Trip to London, help needed!

Hey everyone, I am going to London in a few months for about a week, which turns out to be only 4 full days! I've been wanting to go there ever since I was a kid so I was wondering if you all could help me out with how should I travel, what I can't miss seeing, or any general information that would help me make the most out of what may be a once in a lifetime trip.
I don't have a hotel yet either, but it seems every hotel we've looked at is going to cost about the same, so any advice about hotels wouldn't hurt either.
Thanks!

 

What are your interests? that may help narrow some things down as you have only a few days here

As for the hotels what are the names of the hotels you are looking at? if you have a few in mind I can check out what they are like or at least say if the area is ok or not

 

Well I was hopeing to go to Legoland but thats in Winsdor I think. There are few things I am not interested in. (Well I don't care about going to clubs on this trip and I don't drink) I guess I want to see a lot of history stuff. I suppose a lot of tourist things really. Oh, and if there are some cool shops to get SW stuff that wouldn't hurt me either.
I'll find the names of the hotels I was looking at again. I can't remember them now. I did see one called the Imperial hotel that tempted me a lot.
Oh well since I've posted this my mom has booked a room at the Imperial hotel.
It says it comes with an English breakfast. Whats that exactly?
Oh, food! I don't eat meat does anyone know any good restuarants I could eat at?

 

It says it comes with an English breakfast. Whats that exactly?


Depending on the quality of the Hotel it could include one or more of the following;

Toast.

 

Full English Breakfast is (and if you don't eat meat like me you won't like it) Fried Bacon, Fried Eggs, Sausages, Fried Bread, Fried mushrooms, tomatoes, Black Puding (dunno if that's a regional Northern thing or not), Hash Brown and sometimes Baked Beans... YUK!!!!

Or alternatively like Moylesy said... toast or perhaps one of those little boxes of cornflakes that you always need two of

 

Well its a 3 star hotel and for $200 a night it better be something. But I could eat fried eggs, and toast and I've had black pudding and liked that well enough. And corn flakes always work.

What about restaurants? I've heard pubs really have good food but do they serve non meat things?

 

@ Moylsey's post

and I've had black pudding and liked that well enough.

Oh, dear. I hope you never find out what black pudding's made of.

Most pubs do a limited selection of bad food. Particularly those geared towards tourists. Loads of vegetarian restaurants, though. Stoke Newington High Street, for example, seems to be full of them, but they can be found all over the place. Can't really recommend one, though... I'm a dedicated carnivore.

If you want to go to Legoland, Windsor's not far from London. Get a train from London Paddington Station to Windsor & Eton - takes about 30 mins.

And please don't ask anyone how black pudding's made.

 

London has loads of quality restaurants & eating joints.
Not cheap mind you.

 

Well, I wasn't vegetarian when I had black pudding. My parents are meat eaters so I won't be looking for a restuarant that just serves veggie. Well, with a hotel already costing so much already, the food price isn't really an issue. This is a once in a lifetime free trip for me I will not waste it just eating at Burger King.

I looked into going to Legoland and it seemed that Golden Tours sounded like a good way to get there. I'm planning to just take the undergroud most everywhere else.

Although I was hopeing for a day trip to Oxford but I dunno if I will have the time now.

Do you all have a favorite place to go to in London?
Get a little excited here, this is a chance to show off your town.

 

OXFORD? Nonononono, you want to go to Cambridge. Oxford is a dump!
Seriously, though, worth doing one or the other - both less than an hour from London. Both Unis have 700+ years of history, both have some beautiful architecture. But Cambridge is better. Not that I'm biased or anything. Was DNA discovered in Oxford? Nope. Did Rutherford split the atom there? Uh uh. Where was Isaac Newton? Not Oxford. Big bang theory? Yep, Cambridge again. Alan Turing, father of computing? Cambridge. Wittgenstein, Russell? Uh, huh. The Monty Python team? Cambridge yet again.
Either is a good day out though. If you're into history/art, the Ashmolean museum in Oxford or the Fitzwilliam in Cambridge (here I have to grudgingly concede that Oxford offers more, and you can sometimes see older bits of the Bodleian Library in Oxford - but they have nothing quite like King's College Chapel). In either place, take a look around the larger colleges. Also, in either place, pretend to be a student and have lunch in hall at one of the bigger colleges. I'd recommend John's College in Cambrdidge for food.
Having said all that, if you're only here 4 days, you might just want to stick to London!

 

Oxford has its merits as well... I've visited Oxford and it wasn't a dump. I can't compare it to Cambridge because I've never visited but some of the colleges at Oxford are beautiful!

The open top tours (if they do them at this time of year) are interesting to go on as well as a visitor!

 

This is true. Oxford is beautiful... 'dreamy spires' and all that. I was quoting Blackadder (Lord Melchitt, Blackadder goes forth). There's a lot of rivalry between the two. My comments above are all tongue-in-cheek: Oxford's achievements rival those of Cambridge, it's older and, arguably, more beautiful. And the Ashmolean is a very good museum.

 

Oh a Blackadder fan

I presume you were educated at Cambridge then? perhaps... you certainly seem well educated

 

Studied Philosophy there. Left half way through my final year... they were planning to put rent up by 80%. Rent's already high, and so are all the stupid extras like the college charge and kitchen fixed charge, that are effectively rent. Pricing people out of education strikes me as wrong. I helped lead the campaign against all this at my college, but left when I realised that people only got involved because it was trendy, not because they were at all concerned about the issues at stake. It's a shame. Loved the place, but it should be for the talented, not for the rich.

Still bitter about it, can you tell

 

OH I agree with what you say wholeheartedly they don't seem to realise that they are losing talented and clever students in the race for more cash. Very soon in this country there will be a vast gap between those who can afford to pay and those who can't. I feel sorry for the likes of my Neices and Nephews who are just at the beginning of their education. My sister has 4 kids and just couldn't possibly afford to pay for them to go through College / University so they will ultimately lose out unless things change drastically in the next 6 or so years.

*Gets off soap box*

 

I wanted to go to Oxford because I am an Inspector Morse fan. Didn't mean to start a debate.

 

Sorry, Mitt! If you're a Morse fan, it's probably worth going even though you're only here for a few days. As I said, less than an hour from London, lots to see and plenty of good places to eat

 

Is there lots to see within walking distance of the train station? Or easy transport around? Kinda sucks we won't have a car.
Oh, and would anyone know how train tickets would cost?

Actually, whats everyhing non-SW in the banner here? I know Big Ben, and the Ferris wheel, and uhh I think thats that courthouse, Bailey or something.

 

http://www.thetrainline.com
is useful for finding prices of tickets

as for the banner, swiss tower I think....St Paul's Cathedral, tower bridge

 

I went to Legoland once.

It was really disappointing.

 

Whats the swiss tower?

Why was Legoland disappointing?

 

Whats the swiss tower?

Good question I got no idea, I just follow it when I am walking to uni

As you can see under St Paul's on the left it's rather weird, well I think it is

 

If you want SW stuff then you must visit the Forbidden Planet Megastore while you are in London. It is at 179 Shaftesbury Avenue - walking distance from the Leicester Square tube station. Lots of figures, comics, and books. Take money or plastic...

Edit - I will caution you on buying, though. I see you are from the US. Don't buy DVDs, prerecorded VHS tapes or console games (IE PS2,etc) here as they are a different format to the US ones and will not play on US equipment. CDs are ok, however.

 

Yay for the Forbidden Planet!

 

...or you could always buy a multi-zone DVD player like I have. That way you get the best of both worlds as I'm able to buy Brit comedies when I go back home.