Some questions about going to London (for the first time)
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Anonymous
Why are you clothes shopping in England? Are you living outside the US? When we lived in a 3rd world country we used to go to England to buy clothes but if coming from the US I wouldn't be thinking about bargain shopping. There are very few bargains in London. In fact a lot of places (Boden for example) are often more expensive in the UK than in the US. There are some nice well made brands in England but H&M in London isn't much different than H&M in DC. |
Anonymous
| I wouldn't do many paid things on your first trip since there are so many free things to do that are really outstanding. I did the Tower of London which I think may have been my only paid museum. I also saw The British Museum, Imperial War Museum, Museum of London and a couple of evening shows. I believe Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium is near where you'll be so if you like cats and cafe's, check into that. Hyde and Kensington parks are worth walking through for sure. Very beautiful, and the Peter Pan statue was cute. |
Anonymous
| Oh, for clothes that aren't too expensive, try Marks and Spencer. |
Anonymous
Do a tour - very informative. Also look into London Walks - they give FREE tours of central London. Take the tube to central London. MUCH cheaper, not that difficult and not that much slower than the Express. As for shopping, head to Oxford Street.... Zara and Topshop! |
Anonymous
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Clothing in the UK will be more expensive than in the US. There's really no way around it. But the flip side is that there's a wider range of clothing style on offer. I don't know what your taste runs to but I really like Jigsaw. They have several locations in London, including in the Soho shopping district. You can see their styles online. London's department stores are also amazing compared to the US. Liberty's, Selfridges, Peter Jones, John Lewis (the latter is more "standard" but offers good quality clothes at reasonable (for UK) prices). And there's scores of boutiques. Harrods is....um....ok. Worth it just to visit the food halls but I've never bought anything from there and neither do my English friends shop there. It used to be a beloved British department store but now everyone thinks of it as a tourist trap aimed at high spending Saudi tourists.
As for getting to the airport to your hotel, you have a long journey one way or another. The Express is the quickest way to "central" London but even so it only takes you to Paddington, which is on the outskirts of central London and still requires you to transfer to a bus, taxi or metro to get to your other destinations in London. When you add up all the transfer times you're not really saving that much time versus taking the tube all the way in. If you elect to take the tube, take the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow (the only line to Heathrow) to Holborn in central London, change to the Central Line and take it to Bethnal Green station. A taxi/private car will be more convenient but if your flight arrives in the early AM you'll run into rush hour, so while you'll be more comfortable, you might save much time at all. Depends on what your priorities are. By the way, I found this similar question on Tripadvisor from last year. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g186338-i17-k7199522-Best_way_to_get_from_Heathrow_to_Bethnal_Green-London_England.html Several good suggestions on there about getting to Bethnal Green, including what appears to be a fairly inexpensive private car hire. |
Anonymous
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OP here... so should I attempt to stick to the free stuff or should I get a pass and try to see everything?
Planning this trip is so overwhelming!!! |
Anonymous
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Relax. You can do the pay stuff without buying a London Pass. Mix it up. Pick 2-3 things to do per day. Don't try to do everything in one trip. I've been to London probably 20 times and still haven't done it all. Pick things you are interested in. For example the Tower of London is a big attraction - but it's not one I particularly like. I love the Tate Modern and have been there probably 5 times. But you might not like that. What kinds of museums/sites/activities have you liked in other cities?
My favorites are the Tate Modern, the V&A, the British Museum, the British Library, the War Rooms and walking around Covent Garden. I used to love Regent Street but it's become a little too much like an American mall. It's still worth a stroll. |
Anonymous
+1 Clothes shopping is the last thing I would do in London. Tons of great museums. Remember, it's not like DC though. The museums cost money so you probably won't pop in, pop out. |
Anonymous
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Hmm?
The major museums are all free. British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, V&A, National Science Museum, Tate and Tate Modern are all free so you can easily pop in and pop out whenever you feel like it. You only pay for the special exhibitions (and those can be expensive, as much as 20 GBP!). My favorites are the British Museum and the V&A. Smaller museums tend to be independent and charge admissions. Sir John Soane is a fascinating little museum in a beautiful square. The Tower is not free and does charge. It's probably why I've never been inside the tower despite 50+ visits to London!
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