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An UnoffIcial Student’s Guide to
London, England
LINGO
Just a few terms/slang I picked up on, that may be helpful.
“Cheers” = Thank you
“Are you alright?” = Can I help you? (like when you are in a store)
“Single fare” = one way
“Quid” = bucks
“P” = pence (their currency equivalent to cents)
“Tube” = the Underground
“Chips” = French fries
“Crisps” = chips
“Rubbish” = crap
“Bollucks!” = “B.S.”
“Football” = soccer
“06/07/07” = day/month/year
TRANSPORTATION
After you get acclimated to the area, it will be best to purchase a “1 week, unlimited travel, zone 1-2 Oyster Card”. Save it and get it reloaded the following week. Apply for a student travel card at City U to get a discounted one month travel card. It may take a few weeks to get, but will save you a bunch of money. This is good to have if you plan on taking the tube a lot, which is the easiest way to get around the city. It also works on the buses. (Tube stops around midnight). When going out, pay attention which night buses will get you home. More likely than not, it will be the N22 or N19. There are maps.
SITES
Get a guide book--Fodor's is good. Touristy Stuff:
- See Big Ben / Parliament AT NIGHT - it's beautiful!!! Just walk around by Westminster Bridge, and it's all there.
- Tower Bridge - (Classic London) the Tower of London is also over there (more like a museum) where the Crown Jewels are stored.
- "The Monument" (Monument tube stop) 311 steps up to the top. You can see out over the whole city - great for a clear day.
- St. Paul's Cathedral - you can look around for free, but it costs money to go up in the dome
- Buckingham Palace - Changing of the Guard
- Hyde Park - great for a picnic
- Westminster Abbey - old church, kinda cool, by Parliament/ Big Ben
- Covent Garden - shopping and Royal Opera House
- London Eye - HUGE Ferris Wheel, sort of expensive, I'd say optional
- Platform 9 3/4 if you are a Harry Potter Fan - it's at King's Cross tube stop, I think.
**Definitely try and get to Windsor Castle (one of the Queen's residences). It's beautiful, and easy to get to...you just take a train from Paddington station. The town is cute - I think we ate at a restaurant called "Yum"? near the train station. They had really good burgers and fries.
*Paris! I went just for a weekend when my family came to visit. It’s also super easy to get to. You can take the “Eurostar”aka Chunnel from Waterloo Station into the heart of Paris in about 2.5 hours. STA travel sells tickets or you can buy them online. It’s fabulous, and I loved Paris as well.
BARS/CLUBS
- Tiger Tiger in Piccadilly Circus is actually a really good club, but the recent car bomb was parked right outside of it, so who knows if there is some shady business going on?
- **ABSOLUT Ice Bar - You definitely HAVE to go here, it was soooooooo cool! Everything is made of ice, drinks are pricey, but good. It’s not a club, but somewhere you HAVE to go. There are only a few in the world, and I'm not sure there is even one in the U.S. There is a club called Strawberry Moons next to it you could go to afterwards.
- On Anon - Piccadilly Circus (where most of the fun places are!) 3-4 levels with a different atmosphere on each (best on weekends).
- The Walkabout - Piccadilly/Leicester Square, more of an American bar, cheaper drinks, Wednesday is £1 pints and “snake bites”.
- Zoo Bar – the equivalent of a campus bar, with classic rock / top chart and nightly drink specials. Tuesday is student night.
- Sports Cafe - American sports bar
When I was there, we were somehow able to get on these "VIP lists" that would let us skip cover, which was awesome for some of the pricier places-a student at IES was in working in promotions...if that doesn’t work out and you want to pay mad cover money, Pangaea and China White are exclusive, fun places. Just an FYI –—you have be careful…it’s usually middle aged rich men and they pay an absurd amount of money to get a “table” and bottles of top-shelf alcohol. They often offer free drinks, but just be extra careful they don’t put something in it. I didn’t have any problems, just be smart and have a buddy system! Londonnightlife.com and guestlistme.com are good resources. Side note: You DO NOT tip bartenders in London, or Europe in general.
The Pubs are all great too! They are usually only open until 11 p.m. at the latest, so it’s more of a relaxed, casual atmosphere to just chill and have a few “pints” (₤3-4 each). They have tons of beers there – Carling is a good light beer. I really liked the ciders, especially Strongbow and Magner’s. Cocktails are pricey, and the first time I said, “Rum and diet please”, the bartender looked at me like I was crazy, and charged me ₤10 ($20!!!!). Have your own “Pub Crawl” and try a few whatever area you are in –you’ll find a bunch. They also have pretty cheap dinners and specials (₤ 8 -10). Great places for fish ‘n’ chips, burgers, other grill items.
Some good pubs I’ve been to:
- Princess Louise ( Holborn tube stop) “Most beautiful pub in London”
- Shakespeare’s Head (Holborn)
- Waxy O’Connor’s (Picadilly) – crazy for St. Patty’s, Irish pub
- The Angel (Angel tube),
- The Trafalgar (left on King’s Road).
- Cheshire Cheese (Blackfriar’s tube stop) is a super old pub where supposedly Charles Dickens used to hang out.
- Punch Tavern (Blackfriar’s)
- Cadogan Arms (right on King’s Road)
- Chelsea Potter (right on King’s Road)
SHOPPING
Shopping in London is fabulous! It is possible to get some good deals too. There are several good shopping areas, depending on what you’re looking for (and how much you’re willing to spend).
- Oxford Circus – Top Shop – a HUGE, but not super expensive place to get trendy going out clothes, accessories, or casual stuff too. H&M is also in that area, along with Gap, and some other bigger name places, as well as outlets.
- **Harrods – literally the Mother of all department stores. It’s a tourist attraction as well as a GREAT place to shop. You can actually spend an entire day here- they have gourmet food, designer clothes, jewelry, souvenirs. A MUST, even if you just look around and dream. Plan on eating lunch/dinner somewhere else; they’ll get ₤15 for a sandwich.
- Sloane Square/Knightsbridge – Sloane Street is lined with all the big designer names – Versace, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s, Fendi, Prada, etc. etc.
- King’s Road – near the Sloane Square area –TONS of cute boutiques and shoe stores. Some are decently affordable, especially if you catch a sale.
THEATRE
I’m not sure if you’re big on Broadway, but you should see at least one show while in London—it’s amazing, and huge part of the culture. I hadn’t even been to a musical before I went to London, but I loved them all. While I was there, I saw
- Dirty Dancing the musical-fun
- Wicked-amazing
- The Lion King-one of a kind
- Lord of the Rings-now on stage too I think
The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House was also amazing!
You can save money by using the HALF PRICE Ticket Booths in Leicester Square. Once you get off the tube, you’ll see tons of them. Some are bigger than others, so you can always look more than one place. You can also purchase online through londontheatrebookings.com, a discount site, and pick up later. You can get the best discounts when you go the day of the show, especially during the week (Monday mornings are really good). These usually run ₤20-50 depending on the show, day, and seat. Most seats, even up high, are still good. Watch out for obstructed view tickets.
DINING
The food in London isn’t fabulous, but it’s decent if you find the right places. Like I said before, Pub food works if you’re in the mood for something quick and casual. They usually stop serving food around 8:00 (20:00). Pre-theatre dining is a big thing in London. A lot of restaurants will have set menus for affordable prices (₤10-15) until 6:00 p.m. (Shows usually at 7:30). There are tons of restaurants in the Covent Garden theater area. You’ll be sure to find something. Side note: You DO tip at restaurants, generally not as much as in the States, though.
Some restaurants I’ve been to:
- Sarastros – good pre-theatre set menu, fun Opera House décor, Mediterranean cuisine. Papageno is its sister restaurant, similar style. Both are located near Lyceum Theatre (Lion King).
- Häagen Dazs Café – Leicester Square, amazing desserts!
- Ask – Chain of affordable, good Italian food throughout London. One on King’s Road. Serves dinner late.
- Manicomio – Sloane Square area, good Italian food, prices are decent for pasta, but don’t expect much in terms of portion size
- Boulevard Brasserie – Near Royal Opera House, they had really good bread I remember, 2 for 1 dinners with your Oyster Card (London transport card).
- Chez Gerard – Victoria tube, near “Wicked”. Fine French cuisine. Lots of steak and seafood. A little pricey.
- Blushes – a bar/café on King’s Road in Chelsea, affordable and good, serves dinner until late.
- Made in Italy – authentic Italian cuisine, right on King’s Road, across from IES
- The Stockpot – family owned restaurant, reasonable prices, right on King’s Road, across the street from IES
- The Ivy – Never ate there, but heard it was very good, upscale.
Well, I think that just about covers it. Let me know if you have any other questions, I would be more than happy to help or make recommendations. Have a great trip, be safe, and mostly, HAVE FUN!!!!
