Things to do in London

[kevh_uk]

i work in a school but am currently on half term this week and am looking for things to fill my day with in London...any ideas? I'm pretty open minded to anything...and free things to do would be even better!

[raysparx]

London eye is a must, if the weather is nice walk towards Houses of parliament after you come off of the eye,turn right into whitehall and walk up to trafalgar square,where you can visit the National gallery,i(f you have time while near Parliament you can visit the abbey and Cathedral} after The square walk down the Mall and you come to Buckingham Palace, from there you can walk through Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, Hire a rowing boat on the Serpentine,

If you don't fancy all that walking you can take a boat trip from westminster pier,or take the underground to tower hill and visit The Tower of London,Tower Bridge, the Monument or London Dungeon,

Thinking about it I don't know why i am putting all this down if you are visiting London you won't have time to be bored, if you are bored there you are bored with life, It is a great place with endless things to do,

Have a great time. Ray

[undercovers]

climb to the top of st. pauls and look out over the river (don't forget to have a go on the whispering wall thingy when you get to the dome... i thought it was fun anyway). Then climb back down and have a quick march around the tate modern wonder what they mean etc... then you could spend some money and catch a boat or go for a nice walk along the thames (stop at a pubor two obviously)... you could go to ST Kathrines dock for a drink and a bite to eat (it is expensive but the boats are pretty etc)....

ahhh thats what i want to do now - i've only been out of london for a year and i'm starting to miss it quite a bit (scared to think i'll be a rotten tourist when i go back lfor a visit lol)

[kevh_uk]

Forgot to mention i actually live in london...no down on a visit and raysparx i agree that that is a fantastic idea of things to do...but infact i do that walk EVERY time any of my friends or family come to visit me...is a lovely walk though.

I should have been more specific, i'm looking for things out of the ordinary, things that i may not usually do, secret places people have stumbled upon..little gems that not many people find in london. Diamonds in the rough...i understand if people don't wanna share their own personal havens ;-)

[stoo_pid]

Just about all the museums in London are free. Click here for a list

Assuming you've got a travel card use the London buses for a free sight-seeing tour. Click here for a map

If you're feeling a little fitter (and if the weather is kind to you) use your mini A-Z and plan yourself a walking tour across the city. Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, Covent Garden & Fleet Street are all right next to each other. Victoria Embankment, St Pauls, the Millennium Bridge, the Tate Modern, the OXO Tower, the South Bank, the London Eye & the Houses of Parliament / Big Ben are all along the river. (The OXO tower on the South Bank is free to go up & gives great views over the Thames & the city)

Other ideas for free stuff in London here

[Lonnie]

This is something my wife and I did, made a fantastic day, Kew Gdns as it opens, no crowds, and in the afternoon, from Richmond, the Waterbus to Hampton Court, a nice easy, and very interesting day. Of course, you need a nice day for it, but you never know.

One other thing, raysparx mentioned the London Eye, you can catch the 'Duck', close by, a ride along the streets of london, followed by a very intersting trip, with commentary, on the river itself.

[raysparx]

Hello Kevh, I am back again didn't realise you lived there, the areas I enjoy are Kew Gardens,Richmond park, walking along the riverbank by the thames.I used to walk from Hammersmith to Richmond. there also some lovely back streets around Kensington, you also have Holland park nearby and on a saturday Portobello Road, what about the Maritime Museum at greenwich & the Cutty Sark if you then get a bus to Rotherhithe there is a great little pub behind the station that overlooks the river it is called The Mayflower, or go North to Camden Market or Parliament Hill fields or Onto Hampstead Heath, Or what about the back streets in the city? even Visit the old curiosity shop near Fleet street>

God I want to come home,I live in North Wales now (26 years) but I still miss & love London so much

[shaneystar2]

This thread is making me feel very homesick !!
Not a Londoner by birth but lived there for over twenty years and know lots of these places.
As Samuel Johnson said
"No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."

[spudqueen]

How about sitting in the public gallery at the Old Bailey? Have a wander round the outside of Highbury (Arsenals ground) before it is demolished. Or how about going 'round' the monopoly board?

[morg_monster]

So many of the galleries and museums are free now. I sometimes spend a free day in the science museum and natural history museum - not in the flash new exhibitions but in the older rooms which are chocka full of interesting things. Especially the nat hist museum, drawers full of old dead things...! if that is your cup of tea! The British museum is great too. You could combine that with a wander around bloomsbury and have lunch in one of the lovely garden squares (my favourite is Gordon square at the moment...)

Also on my list of things to do this summer is the Thames Barrier park down in greenwich, not sure if you've seen that, it looks quite exciting (well the barrier at least).

I live in london too and with such a lot of things to do it can still be hard to fill the time sometimes if you don't want to spend loads or push through hordes of tourists.. weird isn't it! I usually just end up walking miles and snaking from one part of the city to the other. Longest I ever did was Camden to Balham, think it was about ten miles... you see loads of interesting things!

[Smiffy]

kevh, Have a look at this site http://www.crossriverpartnership.org/page.asp?id=1294

There are some really interesting places in here that most people have never heard of.