England question

[vitobn]

Anybody know if I need a passport to take the chunnel to France? I'm coming from America and am spending my time in England. I'm not really interested in seeing much of France, maybe a day at most. But I do want to ride the chunnel and I could than say I've been to France. Americans view of the french, right or wrong, is very rude and arrogant. England is the country I want to see. It is Americas Mother Country and our main allie. Sometimes it seems like our only allie. Can't depend on France or Canada anymore. Anyway, Americans Love the Brits.(is the term "Brits" okay or would it be considered rude?)

[vitobn]

Part One:
Hello buenchico and maimai - I�ll reply to some of your excellent advice.
You brought up some good points on Dublin and it is definitely a place I will want to visit some day. But it sounds like one day would be too overwhelming and isn�t worth the time or money. I will save all of your comments to use on future trips to the UK. I need to focus on England and somewhere down the line I�ll hit the rest of the UK. But who knows, I may decide on a day trip to Dublin when I get there. I won�t be staying in central London. I think I�ve decided on 1 week in York and 1 week somewhere near the south coast but close enough to spend some days in London. No I won�t be spending time in bars. But I�ve heard so much about �British Pubs� that I�m sure I�ll go in a few. I hear English beer is stronger that American beer so 1 or 2 will be my limit. I hear you serve your beer at room temperature, is that correct? I am more interested in English history, Castles, ruins, everything in London, museums, the countryside, coastal towns, The Beatles and other Rock & Roll sights etc. Being from the beaches of S. California I�m very interested in the English coast. I got some info on Beatle places to go, does anyone have any info on other interesting R&R places to visit?

[vitobn]

Part two:

Buenchico- once again some valuable info. I think I�ll take the train to Edinburgh from York as opposed to flying from London. I think I could relax and see more of England�s countryside by train. I�m looking forward to seeing a bit of Scotland and it�s another country I could say I�ve been to.
Should I turn my money into British Pounds when I get there? I would think using American dollars would be confusing and not accepted in most places. Is the British Pound also used in Scotland or will I need to exchange the pounds into Scottish money? Where is a good place to get the best exchange rates for my money? How about Travelers Checks? What credit cards do they accept in Great Britain?
I ask a lot of questions don�t I???????????? I�m sure I�ll think of more later.

[Buenchico]

(Multi-part post - again!):

Hi again!

As you've decided on not taking any flights from London's airports and you're so keen to visit some South Coast resorts then I strongly recommend staying in Brighton. As I've said before, it's only about 50 minutes from there to central London and it's a great place to stay. It's not without it's own sense of history either; Brighton Pavilion is one of the most fantastic buildings in England:
http://www.royalpavilion.org.uk/

Here are my thoughts on money matters:

Dollars: Accepted in some of the shops which sell trashy tourist items on London's Oxford Street and in similar places elesewhere. Otherwise dollars are not accepted. You'd have to change them to sterling. (See my note about banks and bureaux de change, below).

Cheques drawn on a US bank account: Not valid anywhere in the UK.

Travellers' Cheques: These are not accepted as currency in Britain. You have to change them to sterling. This means using banks (with limited opening hours) or bureaux de change (open much longer but generally with a much poorer rate of exchange). If changing either dollars or travellers' cheques, you'll probably have to produce your passport.

[Buenchico]

Credit & Cards: Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted in most shops, restaurants and in all but the smallest of hotels. (Some places have a minimum transaction value of �10 or �20). Visa and Mastercard are also accepted at all rail stations. American Express is not widely accepted.

ATMs: These are generally known as 'cash machines' and can be found just about everywhere. All of the machines which are located outside banks, in supermarkets and in railway stations don't levy a charge for making withdrawals (although, of course, your own card company might make a charge). Cash machines which are located in places like bars usually charge you for making a withdrawal.

Assuming you've got some 'plastic' with the Visa or Mastercard symbol on, the easiest way to get cash is simply to wait until you get here and use a cash machine at the airport (and, thereafter, use high street cash machines). You'll find that you'll probably get a good exchange rate (although, obviously, that's largely up to your card issuer) and you'll find this the most convenient and secure way of obtaining sterling.

[Buenchico]

(If your plastic cards have got symbols other than Visa or Mastercard on them, tell me what they are and I'll take a look at some cash machines and report back whether they'll be accepted).

Scottish currency: Scotland issues its own bank notes. English notes (and coins) are accepted everywhere in Scotland. You might get a few odd looks if you hand over a Scottish note in England but most places accept them.

(If you do decide to get some sterling before you leave the US, try to avoid accepting any �50 notes as many places, both in England and in Scotland, are reluctant to take these).

Euros for your trip to France: I travel quite often on Eurostar and I simply use my MasterCard or Visa cards in the cash machines in Paris. Note, however, that they're far less plentiful than they are in the UK. (For example, London's mainline rail stations have generally got about 10 cash machines at each station. The Gare du Nord has only got one cash machine and when I was last there, 11 days ago, it wasn't working!) Despite this, you shouldn't have too much trouble getting cash. (The machines will automatically switch to giving the instructions in English if you insert a US card).

[Buenchico]

Lastly (for now!), the subject of beer: No, we don't serve it at room temperature but British beer should be served lightly chilled and not (like certain US products) so cold that it can't be tasted. Although there are some very strong British (usually English) beers available, most of our beers are no stronger than US products. (Basic draught bitter is usually around 3.6 - 4.0% ABV. Basic draught lager is typically 4.0% ABV. Premium bitter and lagers are usually around 5.0% ABV). Compared with some of the Belgian beers available in many British bars (often above 8% ABV), our stuff is fairly weak!

Typing all that stuff about beer has made me thirsty. The nearest place which has some ready chilled cans - much cheaper than the pub - is the service station a couple of miles away so I think that it's time to go for a drive!

Chris

[Buenchico]

Hi again Vitobn,

I've spent a bit of time thinking about the best places for you to visit from your base in York. I've typed it all out but, rather than take up lots of space here on AB, I'd rather e-mail it to you.

If you're interested, please drop me a line:
[email protected]

If you think that my ideas might be of any use to you, I'll happily do the same exercise for the southern part of your trip but I'd rather wait until I know where you'll be based (i.e. London, Brighton or wherever).

Chris