visiting London

dear Watmm,

Me and my gf are going to visit London for the last week of January. it's our first visit, and it's going to be a low budget trip, so nothing fancy here.

I've ran a search through Watmm since there were threads about it already. With your help I've managed to compile this preliminary list of things to do and see:

- go to record shops (thanks to you guys I know there's a street in Soho which has some good shops, but I didn't catch its name)

- she likes second-hand clothes, so I guess she will find something for her in Camden, right?

- Natural History Museum, Tate modern, Victoria & Albert museum

- We both like art and photography, are there any interesting galleries or curating shops where you can see some more 'independent art' (but without hipsters)?

- We love beer and places you can hear live jammin' music (any krautrockers still alive?) like jazz, electronic/downtempo/idm stuff

- I don't go clubbing as much as I used to, but since I'm there, I might as well go and see a show or two...three.... I'm sure there are some free-of-charge squat/basement clubs where you can dance your ass off? (nothing like Fabric/Ministry of Sound stuff)

- We will stay in Astor Hostel on Montague street, are there any cheap and good restaurants in St. Pancras area?

I know here are some londoners who enjoy this wonderful city. The only thing is that I feel what I want to experience there but I can't put it in words. I'm on some sort of creative inspiration search.

Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated, so thank you in advance:)

yeah get an oyster card (pre-pay travel card thing)

go to camden

don't go to the natural history museum - it's shit

check out corsica studios or ginglik clubs for potentially good, not-cheesy-or-commercial raves.

borough market is worth a visit

I recommend going to a comedy night on the tattershall castle boat at embankment (get off the tube at embankment stop). really really good fun, plus it's on a (non moving) boat.

come to wimbledon 'round my flat.

there's this too

http://www.cafeoto.co.uk/pan-festival-cc-hennix-rehberg-schmickler-wiese-kezler-durand-tricoli.shtm

British Museum is good. Really good in fact. Loads of mental stuff from all round the world, British museum is a bit mis-leading as its like a Muesum of the World.

british musuem shits all over natural history museum

  On 1/12/2012 at 6:30 PM, Godwin Austen said:

go to record shops (thanks to you guys I know there's a street in Soho which has some good shops, but I didn't catch its name)

Berwick Street is the one you want.

Edit: Just booked my ticket for this today, may be of interest:

http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/events_detail.aspx?ID=92&Keyword=&TypeID=

King Midas Sound, Raime & Leyland James Kirby

science museum was a pretty good way to spend a wet sunday afternoon. Seconded corsica studios, love that place.

Also seconded borough market, some amazing foods there.

On Berwick St, be sure to check out Sister Ray, they're a pretty nice record store - and Rough Trade, if you happen to be in the Portobello Road area.

Also, for second hand/antique clothes and things, in addition to Camden try Spital Fields Market.

  On 1/12/2012 at 7:31 PM, BCM said:

yeah get an oyster card (pre-pay travel card thing)

 

go to camden

 

don't go to the natural history museum - it's shit

 

check out corsica studios or ginglik clubs for potentially good, not-cheesy-or-commercial raves.

 

borough market is worth a visit

 

I recommend going to a comedy night on the tattershall castle boat at embankment (get off the tube at embankment stop). really really good fun, plus it's on a (non moving) boat.

 

come to wimbledon 'round my flat.

I was hoping there would be something similar to a pre-paid card. I don't want to spend to much on a month-ticket. We will probably use the Underground a lot. How much is one tube ride btw?

Corsica, Borough market, check.

  On 1/12/2012 at 7:53 PM, beerwolf said:

British Museum is good. Really good in fact. Loads of mental stuff from all round the world, British museum is a bit mis-leading as its like a Muesum of the World.

That's good, I love mental stuff. Thanks.

  On 1/12/2012 at 8:04 PM, BCM said:

british musuem shits all over natural history museum

  On 1/12/2012 at 8:19 PM, feltcher said:

science museum was a pretty good way to spend a wet sunday afternoon. Seconded corsica studios, love that place.

Also seconded borough market, some amazing foods there.

Oh. But what do you mean NHM is shit? Doesn't Natural history museum feature dinosaur skeletons and other prehistoric beasts? I want to see dinosaur bones.

British and Science museum sound ok.

  On 1/12/2012 at 8:15 PM, spratters said:

  On 1/12/2012 at 6:30 PM, Godwin Austen said:

go to record shops (thanks to you guys I know there's a street in Soho which has some good shops, but I didn't catch its name)

 

Berwick Street is the one you want.

 

Edit: Just booked my ticket for this today, may be of interest:

 

http://www.bishopsga...eyword=&TypeID=

 

King Midas Sound, Raime & Leyland James Kirby

Thanks dude. I'll look into it.

  On 1/12/2012 at 8:37 PM, kokeboka said:

On Berwick St, be sure to check out Sister Ray, they're a pretty nice record store - and Rough Trade, if you happen to be in the Portobello Road area.

 

Also, for second hand/antique clothes and things, in addition to Camden try Spital Fields Market.

Awesome.

planning is the key. even figuring out which is the nearest tube station can make hours worth of difference to what you can do in a day.

http://www.timeout.com/london/art/ worth a look through for art places. lots of free stuff to see in the art world in london.

lots of tube stations in the very centre are close together, some are much farther apart than they appear to be on a map.

you need to know where you're going to rather than where you're trying to get between. a london a-z is good if you don't have a smart phone that will work here.

i like the white cube galleries quite a lot : http://whitecube.com/ the new one in bermondsey has one or two really big damien hirst pieces, but is a bit out of the way.

simply walking along the south bank of the thames can be an interesting way to see a fair few famous buildings - between westminster, london eye and millenium bridge / tate modern / st pauls cathedral, onto tower bridge / tower of london. takes at least an hour to do that at pace, so it's a good afternoon's leisurely walk if you've not see it all before.

  On 1/13/2012 at 2:45 PM, logboy said:

planning is the key. even figuring out which is the nearest tube station can make hours worth of difference to what you can do in a day.

 

http://www.timeout.com/london/art/ worth a look through for art places. lots of free stuff to see in the art world in london.

 

lots of tube stations in the very centre are close together, some are much farther apart than they appear to be on a map.

you need to know where you're going to rather than where you're trying to get between. a london a-z is good if you don't have a smart phone that will work here.

 

i like the white cube galleries quite a lot : http://whitecube.com/ the new one in bermondsey has one or two really big damien hirst pieces, but is a bit out of the way.

 

simply walking along the south bank of the thames can be an interesting way to see a fair few famous buildings - between westminster, london eye and millenium bridge / tate modern / st pauls cathedral, onto tower bridge / tower of london. takes at least an hour to do that at pace, so it's a good afternoon's leisurely walk if you've not see it all before.

Right mate, my plan is more exploring, but I want to see stuff I'm interested in. Usually I mark places I want to see, and if they're not too far apart I go on foot. This way I can see more of random things, and I don't mind walking far. I like walking along the Thames idea.

I'm quite sure there some arthouses? Like if you know Christiania in Copenhagen or Tacheles in Berlin, similar stuff?

Checking out the site timeout.com

what about bicycles? are they easy to rent or Londoners don't use them so much?

The Boris Bikes are worth getting. You can get up to three bikes for £1 each for 1 day I think.

http://www.tfl.gov.u...ling/14808.aspx

The tate modern is fun and it's free entry!

can be nice to just go walking if you enjoy it and can cope with a whole day on foot. can be the case that trying to get to a tube for each location eats up more time and takes out the chance discoveries and pleasure in unexpected sights and just keeps you with typical busy tourist bubbles... London changes so quickly tht just one random turn takes you to a completely different place that you'd miss if you just want to catch obvious sites. it basically a large collection o very different small communities that survive without needing each other a lot of the time, and you can walk from one to another very quickly.

south bank of the Thames between Westminster and stpauls is a great walk, and just behind places like Tate modern you'll see very different non-tourist areas and then suddenly end in tourist areas again when you get to London bridge.

Alibi and The Nest are both decent clubs, both in Dalston - normally free/ a fiver to get in

A few well-priced restaurant recommendations if you're into food:

- Tayyabs, Whitechapel: amazing pakistani place, best lamb ever

- Isarn, Angel: good Thai food

- Royal China, Baker Street: best dim sum in London

- Hache, Camden: best ever burgers

- Cafe du Marche, Clerkenwell: more expensive, but really romantic French food - get the chateaubriand

Kings Cross is a bit devoid of good places to eat, but if you're feeling adventurous there are a couple of Ethiopian places near the bottom end of Caledonian Road that I've been meaning to try

I second going to Spitalfields Market - check what day its on though, think it might only be open on Sundays

If you find yourself in North London, head to the Fultering Fullback pub - a proper boozer

Tyyabs is pretty good, but I made the mistake of going there on a saturday night. Had to wait in line for almost an hour.

Bumping this since my wife and I am now visiting London for the first time in early April for a wedding.  Wondering if anyone has any updated recommendations for record shops, stuff to see and food/drink.  So far I've found that there's the I Love Acid 10 year party with Ceephax, and we maybe found a hotel.   Anything especially cool happening April 5-10?

This is on my London to do list

http://spiritland.com/news/spiritland-launches-in-kings-cross/

  On 2/20/2017 at 2:13 PM, fletcher said:

This is on my London to do list

 

http://spiritland.com/news/spiritland-launches-in-kings-cross/

Oh wow, this looks perfect.  Thanks!

So THAT's what that bloody place is. I've been walking past it on the way home from work for months. 

Always squinting at it trying to work out if it's a cafe/record shop hybrid or what....

Haha yeah same cycling past. Anyone been? Looks like it could be either cool or extremely wanky. Depending on the idm to indie rock ratio

WATMM MEATUP

Yeah, lets go and stroke vinyl and drink expensive cock(tails)