[mikefertynnz]

lol, i'm a struggling student. The free room & board was what made it possible.

[Lvnufcdc]

Couch surf!

And yea, another London Poly Meet would be fun, haven't been to one in four years now!

[Unjucky]

I think Cort got a good few of the important bits - Parliament Square, South Kensington and the British Museum, though there's a few more.

If you like art, have a look at the Tate Modern, Tate Britain and National Gallery, which all have some famous and some spectacular work in. The rest of the south bank is great for cultural stuff - the British Film Institute, the Royal Albert Hall, etc. Also, if you can afford it and want to, it's definitely worth catching a West End show or such.

As for going out, the West End has to be tried for the experience - very busy and bustling. Most clubs are stupidly expensive though. Penthouse in Leicester Square has a lovely view. For the top clubs though, it's got to be Mayfair or Kensington area. Tremendously expensive, and you have to have the typical well-dressed in mixed groups to get in, but I've had a couple of amazing nights there. Probably my favourite club is Guanabara in Holborn though, because it's not ridiculously expensive (Um... where would that be...?

[Txaizdxx]

it's worth visiting Harrods just to get the little green bag (and have a look at the place - it's not just huge, it's amazingly opulant and garish

You forgot expensive

I'd also recommend you consider Stonehenge. If ancient monuments and that kind of stuff interests you, it would be a shame to miss the Stonehenge while in the vicinity.

[Veveseinlep]

Of course if you want a proper joined up list of attractions, my favourite walk is along the South Bank...

The entire walk from Westminster to Tower Bridge is literally a continuous line of attractions liberally interdispersed with plenty of 'rest stops' (waterside pubs).

A couple of years old but still up to date.

As people said before, you need to head to the main museums as they are free - cos nothing else in this city is!

[standaman]

Cambridge was cool. I had a layover at RAF Mildonhall so we got to go out in Cambridge for the night. We went to a few pubs and we ran into this crusty old English guy named Nigel, he must have been in his 50's but the guy loved to party, drank like a fish, and danced so much and so enthusiastically that he got 20 year old hot chicks to agree to dance with him. Nigel was a good guy who bought us drinks (we returned the favor of course) and who showed us the best pubs and clubs to go to in Cambridge.

[VottCetaVeivE]

Originally posted by Ninot
Molly! Save us! Let me know what you're interested in, otherwise this could take some time....


The area around Shoreditch/Hoxton has taken off in a wholly unexpected way- to any of us who knew London in the 70s.


It's now full of artists' studios, exhibition spaces, groovy bars and pubs, funky little clothes shops, et cetera.

It's cheek by jowl with Brick Lane/Bangla Town, where you can get authentic Bengali cuisine for very little of your hard earned loonies, and you can also visit the famous 24 hour beigel shop and have a great salt beef beigel.

There's the Jack The Ripper walking tour, which as you're coming in August, would be just before the right time to take the tour, as the Autumn of Terror is the name for the killing spree in 1888.

You can also see the Huguenot churches and houses some of which are now mosques and musuems.

There's Spitalfields' Market, Petticoat Lane flea market on the weekend, the newly revamped Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green...

You can also see the Museum of Docklands, walk under the Thames in Brunel's pedestrian tunnel over to the South Bank.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/...s_stage4.shtml

There are churches where Captain Cook married (St Margaret's in Barking) and where his children were christened (St. Dunstan's in Stepney).

http://exploringeastlondon.co.uk/Stepney/Stepney.htm

You can find areas where Jack London wrote (The People of the Abyss) and where Charles Dickens observed life go by:

The Prospect of Whitby, the oldest riverside inn in London. Built in 1520, it was originally known as the Devil’s Tavern, but its name was changed in 1777 after the collier the Prospect, from Whitby, North Yorkshire, which regularly moored alongside it. The pub doesn’t look that impressive from the outside, but once over the threshold you are pitched into a time warp that has changed little since the days when Dickens, amongst others, used to drop in for a tipple. Old prints and photos of the river adorn its walls. The flagstone floor and pewter-topped bar, perched on old beer barrels, are truly antiquated, and have witnessed both the low and high life of London’s docklands. Standing in its atmospheric interior you really do get the impresion that you have truly joined Charles Dickens in the Victorian era. As far as pub stops go this is without doubt a highlight of our London Walks. http://www.london-walks.co.uk/38/pro...y-sights.shtml


Then there's the Naval College at Greenwich, which is now a World Heritage Site,

http://www.worldheritage.gre.ac.uk/naval.htm

the National Maritime Museum, the Greenwich Observatory...

Greenwich is recognised for its cultural heritage:

the grandeur and sheer beauty of its buildings;

the magnificent vistas and views across London;

its royal history, as the birthplace of both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, among others

its naval and sea-faring history - the Old Royal Naval College was built originally as a hospital for veteran sailors and Admiral Lord Nelson lay in state in its Painted Hall prior to his funeral. The National Maritime Museum and the Cutty Sark are also within the WHS boundaries;

its scientific accomplishments – with Greenwich Mean Time and Longitude 0°, Greenwich is the centre of time and space.

The ensemble of buildings set in and around the oldest Royal Park in London and bordered to the north by the River Thames reads like a who’s who of British architecture.

Sir Christopher Wren, Inigo Jones, Sir John Vanbrugh, Nicholas Hawksmoor and Joseph Kay all have important and beautiful examples of their work here, which together constitute the World Heritage Site.

As you wander through the WHS you will experience views and vistas that have changed little since Canaletto painted it almost three hundred years ago. Back then, you would have met seafarers and ship builders, scientists, boatmen and fishermen. Now you are more likely to encounter students and visitors from all over the world who have come to appreciate not only the inspirational architecture, magnificent open spaces and exceptional museum collections, but also to enjoy the lively shopping experience and year-round programme of events.
http://www.greenwichwhs.org.uk/world_heritage/index.asp


if you want more detailed information, send me a p.m. about what your particular interests are and I'll try to dig out some little known or unusual sites/sights for you to see.

[stuntduood]

Originally posted by molly bloom


Let me know what you're interested in, otherwise this could take some time....


The area around Shoreditch/Hoxton has taken off in a wholly unexpected way- to any of us who knew London in the 70s.


It's now full of artists' studios, exhibition spaces, groovy bars and pubs, funky little clothes shops, et cetera.

It's cheek by jowl with Brick Lane/Bangla Town, where you can get authentic Bengali cuisine for very little of your hard earned loonies, and you can also visit the famous 24 hour beigel shop and have a great salt beef beigel.

There's the Jack The Ripper walking tour, which as you're coming in August, would be just before the right time to take the tour, as the Autumn of Terror is the name for the killing spree in 1888.

You can also see the Huguenot churches and houses some of which are now mosques and musuems.

There's Spitalfields' Market, Petticoat Lane flea market on the weekend, the newly revamped Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green...

You can also see the Museum of Docklands, walk under the Thames in Brunel's pedestrian tunnel over to the South Bank.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/...s_stage4.shtml

There are churches where Captain Cook married (St Margaret's in Barking) and where his children were christened (St. Dunstan's in Stepney).

http://exploringeastlondon.co.uk/Stepney/Stepney.htm

You can find areas where Jack London wrote (The People of the Abyss) and where Charles Dickens observed life go by:



http://www.london-walks.co.uk/38/pro...y-sights.shtml

This was the area I grew up in (we used to huddle in the Museum of Childhood for warmth in Winter during school lunch hours!) and worked for a while. I can highly recommend all of those sites if you're interested in a most inexpensive way of exploring the dark underbelly of East London.

If you end up near Spitalfields/Brick Lane, also check out the Geffrye Museum on Kingsland Road - along the road before you get there are a clump of excellent Vietnamese restaurants. Behind it is the excellent Columbia Road Flower Market (but gets VERY crowded!). If you fancy a multi-cultural journey through today's London, take a 149 or 243 bus north from the museum and watch as the shops on the side of the road overtly change from enclaves of Vietnamese to Kurdish to Asian to African to Orthodox Jewish to West Indian...

Then there's the Naval College at Greenwich, which is now a World Heritage Site,

http://www.worldheritage.gre.ac.uk/naval.htm

the National Maritime Museum, the Greenwich Observatory...


http://www.greenwichwhs.org.uk/world_heritage/index.asp


if you want more detailed information, send me a p.m. about what your particular interests are and I'll try to dig out some little known or unusual sites/sights for you to see. Greenwich is also excellent, try getting there from East London via the DLR through Canary Wharf.

[Yfclciak]

Browns, Metropolis etc...

I know them well from my Broadgate days...

[asivisepo]

So, which investment bank did you sign up for then...?

[KJnbceja]

Nice for some. My mum owes me a **** load of money I know I won't be seeing again...

[iNYZgxNC]

In a literal sense. But I suppose I'll be getting it back with interest at some point...

[DoctorNelsonOnten]

There's no such thing...

[jyhugikuhih]

Originally posted by Asher
There's no such thing... There is in the UK. Look at the new NHS computers project - the guy running it picked up £300k a year. Sure, jobs in the public sector rarely get much over £100k, but there are plenty of £30-80k jobs in the civil service, especially if you include QANGOs like the FSA.

[cajonnmu]

God bless Humphrey Appleby.

[pXss8cyx]

If you mean all that for working hard to serve the people, then sure.