Ok so I decided for my spring break that I would take a trip to London with a couple teammates so I could see Arsenal play in Highbury. I lucked out that my spring break happened to be March 3-13 (Fulham-Arsenal, Arsenal-Real, Arsenal-Liverpool) which Rick has so awesomely helped me out with. But we are going to be in London for all this time and I was wondering whats good/fun to do in London, or close by. Tour Highbury? Any cheap trips to other cities? Unique to London experiences? All suggestions are very appreciated.
London has some of the best museums in the world and the best part is they are all free. The Tate Modern is definitely worth it even just for the building itself, same with the Victoria and Albert (it's at the South Kensington stop on the Piccidilly and Circle and District Lines)- which is very close to the Natural History Museum. Then if you go to Leicester Square that is very close to the National Portrait Gallery thats right next to the National Gallery. And don't pass up the British Museum near Russell Square it has some of the best antiquities in the world. If it's shopping they have weekend markets like Portabello Road (Holland Park tube), Spitafeilds market (Liverpool street tube) which you can find much of anything. I'm a guy and I can find interesting things and it's great for people watching aswell.
They have a bus tour where you can pay maybe £10 to go around the city. See soemthing you like, you can hop on and off any time you like. The London Eye is cool.
There's no end of things to do in London, if you get bored you're not trying at all! A few suggestions though: 1. If you're into museums and galleries, muhardom's post above has you sorted. 2. If a show is your thing, then there's all manner of musicals and plays on in the West End. You can probably score cheap tickets on the day of the show from the ticket booths around Leicester Square. 3. Other sporting events; the rugby season is in full swing at the moment. Tickets for a six nations match will be expensive and hard to come by, but there are plenty of Heineken (European) Cup games and Premiership matches on. London Wasps, Saracens, London Irish and Harlequins are the teams to look out for, some require a train trip out of London, but if you get the chance then I'd recommend it. Plenty of booze for the rugby lads and it's all good-natured. Of course, if you fancy a trip to Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Rome or Cardiff a six nations weekend is well worth it even if you don't get in to see the game. A lower league footy match can be fun, anything below Premiership level and you should have no problem getting a ticket on the day. 4. London night-life. Loads of it, any kind you like. 5. Obviously there's the sights; Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, Houses Of Parliament etc. A trip on the London Eye gives a great bird's eye view over the city too (And you'll be able to spot our new and old grounds from up there).
I'll be in London for the Real and 'pool matches, maybe we can hook up for a few sights or pints. (There are a few pubs in London and some of them are museums in their own right) I'll PM you my addy
London Eye and a trip to Covent Garden to see the street entertainers. I've also heard good things about this tour
I had a blast just wandering around! There is so much to see and do. Pick a tube stop in central London, get out and wander. It is fun to get off the beaten path sometimes. I also wish we had gone out more at night, but we were outside of London for half our trip.
IF taking that advice only chose stations in zone one, zone two at a pinch. Anything else your just asking to get robbed.
We enjoyed touring The Globe theatre, Westminster Abbey, the market in Notting Hill, walking about Hyde Park, hanging out with the other tourists at Piccadilly Circus (where you can find some cool Arsenal stuff), Tower of London...all the typical Japanese tourist kinda stuff.
Sleep all day and hit the club scene at night. There is a great club for any taste....this is your SPRING BREAK after all
How much does it cost? Whats the cheapest I can go to Newcastle for, or Ireland? Im really trying to go to these places?
I very strongly suggest The Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. Just around the corner from Westminster Abbey.
A few other thoughts. The Royal Observatory and Maritime Museum are right next to each other in Greenwich and a nice visit. I went to a good Vietnamese restaurant just down the street. A concert at Royal Albert Hall is also a possibility. There are a number of places you can go to by train that aren't so far away, such as Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon, or Canterbury. Or you could even take the Chunnel over to Paris for a visit. The Imperial War Museum is also quite good, as is the National Army Museum. Really, the hard part is choosing amongst such a huge array of things to do and see.
For Ireland you can pick up flights to Dublin and Shannon for as little as £30 return including taxes at www.ryanair.com if you book in advance. Depends on what's on, for example if there's a six nations match on in Dublin then expect a lot of the flights to be booked up.
Yeah, like he said air travel is very cheap within Europe. Just note a couple things. One, the airports you fly into and out of are generally pretty far outside of the city and take some time/extra money to get to. If you're gonna be in London for 10 days and you have to be around for all 3 of those games, it would be cutting it close on time to travel too much. Personally, when I travel, especially in foreign countries, I hate to be pressed for time. It doesn't take much longer to fly to Ireland than it does to Barcelona or Prague so don't limit yourself to Dublin if you're going to make the trip. That said, London certainly has enough sights and nightlife to keep you entertained during that time. If you're into music, the concert scene is parelelled by few places - check out gigsandtours.com to see who will be there when you are. There are a million types of bars/clubs to check out. I don't think anyone suggested this, but BUY TIME OUT magazine for events/nightlife. It has everything you could need. I lived over there for 6 months recently so as a former yank abroad (soon to be one again) and recent college grad, I'll help all I can if you have any other questions - just PM me.... enjoy!
This can be true, so be careful. If you do want to go to Dublin though there's only one airport so you're safe enough there. I've been to Prague on an Easyjet flight and the airport is fine too.
That's what I meant by central London, but thanks for clarifying! Lord knows its not a good idea to be wandering around Tottenham late at night drunk off your arse!
If you've ever got some time on your hands it's always fun to get on the "yellow" tube line and see where it ends.