Visiting London advice

[amur leopard]

Since I have lived in London for all my life, I was thinking that I and a few others with lots of experience of the city could offer some travel-related guidance on visiting London.

• Firstly, London is a massive city. It is several times the area of Paris. Therefore, you will have to use the Underground/Tube often since it links many touristic sights with ease.
• Get an Oyster card. This is a card which holds money on it and allows you to tap in and out of the tube, bus, DLR, Overground and even trains. It means you don't have to keep buying tickets at the entrance. The flip side is that you should make sure it is topped up enough for your journey or you can get fined.
• If you only have a few days in London and you are most likely going to visit the zoo, the Big Bus tour is probably your best option, even though I'm not a fan of it myself. It basically takes you in a massive loop of all the attractions in a day. You can get on or off at any stop in order to actually visit the place.
• Stay centrally. If you don't, it is fine, because London has one of the most extensive suburbia train systems, but if you stay right at the heart of London (talking a place like Waterloo or Charing Cross), you might just be able to walk everywhere. The only place that will almost certainly require public transport is the zoo.
• Premier Inns, though they may sound dingy and disgusting, are actually quite nice, so I would consider them your best value for money hotel.

There are a few attractions which are worth visiting even if you are not interested in the subject. These would be:

• Natural History Museum (free)
• Westminster Abbey (make sure you go right to the back of the building to Henry VII chapel)
• Have a look at Parliament
• British Museum (free)
• London Zoo
• St Paul's Cathedral
• National Gallery (holds Van Gogh's sunflowers etc.) (free)

Now for the attractions which are famous but aren't particularly great imo.

• London Eye
• Madame Tussauds
• London Dungeons
• Whitehall (the road that connects Trafalgar and Parliament squares with Downing street)
• SeaLife London
• Tate Modern (free)
• The Shard
• Tower Bridge
• Body Worlds

The attractions with are lesser known but I like a lot nonetheless:

• Grant Museum of Zoology
• Imperial War Museum
• Churchill War rooms
• Tate Britain
• Dean's Yard (not really an attraction but a nice place to see behind Westminster Abbey)

And there are also museums like the V&A and Science museums that are great if you like what is being exhibited.
Would love to hear anyone else's advice/additions to my lists.

Hope this is useful.

Tip - enter the Natural History Museum via the side entrance on Exhibition Rd, not the main entrance.

 

[Dassie rat]

Other places that are worth visiting (IMO) are:

Horniman Museum (near Forest Hill): It has two nice natural history sections (including an overstuffed walrus) and an aquarium.

Temple (it is a very quiet area near Temple station)

Postmans Park (near St Pauls): It has a wall containing tiles of people who have died trying to help others.

 

[Arizona Docent]

On my first trip I went to Museum of the Docklands (I think that is what it's called) which was interesting.

Agree about Premier Inn. The two times I stayed in London I stayed at the one in County Hall right next to the London Eye (and across the bridge from Parliament). I also stayed at one in Chester and it was equally nice.

 

[amur leopard]

On my first trip I went to Museum of the Docklands (I think that is what it's called) which was interesting.

Agree about Premier Inn. The two times I stayed in London I stayed at the one in County Hall right next to the London Eye (and across the bridge from Parliament). I also stayed at one in Chester and it was equally nice.

Yes the Docklands Museum is also quite nice. I went there a lot when I was a kid and haven't been since, but it certainly isn't one of the main attractions. There is quite a nice walk going from the Tower of London to St Katherine's dock.

Speaking of the Tower of London, it is also quite interesting, but it is a little overpriced.

 

[Ned]

The Shard offers great view of London but the Skygarden offers equally good views and it's free. Free entry does have some restrictions so check website.

If driving, prebook a parking space via a website and save £££.

Accommodation in the Docklands can be quite reasonable at weekends.

If you don't want an oyster card for public transport use contactless, it's quick, easy and the price is capped at less than a paper ticket.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I think it is also worth mentioning a few other options for anyone staying in or visiting London with an interest in the history of natural history / science.

Charles Darwin's house or "Down house" which is an incredible place to visit. Here you can see where the great man formulated his theory of evolution. It is located in North Kent so fairly close to London and accessible by train.

The Tring museum of Natural history founded by the eccentric naturalist / banker Walter Rothschild is similarly also only a train journey away from London in Hertfordshire. This is another place well worth visiting to see all of the interesting taxidermy specimens including some extinct and extremely rare creatures.

 

[Tim May]

On my first trip I went to Museum of the Docklands (I think that is what it's called) which was interesting.

Yes , the Museum of London Docklands is well worth a visit.

From a ZooChatter's perspective, it is interesting that one of the exhibits is a reconstruction of a Victorian animal dealer's premises.