London Pre Cruise

[Team P]

We are spending 3 days in London before our baltic cruise. Wea re booked at the Thistle Tower Hotel and need any pointers we can get. Never been to London and have no idea what to so while we are there. Any ideas? Should we buy the London Travel Card before we go? HELP!!!

[Bruin Steve]

There is a company called "The Original Tour--London Sightseeing"...Try this link:

[url="http://www.theoriginaltour.com/"]http://www.theoriginaltour.com/[/url]

It is an EXCELLENT way to see London...Double Decker buses go everywhere...and stop at all of the prime tourist destinations...including a boat cruise under Tower Bridge...You can get on and off as often as you like...for 14 or 15 pounds per day...

My recommendation is to buy a good guide book...like the AAA Spiral Guide...pick the sights you want to see...and use this bus...

Have fun...

Summit, July 3, 2004: Alaska: 13 night cruisetour

[Tripmaven]

I just saw your info request for London. We were at the Thistle Tower Hotel last year. It is right on the Thames river. Some good restuarants surround the hotel. You can buy an all day pass for the river taxi by the hotel. You can get on and off all day. There are stops in the center of London, which will allow you to walk to most sights. Near one is the "London Eye" Ferris Wheel, which will give you a good view of the city. Tickets can be purchased online at the London Eye websight, but you can also purchase when you get there. Right next to the hotel is the Tower of London. It is an interesting tour if you are interested in medival history. Hope this helps.

[dixiechick]

There is so much to do in London your time will fly by. Westminister Abbey and the Tower of London have self guided tours so you can visit at any time. I also enjoyed Windsor Castle, St. Paul's Cathedral (where Diana and Prince Charles married). I'm sure your hotel can arrange a tour to Stratford on Avon (home town of Shakespeare and Ann Hathaway's thatched cottage) and Oxford. Both are very quaint towns/villages and are not far from London, if you care to get out of the city. Be sure and stop in some pubs for lunch and a pint of beer!

[RHayes8793]

[url="http://www.londontown.com"]www.londontown.com[/url] is a good site; We used it last year for a lot of information. You can purchase tube/bus passes in advance for 2-3 days. Only good for visitors and cannot be purchased for that price once you get there. Now, sadly, I deleted all that stuff, since it was last fall; maybe someone else can help. Well worth the price, and quite easy to use. Buy a good laminated folding map from amazon.com or comparable site. Make sure you go out to Kensington/Knightsbridge and Covent Gardens. A lot to do in a short period of time. A great city and surprisingly clean.

[cberge]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Team P:
We are spending 3 days in London before our baltic cruise. Wea re booked at the Thistle Tower Hotel and need any pointers we can get. Never been to London and have no idea what to so while we are there. Any ideas? Should we buy the London Travel Card before we go? HELP!!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You have had some good info from the other posters.DO the Hop/On Hop/off bus to see London as you can't beat the price or where they go.You can pick which one suits your taste by looking at the routes they go on and just buy your ticket then.You can also walk to a lot of sights from where you are staying so I would not buy a travel card.You can buy a one day pass for the Tube and bus if you need it when you get there.3 days is not a lot of time to spend in London so if you really like it and want to go back then I would do a day trip or two outside of London then.Oxford Street is your main shopping,but of course there is Harrod's if you insist..[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] You don't say when your trip is,but if in May or later some of the Tube stations on the Circle/District Line may be disrupted for repair work so do be aware of that if you use the tube on those lines.I am sure you will have a wonderful time in London as there is so much to see and enjoy.Have a great cruise as well.

Karen
Ü

[Globaliser]

Usually, London Transport tickets (Travelcards etc.) which are sold to tourists in their home markets are more expensive than tickets bought in London. Unless you find a really good price for them by pre-purchasing, you'd probably be better off leaving it until you're here. You also then have the flexibility of choosing whatever types of ticket will suit your plans best. You can check locally-bought ticket prices at [url="http://www.tfl.gov.uk"]www.tfl.gov.uk[/url]

For visitors, one of the best buys is often the One Day Travelcard. It's valid for all Tubes, buses and overground trains, from 0930 on weekdays (valid all day Sat and Sun). You can pick which zones you need; Tube zones 1&2 is usually all that most visitors require. If you're here over the weekend, there's a Weekend version too which is valid for two days. A valid Travelcard also gets you one third off the fares on the ferry (Thames Clippers) that stops right outside the hotel.

Apart from the Tower of London next to your hotel, don't forget the Tower Bridge Experience which is an interesting tour of the Tower Bridge, its history and its workings, plus good views from the walkways at the top of the bridge. You're also within easy walking distance of the Monument, which commemorates the Great Fire of London that started almost at that spot (next to Monument Tube, obviously - one stop away from Tower Hill and perhaps 10 minutes' walk if you want to do it on foot).

Further information about the weekend closures on the Circle and District lines is available here - [url="http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/pressreleases/0403/25.asp"]http://tube.tfl.gov.uk/content/pressreleases/0403/25.asp[/url]

[This message was edited by Globaliser on 04-10-04 at 05:10 AM.]

[Quartetlead]

One of the best things we found in London was the walking tours. There are walks for every interest and the guides were always informative and entertaining. Below is the web site for the company we thought the best. It's title is "The Original London Walks".
[url="http://www.walks.com"]www.walks.com[/url]

Bud Laumann

Till we sail Rome to Baltimore[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;9;3;17;00;00&timezone=GMT+0100[/img]