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London info
- Thread starter jorodo
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Yeah I know but London doesn't really work like that. There's The City, where the stock exchange etc is, but it's hardly jumping at night after the offices close. There's Canary Wharf where all the investments banks are, but that's miles away from anything else. There's the West End, which is the "bright lights", but not at all a business district, etc etc.
London isn't a planned city with neatly defined zones, it just sort of congealed over the last 1000 years.
mirandashell
Banned
Pete's right. That's why I asked because there is no specific business area.
And this really confused me:
And this really confused me:
As far as I know, and the Londoners will correct me, there are none of these in the City.
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I think I've seen a posh one in Knightsbridge somewhere but that's all that springs to mind. Mind you I'm not a Londoner, so someone may well know better than me. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl...h&sa=X&ei=DhTYU82RAcGX1AWRtYGoDQ&ved=0CAYQoio
We don't have uptown either....
Unless you mean Chelsea? That's kinda the posh bit (with a council estate thrown in just to confuse people iirc). Or Knightsbridge.
Both of which have lots of shops and businesses. Maybe Regents/Oxford street (posh shops?)
The City (where big business is done) is dead outside business hours. Everywhere else is open a lot, but is very mixed in a lot of places. High class houses cheek by jowl with a row of all night takeaways etc. You can see million pound houses within five minutes walk od a sink estate.
Outside the business district (which is very not downtown as in bight lights big city) it's a huge mass of towns that have grown into each other. And were not planned when they did so.
So yeah, downtown/uptown makes no sense.
PS my shop, along with many, has no aircon. 85 degrees at 5:30 am....
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Far fewer phoneboxes
For Middle Eastern food the area around Queensway/Lancaster Gate
Haven't come across these either.
London is just one big mix of things... and then comes Chinatown, which is more like Chinastreet... and everything just kind of grew together...
mirandashell
Banned
When thinking about London, this is the most important thing to remember:
And for a lot of Londoners, I think, they still are small towns, psychologically. The amount of Londoners I've heard say 'I'm from So-and-so in London.'
And for a lot of Londoners, I think, they still are small towns, psychologically. The amount of Londoners I've heard say 'I'm from So-and-so in London.'
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I'm a tourist and proud of it. I spent two weeks in London this past June. I sent you a PM asking about what you specifically need.
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You can visit London any time you want. Just use street view on Google Maps. Recently I was writing about a fictitious town in New Mexico. To get some local colour I just picked a few real towns and let the computer take me there.
mirandashell
Banned
Yeah....... that works for what places look like. But it doesn't give you the detail of living there.
I agree with Mirandashell - streetview is a real asset for helping you choose locations and describe their appearance, but there's nothing like visiting a place and sniffing the air (yep, that's one thing I do!) to get a multi-sensory experience.
Of course, distance and expense go hand-in-hand so it's not always feasible to visit a location you're less than familiar with. However, to almost-quote the great Ferris Bueller, if you have the means I highly recommend it.
Of course, distance and expense go hand-in-hand so it's not always feasible to visit a location you're less than familiar with. However, to almost-quote the great Ferris Bueller, if you have the means I highly recommend it.
Remember to look in the other direction when crossing the street. I got so confused while in Europe that I ended up looking both ways and do still after coming back to the states because I can't remember which way traffic goes.
Also the British Museum (and most of the others, I wasn't much for the Tate Modern) are fantastic! And free! Oh and Foyles is amazing! Though not as amazing as Powell's. And telling your friends and family back home you went to M&S (Marks and Spencer) will confuse and horrify them because they'll think you said the S&M store.
Also the British Museum (and most of the others, I wasn't much for the Tate Modern) are fantastic! And free! Oh and Foyles is amazing! Though not as amazing as Powell's. And telling your friends and family back home you went to M&S (Marks and Spencer) will confuse and horrify them because they'll think you said the S&M store.
All the stuff about middle eastern food reminded me of Gaby's on Charing Cross Road where I first met felafel and humous. May still be in business too - it turns up in Time Out in 2013
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/gabys
Which is another thing if you are touring London - Time Out magazine is a good place to look for food and entertainment and attractions reviews.
Gaby's - narrow shop front and goes back and back inside. Walk in past the deli counter, restaurant service at the back. And as they said, plastic tables. Its been around well forever. If you know of it, you re-visit it. (Well if you liked it obviously
).
http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/gabys
Which is another thing if you are touring London - Time Out magazine is a good place to look for food and entertainment and attractions reviews.
Gaby's - narrow shop front and goes back and back inside. Walk in past the deli counter, restaurant service at the back. And as they said, plastic tables. Its been around well forever. If you know of it, you re-visit it. (Well if you liked it obviously
).
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I'm from Toronto and I travel frequently to London as a tourist. My biggest impressions (not things I love or hate, just differences compared to home that a tourist from my neck of the woods might note):
1. Humidity! Hot or cold, I can feel and smell the dampness before the plane descends. My hair gets frizzy in London and sometimes my skin feels clammy even in chilly weather. It takes a few days to adjust.
2. The tube goes *deep* underground. At some stations the stairs leading down to the trains seem to go on forever; at all stations the escalators are very steep and move very fast. The stations are generally very clean and free of litter- same for the cars themselves- big difference from home. Sometimes there are what I assume to be TfL employees standing on the platform, overseeing what's going on.
3. Architecture is a hodge-podge of styles and eras, very little cohesion outside of certain individual neighbourhoods. From my impression of the areas I've been too, 19th and 20th century architecture dominates. London looks interesting as opposed to beautiful (vs. other European capitals), some of the modern architecture is fascinating.
4. Fluorescent jackets (greenish yellow) on police officers and all manner of outdoor workers- garbage crews, construction workers, those TfL employees who stand on the tube platforms.
5. More visible security- more cctv cameras, more signs warning of the presence of cctv, more signs bearing instructions regarding safety and security. More barbed wire, iron bars, anti-climb paint, and alarms. More police officers on the streets.
6. More "fresh" litter on the sidewalks left by pedestrians. Less public garbage & recycling receptacles.
7. Men dress better, have better haircuts, wear slimmer fitting clothing, don't wear baseball caps. Women dress a little differently too, but the biggest difference is the men imo.
8. Prices include tax, and often aren't rounded down, for example something will cost £2 not $1.99.
9. More scooters (ie vespas) and motorbikes. Narrower streets and sidewalks. Denser concentration of people.
10. High energy, even rushed. People walk quickly (tourists excepted, of course).
I agree with the suggestions of using Google Earth for a look-see. Also youtube often yields interesting results- in general there are lots of "street scene" videos for cities all around the world.
1. Humidity! Hot or cold, I can feel and smell the dampness before the plane descends. My hair gets frizzy in London and sometimes my skin feels clammy even in chilly weather. It takes a few days to adjust.
2. The tube goes *deep* underground. At some stations the stairs leading down to the trains seem to go on forever; at all stations the escalators are very steep and move very fast. The stations are generally very clean and free of litter- same for the cars themselves- big difference from home. Sometimes there are what I assume to be TfL employees standing on the platform, overseeing what's going on.
3. Architecture is a hodge-podge of styles and eras, very little cohesion outside of certain individual neighbourhoods. From my impression of the areas I've been too, 19th and 20th century architecture dominates. London looks interesting as opposed to beautiful (vs. other European capitals), some of the modern architecture is fascinating.
4. Fluorescent jackets (greenish yellow) on police officers and all manner of outdoor workers- garbage crews, construction workers, those TfL employees who stand on the tube platforms.
5. More visible security- more cctv cameras, more signs warning of the presence of cctv, more signs bearing instructions regarding safety and security. More barbed wire, iron bars, anti-climb paint, and alarms. More police officers on the streets.
6. More "fresh" litter on the sidewalks left by pedestrians. Less public garbage & recycling receptacles.
7. Men dress better, have better haircuts, wear slimmer fitting clothing, don't wear baseball caps. Women dress a little differently too, but the biggest difference is the men imo.
8. Prices include tax, and often aren't rounded down, for example something will cost £2 not $1.99.
9. More scooters (ie vespas) and motorbikes. Narrower streets and sidewalks. Denser concentration of people.
10. High energy, even rushed. People walk quickly (tourists excepted, of course).
I agree with the suggestions of using Google Earth for a look-see. Also youtube often yields interesting results- in general there are lots of "street scene" videos for cities all around the world.
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The outskirts of London, also known as the suburbs, are very different from the touristy centre of London. In fact, London's reach stretches out to most of the South East of England.
For example, I live in Godalming, a medium sized town close to Guildford in Surrey and about 30 miles from London. Whilst this town dates back to Anglo Saxon times, it grew massively when the train line was built. Home to London takes 45 minutes on the train plus a 15 minute walk.
The suburbs of London are linked to the centre mostly by the underground (aka the tube) and buses. And weirdly most journeys from the burbs to central London also seem to take between 45 minutes and an hour.
The UK is unusual amongst large nations because London is by far its most dominant city. We have a very obvious first city, but then it's a long step down to our second city (Birmingham or Manchester fight over this one).
For example, I live in Godalming, a medium sized town close to Guildford in Surrey and about 30 miles from London. Whilst this town dates back to Anglo Saxon times, it grew massively when the train line was built. Home to London takes 45 minutes on the train plus a 15 minute walk.
The suburbs of London are linked to the centre mostly by the underground (aka the tube) and buses. And weirdly most journeys from the burbs to central London also seem to take between 45 minutes and an hour.
The UK is unusual amongst large nations because London is by far its most dominant city. We have a very obvious first city, but then it's a long step down to our second city (Birmingham or Manchester fight over this one).