Attention: Cultured Brits/Europeans...

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Yo.

So my wife and I (plus another couple) are going to Europe for 2 weeks this August. We'll be spending the first 2 of those days in London, and I'd like some suggestions for things to check out from the perspective of the locals. We want to avoid the overly-touristy places like Big Ben, the Crown Jewels, Parliament, etc. (though we do kind of want to see Westminster Abbey). Any suggestions here are welcome. By non-touristy, I don't mean so indelibly local that we'll get our asses kicked just for being yanks...somewhere inbetween touristy and that, please.

Specifically - we'd like to take in a production in the West End. I know very little about the British theater scene, so I don't know what any of the current hot tickets are. Can you recommend anything? Plays or musicals are good, and though I don't care much for Ballet, my wife and her business partner are ballet dancers, so if there's something really incredible in a dance sense, I'm open to that too.

After London it's Paris for a week and Italy for 4 more days, but we have those pretty well covered. However, any suggestions there are welcome too. We can always try to fit something in.

TIA

 

West End is pretty much identical to Broadway (roughly speaking) so usually much of the same sort of stuff is on.

Carrying on the theme, the cool things about London are similar to the cool things about New York, namely, wandering down hidden alleys, stumbling upon unexpected parks and 500 year old pubs. Much of London is hundreds of years older than anything in USA. It's awesome if you have read much classic literature (David Copperfield, Gullivers Travels, Sherlock Holmes etc) because you find yourself wandering around the same old streets that are in those books. The more you know about history, the more you get out of London. Most of the really touristy stuff is just awful (as with most places in the world).

One touristy thing that IS quite worthwhile is the Imperial War Museum. I know it sounds dull, but it's quite emotional, as the English experience of the world wars is a unique one (like the constant threat of being bombed in air raids) and that museum does it really well.

Make sure you visit lots of pubs.

 

Best thing to do in London....LEAVE!

There's actually not a great deal to do. You could go shopping in Oxford Street I suppose...(maybe more for the Mrs. )

Greenwich park might be interesting. You can go and see the observatory and the meridian line plus, the park itself is lovely. Also, if you get the Docklands Light Railway to Greenwich, there's a lovely wine bar/restaurant just outside the station.

Try getting on the river taxi as well, you can see quite a bit of the city that way and just choose where to get off.
Camden is fun too. A lot of alternative shops/stalls and some fabulous pubs. There was a good one called the Hawley but it burnt down last year. Lock 17 does a nice beer too.

Covent Gardens is good for street theatre (if you're going to pick up a show then that's probably the place to start).

 

I wouldn't bother with Oxford Street. It's crowded and full of crappy shops like Foot Locker.

 

Oxford street is worth it for John Lewis and Selfridges (if you're into shopping). There's sod all else to do in the city that isn't overly touristy. London is a dive. I spend a LOT of time there and it's a God awful place

 

I personally love london.

The imperial war museum, museum of natural history and the Victorie and albert museum are good, there is also the museum of theatre in covent garden.

If your looking for a show, Les Miserables in the queens is the best Ive seen, there is also Wicked and the lion king which are very good, hang around until the shows finish take the tube (or walk) to covent garden, the pubs are a haunt for the actors and crews after the shows.

Dont forget Soho, there is simply too much to do.

A walk along the Thames is worthwhile, pay a visit to HMS Belfast. Go to the IMAX cinema and watch a proper 3D film, after that take an evening walk along the thames, there are plenty of places to stop for a drink or a nice meal.

 

As said, most of the main museums are fantastic and well worth a visit.

I don't know what's "hot" but the following should all still be running. For a play, I would recommend The Lady in Black. It's an (essentially) two person play and is a very scary horror. The Lion King was my favourite show and The Phantom is a fantastic spectacle to see on stage. The Phantom suffers a bit as a show in that all the best songs come in a run about a third of the way through but it's such a great experience it makes up for it.

For Paris, I'd recommend going to the Rodin Museum if you're at Les Invalides (Napoleon's tomb). It's right by it and it's a lovely small musuem where you can wander the garden with its statues. I probably wouldn't bother if the weather is bad.

 

Where in Italy are you going?

 

oooh... if little shop of horrors is showing, definatly recommended, I saw it when Mike McShane voiced the plant.... what a brilliant show

 

I can't help I'm afraid dude, I've only been to London once and I hated the place. Too many people. I'm a Northern boy through and through!

Shame you're not in jolly ol' England for longer though, would have been good to meet up and blow the froff off a few.

 

Ooh, I'm stealing some of these ideas. I'll be visiting London in July, but I probably am going to all the touristy stuff. And seeing Love Never Dies (sequel to the phantom of the opera), it's the only musical nobody in my traveling company has ever seen. Tickets are expensive though.

When will you be in London? I'll probably be passing London area again on my way south to the train tunnel in the first week of August.

 

I can't believe I've been to London more times from the other side of the world than Barmy Army has from just up the road.

 

Must admit I'm quite surprised myself. I used to visit London fairly regularly. The museums up there are absolutely lovely. Haven't been to any London theatre though so can't really reccomend anything like that.

 

DR,
when you are in Paris, make sure to go to Chartier, my favourite French "fast food restaurant" (i.e. the waiters are quick, prices are reasonable and the tablecloth are made of paper and also function as your bill - but you still get your three courses).

Spoiler

My pick today would be:

Filet de hareng pommes a l'huile
Andouillette grillee, moutarde avec Pommes Frites
Creme de marron vanillee

A daring combination and an even more daring order considering my French.

 

Could tootle up to Leeds armouries if you've got the time, some good shows on sometimes such as jousting and falconry, or Yorks jorvik centre where hairy savages who rape and pillage are shown what the vikings were like when they ruled there.

One bit of advice if you go north though, stick to the path and don't wander on the moor.

 

This is a great thread guys - I just haven't had a chance yet to respond to everyone properly. Keep the responses / suggestions coming, this is great!!

 

If you're in the Wapping area, there's a fantastic restaurant called Bordellos