Jump to content

Any Londoners/Visitors to London wanna give me some ideas!?


Recommended Posts

Hey everyone!

I'll be traveling to London March 9th for a study abroad trip and I cant wait to see/experience all the history! I'll have a few free nights to myself and I wanted to ask any Londoners about any good/NON-TOURISTY pubs to visit? Any cool museums or places to shop? I've looked a bit online but as far as non-tourist trap pubs go, I cant seem to find much.

This study abroad trip is all about Elizabeth I and Shakespeare and Im realllllly excited! Besides Westminster Abbey and The National Portrait Gallery I'll be taking a Jack the Ripper tour!

Let me know!

Thanks everyone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It might help if you can give an idea of what is in your opinion cool, maybe some idea (in addition to murdered prostitutes) of what might be interesting to you, where you are from (no point in recommending a Portuguese wine bar to you if you are from Portugal) and how many nights you are talking about. London's a big city with lots to do, I'm sure some great suggestions could be tailored to your tastes.

National Gallery and the British museum both have an evening in the week that they are open later, possibly the same goes for some other attractions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sure! I obviously love anything medieval/Renaissance/Victorian. I LOVE wine but ale and cider do the job! I'm from Ohio in the states and I will be there until the 17th :) Ill have about four free evenings until we head to Stratford. Here at home, Im not a really-fancy-bar type of person, so no need for those suggestions. Just any cool places/hidden gems that aren't tourist traps!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If culture is your thing, don't miss the British museum (seconding Lummel). It is amazing, albeit so huge it's difficult/impossible to take it all in during one visit. Haven't been to the National Gallery for at least 15 years to my shame, but I remember it as being quite interesting, and with air condition (valuable in summer).

The Tower of London is fairly expensive, but worth visiting at least once if you are a bit of a history buff. Not sure how their opening hours are during the evenings tho.

For pubs, you should summon Isis Newton or Chaldanya. I tend to just let them direct me somewhere as they are right in at least 99% of all cases concerning pubs. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want a non-touristy pub and you're into that Jack The Ripper stuff, the White Hart just by Aldgate East Station should sort you out. The last of his victims was killed in the back room (now an absolutely cracking gents toilet) and it's a good bar to boot. Had an excellent fruit machine based on The Matrix as well last time I went in there.

Edit: The pub has a full sized wall mural of the victim and a load of writing about the history as well by the way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your school has arranged a Tudors/Shakespeare-themed trip which doesn't already include the Tower and the Globe Theatre, then they are seriously slacking. So while the Tower would be my #1 recommendation, it's probably already included.

Whereabouts in London will you be staying? It's not like a lot of American cities with just the one main downtown area, there are lots of different districts, so if you have an approximate idea of where you'll be we can try to rec a pub nearby.

eta: haha, cross-post!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Alex! That sounds cool as hell!

No problem! If you're around the Tower there's a place called the Draft house on the South side of the Bridge as ell which is alright. Does good burgers and steak. And beer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, go to Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese just off fleet street. (http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=154). It'a fantastic historic site with a pub or inn standing at this site since about 1500s iirc. I know Charles Dickens drank there.

If you've got a bit of free time go to Greenwich. Yes it's touristy but worth a visit. The Greenwich observatory is there and the national maritime museum. I think there is still a proper pie and mash shop there as well. Even if you don't have time for a visit to Greenwich try to get a boat trip on the Thames a quick, easy and cheap way to cross all of the sites of London off the list.

I'll post more when I can think of them.

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yay you guys are so awesome with all of these suggestions! I cant wait to get my drink on! MinDonner, I will be staying near Kensington I believe :) We are definitely seeing the Globe and the Tower and are taking a boat ride on the Thames as well. Luckily our Professor is a Brit, so we're not just a big group of Americans :-p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sure! I obviously love anything medieval/Renaissance/Victorian...

If you are more interested in arts, costume and furniture then the Victoria and Albert Museum is worth a visit - open until 22:00 on fridays

If you want a non-touristy pub and you're into that Jack The Ripper stuff, the White Hart just by Aldgate East Station should sort you out. The last of his victims was killed in the back room (now an absolutely cracking gents toilet)...

sounds like a great place to spend a penny.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lyanna, I was just thinking about you and that heavily pregnant trip to the London Dungeon at the weekend for some reason. :)

OP: If you're after old pubs you can't go wrong with Ye Olde Mitre off Hatton Garden, apparently frequented (kind of) by Queen Elizabeth.

http://yeoldemitreholburn.co.uk/

Or Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=154

Needless to say not every pub with 'ye olde' in its name will actually be a genuine historic pub. :)

A pub I really like and visit a few times a year is The Lamb in Bloomsbury. It's been a CAMRA pub of the year in recent years.

http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=138

The Blackfriar is another beautiful pub, well worth a visit.

http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=30

The City of London, i.e. the financial district has most of the older pubs. You could probably clock up quite a few there in an evening. But they'd also be full of bankers. Not sure if that appeals to you or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yay you guys are so awesome with all of these suggestions! I cant wait to get my drink on! MinDonner, I will be staying near Kensington I believe :) We are definitely seeing the Globe and the Tower and are taking a boat ride on the Thames as well. Luckily our Professor is a Brit, so we're not just a big group of Americans :-p

well if it's drinking you want, I'll see if I can dig up the pub crawl my husband put together a couple of years ago that was chock full of historic pubs. That was a good day...

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hahaha that historic pub crawl sounds awesome! Isis, bankers are not so much my thing but I'm into meeting any Londoner that wont think Im a complete american fool and will talk with me! Cheshire Cheese has been added to my list! Looks amazing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I second the notion of The Lamb. Used to be one of my locals when working at Elsevier.

Also, The Princess Louise by Holborn Station (http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=182) is another quirky pub with little secluded rooms and booths for small partys.

Near Holborn is Cittie of Yorke (http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=44)

(The funny thing is that I was wracking my brain for pubs for my first night out in over a year tomorrow and I could only think of ones by London Bridge. This thread has been a godsend is jogging my memory.)

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One note about pubs like Cheshire Cheese, Princess Louise and Cittie of Yorke: They are Sam Smiths pubs which basically means that they have their own alcohol and soft drinks. There are no branded drinks in there. So you'll get a cola drink but is won't be coke. The lager is OK (colloquially known as man-in-a-box due to the top of the pump being a man in a box) but I can't speak to the quality of the ale. And the vodka goes down easy enough (sometimes very very unfortunately).

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm glad my summon Chaldanya and Isis spell worked. They are pros, listen to everything they say. :)

Lyanna, I was just thinking about you and that heavily pregnant trip to the London Dungeon at the weekend for some reason. :)

Hahaha, I was so disappointed I was not allowed to get hanged at the end due to being pregnant. :lol:

Was still great fun despite that incident!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...