Hello,
I will be traveling to London with my 23-year-old son for 4 days/nights in December. My son loves street art, vintage shopping, diverse food options and a younger crowd and is less interested in the touristy sights but will join me to see most places...I am interested in both - at least for this first visit, I definitely want to see the Tower of London, etc, etc. My question is ...do you recommend staying in the Shoreditch area and then taking the Underground to the touristy sights or staying in an area that is more central such as Westminster and going to Shoreditch for an afternoon/evening to hang out? I'm not sure how much time it takes to travel on the Underground between areas and how convenient it is to get around...thanks in advance for your travel advise. Andrea
Posted by
Cornwall
378 posts
Shoreditch. And the Underground is extremely convenient to get around.
Posted by
Chicago
1334 posts
I stayed in Shoreditch my first trip to London at the Z Hotel and it was perfectly fine and convenient enough via tube to get to all the standard bucket list tourist attractions.
Posted by
Preston UK
1232 posts
Shoreditch sounds perfect for you both. You would still need to use the tube to get around staying in Westminster.
Posted by
Land of La
9261 posts
Stay in Shoreditch.
About 1/2 hour via the tube to say Westminster Station and Parliament Square.
You can walk to Spitalfields. Check out Oat Coffee in Brick Lane. Nice staff, great coffee.
For vintage clothing don’t miss Portobello Road shopping.
https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/best-vintage-shops-in-london
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33992 posts
if you look at a London Underground (the Tube) map and count the number of stations between where you are and where you are going roughly figure 3 minutes per stop and if you have to change lines add one more 3 minutes, and you won't be far wrong. That doesn't count getting up or down to the platform and waiting time at your origination...
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33992 posts
if you can find a place in Shoreditch you will make your son happy.
Posted by
London
1309 posts
If you're thinking of staying out east for the benefit of your son, I passed Yotel at Bethnal Green on the train today. I only noticed it recently as someone on this forum had mentioned they stayed there.
It's handy for Bethnal Green station on the Central Line which will get you up into the west end quite quickly. There's also a million and one bus routes that serve stops in that area.
It's somewhere I'd consider quite full on London, but it's not particularly edgy. It's a good spot if you want to be handy for Shoreditch, Brick Lane, Spitalfields and The City. Or even Hackney. The Young V&A Museum (used to be Museum of Childhood) is worth a visit, and checking the calendar for a boxing match at York's Gym would let you see a real slice of life. E Pellicci cafe on Bethnal Green Road is one of the best in London.
Yotel might be a bit basic, but I assume it's quite youth orientated.