You'll be back'

High Tea at Sketch. This is not for you, either your wife and daughters will want to go, or they wont.

The Roman Ruins in the GuildHall and the whole area around the old london wall...

The Grand Mason Lodge near Covent Garden. It's open, its creepy (actually this secret society is really creepy) and the rich and powerful were all a part of it back in the day.

At the Burrough Market get a cider at the New Forest Cider bar. Or a mead if they have any in stock.

Hardy Tree and Old St Pancras Church
St Pancras Old Church - Wikipedia

Read Dicken's Tale ofTwo Cities- the grave robbers are digging here.

Saturday morning - Sloan Square and there is a farmers market in the square in front of Saatchi Gallery.

[vertical_doug]

One more-

when you do the Tower, and maybe the Fire Monument, swing by here
St Dunstan-in-the-East - Wikipedia

It's quiet and a place to reflect on the WW2 London Bombings

In the church of St. James Piccadilly, there is a wooden altar piece carved by Grinling Gibbons.
Grinling Gibbons – St. James Piccadilly

[one60]

Two museums not to miss - Sir John Soames Museum; this museum is the actual home in central London of the architect and art collector. Its an amazing property with great art including more than a few Turner's. The picture room alone is worth the trip...some 200 paintings in a 15x15 foot space. Courtauld Gallery at Sommerset House; Manet, Monet, Gaugin, Picasso and much more all in a very intimate space that's easy to navigate and sees very few visitors. Enjoy!

[NYCfixie]

all good options. we love museums and cultural things.

[twails]

I would definitely second the Sir John Soane's museum.

Other good museums worth checking out:

- The Wellcome Collection
- Hunterian Museum
- Barbican often has something worth checking out

Slightly off location but if you make it to Oxford be sure to check out the Pitt Rivers Museum.

You won't be bored....

[GrantM]

Borough Market. If you call yourself a foodie, you owe it to yourself to go. It’s the Chelsea Market of London: Borough Market | Your go-to market for fresh produce in London Bridge. It’s in South London. Bring a full wallet and empty stomach.

Shopping:

Old Spitafields Market for vintage shopping and snacks: Old Spitalfields Market, London | Food & Drink, Antiques and Vinyl. It’s in East London nearish Whitechapel.


Camden Market. I think it’s lame, but lots of people like it. You be the judge.

I go to London twice a year after some work meetings, and have been to these recently, can recommend them too.

Borough Market is cool, under old bridge arches. From there, you can do the walk along the Thames passed the Globe
or to the Tate Modern. You can keep walking the riverside path and end up at Waterloo station to get back on the Tube.

There is lots of cool retail in the Spitalfields market area (there is a Rapha store in the market)
You can walk there from the Tube station at Liverpool Street, passed some great shops and restaurants.
After the market walk to Brick Lane Road. Two of the best bagel places in London are a couple doors apart,
just follow the line.

Camden Market/Locks is worth seeing if you like walking, follow the Tow Path along the canal. You'll probably be
blown away there is a whole different feel, you won't think you're in the city walking along the water in the middle of London.

On the canal, you could go either direction from Camden, either around to the most recently developed end to Granary Square,
which can take you back to King's Cross, or you could walk the other way from Camden Lock through Regent's Park,
passed the Zoo. If you like walking along the canal, it can take you all the way back to Paddington Station.
It's a cool walk.

If you're a Beatles fan, hit up the gift shop at Abbey Road studio, you can walk there from Paddington station, if you're
walking the canal, it's only a 20 minute walk from the Little Venice area of the canal.

If your credit cards have a chip, you just tap to enter the tube, no need to buy the paper ticket or figure out what zone
you're going to. Just tap in and out, you get the discounted oyster card price, and if you hit the daily max, it doesn't
charge you more. Use the tube. It also seems like every cafe and store does Apple Pay, tap and go.


-g

Camden on the canal:





Paddington basin:



Little Venice



Spitalfields;

[72gmc]

Just arrived, now sipping coffee on the apartment deck. We’re at St. Saviour’s Wharf, the tide is coming in, the Thames is in view. Not bad at all. Saw the Borough Market on the ride in and will be sure to go there.

[maunahaole]

There’s a spot in borough market that has a duck confit and some thing where they melt cheese with a heat lamp and scrape it off the block that you need to try. It’s out on one of the edges.

[Tom]

Courtald Gallery for sure. Or get caught smooching on the elevator at the Savoy when it stops at some floor and you're distracted because you're, well, smooching. Arrange for England to win the rugby world cup so you go to the Tower and check out the jewels and royal silver while everybody else is at the parade. At first when I saw the bathtub sized "wine cooler" I thought they filled it up with wine and just scooped out mugs full. Damn, that queen knows how to party, I figured. Realizing they filled it with ice and stuck bottles in it really didn't diminish that thought, really.

[jwalther]

Harry Potter fan? Don't miss this: Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter

[RichTheRoadie]

There’s a spot in borough market that has a duck confit and some thing where they melt cheese with a heat lamp and scrape it off the block that you need to try. It’s out on one of the edges.

Raclette.

If you’re in Victoria and like beer, go to the Cask Inn in Pimlico - literally just around the corner from my old house (we lived on Lupus St.) and has a massive selection of beers and ales.

By the way, I disagree with the use of the tube for tourists - get on the top deck of a double decker bus and actually *see* London as you travel around.

I miss the place. Enjoy.

[NYCfixie]

I was first in London as a teenager a very, very, very long time ago.

My wife (her first time) and I went 2 summers ago and we used a combination of walking, buses, and tube.

We are trying to be better at planning our days so it will once again be a combination of walking, bus, and tube (when we get far out and want to get back or go somewhere else quickly). IMHO, London is like NYC (and Boston) in that during rush hour (and many other times) the tube is simply a faster way to get around.

Raclette.

If you’re in Victoria and like beer, go to the Cask Inn in Pimlico - literally just around the corner from my old house (we lived on Lupus St.) and has a massive selection of beers and ales.

By the way, I disagree with the use of the tube for tourists - get on the top deck of a double decker bus and actually *see* London as you travel around.

I miss the place. Enjoy.

[vertical_doug]

Just arrived, now sipping coffee on the apartment deck. We’re at St. Saviour’s Wharf, the tide is coming in, the Thames is in view. Not bad at all. Saw the Borough Market on the ride in and will be sure to go there.

PEGGY PORSCHEN - Home

Bring your daughters to Peggy's for cupcakes. Elizabeth st just of few blocks from Victoria

[GrantM]

By the way, I disagree with the use of the tube for tourists - get on the top deck of a double decker bus and actually *see* London as you travel around.

That's a valid point, but if you're strategic planning what you're doing, the tube can be great to start or end a busy day if you're in central London.

-g

[RichTheRoadie]

That's a valid point, but if you're strategic planning what you're doing, the tube can be great to start or end a busy day if you're in central London.

-g

That’s fair.