London Holiday

[EyeKhan]

Dear Brits - I'm coming to London in a couple weeks. Would appreciate any recommendations for tourism. I'm considering a day trip to see Stonehenge and tour the Tower of London. Any good reason not to? Must see sites/ museums? Also spending a couple nights near Dover to see the cliffs. Anything over there not to miss?

[Timbuk2]

Awesome! Will get back to you with stuff to do in London later as I'm in work now.

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As for Stonehenge, yep it's worth a visit. If you do, I would highly recommend Avebury too, which isn't far from Stonehenge. Avebury is not nearly as well known yet is a henge just as ancient, but in a far, far prettier setting. Much more pleasant to walk around and the pretty village of Avebury has grown around it. Stonehenge, while spectacular in itself, is just stuck by a busy road in an empty field. Once you've seen the stones, that's it.

Avebury:







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Dover - really wouldn't bother. It's a dull town, slightly industrial, has the main ferry terminal to the continent, and the cliffs are, well, just cliffs. Other parts of Kent are a far better use of your time. The city of Canterbury with it's spectacular cathedral is well worth it if you are out that way in the South East.



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More later.

[RandBlade]

Just be aware London is a day trip from Stonehenge. That is sort of like me saying I'm going to New York and going to see Arlington Cemetery if you know what I mean?

Tower of London is fun, near that is the London Dungeon.

If you're into museums then the British Museum, Natural History and Victoria & Albert are all great. Though there's so many museums in London that you could spend forever doing them all it depends what you like.

[EyeKhan]

Just be aware London is a day trip from Stonehenge. That is sort of like me saying I'm going to New York and going to see Arlington Cemetery if you know what I mean?

Tower of London is fun, near that is the London Dungeon.

If you're into museums then the British Museum, Natural History and Victoria & Albert are all great. Though there's so many museums in London that you could spend forever doing them all it depends what you like.

For museums, I think I'd be most interested in history/ culture/ art/ archaeology -- stuff I can't see in the States. I do love science most, but it's is pretty much the same at any good museum I would think. But you Brits have plundered art and archaeology all over the world, no? And your history, uh, goes back a way. Hell, your history is our history.

[EyeKhan]

Any good castles to see in either area? I've never been to a real, honest-to-goodness medieval castle.

[RandBlade]

The British Museum you have to go to, that has wonders from all over the globe. The Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone and more, it has one of the largest collections of plundered history the globe has ever seen. Not going to get into whether its ethically right or not, but I saw a better collection of Egyptian history in the British Museum than in the Cairo Museum - and that is just one fraction of the British Museum.

[EyeKhan]

The British Museum you have to go to, that has wonders from all over the globe. The Elgin Marbles, the Rosetta Stone and more, it has one of the largest collections of plundered history the globe has ever seen. Not going to get into whether its ethically right or not, but I saw a better collection of Egyptian history in the British Museum than in the Cairo Museum - and that is just one fraction of the British Museum.

Perfect - that's exactly what I wanted to see. Are you familiar with the Roman archaeological sites in London? There's a mini-colosseum underground or something? Worth seeing? And what about Churchill's bunker?

[RandBlade]

Not familiar with any of that, though there's a lot of Roman architecture across Britain. Near to me in the North West (so not where you'll be) in Chester there is a lot of Roman architecture that survives to this date including an amphitheatre.

[Aimless]

We may be very different as far as our touristy preferences go, given that our main focus was food, musicals and people, but British Museum and (surprisingly) the Freemasons' Hall were two touristy museum-y things that I enjoyed a lot actually. But most of our time and money went towards food and shows

[EyeKhan]

Not familiar with any of that, though there's a lot of Roman architecture across Britain. Near to me in the North West (so not where you'll be) in Chester there is a lot of Roman architecture that survives to this date including an amphitheatre.

Amphitheater! I was trying to remember the word but couldn't get it... Thanks for the input!

[Timbuk2]

A good day out I recommend to all London visitors is a stroll along the south bank, one of my favourite parts of London.

Much of the below I lifted from my post in Minxy's visit London thread:

1. Starting at Westminster, north of the Thames, do Houses of Parliament, Big Ben.



(1a. Pop into Westminster Abbey next door if you fancy it - go pay homage to Charles Darwin who's buried there )



2. Head South over Westminster Bridge to the South Bank, and left along the river past the London Eye.



2a. London Eye is worth a ride for the views.



3. Stroll along heading east - there's usually lots of street theatre/music events/book stalls/pop-up eateries/art/stuff going on - particularly at weekends ... South Bank Centre has lots on ...





4. You should be able to see the Oxo Tower by now. Entrance is a little hard to find, but persist, take a lift to the Harvey Nichols bar/restaurant at the top, order champagne, and admire the fantastic views ...





5. Eastward again, you'll get to Tate Modern - a modern art gallery in a converted power station - definitely worth a visit - there's normally a good exhibition on in the huge turbine hall.



6. Looking across the Thames from the Tate - you'll see the Millenium Bridge, a footbridge taking you north. Cross this ... and go visit St Paul's Cathedral.

[Timbuk2]

7. Returning to the South Bank - head east again and you'll pass Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.






8. East, you'll get to the weird London Town Hall.




9. ... and to Tower Bridge ...




10. Cross over to reach Tower of London.

[EyeKhan]

This is awesome TB, thanks! And thanks to everyone for the tips and recommendations!