Visiting London Next Week!!!

[RedMatrixXRS]

I will be visiting London next week for 4 days.

Just wondering if anyone has been there or currently live in London. Just looking for general tips to get around town and recommendations on must see places to visit.

We will be landing at Stansted Airport and make our way down to the city.

The wife and I have been wanting to go to London for years and are spending a pretty penny. Let's just say the trip is going to cost me an equivalent of a 5D3. We are a family of 5, so imagine the cost.

Any good (prices) reputable camera shops in London? Gonna need to pick up a few things while I'm there.

[Apricane]

Hey RedMatrix,

I don't live in London, but have been there a couple times in the past few years, and might be able to give you a few suggestions of what to see/what can be photographically interesting over there.

-there's a cruise on the Thames that is nice, it leaves from around the Houses of Parliament (which I'm sure was on visiting list already!) and goes all the way to the Tower Bridge (which is right by the Tower of London, another major but rather expensive attraction, but which still has a certain photographic potential). The boat actually goes all the way to Greenwich, but I haven't been there and don't know if it's worth the extra time/money to go there (except for standing on GMT 0 :P ).
-walking along the South Bank of the Thames is highly recommended, this is where you will find the Tate Modern, the Millenium Bridge, the Globe Theatre, and St. Paul which stands directly opposite the Tate across the bridge. This area, imho, could be great for street photography. The North Bank isn't as nice.
-there would also be the Kew Gardens on the west end of the city (although I don't know directions) where you can have a nice stroll and has a few opportunities for landscapes/more natural photography.
-Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square. Need I say more? Highly interesting, historically-charged places with great potential for urban photography. I don't remember if photography is allowed inside the Palace (I'd check my Aperture library to see if I have any, but I've only just restored a back-up and everything is rather sluggish).

So, here's a few. You might want to do a forum search, you might find some more!

Have a nice trip!

[colintf]

places look totally different at night as well.

The London eye at night makes a nice photograph

Enjoy your trip

[gep01]

Bring an umbrella! It's been very rainy of late.
Best way to get around is via the underground, buy an Oyster card per person from an underground station when you first get into the city, putting about £20ish per card should keep you going for a while, the cost of the card and any balance left on it is refundable when you return it at the end of your stay.

A Thames cruise is really nice if you get the weather for it, as is a wader up the south bank. Both start from near Westminster station.

If the rain hangs about the National museums and galleries are great and free. If you've got children they'll love the Science and Natural history Museums, which are conveniently next to each other. In central London, on or near Oxford street are a few camera stores. There's Jessops (which people here love to hate) and Jacobs across the road on New Oxford Street and Camera world and Camulet near by.

London's great place, you won't be able to fit it all in in 4 days, I've been here 4 years and am still discovering new things! Enjoy your trip.

[ejenner]

Just FYI, I think Buckingham Palace is not open yet - I think it just opens in the summer.

Natural History Museum, or if the weather is nice, the Royal Botanic Gardens. Only reason I ever went to south London was to go to the gardens, I love them. Easy to get to on the tube. Kids might prefer the natural history museum though. Personally I also like the Imperial War Museum. I haven't been there for 20 years though, but loved it as a kid.

[pakarang]

See a real historical super yacht from the inside in London now:

http://maritimematters.com/2012/05/oh-christina/

[RedMatrixXRS]

I'll now need to take a stop a camera shop for sure. My daily walk-around lens is out of commission. 12 hours away from my flight.

Thinking of picking up a Canon 17-55 in London if any of the stores have them. gep01, I'll make a visit to those stores. Thanks for the recommendations.

[Apricane]

Have a good trip, and let us know how it goes!
It's a shame about lens, though.

[RedMatrixXRS]

Made a visit to a camera shop at the Stratford mall. Holy prices! They want almost 800 pounds for a Canon 17-55! Convert that to US dollars...

[Apricane]

That's about what the regular pricing is at B&H for a 17-55 (1179$, now at 1099$ with rebates). 800 pounds is about 1266$US, so that's about reasonable for the lens in question (although you might want to take into account custom fees for when you go back to the U.S., but I'm not American and I don't know if it applies/how it works).

IMO, the 15-85 makes for a much more versatile and cheaper walk-around lens than the 17-55, with little to no loss in IQ - except the 15-85 has a slower and variable aperture (3.5-5.6), which, in my opinion again, is perfectly fine on a walkaround anyways.

[RedMatrixXRS]

Just got back from London and i must say...

It was a blast! I didn't take much photo's as I was there to have a good time with the family. Just took snap shots with the family at all the tourist spots.

Let me just say, it is by far one of the top cities on my list that I have been to. Compared to American's the people are in general a lot nicer and talk to you in a more pleasing way. Manners.

Traveling on the tube was easier than I thought. I rarely had to wait more than 5 minutes for a train. Traveling to and from Stansted airport was easy. I took a bus and only cost 6 pounds per person and dropped us off right at the Stratford mall where our hotel was. By far, the best public transportation system in Europe.

I stayed at the Premier Inn above Startford mall and don't regret it. Everything I needed to take care of the family was there and hung out at the casino while the family slept. Won a few hundred pounds while I was at it.

I don't know how to explain it, but the city is very vibrant. Has a nice "live" feeling to it. Will go back and visit again for sure. Sure beats a lot of major American cities out of the water.

Other than the major tourist spots, I took the wife and kids out shopping at Oxford and Regent st. Such a very busy shopping district. I can just imagine how it is during the holidays. Took the red line from stratford to the oxford tube station and was delighted to find the huge nike store right above the station. Bought my teenage son some nice shoes that he has always wanted.

I didn't want to leave.

[Apricane]

Hehe well, glad to hear that! When I go to London, I very rarely want to leave either. The city is definitely in my top 3 European cities for where I'd live and travel. To my eye, London is the best combination of North America and Europe that there is (although I can't compare it to the U.S., since I've barely been there, except for short trips to NYC and Philly). I'm actually counting on being able to go back in the fall.