This is the second part of our trip to Paris and London. We arrived from Paris via the Eurostar in the early evening on a Monday. It was a downpour, hard rain. The line for the taxis was long and not a taxi in sight. My husband got on his Uber app, ordered a car and we were in our hotel within 20 minutes. Luckily we did not have another drop of rain the remainder of our trip.
We stayed at two different Hilton DoubleTrees - West End for 7 nights and Victoria Station for 4. Since DH is a retired employee we get a fabulous discount, but can’t stay more than 7 nights in one hotel, hence the move. Anyway, here I start
Hotel - the west end Hilton is in a great location on Southampton Road. Two blocks from the British Museum, 2 blocks from the Holborn tube, and very walkable to the City. Our room was very small, no refrigerator but they did provide a kettle. The dining room staff was lovely and the food very good.
the Victoria Station Hilton is also in a good location, directly across the street from Victoria Station. Very quick walk to the train to Gatwick. The room was much bigger, had a fridge and kettle, same dinner menu as the west end, but not a great breakfast. I did enjoy the porridge though.
Museums - more than enough to choose from, something for everybody. Love the fact that most are free, of course donations are always welcome. My favorite was the Charles Dickens House. Of course, being a fan of his work helps. We also visited the quirky John Saone House that is mentioned frequently here. I just kept thinking, how did he amass such a large collection of statues and large, odd pieces and how did he get them all in that narrow house. I completely forgot I wanted to visit Dr. Johnson’s house museum. Duh.
Tube - wow, what an efficient, clean, nice smelling, comfortable seats, great connection system. After traveling on the NYC subway for many years I can appreciate the smell, or lack of, especially in the connecting walkways. Definitely use it, I know we did. Oh, and even though we would have saved money with a travel card, the tapping in and out was just so easy we couldn’t be bothered getting any card.
Food - not much to say after being in Paris. Your best bet is Borough Market. Had a fabulous sausage roll at the Ginger Pig and also got a delicious pretzel there too. I can’t recommend any restaurants as they were so-so. We did eat a Sunday Roast at a pub and that was good.
Tours - we had tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys and that was fantastic. We took the Jack the Ripper tour with London Walks. It was fun but nothing I haven’t read about before. Spies & Spycatchers was the other LWalks tour we did. We also took the free TI tour offered in Greenwich which ended up just being us two.
Theatre - we only saw one show, The Mousetrap. It was thoroughly enjoyable and a nice evening out. We paid full price as most nights were sold out.
Day Trips - Greenwich. Such a lovely surprise. We arrived via tube and the DLR at 9:55 and walked right onto the Cutty Sark. My husband was in the Navy and a merchant marine for a short time so this day was for him. After the Cutty Sark we took our walking tour which ended at the observatory, then into the Maritime Museum, then to a local pub for dinner. We didn’t arrive back at the hotel till almost 7:00. PS, on the Cutty Sark you can get rigged up and climb the tops up to the first level if the sails. A few people were doing it while we were there and it looked like fun.
Hampton Court was our other day trip. Easy train ride, then a short walk. We had reservations but there was no line. It was blissfully uncrowded and we could take our time, listen to the audio guide, actually see what it was describing and they had places to sit in almost every room. We caught one of the docents giving a talk about James II. We could hear every word, it was heaven. The gardens there are vast and varied. We enjoyed it more than Versailles.
Posted by
OP
Brooklyn, NY
3843 posts
Westminster Abbey was already closed when we got there for the coronation. But I did get to St Paul’s. Funny thing, on the website it said all guided tours were booked, but when I was paying, the gentleman told me that the audio guide was included and to go to see anyone wearing a red sash for a free tour. There were 2 people at a small table just waiting for some interested tourists. I opted to listen to Rick’s audio guide and that was fine.
Thoughts - it took us a few days to warm up to London because it reminded us of NY City. But their history is so interesting and varied it was hard not to get caught up in it all. The preparations for the coronation were well underway and a few streets here and there were blocked off. But we could see the palace just fine. We walked all over changing routes to see new streets, and enjoyed walking along the Thames. We were there for 10 full days and were busy from morning to early evening, and missed so much more than we saw, that a return trip will have to be planned. Maybe next time I will remember Dr. Johnson.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8376 posts
It sounds like you had a wonderful time! Thanks for sharing your trip report with us.
Posted by
Temple,Tx
417 posts
I loved this part of your trip report as well as the Paris portion. We love how the Tube makes the entire city available to see. I agree with your analysis of the food in London. I have visited 3 times and the only restaurants that I actually enjoyed was Italian food! We also loved Greenwich. That was my Husbands’ favorite day. He had a docent teach him how to use a sextant. He loves maps, clocks, science etc and just had a ball. I got to visit Windsor castle the next day, so that was my favorite. We have visited Buckingham palace and the mews (all the royal coaches and horses). I pulled up my pictures of the 2 carriages that King Charles used for the coronation. That was cool to remember. We have also visited Hampton Court and enjoyed our visit. We visited it in May and also added a day at the Chelsea Flower show. We were in heaven! (We used to own a Garden Center / Landscape business before retirement). I’m headed to London in the Fall and will remember some of your tour advice. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3227 posts
Thank you Barbara. Good information and I am taking notes. We have 11 days there this fall. Really hoping Hampton Court stays uncrowded for our visit in early October!
Posted by
Paris
9570 posts
That sounds like a delightful trip, Barbara. Thank you for sharing !!
And lucky you all getting a discount due to your husband’s long-time service with Hilton ! Excellent.
Posted by
Land of La
8669 posts
Definitely return.
See more theatre.
Visit Spitalfields.
Wander about Liberty.
See the fallow deer in Richmond Park
Each time I visit I discover new things.
FYI on a November excursion to Hampton Court a few years back I and a group of pre teens were the only visitors to Hampton Court. Was there for 3 hours. Have lovely images of the gardens with no one else but myself and the swans. It was blissful.
Posted by
OP
Brooklyn, NY
3843 posts
I’m going to plan our next trip to Paris if and when I can get his Hilton discount at the Hilton Paris Opera. The discount isn’t always guaranteed. We passed by it and the location looked great.
Posted by
SE US
2352 posts
Thanks for this report, Barbara. I'm bookmarking as I'm hoping to get to London next year.
Posted by
TX, USA
4078 posts
Sounds like yet another lovely trip!
Posted by
Last Frontier aka Alaska 🏔️
3227 posts
Barbara, I know your husband is a retired chef, so I assume that food might be somewhat important. Did you make any advance reservations at restaurants? Or did you just find a place that looked good wherever you happened to be? Was there any problem getting into restaurants? I always hear how crowded London is.
Posted by
OP
Brooklyn, NY
3843 posts
We did not love the food in London. But, we only ate local food, meaning no Italian, Chinese, Mexican etc. we ended up eating 6 of our dinners at the hotel cause they had cod balls which were better then any fish n chips we ate. We did try Poppies which was recommended. It was good, but not great. One problem was that the one time we ordered a burger we were told it had to be well done.
We had a steak and ale pie in one pub but it was mostly ale and pie, not much steak. I know they are famous for their curry and Indian food, but we are not fans of spicy food.
The best place we got any food was at borough market. Great sausage roll at the Ginger Pig. They had what looked like great pies but they had to be cooked. We didn’t get to Spitafield market but passed through after it closed. Looked like they had some interesting booths.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4098 posts
We did not love the food in London. But, we only ate local food,
meaning no Italian, Chinese, Mexican etc.
We felt the same way about the local food, but we did try several ethnic restaurants and never had a bad meal. When it comes to food they may out-Italian the Italians.
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA
27 posts
Sounds like a great trip. Taking notes as we leave for London in a couple weeks! Glad you enjoyed Mousetrap we are going to catch that as well.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1321 posts
Barbara, what a nice report of your time in London. I really enjoyed the paella from a vendor at The Borough Market. Delicious and not too difficult to eat standing up.