Posts Tagged ‘tourist’

Emergency London Tourist Stuff(s)

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Tourist Stuff in London

Anyone who knows me appreciates I’ve been in a bit of a whirlwind in the last couple of weeks. I went from going to Taiwan to cover some metal, to suddenly acquiring a new girlfriend (who was formerly in said band) and who turned up in a planned way on my doorstep last night intending to stay a month.

As I was trundling towards T3 on the Picadilly line the night before last, I started sketching out things we could do in London. Before long I had more that 50 things I regarded as essential, many of which I hadn’t done before. So there’s the list I came up with. We’ve already knocked off Covent Garden, the National Gallery and Chinatown.

Museums

  • Tate modern – great building, meh exhibitions
  • Tate Britain – good exhibitions
  • Hayward – free at the moment I believe
  • Victoria and Albert – will miss the next big Friday late, but still good to visit
  • National gallery – lovely art, great buildings, great commentary
  • National portrait gallery – hopefully something photography that won’t piss me off
  • British library – anything worth seeing for non-members?
  • Royal Academy – anything free and decent? Worth it if we’re near Fortnum and Mason
  • British Museum – cool stiff we stole
  • Photographers gallery – 50/50 chance of pissing me off
  • Canary wharf (museum) – can double up with Greenwich

Historic Buildings

  • Hampton Court Palace – she likes Henry VIII
  • St Pauls – great building, great view from the top
  • St Martin in the Fields – nice café in the crypt
  • Westminster Abbey – never done it. Would be nice
  • Buck House – actually neither of us care about this

Theatre Stuff

  • Avenue Q – yeah yeah. it’s cheap and funny
  • Globe Theatre – bit of culture
  • ICA – I’m a member and they show cool films
  • IMAX – not especially London, but I want to see Harry Potter :)

Shopping!

  • Forbidden Planet – laugh at the nerds
  • Japan Centre – good books, good food
  • Hamleys – just because
  • Harrods – same
  • Carnaby St – not what it was, but Austin Powers

Markets

  • Camden Market
  • Spitalfields
  • Brick lane
  • Portobello road
  • Covent garden
  • Chinatown
  • Borough Market
  • Marylebone high street
  • Greenwich

Other Random Stuff

  • London zoo
  • Smithfield
  • Tourist bus
  • River bus/tour
  • Primrose hill – view London, nice pubs in the village
  • Tower of London/London bridge – at least look at the outside
  • Cinema Wednesdays – I got her an Orange SIM. Would be rude not to

Food!

  • Pie and mash eels
  • City fullers- PIE!
  • Teachi – good, cheap dim sum
  • Leongs – Taiwanese food in case she gets desperate for home cooking
  • Crown and goose – my local. Foamy ale
  • Somers Town coffee house – nice pub in an odd place
  • Fish and chips
  • Brick lane curry
  • Drummond street curry – mmmm…dosa

Other Towns

  • Brighton – English seaside
  • Bath – My old home town
  • Windsor – The Castle!