the Ali Haji Sheik's Guide to London.
as of 10/7/03
A few notes before we begin:
If there for a week or more, get the week travel card. In order to get this, you'll need a passport photo (you can take them there if necessary). Get a zone 1 & 2. If you need to go to zone 3, get an extension ticket from the ticket window when you go. the travel card allows you to travel on any train, bus, or tube anywhere inside zones 1 & 2.
If you don't understand someone, don't say "what?" it's rude. Say "sorry?" and they'll repeat themselves without taking the piss.
Anything ending in "ham" is pronounced "um". As in Bucking-um Palace, and Birming-um, and Beck-um. Here are other key pronounciations: Holborn - "hole - bun" , Covent Garden "Cuv -en Gard-en" , Marylebone - "Mar -le-bone" , Tottenham - "tot-en-um" , Leicester - "Lester" , Southwark - "Suth - erk".
Hostels: London Bridge: St. Christopher's Inn. Paddington: go a few blocks west of the train station and you'll hit a ton of hostels. New Atlantic: £17 a night, Savers packers £11. Others as well. Directions to New Atlantic: Out of Paddington train station take a right. Go straight a block or two, and you will be on Praed Street. keep going. You will pass a number of restaurants, but when you get to an intersection with the Chelsea Deli on your right, take another Right hand turn. The hostel is down the street on the left. The Savers packers is down the street on your right. The New Atlantic has an Queens Terrace Address, but faces Devonshire Terrace.
Food: Cheapest to pick up a sandwich or salad for lunch at a grocery store: Budgens, Sainsbury's, Marks & Spencer's (also known as Marks & Spark's). £2-£5 for a decent sandwich and a good picnic. Also, get a late night kebab. And get a full English Breakfast. Raffi's on Praed Street in Paddington has a good one. Any greasy spoon diner will suffice.
Pick up a tube map IMMEDIATELY, and buy a small pocket map of downtown London. This will help immensely.
Buy a Sun, buy a Guardian, buy a Yorke bar, and a Kinder Bueno. Eat fish and chips, bangers and mash. Drink English bitter. Eat chicken tikka and CORONATION CHICKEN.
websites to check out:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/streets/walking/home.shtml
http://www.oldh.net/lo_newatlantic.htm (New Atlantic)
and now....
There are three ways to visit London: touristly, culturally and for the nightlife. That's how I've broken this down. If you really want to see the tourist stuff, the London Zoo, museums, Mdme Toussad's, go read a guide book (there's great stuff at all these places, I'm taking you on a quicker, different tour). This is my opinion of how to see things. Any thing completely capitalised is a priority in my book. Also, if you're going go ride the tube a stop or two, don't. Walk it.
Tourist living: I've walked most of the city, and the best walk that will take you to places everyone's going to ask about is the THAMES WALK. Take the tube to Tower Hill station (District/Circle Line), and check out the tower hill. Then, you pick which side of the river you want to go along, but head west and you will pass: Tower Hill, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Southwark (great pubs), Tate Modern, the Monument, Temple, Waterloo Bridge, Royal Theatre, Film Museum, Victoria Embankment Gardens, Aquarium, London Eye, Parliament and Big Ben. When you get to Big Ben, take plenty of pictures, then head to Westminster Abbey (just north of Big Ben, away from the river). Don't worry about picking the right side of the river, there are plenty of bridges you can cross to get to either side, including the Millenium Bridge by St. Paul's. Bring a camera, this presents some of the best photos of London. If you've got the cash, I recommend the boat tour from Tower of London Pier to Westminster. This could easily take a whole day, and it would be one well spent. I recommend a morning/early afternoon. Take your time with the markets in the area, as well. Congratulations, you've seen it all!
Just kidding. For the other tourists spots, check out the Nightlife section. (Museums I recommend: Tate Modern (on the THAMES WALK) National Gallery (behind trafalgar Square) British Museum (up in Holborn, take tube to Holborn station, ask for directions). The British Museum has all the mummies.
Neighborhoods/Cultural Tourism: This is a good way to get a pulse on the different boroughs of London. I'm going to list the borough, the tube stop it's on, (tube line) and then points of interest and why I put it on there. If you follow this exactly, it will take you on a long, slow arc through the city, starting in the west corner, then moving north east, then south east, and finally swinging back full circle south and southwest.
Hammersmith: Hammersmith (Piccadilly Line, District Line). Home to the Clash and rich people (no relation), west London is gorgeous, and this is one of many boroughs you could check out (also highly recommended, Wimbledon). Hammersmith has a ton of restaurants, clubs, and shops, but if
you go there try and have dinner or a drink on the Thames. It's a good time of year to be there, before winter sets in.
Kensington: Knightsbridge/Kensington (District,) This is a Royal Borough, which means it's expensive, but very Mary Poppins. Harrod's is here, and I recommend at least walking through it. Also, from the center of Kensington it's a short walk southeast to Buckingham Palace, a short walk northeast to Kensington Palace and Gardens (which is the western edge of Hyde Park), and a short walk north to Notting Hill and the Portabella Road Market (this is all I'm going to say about it, but I do recommend checking out the neighborhood).
VICTORIA: Victoria (Victoria, District, Circle). This famous train station has a number of theatres and pubs hanging around it, and it's within a walk of St. James' Park and Buckingham Palace. Actually go to the St. James Park Tube stop for the park and Buckingham Palace.
HYDE PARK (YOU MUST GO HERE): Lancaster Gate, Marble Arch, Queensway, Bayswater, Paddington (Central, District, Bakerloo). YOU MUST GO HERE. You can enter Hyde Park really anywere, but if you're there on a Sunday afternoon, go to Speaker's Corner by the March Arch tube stop. It's open forum time there. I have a lot of sentimental value tied up in this park, and you should really take the time to walk all around it, along the Serpentine and get tea at the Lido in the middle of the park. A perfect afternoon thing to do, and God do I miss it.
PADDINGTON/EDGWARE ROAD: Paddington, Edgware Road, Marble Arch (District, Circle, Bakerloo Lines). My old haunts. Right outside the Paddington station is a pub called the Pride of Paddington. I recommend this for pints and place to watch football and rugby matches. They're Chelsea supporters, so don't cheer too loud for the Arsenal. Edware Road is the big Arab/Lebanese community. Great MiddleEastern restaurants and hookah tea shops. I recommend Maroush. There are like 8 of them down Edware road, all owned by the same people, all with the same food, all with the killah baklava.
Oxford Street: Marble arch to Oxford Circus along the Central line. This is a major street that runs from the north east corner of Hyde park to Holborn (Central London). It is one of the largest shopping districts in the world, and Oxford Circus is a zoo. Great people watching.
CAMDEN MARKET: Camden Town (Northern Line). This is London's biggest
outdoor market, and it's a great time. Also recommended is going to Primrose Hill, just north of the market (ask for directions). It's the highest point in London and has the only view of the skyline.
Holborn/COVENT GARDEN: Holborn, Covent Garden, Temple (District, Circle). Right in the middle of central London, this is the theatre district which is also known for it's shopping. A good spot in the afternoon, when the colorful people come out. There is a central marketplace not to be missed. Get off the tube at Temple station (I used to work in the building right behind it), and go north away from the river. You'll hit Aldwych, a half circle street, and you want to follow it around to it's western side. There, keep cutting north and you'll hit Covent Garden.
ISLINGTON: Angel, Old Street (Northern Line BANK branch - important to be on Bank branch). This is a hip young area to go out at night in (sorry, maybe should be on nightlife list). U2 hangs out at a place called Filthy McNasty's. I recommend lolling about, you might find a party or two to crash.
BRICK LANE: Aldgate East, Whitechapel (District). YOU MUST GO HERE. My old haunts again, Brick Lane is right between Aldgate East and Whitechapel on the High street. Ask anyone where it is, and they'll point you in the direction. Go there for dinner one night, it's a ton of curry restaurants and sari shops and indian grocers. Also some cool clubs to out at night when you go further north. If you head up Brick lane a ways past the curry restaurants you'll hit a 24 bagel place with salty beef bagels. Much
recommended. Also, accept no imitation, only eat curry at PREEM. It's the best. If you want to see my old neighborhood, from Preem head east on that street, an d it will take you to a community center (be careful, it is a rough neighborhood). Behind the community center, in the brick buildings, I lived in #22.
LONDON BRIDGE: London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee). Besides being world famous, if you head south away from the bridge you'll hit a ton of pubs and cafes worth your time. For a novelty time, check out the pub underneath the bridge on the south bank. Also, Southwark cathedral is there, as well as the Borough market, a great farmers market. If you head south about two blocks from the Thames you'll hit a road on your right that will go off diagonally. There will be a yellow sandwich shop. Eat there. It is divine.
EMBANKMENT: Embankment (District, Circle). On the opposite side of the Strand from Temple (the Strand is a long street that runs parallel along the Thames). First of all, you're here because of the people and the pubs. Second, you can go east along the river in the Embankment Gardens
(my favorite statue is in there, a weeping nubile nymph against the bust of someone famous). Follow the people away from the river and you hit, suprise, Trafalgar Square. Ah! One of my favorite places.
PICCADILLY CIRCUS, LEICESTER SQUARE, CHINATOWN, SOHO, Leicester Sq, Piccadilly Circus, (Piccadilly line): You should do this at night as well, but the best way to see all these things (and trust me, you'll want to) is to go to Trafalgar Square via Embankment. (by the way, behind Trafalgar Sq. is the National Portrait Gallery). So Trafalgar Sq., Piccadilly and Leicester Sq. make a triangle. When facing the lions in Trafalgar, go up off to your left, you'll come to a street called Haymarket (pass the Texas
Embassy and do not stop!!). Haymarket leads to Piccadilly circus, where you'll find the Virgin Megastore and other record shops, along with lighted billboards. Take a left from here, on Shaftsbury, and follow it
till you hit Leicester Sq. (pronounced LESTER). This is like London's Times Square. If you want to go to the Theatre, get your tickets here at a booth called TKTS. Don't go anywhere else! If you go south from
Leicester Sq, you'll hit Trafalgar. If you go north (between the Haagen Daaz and the big movie theatre), you'll hit Chinatown. Chinatown is only a few blocks deep, then, when you get to Old Compton Street (still going north), you've entered Soho.
SOHO: Places you must see in Soho: Cafe Boheme, Bar Italia, Garlic and Shots, Thirst, the Couch (north, by Oxford Street). Hit Cafe Boheme and the Couch during the day, along with the record shops on Berwick and Poland Streets. The north side of Soho is Oxford Street, and the Couch (I highly recommend) is just off Oxford street west of the Tottenham Court Road station . Soho is also the sex district, so don't be suprised to find gay clubs and hookers outside of churches.
Other places, if you have time, check out:
Brixton: Brixton (Victoria Line). Famous for the musical output, the Harlem of London.
Any Museum (there are a ton)
Regent's Park: Great Portland Street (Bakerloo, Circle Lines). A pleasant, Mary Poppins place. Also, nearby Baker Street is home to Sherlock Holmes.
Greenwich: Greenwich (Jubilee line, DLR). Home of the Royal Observatory, the Cutty Sark, and the Prime Meridian. Quaint pubs, as well. Check out the pub the Gypsy Moth by the Cutty Sark.
Canary Wharf: Canary Wharf (East London line). America in London! Huge skyscraper shopping mall with impressive movie theatre.
And now: NIGHT LIFE:
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Pubs close at 11pm, clubs at 3-4pm. The night starts early, so be at your hostel to change between 5-6 pm, and be on your way by 6:30 - 7pm. You'll thank me later.
Clubbing is huge in London, and if you want to go to places like the Ministry of Sound (Elephant & Castle, Northern, Bakerloo line) or Fabric, you're going to pay £20 to get in, and that doesn't include drinks. Also, no jeans, t-shirts, or sandals. You've gotta dress up. If you want unpretentious clubbing, go to Thirst in Soho. Go to any club that will let you in in Soho. Much more fun, and if you get there before 10, you get in for either free or £5.
I recommend catching dinner either in Brick Lane or going somewhere in Kensington/West London. It's expensive, but it will be memorable. For cheaper dinners, hit pubs in the back alleys, and stay away from the tourist stuff.
You've got to see the Embankment at night. I recommend doing that walk twice, once during the day to shop, once at night to party. Tiger Tiger on Haymarket is good. In Leicester Sq, hit Oxygen Bar. Chinatown will also be lit up. DON'T TAKE PICTURES IN PUBS/CLUBS, NO MATTER HOW HOT HE
OR SHE IS!!!
I have a friend who is the manager at a pub near Tottenham Court Road. It's called the CROWN on New Oxford Street. Take the tube to Tottenham Court Road station, and exit by the Dominion theatre. Face the dominion theatre and walk past it. You should hit a Starbucks in a block or two, if you haven't, go back to the Dominion and ask someone to help you. It will be on the ride side of the road, next to a shop with a ton of umbrellas in the window. Go in and ask if Andre is around. If so, tell him I sent you, and then buy him a drink. I will pay you back later, and I'm sure he'll give you a discount. He can also tell you where cool places are to go clubbing and nightlife wise. May even take you to one.
I recommend trying going to the Crown even if you don't want to. You'll find a ton of other stuff along the way, and Tottenham Court Station is bumping, too.
Also, go down to Westminster at night, take pictures of the Thames. Your mom will thank you. I also recommend the hostel bars near Queensway Road in Paddington. It's right off Hyde Park, and tell them you're staying at the New Atlantic and they'll let you in.
Don't take cabs unless absolutely necessary. Minicabs are cheaper than black cabs, but they can be risky sometimes. If taking a minicab, try and negotiatie, but be polite and remember: you are an American. Night buses are a bit harder to navigate, but you see a lot more of the city.
I think that's everything, for now. Good luck, have fun, and keep me posted.
peter