Experience London - Fodor's

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26 < Experience London FREE (AND ALMOST FREE) THINGS TO DO The exchange rate may vary, but there’s one conversion that’ll never change: £0 = $0. Here are our picks for the top free things to do in London. ART Many of London’s biggest and best cultural attractions are free to enter, and the number of museums offering free entry is staggering. Donations are often more than welcome, and special exhibits usually cost extra. Major Museums British Museum Imperial War Museum Museum of London National Gallery National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House, and Royal Observatory National Portrait Gallery Natural History Museum Science Museum Tate Britain Tate Modern Victoria & Albert Museum Smaller Museums and Galleries Courtauld Institute Gallery (Permanent Exhibition free on Monday only) Hogarth’s House Houses of Parliament Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Gallery V&A Museum of Childhood Serpentine Gallery Saatchi Gallery Sir John Soane’s Museum Wallace Collection Whitechapel Art Gallery CONCERTS St. Martin-in-the-Fields, St. Stephen Walbrook, and St. James’s Church have regular lunchtime concerts, as does St. George Bloomsbury on Sunday, Hyde Park Chapel on Thursday, and St. Giles in the Fields on Friday. There are regular organ recitals at Westminster Abbey. Of the music colleges, the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Guildhall, the Trinity College of Music, and the Royal Opera House have regular recitals. For contemporary ears, the area outside the National Theatre on the South Bank (known as the Djanogly Concert Pitch) reverberates to an eclectic range of music weekdays at 5:45 PM, and on Saturday at 1 PM and 5:45 PM. You can catch open-mike nights for unsigned acts and singer-songwriters at the River Bar (just south of Tower Bridge) every Wednesday and upcoming jazz stars play a free jam at the Cornerstone, in Covent Garden, every Tuesday. Blues lovers should not miss the legendary John Parry Blues and Rock band jam every Monday at The Globe pub in Hackney. The Palm Tree, in Mile End, is another great East End pub that hosts accomplished local jazz players on weekends, and the Effra, in Brixton, does free jazz most evenings. FILM, THEATER, AND OPERA If all seats have been sold, the English National Opera sells standing tickets for the back of the Dress and Upper circles from £10 each. Check at the box office. Standing-only tickets with obstructed views at the Royal Opera House are between £4 and £14. “Groundling” standing-only tickets are a traditional way to experience the Globe Theatre from £5. Sloane Square’s Royal Court Theatre, one of the United Kingdom’s best venues for new playwriting, has restricted-view, standing-room-only tickets at the downstairs Jerwood Theatre for 10 pence (yes, £0.10), available one hour before the performance. Prince Charles Cinema in the West End shows weekday movie matinees for £4. OFFBEAT EXPERIENCES Go to the Public Record Office in Kew or Islington if you want to track down some ancient branch of the family tree. Even if you don’t have any leads, browsing through sheaves of ancient ledgers makes for a fascinating trip down somebody else’s memory lane. London has some of the finest parks in the world, and enjoying them won’t cost you a penny. Keen ornithologists can join free bird-watching walks in Hyde Park, and dedicated strollers can take the 7-mi Diana Memorial Walk through Hyde, Green, and St. James’s parks. There are free spectacles throughout the year, but one of the most warmly enjoyed is Guy Fawkes’ Night (November 5), when parks throughout the country hold spectacular fireworks displays. On New Year’s Eve thousands of revelers descend on Trafalgar Square and the South Bank to watch more free fireworks. The Underground usually runs for free well into the small hours. Free (and Almost Free) Things to Do > 27 Finally, set aside some time for random wandering. London is a great walking city because so many of its real treasures are untouted: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, garden squares, churchyards, shop windows, sudden vistas of skyline or park. With comfortable, weatherproof shoes and an umbrella, walking might well become your favorite activity here. SIGHTSEEING ON THE CHEAP Join real Londoners on the top deck of a double-decker bus. Routes 9 and 15 also operate shortened Heritage routes on the traditional Routemaster buses. You can use your Oyster card or buy tickets from machines at the bus stops for the following routes: Bus 11: King’s Road, Sloane Square, Victoria Station, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, the Strand, Fleet Street, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Bus 12: Bayswater, Marble Arch, Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards, Whitehall, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Bridge. Bus 19: Sloane Square, Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner, Green Park, Piccadilly Circus, Shaftsbury Avenue, Oxford Street, Bloomsbury, Islington. Bus 88: Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Tate Britain. 1
28 < Experience MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR POUNDS England’s capital still remains the world’s second-most expensive city, but remember that saving can give you a richer experience—you can live like a local if you save like a local. Although your pocket might feel the pinch, greenbacks can punch above their weight with a few well-chosen tips. Travelers posting on the Travel Talk forums at Fodors.com recommend the following budget-saving tips: Travel wisely “The Oyster card is your best bet. You can get the visitor one and use it whenever you come back to London, as they never expire.” —genabee6 “To qualify for the 2for1 offers listed at www.daysoutguide.co.uk you must buy a National Rail paper travelcard at any mainline train station. That travelcard will be good for the Tube, Docklands Light Railway, and National Rail trains within the zones covered plus the entire London bus network. Travelcards bought at Tube stations do NOT qualify.” —TimS Thinking with your stomach “On our first day, we buy some fruit, cheese, crackers, and such, so that we can take something along with us until we’re ready to stop for lunch.” —Barb_in_Ga “Other suggestions for lunch include M&S’s fantastic food sections. Great sandwiches, fresh baked goods, fruit, even ready-mades that can be heated up elsewhere. The ethnic restaurants, especially in the East End area, Brick Lane, etc., are usually cheaper and very tasty.” —nibblette Save on lodging “We’ve rented a centrally located onebedroom flat for 122 pounds/day, which gives us more space and privacy than a hotel room, at a more reasonable rate. I always rent a flat and it saves me a ton, plus it’s nice to wake up and not have to get dressed for your AM cup of coffee or tea and breakfast.” —Carrybean “We intend to rent a flat next time— much more economical. There is more room to relax, and you can save a lot.” —Susie50 Sight-see, don’t site-spend “Along with many, many others, www. walks.com does a walk called Legal & Illegal London. The walks guides meet the groups at different Tube stops. They cost £7 and are excellent.” —carolyn “Have just purchased the Historic Royal Palaces family membership, as it gives us free admission to Hampton Court, the Tower, Kew Palace, Kensington and Banqueting House—we will certainly be visiting at least three of those places during our trip, so it seemed like a good deal. Plus, you skip the queues.” —needsnow Shop, but don’t drop “For antiques and collectibles (as well as some more modern creations), Greenwich market is always worth a look.” —Jay_G “The Notting Hill Housing Trust seems to have particularly interesting clothes. Clothes often go to specific, mildly quirky, local charities. There’s a store finder at www.charityshops.org.uk.” —flanneruk AFTERNOON TEA Taking afternoon tea is the height of cool in London right now. From Kate Moss to Cameron Diaz, everyone wants to sit up straight, stick their pinkie out, and sip hot tea in the company of friends and family—and preferably in the warm embrace of an established hotel tea salon. So, what is afternoon tea, exactly? Well, it means real tea (Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Ceylon, Darjeeling or Assam Indian, or Chinese) brewed in a china pot, and served with china cups and saucers, milk, lemon, and silver spoons, between 3 and 5:30 PM. In particularly grand places, there should be elegant finger foods on a three-tiered silver tea stand: crustless sandwiches on the bottom; fruit scones with Devonshire clotted cream and strawberry jam in the middle; and rich fruitcake, shortbread, patisseries, macaroons, and fancies on top. Tea goers dress up in posh hotels, and conversation (by tradition) avoids politics and religion. Brown’s Hotel. This classic Mayfair townhouse hotel sets the standard at the English Tea Room, where one of London’s best-known afternoon teas is served (£35–£48). E33 Albermarle St., Mayfair P020/7493–6020 cAE, DC, MC, V CTea weekdays 3–6, weekends 1–6 uGreen Park. Café at Sotheby’s. What could be better than perusing the famous Mayfair auction house before afternoon tea? It’s open from 9:30 AM and tends to book up days in advance. Teas are available from £6.50 to £18.75, including toasted tea cakes, scones, and Welsh rarebits. ESotheby’s, 34 New Bond St., Mayfair P020/7293– 5077 rReservations essential cAE, DC, MC, V CTea weekdays 3–4:45 uGreen Park. Afternoon Tea > 29 The Dorchester. Amid a maze of marble and gold leaf, afternoon tea in the Promenade is best taken on comfy sofas and to the sound of the resident pianist. Teas are £33.50, £48.50, or £60 for high tea— with light bites like salmon and Cromer crab. Book well ahead. E53 Park La. P020/7629–8888 rReservations essential cAE, DC, MC, V CTea daily 2:30 and 4:45 uHyde Park Corner. Fortnum & Mason. Upstairs at the revamped 300-year-old Queen’s grocers, three set teas are ceremoniously served: afternoon tea (sandwiches, scones, and cakes: £32), old-fashioned high tea (the traditional nursery meal, with scrambled eggs and salmon: £34), and champagne tea (£42). ESt. James’s Restaurant, 4th fl., 181 Piccadilly, St. James’s P020/7734–8040 cAE, DC, MC, V CTea Mon.–Sat. 2–7, Sun. noon–4:30 uGreen Park. The Ritz. At the Ritz tea is served in the impressive Palm Court, with marble tables and Louis XIV chaises complete with musical accompaniment, giving the last morsel of Edwardian London. Afternoon tea is £37 and champagne tea £48. Reserve two to three months ahead and remember to wear a jacket and tie. E150 Piccadilly, St. James’s P020/7300–2309 rReservations essential cAE, MC, V CTea daily 11:30, 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30 uGreen Park. The Wolsely. This bustling art deco tea salon was inspired by the grand Viennese cafés. Cream teas are well priced at £9.75 or £19.75; you’ll find a regularly changing pastry menu. E160 Piccadilly, St. James’s P020/7499–6996 rReservations essential cAE, DC, MC, V CTea Sun.–Fri. 3:30–6:30, Sat. 3:30–5:30 uGreen Park. 1
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