Real London Travel Advice

[manhn]

In 3 and a half weeks, I will be going to Real London! First time in Europe too. It will be just for a week. I am intending to stay put with the occasional day trip. As you may have noticed, I am not one of those "So....what's fun to do in ________?" people. My questions are very precise and specific. Any and all suggestions are welcome. I do a good number of things suggested by people.

1. Best Coffee in London: A very important question for me. Any and all suggestions will likely be tried out by me.

2. Best Scones in London:

3. Best Fish & Chips in London:

4. Best Shepherd's Pie in London:

5. Best Ice Cream in London:

6. Best Pie in London:

7. I am doing a half marathon in Wimbledon Common on a Sunday morning. Best coffee in the area? Also, is the Wimbledon Museum a good place to check out?

8. Best places to run?

9. I am staying in Cheswick along High Road. Best Coffee.

10. I will likely do a lot of my runs along the Thames. Anything I should specifically stop for and check out?

11. I am intending to visit the Chelsea Flower Show. I am not much for nature, but it's apparently a big event in England, and it reminds me of a plotline from Downton Abbey. Also, my folks will be so jealous. But so expensive! Is getting tickets for 5:30pm to closing worth it? Also, good restaurant options nearby?

12. I intend to check out at least one Shakespearean play, and it appears to be Twelfth Night at the Globe. Tell me I'm crazy and I should see another Shakespearan play someone else in the City.

13. I intend to see The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? starring Damian Lewis and Sophie Okonedo. I know nothing about the play, but I like the actors. Tell me I'm crazy and I should see something else starring famous people in the City.

14. Best Place to Observe Hipsters:

15. I intend to see one Opera at the Royal Opera House: either Don Carlo (but I can only see it on a Friday, but I was wanting to check out the Harry Potter Studios that day) or The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude / Tarantella / Strapless / Symphonic Dances. I am not familiar with the second opera. What figure skaters have skated to it?

16. Best Vietnamese in London:

17. I am staying in Cheswick the entire time. Eight days in total. What type of transit pass should I get? Cheswick is out of zones 1 and 2, right?

18. I am intending to visit at least one of either Oxford or Cambridge. Which is the better choice?

19. I am wanting to visit the Harry Potter Studios. Anything of interest near it?

20. Best Bookstore in London.

I think that is it. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Spun Silver]

On no. 15, the second thing you list is not an opera but a ballet program, presumably the Royal Ballet (?). The only one I have seen is Tarantella, if it's the same one - by Balanchine. Short, speedy and lots of fun, a Neapolitan pas de deux with tambourines. Figure skaters SHOULD use it but I dont know if any have. If by chance you mean Symphonic Etudes, it's a famous piece by Frederick Ashton, to Elgar. Again, not sure if anyone has skated to it.

Also, no. 12, Twelfth Night is sheer heaven. Of course it depends on the production and acting, but it is one of Shakespeare's best comedies so you're not crazy.

18. Oxford. It is more picturesque and closer to London, and you can come home and revisit it by watching Inspector Morse and then Lewis.

 

[manhn]

Twelfth Night it is!

 

[Spun Silver]

The ballet really is Symphonic Dances (not Ashton). But it is indeed Balanchine's Tarantella.
http://www.roh.org.uk/mixed-program...ctitude-tarantella-strapless-symphonic-dances

 

[manhn]

Oops, sorry for the mixup. What would be better to see in London--a ballet or an opera?

 

[vesperholly]

19. I am wanting to visit the Harry Potter Studios. Anything of interest near it?

No.

 

[Spun Silver]

Oops, sorry for the mixup. What would be better to see in London--a ballet or an opera?

Totally depends on your taste. Both companies are great (opera and ballet). Don Carlo is one of my most favorite operas but it's long, historical and very grand -- not everyone's cup of tea. It has a magnificent scene between the King of Spain and the Grand Inquisitor and an auto-da-fe! I am not familiar with the conductor or singers and they make a huge difference. @kwanfan1818 might be able to tell you about them, and/or the ballets.

 

[SHARPIE]

"Real London" have a great time!

 

[Lanie]

"Real London" cracks me up.

It's not, you know, THE BEST ice cream by far by any stretch of the imagination but do get a 99 Flake. I still crave these and we were there a year and a half ago

Best scones I had were at Bea's of Bloomsbury on Devonshire Street. I make good ones, though, so I don't miss it much My great-grandma's recipe!

 

[manhn]

Ooh, Bea's!

Hmm, I just Google'd "99 Flake". That does not look appealing...

 

[Lanie]

We loved them but if you don't like soft serve you'll hate it. Well, we being myself and my son, my husband hates soft serve so he was like, "You freaks."

Have so much fun, I'm jealous! (Though we'll be back next year.)

Another suggestion is have a damn roast dinner. Just do it. Pubs have the best, though we did enjoy The Goring Hotel's roast, it was all just too fussy. I really enjoyed Builder's Arms in Kensington if you wanna have some yummy pub food. It's quiet and off the tourist path and we went about four times during our two weeks.

 

[smurfy]

19. Harry Potter Studios - I was there last Oct - just awesome.
From London I went first to St Albans by train - spent morning into early afternoon there. Beautiful cathedral, roman ruins, lovely town.
Then took train to nearby train station for studio (20 or 30 min trainride?) - and there is a shuttle to the studios.
I had a timed ticket of 5:00 for the HP Studios, was there by 4:00 - I tend to get places early. I spent a solid 3.5 hours in the HP tour - so much to see.
Good day - I did a lot, at an enjoyable pace.

Glad you are going to the Globe - it is wonderful. That whole area along rive back to Westminster - fun place to be in the evening.

Transit pass - check out the oyster/travelcard - check out the website and figure out based on where you are going - zones etc. - what is best for you.
https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/
I was there for 7 days - bought a 7 day card that was sent to me before trip - used all but a couple pounds on it.

Have a wonderful time. You may not need to run - as walking in London can log a lot of miles.
On my fitbit - I did over 10 miles per day, 2 days over 12 +.
I highly recommend London Walks www.walks.com - They have wonderful 2 hr walking tours of many areas/topics of London and a few day trips too. Evening pub tours are great. I have also done haunted tours and neighborhood tours. Over the years I have been to London 5 times - and have done more than one on every trip.

 

[Vagabond]

@manhn, you had a similar thread years ago about Los Angeles. London is a very large city, and it's silly to ask for the "best" of anything unless you are prepared to put your money and time where your fingers are and dash off to Stoke Newington or Clapham for the mythical "best." Don't set your hopes too high, though, when it comes to ice cream.

You will be in Chiswick ("CHIZ-ick"). There are a couple of Cheswicks in England, and if you say Cheswick to the wrong person, he will assume you mean one of them, so do be careful.

I strongly recommend that you look up what The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? is about so that you aren't caught off-guard and repulsed, as some people would be. You have been warned.

I can't speak to the particular strengths of Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe, but everyone who visits London should try to go see a production there.

For hipsters relatively close in, try Lower Marsh and the Cut, just south and east of Waterloo Station. They can also be found in places like Stepney, Hackney, and Stoke Newington.

The best bookstore in London is probably Foyles, but there are other good ones nearby in Charing Cross Road. Incomparably the best bookstore in the United Kingdom, however, is Blackwells in Oxford. There is, in fact, a branch in Charing Cross Road, but just as there is a branch of the Hermitage (as in the museum in St. Petersburgy) in London, you really should go to the flagship.

I have a personal bias in favor of Oxford, but both places are worth a visit. Oxford, however, is more accessible from London, and Cambridge's rail station is not at all near the heart of the University disttrict. In brief, Oxford's colleges are largely set away from the Rivers Isis and Cherwell, and the individual colleges are mostly laid out in such a way that you will want to meander through them to explore rather than walk straight through them, whereas many Cambridge's most scenic colleges are clustered around River Cam, and the colleges tend to be laid out on straight axes.

The University area of Oxford is centered around Radcliffe Square, which has an ensemble of buildings including the Radcliffe Camera, All Souls College, the Old Bodleian, and the Church of St. Mary Magdalen, for which there is no parallel in the British Isles. In fact, the only set of buildings in Europe that I can think of that even remotely compares is the Cathedral, Baptistry, and Leaning Tower in Pisa.

If you can go to only four colleges in Oxford, make them Magdalen, Christ Church, New College, and Worcester. Among the many others worth a look are Trinity, St. John's, Merton, Corpus Christi, Templeton Green, Oriel, and Mansfield.

If you go to Cambridge, make sure to visit Queens', King's, Clare, Trinity, and St. John's Colleges, which are all close together along the Cam. Do not miss their gardens and bridges. Christ's is another particularly attractive college.

 

[manhn]

Excellent advice! Oxford it is! You had me at accessibility.

 

[allezfred]

14. Best Place to Observe Hipsters:

That's easy - Shoreditch. Unless it has become dehipsterfied in the last year or so,

Shoreditch is also known for its Vietnamese food along Pho Mile.

 

[antmanb]

Definitely nothing to see around Harry Potter studious - but I absolutely loved the tour when we did it for my birthday.

I'd have to say that the UK is not known for its ice cream (except the aforementioned 99 Flake, which is an acquired taste!), When I was in London over Easter we had some incredible gelato in a place in soho...i'll text my friends and ask the name.

I'd also vote for Oxford over Cambridge, I think Oxford is prettier than Cambridge.

As for scones I've done afternoon tea in a lot of the different posh hotels and London and they are a bit much of a muchness, but afternoon tea at the Savoy was spectacular, and they served lemon curd along with jam and clotted cream, which was a first for me, and I loved it.

 

[manhn]

Pho Mile sounds amazing!

 

[antmanb]

My friend came back and said that the gelato place we went to is a chain that's all over London called Amorino. He also highly recommends Scoop in Covent Garden.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

Ice cream in the UK and Ireland is NOT what it is in N. America. In N. America, or at least in the US, generally speaking, it's good. In my experience in the UK and Ireland, in comparison, it is... not good, and you can read that as "ghastly". Go for the gelato instead.

 

[allezfred]

Completely DISAGREE that ice cream is worse in Ireland than in North America. I'll let the Brits speak for themselves on that matter.

 

[antmanb]

Ice cream here is shit I completely agree hence my suggestion for gelato. Though I do quite like a 99 flake as a guilty pleasure, particularly at the seaside when its cold, raining and windy (as it undoubtedly normally is)

I can't remember eating ice cream much in the US, though i'm sure I went to Baskin Robins in the 80s as a child. Oh and I've had some ice cream that was bought in supermarket when we stayed with family in the US I think it was Blue Bell...I remember because it was lemon ice cream (and not sorbet) and I loved it.

 

[manhn]

Gelato and ice cream are all the same for me. Love it both! Okay, I will try this flake 99 business.

But I am really wanting to try the cereal place....

 

[Deleted member 221]

I second:
1. Shoreditch
2. Foyle's bookstore
3. Oxford is beautiful
4. British ice cream is awful, barely edible
5. that "The Goat, or Who is Sylvia" is disturbing, uncomfortable, and can be deeply offensive. The play is intentionally provocative and makes comparison between bestiality, incest, and homosexuality. I don't think it was done with bad intent, but I regret seeing it (shortly after it came out in 2003). I almost left at intermission and wish I had; I thought I was going to be sick to my stomach at several points. Go see something else is my recommendation.

In terms of running route, Regent's Park is beautiful. You can run outer loops, inner loops, etc. Anything from 3 km to 15km+ runs are possible without getting bored or seeing the same thing twice. Hyde Park is another good running spot.

 

[morqet]

5. Best Ice Cream in London: Gelupo in Soho

6. Best Pie in London: Mother Mash (Kingly Street)

8. Best places to run? Along the Thames (I like the Putney Bridge to Twickenham stretch),along Regents Canal from Little Venice to Camden, around Hyde Park, or Hampstead Heath.

14. Best Place to Observe Hipsters: Hoxton, Haggerston, Dalston

17. I am staying in Cheswick the entire time. Eight days in total. What type of transit pass should I get? Cheswick is out of zones 1 and 2, right? It's a mix of zones, but if you are staying on Chiswick High Road, you'll be near to Turnham Green & Stamford Brook, which are in Zone 2. I would get a weekly zone 1-2 travel card, which covers you for train & tube travel in zone 1-2, and bus travel anywhere in London. Then on your last day, get a day pass.

18. I am intending to visit at least one of either Oxford or Cambridge. Which is the better choice? Oxford. Either get the train from Paddington, or the Oxford Tube bus from Victoria. Bus is cheaper but takes a bit longer.

20. Best Bookstore in London. Not Foyles! The flagship Waterstones at Piccadilly Circus is amazing, Hatchards further down Piccadilly is good for a more characterful shop, and Daunt Books in Marylebone & Hampstead is a good independent, particularly strong on travel.

 

[manhn]

Whoa about the play! Wonder why such relatively high profile actors are involved. There is another play call Woyzeck starring John Boyega at the Old Vic. Any thoughts?

Mother Mash? Love the name, I will definitely check it out!

 

[Deleted member 221]

Whoa about the play! Wonder why such relatively high profile actors are involved.

It won a number of awards, including a Tony, and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The original cast included Mercedes Ruehl, and Sally Field also appeared in the Broadway version.

Some fraction of people think it's wonderfully provocative. Another fraction of people think it's horrific. I'm in the latter camp. I've never seen so many people walk out of a theatre during a live performance as I did during that performance. Again, this was 2003 or 2004; it had just come off Broadway, and I went knowing nothing other than it had won a lot of awards and had a famous cast.

I tend to think this is one with a fantastic critical reception and a lousy audience one, but I could be projecting. In any case, now you know what the play is about, and can make your own choice.

 

[Vagabond]

@manhn If you want theater recommendations before you go, a good place to look is Time Out's website listings. You might also look at the reviews on The Guardian's website.

If you have some flexibility, though, you might want to buy your ticket on the day of the performance. The National Theatre always saves a small number of seats for same-day sales, and there is a half-price tickets booth in Leicester Square that also has a few seats for the day's shows at the National, among other theaters.

 

[hanca]

Ice cream suggestion - go to a shop and buy Haagen Daas or Ben and Jerry. (The problem is that it is not English ice cream, but if it is bought in England, does it count?)

 

[skategal]

Not on your list of questions......but go to Harrods and visit the Food Hall. Bring your appetite.

 

[Spun Silver]

Whoa about the play! Wonder why such relatively high profile actors are involved. There is another play call Woyzeck starring John Boyega at the Old Vic. Any thoughts?

Mother Mash? Love the name, I will definitely check it out!

Woyzeck is one of the bleakest plays you will ever see. It's brilliant, and this is an updated version (could be good or bad) but it is dark, dark, dark. It could make a nice pairing with Twelfth Night though.