I'm going to Paignton, England for a two week business trip. Three of those days will be a long weekend. This is my first trip to the UK, and my girlfriend is also flying in to meet me for those few days. We are thinking Stonehenge, Buckingham palace, and a castle or two, but don't really know what's worthwhile and what's a tourist trap.

If you only had three days to visit London and the surrounding areas, what would be the "must see" or "must do" activities?

Thanks in advance for all the advice and suggestions!

PS I'll be on the lookout for euro-spec S2000s!

 

Commiserations on having to go to Paignton.

You might also want to do this post in the UK S2000 Owners Club. I'm sure they'll be more than willing to make some good suggestions.

First. If your flying in from the U.S., try to get a seat on the left side of the plane. It always flies directly over, but just to the right of Windsor Castle on approach to Heathrow airport. It's impressive (like, WOW!).

I would suggest adding a tour of Windsor. Less touristy than, say, the Tower of London. It's only 30 miles from London, and buses are very frequent from Victoria Station.

Spend the first morning on one of those "round the city" double-decker buses that do guided tours; that way, you get to see a lot, and if something specific interests you, you can always go back later and check it out. If you choose specific places, you'll only get to see about 5% of anything. At least if you do the bus tour, you'll be able to say you saw "IT".

If I have time, I'll email you a 2-mile walk near Buck Palace which will wet your appetite.

You can catch Stonehenge while you're at Paignton. Not far. Probably less than 1/2 hour by car. And Salisbury Cathedral is near by.

You have to remember - you can't see London in 3 days. Make the most of public transport, and hope that there's a kindly S2000 owner who will spend time showing you the sights. BTW. The food in central London restaurants is mostly excellent. Don't pay attention to what those frogs say about it! Sorry, Le car D)

Lastly..... Have a GREAT time there, and tell us about it when you get home.

 

still outside london, but see if you can make it to avesbury... a megalithic stonecircle you can actually walk around with the local sheep..way more accessible than stonehenge...in london, gotta do the victoria & albert..an afternoon at harrods[especially the food gallery].....mostly avoid actually eating english food..try the indian cusine,great curry!....tea at carlton tower hotel on cadogan place,then a stroll down sloan st..[great car watching!!!]for the more obscure treat,try the florence nightingale museum ,st thomas hospital,a short walk across the bridge from the parliment building...[blow away your friends with postcards of flo in crimea]...have a chat with the cab drivers parked outside westminster abby...cool bunch of guys and usually well informed and great fun to engage... best of all,keep an eye out for all the totally neat cars we will never see in the states...

 

My mother (not a World traveler) had two comments about her stay in London: "The damn beer is warm and all the beef was boiled!" Of course, she also complained about how all those foreigners drive on the wrong side of the road, God love her.

 

Stonehenge (and/or Avesbury as dbw suggests) is quite a ways out of London. Unless you rent a car, you'll have to take a tour bus and it will take a whole day. Even if you rent a car, it will still take most of the day.

Renting a car is outrageously expensive, as is the gas. If you rent one with a manual trans, you'll have to deal with the roundabouts, or circles while driving on the opposite side of the road and trying to shift at the same time. I did it, but it required a lot of concentration.

I would stay in London and try to see only a couple of things each day. There's so much to see, you can't possibly even see the most popular attractions in three days.

Get a good tour book (the Eyewitness books are excellent) before you go and figure out what you'd be most interested in seeing. Westminster Abbey is impressive. Definitely take the "Tube" to get around and take a ride on a double-decker bus and a taxi. Catch a play in the evening. Despite what dbw says, try some authentic fish and chips and some "bangers and mash" (sausage and mashed potatoes).

 

just a quick ferry ride to amsterdam....