These are a few of my favorite things...

Take a walk down the overcrowded Oxford Street lined with fashionable shops; have a huge sausage topped with sautéed onions from the vendor at the end of the Waterloo Bridge; pick a bus (nos. 9, 25, or 169) and ride it from beginning to end; go to Old Spitalfields in the east end and have a chunk of Bailey's fudge; buy a pirated DVD from the vendors in the Tube stations, or better yet, buy a Cadbury chocolate from one of the vending machines in the tube stations; take a morning walk along the Thames and take a ride on the London Eye; visit the Tate Modern to see some interesting art or spend a Saturday at Covent Garden to see some interesting street entertainers; have a huge jacket potato filled with prawns or chicken and avocado; have an overpriced Krispy Kreme donut at the Harrods food basement; and watch Fame in the West End.

Quick Tips:

Research before you go! Check out accredited websites, or go to Barnes and Nobles and sift through Lonely Planet, Frommers, Rick Steve's, and other travel books for good ideas. Once in London, go to Piccadilly Circus and walk down Piccadilly Road (or Street?), where you will find the British Visitor Center. This place will have EVERYTHING you will need to know about London. You can find the Tube and bus maps here; monthly publications that list local events; and information on Broadway shows, opera, ballets, and much, much more!

January and August are known to be the sale months. Plane tickets, hotel rooms, and bus tour companies tend to have huge sales during these months. This is also when shops have most of their sales also.

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation is wonderful. It’s a wonder that the Tube (underground subway) is over 100 years old and still works so well! The tube is priced by zones; the further out you get from central London, the more it costs. Round-trips within zones one and two cost £4.30. Within the city, the red double-decker buses are plentiful and the cheapest way to go. They only cost 1 quid per ride, and if you sit on the top deck towards the front, you can see the city! Be sure to study the tube and bus maps to make sure you know where you're going-you won't find many people willing to help in London.

If you're planning on staying a week, I recommend getting the week travel pass, which allows you unlimited rides on the Tube and the bus. If you don't feel like spending too much on transportation and you're staying within central London (zone 1 on the Tube map), walking is your best bet. The central part of London is relatively small-you can find yourself walking from Piccadilly Circus to Covent Garden or to Leicester Square quite easily! Explore side roads and find hidden treasures. London is great fun!

London is really a wonderfully easy city to get around in. There's always a tube station nearby or a bus stop on almost every street corner. But one of my favorite things to do, and the best way to see London, is on foot. My favorite walk is along the Thames. It's one of the most romantic walks I know.

I like to begin by getting out of the Mansion House or Black Friar tube stations, then following the signs to the Millenium Bridge. The Millenium Bridge is one of the nicest bridges in London, mainly because it's bus, black cab, and noisy car free. It's a pedestrian bridge that links the two sides of the Thames together. When you walk across, you'll come upon the Tate Modern. Take a peak into the museum - it's completely free, and they always have a wonderful selection of modern art to enjoy. When I went in February of 2004, their featured exhibit at the time, which was displayed in their main great hall, was a replication of the glowing sun. It was quite fantastic! Londoners who haven't seen much of the sun came and laid on the floor to say that they laid out in the middle of February!

After the Tate, follow the signs towards Waterloo Bridge. Along the way, you'll find much more. Under the Black Friar’s Bridge, you'll find second-hand book vendors with tables and tables full of classics like Austen and Hemingway, or newer novels and how-to books. One Saturday, I spent 10 quid on four books, and it was a good deal. Along with the book fairs, there are tons of shops and boutiques along the Thames--just take the time to walk into each store and browse. It's far from what you'd find on Bond or Oxford Street. After the Black Friar’s Bridge, you'll get a good view of the Parliament building on the other side of the Thames. Not too far from the Waterloo bridge is the London Eye. There are many things to do around this area. There's the Saatchi Gallery, Dali Universe, and if you're hungry, there are tons of little cafes, pubs, and even a McDonald’s in one of the buildings nearby. Take a ride on the Eye, get a wonderful full view of the Thames, St. James Park, the Palace, Downing Street, and of course, Big Ben and the Parliament Building. The Eye is certainly worth the 9 or 11 quid you pay. I got some excellent pictures from my view in the Eye. There are tons of things to do on this side of the Thames, if you take time to explore the full length of it. You never know what you'll discover!

The British Museum has to be one of the most extraordinary collections of historical artifacts in the world. As many know, the British had issues with Imperialism and tried to stake claim to almost anything foreign they came upon. This meant taking a lot of artifacts and displaying them in this massive house on Russell Street. I really don't encourage you to do the museum in one day, mainly because I think it's impossible! It took me 2 hours just to see the first floor, which holds their most spectacular artifacts in the Egyptian rooms and the Ancient Greek rooms. The King’s Library is quite interesting.

The main reason people go in the masses to the British Museum is to see the Rosetta Stone, the beautiful mummy cases, and basically the most important part of the Parthenon, The whole top of the Parthenon was a wonderful carved story that Lord Elgin basically stole from the Acropolis when he discovered it. I went to Athens to see the acropolis, and I must admit, it was anti-climatic seeing that the better part of the Parthenon was in the British Museum in London, but that's besides the point.

The crowds in these most popular parts of the museum, especially around the Rosetta Stone, never go away, so you just have to bear the hoards of students and tour groups and move on. I also enjoyed The King’s Library, as it has the most fascinating collection of first-edition books and stuffed extinct birds, reptiles, and even fish. There are also many interesting inventions, including different timepieces, a variety of measuring instruments, and much more.

Please don't miss the other parts of the museum. They have a wonderful display of Korean artifacts, things that you cannot find at any museum in America. They also follow the trail of the Silk Road trade industry, which is really quite fascinating. I really encourage you to take the British Museum in snippets. If you're in London for a week, maybe you could visit the museum in 2-hour increments two or three times that week. If you try it in one day, it could be quite overwhelming because there's such a great deal to see.

And after you've seen enough ceramic vases and ancient coins to last you a lifetime, go out and buy those famous sausages topped with grilled onions from the illegal vendors outside of the museum gates, have a seat on the steps of the museum, and take it all in. You really won't be disappointed.

WONDERFUL. If you're not a history junkie, come to the Victoria and Albert museum. This is certainly one museum you will not want to miss. I'm speaking mostly about their devotion to fashion. It is appropriately located near the more historically fashionable part of London, with stores like Harrod, Gucci, and Dior not too far off. You can get to the museum from the South Kensington Tube Station.

They have a section of the museum dedicated to British fashion designers, and also just exhibits on masters of fashion in general. The main feature is the Vivienne Westwood exhibit, which you have to pay for, but it is WELL worth the money. Here you can see the infamous platforms that Naomi Campbell took a huge plunge in on the runway. Also, you see some of her most artistic pieces of clothing. My favorite, however, was the Missoni display. He is truly the king of color, and if you ask any fashion student in the area, they'll have to agree. The curators of the museum certainly understand the work of fashion designers. They're not just artsy people that make queer clothing for the runway that no one can wear; they're artists that blend color and texture to create something so unique, so pleasing, or at least stimulating to the eye. Other than the fashion section, the museum has so much more to offer. They have an exquisite display of Asian art and artifacts, including beautiful gowns worn by soldiers, royalty, and many more. They have modern art, sculptures, short films, and historical findings that Prince Albert collected from his travels. Save a rainy day for this museum; it'll be your ray of sunshine.

Oftentimes, when I get tired from the hustle and bustle of Piccadilly Circus, I like to meet my friends in Green Park. It's located off of Piccadilly Street. So from the Piccadilly Tube, depending on where you are in the confusing circle, you're going to look for the street adjacent to Regent Street. Down Piccadilly, you get to the more quiet part of the City of Westminster.

I like to stop into the Japan Centre, which is located at 212 Piccadilly, and go to the basement, where they have a little Japanese grocery store. They have pre-made sushi, which comes conveniently wrapped for takeaway, with a little vial of soy sauce and chopsticks. My favorite is the fried tuna wrapped in with mayonnaise, lettuce, and crab meat, a good portion of rice, and the seaweed is covered in pickled ginger. They also have many creative variations of sushi; I pick up a few packages, and some drinks at the store. Then I like to stop off at the Fortnum and Mason, which is just a little further down on Piccadilly. In the basement they have lots of fun treats. It's one of the few places in London where you can find Leonidas chocolates or even simple old Oreos. My favorite are their truffles - I get the 125g box of chocolates, which costs 6.75 pounds.

Then, from Fortnum and Mason, go further down Piccadilly Street away from the circle, and you'll find Green Park on your left. On the few rare sunny days, tons of people come out and either sit on the colorful lawn chairs, or just lay out on the grass to soak in the sun. This was my favorite place to come to read or to picnic with my friends. Not as many tourists come to this area, so it's fun to know that you're surrounded by young Londoners all around.

You can explore Green Park a bit more and find signs leading you to Buckingham Palace, and eventually the gates. Everything in London is so well connected. But Green Park is definitely a pleasant place to go if you're looking for peace in this crazy and hectic city!