London in Three Days

There are countless museums in London, excellent musicals where Hollywood stars play, palaces of the most scandalous monarch of the world, the best restaurants you can see in Europe, unique parks, and a lot of history. London is the city of literature, where Virginia Woolf, Shakespeare, Hardy, and Charles Dickens lived.

We liked jumping from one attraction to another and stopping by the pubs when tired, getting lost in the dark streets where Jack the Ripper might have been... London will always stay the ultimate mecca of the city-tripper.

Quick Tips:

If you have time, it is strongly suggested to go to Greenwich. Good preparation is the basis for a satisfactory trip. London offers all kinds of attractions to the visitor. In case you know what you want to see in advance, your trip will be more successful. A good guidebook with a street map is very handy to not get lost in this city jungle.

Best Way To Get Around:

The tube is the best. A day card costs £4.7. If you are late for the musical, take a typical British taxi. There are also boats up and down the Thames. London also has an efficient bus system that I could not master. There is also a tourist bus you can use, but it is more expensive (£15) than the city buses.

I cannot complain. Victoria Park Plaza is a very conveniently located hotel near Victoria Station, a stone's throw from some musicals. It is also within walking distance from Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.

The hotel is clean, and rooms are spacious. All rooms have clean coffee/tea-making facilities, which I really admired. Breakfast is varied, so if you are a vegetarian, you will not be stuck with a British breakfast. There is plenty of fresh fruit served. The employees are motivated and friendly. They will answer all your questions about London and help immediately in case there is a problem. When we checked out, they were so friendly to offer that we could deposit the luggage for the day. Room prices are more affordable during the weekends.

If you are in London for a longer time and want something different, do yourself a favor and go to a Turkish restaurant. Unlike the Turkish restaurants around Europe that have been adapted to the local culture, the Turkish restaurants in London have been faithful to the homeland and have food like those in Turkey.

I would like to provide a few addresses around the city:

Sofra has six restaurants around the city. They have a healthy menu for £11.95 for dinner, off which many different specialties of the Turkish kitchen are served. For the addresses of all restaurants, see www.sofra.co.uk.

Café Naz is a great option on Brick Lane, the colorful neighbourhood of London near the Liverpool Station. Address: Brick Lane 44-46.

Tas also has many restaurants around the town. The one in the Bloomsbury could be ideal after a visit to the British Museum. For addresses and information, see www.tasrestaurant.com.

The British Museum is the treasure chest of the world, with Sumer statues, the Mausoleum of Halikarnassus, mummies of Egypt, and treasures from Ephesus. It is all there. Almost anywhere historical where I have been, I have heard that some pieces were not present because they were being exhibited in the British Museum.

It is located a huge, luminous building in Bloomsbury. It may take a few days to see it all. But the museum management makes life easy for the visitor by closing some of the halls when they do not feel like exhibiting that day, with the excuse that they do not have enough personnel. That’s surprising, because none of the souvenir shops or countless restaurants are closed during museum hours due to lack of personnel.

The museum does not follow a chronological order, or any order at all. For example, you can see Greek statues on main floor, first floor, and lower floor. It is like this all over the museum. I found this very inconvenient and incorrect.

You can see the collection on the Internet before you leave, and once you are there, you know where to visit. For making your own guided tours, see www. Britishmuseum.ac.uk

Why should you do this when you have an all-day tube card?

This is the most amusing way of seeing Thames and its surroundings. We were lucky that the people working on the boat were making interesting comments about what we saw. You can go under all the famous bridges of London, and it is also an ideal way to take photographs of the buildings around the Thames. Of course, it is more fun if the weather is good. This trip is affordable and neither tiring nor boring, so taking a boat from Westminster to Greenwich is not a bad idea at all.

This big business center is the highest building in London and the ideal place to stop on Sunday, back from Greenwich, to shop, especially if the weather is bad outside. There are some shops for books, clothes, and electronics. I liked The Gap for children. Because there is no value-added tax on children's clothing in the UK, shopping for kids is a bit less expensive than in the rest of the Europe.

This new museum surely looks ugly from outside. Located in the Southwark, along Thames, it is linked to the other side of the river with Millenium Bridge, which is only open to pedestrians.

Regular exhibitions are rich, with pieces from Gerhard Richter, Paul Klee, Salvador Dali, and many others, but there are also temporary exhibitions here. When I was there, a collection from Kahlo was being exhibited.

The first thing I noticed in this museum was the space. It is so crowded in London, but in this museum, I saw that the average space per visitor is more than in the parks. The museum has a café on the ground floor, but for an excellent view over St Paul’s Cathedral, go to the seventh floor. There is an outstanding restaurant here as well where you can eat modern food, literally.

Entrance to the museum is free, and it is open 10am to 10pm Friday and Saturdays and between 10am and 6pm other days.

One would go tot Greenwich to experience the starting meridian; see the observatory building; walk in the park on a sunny day; shop for creative souvenirs at the Greenwich market; drink a beer at the Trafalgar tavern, which was once visited by Charles Dickens; visit the biggest maritime museum in the world; see Cutty Sark, the ship; or just walk around and enjoy the small-town atmosphere. I have indeed done some of these activities.

The maritime museum, which is the most equipped of its sort in the world, is an interesting stop for the children. My guidebook claimed that there was a clock from The Titanic in this building. However, this is not true. They do have a Titanic Hall, though. There are all kinds of ship models, equipment used in navigation throughout history, and special exhibitions for kids. Entrance is free, and it is open from 10am to 6pm in summer and 10am to 6pm in winter.

Greenwich Market is one of the most colorful markets I have ever seen, with creative clothing for babies and adults, handmade jewelry, natural soaps, and all other things behind the imagination of a common tourist. Once you have been there, you do not fall into the "My daughter has been to London and all she brought is this lousy T-shirt" cliché.

For me, a stop in the oldest pie shop in London was inevitable. They serve delicious shepherd pie against unbelievable low prices. After that, spoil yourself with an apple crumble served with custard. Lovely. I thought British food did not taste good, but Goddard’s pie shop did not disappoint me. I will never forget the simple but tasty meal here. It is located on Church Street; I do not know the number, but I am sure everyone around there does.

A visit to the observatory is a must when you are all the way in Greenwich. There is also an exhibition about discovery and possession of time by means of clocks through the British history. Entrance is free between 10am and 5pm.

This park is huge. I was especially so excited about the idea of a speaker’s corner, where everyone could speak their mind. I found the atmosphere there a bit more aggressive than I thought. Strange-looking people were crying out some words I could not totally get. That is too much democracy for me, I guess.

Walking in the Hyde Park is a relaxing experience. I have also seen the monumental fountain for the memory of Princess Diana. I think this has been an appropriate monument in her memory: This waterway is small at some points, large at others. The water is still at some point, wild at another, just like the life of the princess.