London Travel Advice

October 11, 2005 11:25 AM

Things to do in London when you're us. So, a couple of friends and I decided to fly to London this weekend. We need some help.

We arrive Friday (Oct 14th) morning and leave Monday afternoon, giving us all of the weekend. We booked this trip on a whim when we found a great deal and mostly just want to go out and have some fun. We are single, in our 20s, mixed sex, hetero, city-folk (toronto). We are all big music fans and would probably like to go to a few live acts and/or mix it up with the local rock n' roll /punk /indie crowd. Any venue or bar suggestions? Any local alternative newspapers we should browse online? Anyone know of anything good going on this weekend? Anything else? We are staying right next to St. Pauls Cathedral.

posted by helvetica to travel & transportation (11 comments total)

Not aall lternative newspapers, but you might want to check out:

0"20

BBC - London Entertainment Guide

Ents24.com

LondonNet

WhatsOnWhen - London

Time Out London

posted by ericb at 11:35 AM on October 11, 2005

It's been a while since I lived in london so I can't help with the detail of clubs/bars or any of that. But...

Daytime stuff - you're opposite the Tate Modern. Even if you're not much of an art fan, the building is worth a look. Take the new footbridge across the Thames, it's pretty much directly down the hill from St Pauls. I'd do this on the first day - if you like the art you can go back, and it'll be a bit less crowded on the friday.

Sunday daytime, Greenwich Market is good. Greenwich is great for just wandering around - there's loads of history and a cracking park if you are into that sort of thing, but it's also a good place for junk shops, secondhand books and records, craft stuff... You could probably walk there in an hour and a half or so: just get to the other side of the Thames and follow it round until you see the Cutty Sark (old ship) - i'm not sure if the path stays by the river the whole way but you can probably do most of it. You could also manage to find a decent British hangover-busting sunday roast dinner in one of Greenwich's many boozers (it is traditional to take your hangover to the pub).
posted by handee at 11:45 AM on October 11, 2005

Yeah, we're definately going to check out the Tate during the day. I guess I also wanted to know what the different neighbourhoods were like/where the action is.
posted by helvetica at 12:12 PM on October 11, 2005

Go to FROG at the Astoria on Charing Cross Road on Saturday night (midnight - 4am). The DJs are pretty indie-tastic and there's a live act on at about 1am (band quality is variable, I've seen the Go! Team and the Ordinary Boys as well as the requisite sharp-suited shoutnik wannabes).

The Garage up at Highbury Corner is a sweaty student-filled dive and hence excellent fun. The new(ish) Friday night (wonderfully called "Let's all go to rehab") is run by Alan McGee (of Creation and Poptones fame) and is recommended.
posted by patricio at 12:18 PM on October 11, 2005

I would recommend Camden Market - fun to wander around for a couple of hours, a bit touristy, but worth seeing, in my opinion. More touristy (but also more convenient to the City) is Covent Garden.
posted by darsh at 12:33 PM on October 11, 2005

Check Flavourpill (London) for specific listings of cool stuff to do.
posted by cushie at 1:40 PM on October 11, 2005

St Pauls is absolutely totally dead at the weekends, as is most of the financial bit of the City. Many shops round there don't even bother to open on Saturdays in the daytime! Best bets for Indie style stuff is probably either Camden or Islington.

If you're remotely into gourmet foodie stuff, then Borough Market is also close to the Tate Modern (it's right under Southwark Cathedral), and is open on saturday mornings.
posted by bifter at 1:42 PM on October 11, 2005

I visited the Globe Theatre last time and enjoyed it a great deal.
posted by beowulf573 at 2:35 PM on October 11, 2005

The Dublin Castle pub, on Camden Town's Parkway, has three punk/rock gigs every night. Most are local bands, so quality varies, but that's as Old London as it gets. The Windmill in Brixton also has good punk gigs and a local attendance.

For rock and punk, Camden is your friend. The Electric Ballroom has a late teen goth-y crowd and a mix of indie and rock music of the NIN/Slayer/New Wave kind, and the place is gorgeous. The Underworld and Koko's are good for at least an evening if you have friends with you! All these frown at casual dress, though, depends if you mind dressing the part.

For indie in general, The Garage, mentioned above, has more proven bands, and closer to you, in Shoreditch, The Spitz and The Foundry are excellent places to spend an evening.

And you could do worse than have a look at the newly opened Araki (NSFW) exhibition in the Barbican!
posted by Spanner Nic at 3:44 PM on October 11, 2005

Spanner Nic's suggestions are all pretty good. Koko's has Nitin Sawnhey playing there on Friday night, recommended if you are into fusion-y type music (he mixes Indian and Western styles). South of the river, the local indie station X-FM is holding one of its "Big Nights Out" at the Brixton Academy. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and El Presidente are playing, plus there will be lots of DJs playing all sorts of stuff. They are quite fun nights if you go with friends.

A more touristy thing to do, which friends and family have enjoyed, is to go on the London Eye (big ferris wheel opposite the Houses of Parliament). If the weather's clear you'll get a great view of the city.

My favorite (relatively) hidden gem is the Cabinet War Rooms, tucked away underneath Downing Street and Horseguards. It's where Churchill directed the UK's contribution to WW2 and has been very well restored.
posted by greycap at 5:34 PM on October 11, 2005

St Paul's cathedral itself is worth checking out, although you can't go up to the upper stories on Sundays.

Camden itself is a touch scummy. The market, if you get into the bowels of it, is a huge rabbit warren, and definitely worth exploring. Walk 10 minutes up the road toward Chalk Farm and visit my local eatery, Marine Ices. Great pizzas and ice-cream. Walking up this road you'll pass 3 or 4 bars that do rock gigs some evenings.

If you're interested in quiet walks (being in your 20s, probably not ;-) then check out the many parks. Regent's Park is huge, and there's a zoo there too.

My general advice would be to avoid the tourist-trap areas of the city centre like the plague. The transport and crowds will drive you nuts. In particular, Covent Garden tube station is a hell-hole, so walk from one or two stops away. Come to that, Camden tube ain't pretty either. Go to Chalk Farm and walk. However.... my tastes will probably be different from yours :-)

You can purchase some nifty tourist travel maps in some central underground stations from vending machines for £1 or £2. Sorry I can't be more specific. But they'll serve you well.

Timeout and Ents24.com are both extremely useful.

General travel tips: The best way of travelling would be to get a "weekend travel pass" (probably for zones 1 and 2) from any underground station. This will get you onto the tube and most buses. The tube stops running at midnight-ish, but night buses keep going. Taxis are... expensive.
posted by ajp at 8:17 AM on October 12, 2005