London calling

[aergistal]

So i'm in London for a few weeks and I'm looking for things to see, besides obvious architecture landmarks.

HMS Belfast and Cutty Sark are already on my list. Any recommandations from UK subsimmers?

A nice classic rock pub or jazz cafe that I could take my wife to would also be nice.

[jumpy]

Go and see the Hunterian Museum at the royal college of surgeons. It's free and you'll see some amazing stuff. :up: (I seriously suggest you make the time for this one, it's fascinating and unusual.)

The Imperial War Museum. Apart from the funky military kit they have there (panther tank iirc with some nasty looking AT holes into the engine and crew compartment) Go upstairs and into the galleries.
Look for paintings by Paul Nash (amongst the others there) The Menin Road, We Are Making a New World, The Ypres Salient at Night, The Mule Track, A Howitzer Firing, Ruined Country and Spring in the Trenches are all great paintings by Nash (some, if not all of them are at the museum) I recommend The Menin Road and We Are Making A New World as outstanding works of art from the first world war.
Take your time with the menin road, it's absolutely enormous, as it the other famous WW1 painting in the room: Gassed 1919 John Singer Sargent.

The National Gallery (good, but often crowded)
The Tate Gallery / Tate Modern (you can get a river taxi that does quite a nice route that stops near these iirc)
The Natural History Museum - it's a great place.
Madame Tussauds - not been myself, was a bit too expensive

If you're going to be there for a week or two, you'll definitely be wanting to get about on foot, so make as much use of the tube as you can... just don't wait and be polite when getting on and off the trains, otherwise you'll end up being left standing on the platform hehe.

EDIT: there's also the Sherlock Holmes museum @ 221b baker st :D

[The Third Man]

I saw a news story about Britian lowering their strategic defense from four to three Vanguard subs in the near future. I can't find the link just now but it seems Obama has traded British safety for his own 'rock star' status with the nuclear reduction talks with Russia. Don't forget the US controls the Tridents shipped on UK SSBNs.

[Jimbuna]

You could take your wife to the original Hard Rock Cafe

http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=91&MIBEnumID=3

Or the Jazz Cafe

http://www.jazzcafelive.com/

[Oberon]

RAF Museum at Hendon

Get on the Northern Line, head up to Colindale station, get out of the station, cross the road and turn left, head down to the roundabout and cross Aerodrome road, and follow Grahame Park way up to the entrance. It's free to get in, and has a fantastic line up of RAF kites from the First World War through to the Eurofighter. Should be some good stuff going on there and the IWM at the moment because of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain too.

British Museum

A bit trickier to find this one.
Head to Holborn tube station, and up Southampton Row, take a left at Bloomsbury Place, and then it's down there on the right. I took a more roundabout route on my trip there and had to rely on misleading signposts. :damn:
Again, free to get in (make the most of the free entry museums in London, there's some good ones) and there's some fantastic bits of history in there, including the Rosetta stone, the Gayer-Anderson cat (very pretty), part of the Syphinx (the chin beard that fell off) and lots and lots of artifacts from across the world and across the ages. It's pretty amazing how pristine a condition many of them are considering some date back over two thousand years.

Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich

This one is also a bit tricky for the London newcomer, and perhaps one to leave for next time if you are in a push. It's also not free to enter but at five pound for an adult ticket it won't break the bank as much as some other museums in London that still charge.
To get there you will need to hop on the DLR down to Woolwich Arsenal, and then head towards the Thames. You'll come across a four lane road heading up towards the Woolwich ferry (Beresford St / Plumstead Rd), get across that (carefully) and then head towards the big looking carpark and posh buildings that make up the old Arsenal, you should be able to pick up signs for the Museum from there.
Lots of big guns in this one (as the name suggests) including a Gatling and a Maxim, some lovely Napoleonic and Boer war artillery and artifacts as well, and a audio/visual event which tries to simulate the field of battle whilst telling you the stories of various artillery pieces. It's not a particularly high budget event, but if you're really stuck for something to do and you've exhausted your other options...then it's worth a butchers.


Does your wife like shopping? If so, take her up to Camden Market. It's Camden Town on the tube and if you get out of the tube station you'll be on the main street. There's some nice food places, LOTS of stalls, primarily Goth and alternate fashion but there's all sorts.
Questionable if you'd go there after dark, I have seen the more interesting side of Camden come out at that time, so it's probably better to visit in the daylight hours.

I can only echo what Jumpy says, be polite but put yourself and yours first or you'll be stuck on the platform forever. Try to avoid traveling during Rush Hour if possible, but use the Tube and DLR wherever possible.
Also, consider a trip into London from say, Woolwich Arsenal on the DLR, as the sun goes down. Get up the front. You'll get some lovely views depending on the weather.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/102/hpim3175.jpg

Be aware, watch out for pickpockets in busy touristy areas, but most of all, enjoy yourself. :salute:


This was a broadcast from the UK tourist information office...have a nice day! :har:

[Weiss Pinguin]

RAF Museum at Hendon

Get on the Northern Line, head up to Colindale station, get out of the station, cross the road and turn left, head down to the roundabout and cross Aerodrome road, and follow Grahame Park way up to the entrance. It's free to get in, and has a fantastic line up of RAF kites from the First World War through to the Eurofighter. Should be some good stuff going on there and the IWM at the moment because of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain too.
When we were stuck in London during 2001 that was one of the places we were going to visit, but my dad was concerned with security/safety (since it was just after 9/11) so we got to stay home that day. If I ever go through London again that's the first place I'm going :lol:

[aergistal]

Thank you all for the infos! Looks like I need to write down priority lists :)

[jumpy]

Check the availability of the tube service!

especially at weekends.... when I went at the end of last year, there was extensive work being done on the jubilee line so it was shut. We took the DLR from canary wharf instead.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

everything you need to know about public transport in london - see the service updates section at the bottom rhs of the page.

[aergistal]

Check the availability of the tube service!

especially at weekends.... when I went at the end of last year, there was extensive work being done on the jubilee line so it was shut. We took the DLR from canary wharf instead.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

everything you need to know about public transport in london - see the service updates section at the bottom rhs of the page.

That's good cause I live near West India Quay. Already got an Oyster.

[Oberon]

Ah yeah...and try to avoid changing at Bank station, I think it's a bit better now than it was the last time I was down there, but they've been doing a lot of work on it and the interchange was down the last time I was there, meaning that to change from Bank to Monument you had to go up to street level and walk to the next station before going down, and it's not the best signposted diversion. I wound up in Liverpool Street after taking a wrong turn at Bank...but then again I have gained the nickname 'Captain Slow' so anything is possible... :doh: