If you had 3 days in London

[Anonymous]

the National Gallery
221B Baker St

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here! Whatever you do, don't go to the Clink and I'd avoid Greenwich too. Total faff to get there and yeah it's a nice park with a good view but something to avoid during a 3 day trip.

Tea! Plenty of locals go to tea to the Ritz or the Savoy. I'd recommend Fortnum and Mason for a high end tea over those two. There is no shortage of restaurants that do tea (indeed most of them will, lower priced than the 3 options mentioned earlier). You could try the Modern Pantry or Bea's of Bloomsbury.

If all you want to do is eat a scone with clotted cream, buy a scone from Gail's, easily the BEST bakery in London, and some Roddas clotted cream from Waitrose. Done. I would recommend all the baked goods and food at Gail's.

or eat like the real people eat and have fried eggs for tea

[Anonymous]

I'm not a Londoner but lived there for years. I used to love stopping in at the crypt at St. Martin's in the Fields in Trafalgar Square. Also nice if you're up in the City at all is the Cafe Below at St Mary-le-Bow on Cheapside. It's a lovely restaurant with healthy, tasty lunch.

[Anonymous]

Fellow Londoner, I will have to disagree about Greenwich being on the Jubilee line. Sure, the O2 Arena is on the Jubilee but Greenwich proper, ie Cutty Sark/Greenwich market are not.

I live in Clerkenwell so can't speak to your W Hampstead recs, but I'd avoid J&A. Not that great. +1 on tea at museums. I also thought about tea at the Ham yard and while it is priced lower, there are a lot of add ons that I think would take the cost up to Ritz level. But its a great property.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fellow Londoner, I will have to disagree about Greenwich being on the Jubilee line. Sure, the O2 Arena is on the Jubilee but Greenwich proper, ie Cutty Sark/Greenwich market are not.

I live in Clerkenwell so can't speak to your W Hampstead recs, but I'd avoid J&A. Not that great. +1 on tea at museums. I also thought about tea at the Ham yard and while it is priced lower, there are a lot of add ons that I think would take the cost up to Ritz level. But its a great property.

Oops you are right! I actually can't remember how we got there. Maybe on the Thames Clipper? I feel like the journey there was part of the fun for my kids (a bit younger than OPs and big transport fans) so maybe that is why I think of it as a v good day out!

[Anonymous]

Fortnum and Mason is also a great place for souvenirs. They have a shop at Heathrow, and that's where I picked up beautiful cookie tins with biscuits--one of which plays hail to the queen. I also bought a nice tote bag that can be used for groceries/errands.

[Anonymous]

Fait Maison is a perfect compromise if you want a touch of the experience of a tea parlor, but without the $$$ and time investment for high tea. Their cream tea (tea, scone, jam, and Clotted cream) is delicious and they have multiple beautiful locations (I'm most familiar with Kensington.) http://www.fait-maison.co.uk/

[Anonymous]

I think the British War Museum is worth a visit. Nothing like it in the US.

[Anonymous]

Stonehenge!

We spent a couple king days seeing the big spots in London. You don't need to buy a tour for every place.

Loved Stonehenge!

Have fun!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stonehenge!

We spent a couple king days seeing the big spots in London. You don't need to buy a tour for every place.

Loved Stonehenge!

Have fun!

Forgot to mention: Stonehenge won't take all day so you could also your Bath or Sailsbury Cathedral.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here! Whatever you do, don't go to the Clink and I'd avoid Greenwich too. Total faff to get there and yeah it's a nice park with a good view but something to avoid during a 3 day trip.

Tea! Plenty of locals go to tea to the Ritz or the Savoy. I'd recommend Fortnum and Mason for a high end tea over those two. There is no shortage of restaurants that do tea (indeed most of them will, lower priced than the 3 options mentioned earlier). You could try the Modern Pantry or Bea's of Bloomsbury.

If all you want to do is eat a scone with clotted cream, buy a scone from Gail's, easily the BEST bakery in London, and some Roddas clotted cream from Waitrose. Done. I would recommend all the baked goods and food at Gail's.

Agree (Londoner PP here), Gail's is v good! Not sure I would call it the BEST in London but it's good! To be honest I don't know many Londoners who go out just to get a scone and a cup of tea, but you can certainly get one in Gails, Maison Blanc (a few branches of this around), and many little independent cafes - e.g. J&A Cafe near Charterhouse Square (I think they do a scone tea for £6), the Potting Shed in Dorset Square, Bake a Boo in West Hampstead (good for catering to free-from diets), the Coffee Cup in Hampstead. Often museum cafes (like the one at the V&A, the one at the Wallace Collection) have mini cream teas with scones. There are also less expensive versions of the classic hotel high teas, e.g. the Ham Yard Hotel's tea is very nice and about £19.

BTW I recommended the Clink and Greenwich - Greenwich is on the jubilee line so not really a faff, and my kids loved it there. But agree that these aren't essential places to go, just somewhere different to go in London!

Faff or naff?

[Anonymous]

After comparing notes with other tourists on the train to Paris, the consensus was that the trip to Stonehenge wasn't as good as the day trip to Oxford/Stratford upon Avon/and Warwick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Londoner here! Whatever you do, don't go to the Clink and I'd avoid Greenwich too. Total faff to get there and yeah it's a nice park with a good view but something to avoid during a 3 day trip.

Tea! Plenty of locals go to tea to the Ritz or the Savoy. I'd recommend Fortnum and Mason for a high end tea over those two. There is no shortage of restaurants that do tea (indeed most of them will, lower priced than the 3 options mentioned earlier). You could try the Modern Pantry or Bea's of Bloomsbury.

If all you want to do is eat a scone with clotted cream, buy a scone from Gail's, easily the BEST bakery in London, and some Roddas clotted cream from Waitrose. Done. I would recommend all the baked goods and food at Gail's.

Agree (Londoner PP here), Gail's is v good! Not sure I would call it the BEST in London but it's good! To be honest I don't know many Londoners who go out just to get a scone and a cup of tea, but you can certainly get one in Gails, Maison Blanc (a few branches of this around), and many little independent cafes - e.g. J&A Cafe near Charterhouse Square (I think they do a scone tea for £6), the Potting Shed in Dorset Square, Bake a Boo in West Hampstead (good for catering to free-from diets), the Coffee Cup in Hampstead. Often museum cafes (like the one at the V&A, the one at the Wallace Collection) have mini cream teas with scones. There are also less expensive versions of the classic hotel high teas, e.g. the Ham Yard Hotel's tea is very nice and about £19.

BTW I recommended the Clink and Greenwich - Greenwich is on the jubilee line so not really a faff, and my kids loved it there. But agree that these aren't essential places to go, just somewhere different to go in London!

Faff or naff?

Faff! Is that only a British-English word? It means a bit of a hassle

[Anonymous]

Faff and naff are both British English slang. Faff means a bit of a hassle and naff means tacky or unfashionable.