Site Seeing
| Recommended attractions in London |
| The London Dungeon |
| In the bowels of London Bridge Station this famous waxwork museum of torture focuses on the dark side of life. As such it can paint an artificially grim portrait of London: Jack the Ripper is small fry by today's serial killer standards. Stocks, executions, torture machines, rats, plague are the main crowd attractions. The queues stretch right up Duke St Hill for at least 100 metres, unemployed actors in 'period' costume and ghoulish make-up keep them amused while they're waiting. |
| Life in London was undoubtedly hard for the poor or those who for some reason were ostracised by society, worth remembering as you go round, for example, Hampton Court which paints an equally biased view of a rosy Olde England. |
| Their recently opened Paris branch for some reason claims it's the original - we suspect branches will be spring up everywhere. There a restaurant inside and sometimes nightclubs are held there. Their very atmospheric website gives you a flavour of the place. |
| Tube: London Bridge (Northern, Jubilee) Train: London Bridge |
| Click for hotels near the London Dungeon |
| Madame Tussaud's |
| Most large towns have waxworks museums, and this is just another one, albeit much bigger. It's a big crowd puller - the queues can be horrendous - but you can pre-book a ticket online and walk jauntily by the unfortunates if you wish. Has worked hard over the years to achieve a semi-official status, like the Guinness book of records. Have your photo taken next to Charles , the artist formally known as Prince (if the crowd will part for long enough), or the artist formerly known as Prince (or whatever he calls himself today). Also on the site is the planetarium, which is much like all other planetaria, only more so. We think there are much better things to do in London, especially considering the steep admission price - thousands disagree. |
| It's on the Marylebone Road, 100 yards from Baker Street tube, and conveniently close to Sherlock Holmes' alleged residence which maintains a small 'Museum' - visit only if you're a diehard fan. Recently tourists have taken to having their photo taken by the horrible statue of Sherlock Holmes outside Baker Street tube. |
| If you get that stuffy feeling after Tussaud's walk 400 yards north to Regent's Park - and beyond to Primrose Hill for a great view over London. On the weekend it's an easy walk right through to Camden Market. |
| Tube: Baker Street (Circle, Jubilee, Bakerloo) |
| Click for hotels near Madame Tussaud's |
| London Eye |
| A huge modern version of Vienna's Prater ferris wheel which dominates the river skyline opposite Parliament. Queues can be horrendous, but a new ticketing system has improved things markedly. The capsules can get very hot in sunny weather - you can book a whole capsule if you wish. Take a telephoto lens if you want to get good photos from the top - London is a big, big city. |
| Our favourite natural vantage points are at the top of Greenwich Hill - near the Ranger's House or the Observatory there which are much more atmospheric as the sun slices, Bunuel fashion, down the city skyscrapers. Another good vantage point is Parliament Hill, on Hampstead Heath or Primrose Hill in Regent's Park. As far as the wheel goes, make sure there's good weather before you go up as it's a really depressing ride when it's rainy and overcast. |
| Nb Closed for annual maintainance 15 Jan - 9Feb. |
| Tube: Waterloo (Jubilee, Bakerloo, Northern) Train: Waterloo |
| Click for hotels near the London Eye |
| Kew Gardens |
| A spectacular site laid out over acres in a pleasant and wealthy London suburb, it's a great place for a sunny afternoon - it doesn't work so well in bad weather as the various hothouses and exhibits are somewhat spread out over the site. Kew house, the smallest of the London Royal Palaces, is currently closed for refurbishment, but the 'English' garden and the herb garden are excellent. |
| The Physic garden in Chelsea is also worth a visit, if you don't have the time or inclination to leave the centre of London. If it's wet the Barbican has a large hothouse conservatory on its roof (see our City Walks section). Kew can be combined with a visit to Marble Hill and Ham Houses - see our trips page for details. |
| Tube: Kew Gardens (District) Train: Kew Gardens (from Waterloo) |