London anyone?

[Spn]

Hi

Ive been lurking here for some weeks now. My Anxiety is based on social events, crowded areas, and travelling. I have now started taking cipralex, and does allready feel allot better. In fact so much that I have decided to go beyond my comfort zone, and give my wife a weekend trip to London for Christmas. This is something she have allways wanted for us to do, but I have been holding back because of my anxiety.

We live in Norway, so I`ll have to go by plane, but I think that will go fine now.

What concerns me is that Ive been told that its not possible to get a hotel in London, without having to take the Metro to/from the city centre.

We would like to see all the usual things tourists do, go for shopping, and so fort.

I cant stand Metros/trains/busses (not planes either for that matter)
Is there a hotel you could recommend that is really close to the centrum/downtown? We live in Oslo, which is a really small city, and here you can see all sightseeings just by walking around. No need for metros really.

Thanks for you time.

[Brunette]

Hi Spn,


I'm slightly confused by your post. Even if you want to stay centrally you need to get there from the airport first of all. I don't know where you are flying to but to get to Central London from Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick (and back again) is going to be very expensive by taxi so unless you are pretty well off you will need some combination of bus, train, tube or coach to accomplish that.


As for finding a hotel, I think your best bet would be to look on Expedia. There are hundreds of hotels in the centre of London and only you know your budget.

Bear in mind that London (even central London) is a big place and it might not be possible for you to walk to everywhere you want to go.

[Spn]

Hi,

I have not planned this down to every detail yet, but I guess it would be possible to get from the airport by taxi?

Im not saying I can`t take the tube, but i heard from a colleague of mine that you would need to take the tube everywhere all the time to get around.

I wouldn`t mind paying £50-£150 for a taxi. I guess the prices are something like that?

[Brunette]

That's Ok if you are prepared to pay but bear in mind that black cabs charge by distance (about 20 miles from Heathrow and a lot more from Gatwick or Stansted) and also if they are travelling below a certain speed so if you get stuck in traffic it could end up costing you an absolute fortune. I strongly advise you to check your options online for fares.

You don't have to take the tube to get around - most people do it because it's quicker - but buses will also take you anywhere you want to go. Some places - Buckingham Palace and Westminster for example are within about 20 minutes walking distance of each other.

[Edie]

I would recommend using the train/tube to get from the airport to your hotel. It will save you a lot of money if you can manage it. Gatwick and Heathrow airports are a long way from the centre of London. Stansted is a very long way indeed.

Many of the attractions in London are very close together - within walking distance. Most people who live in London don't realise this, as we are so used to jumping on the Tube! The only problem is that hotels and restaurants in Central London are very expensive. If you want to save money, then it will need to be further from the centre of London.

Maybe the best plan would be to try and cope with the train from the airport, and then save your money for a hotel somewhere central like Charing Cross.

If you are lucky you can arrange your flight times so that you do not have to travel during the rush hour. The Tube is quite manageable outside of the rush hour.

[Rennie1989]

Taxi from Heathrow to Central London will cost an arm and a leg! There is a frequent Heathrow line to Central London. The tube is very simple to navigate anyway, as long as you prepare what line and stations you need to go to/through you just need to remember which way you are travelling (north/east/south/west bound) and it's easy. Tubes are very central to travelling, they are hard to avoid, but there is nothing wrong with them.

Unfortunately unless you're prepared for a long walk buses and trains are very hard to avoid as well. But in Kensington and Chelsea there are quite a few museums of very close proximity to each other (Victoria & Albert - or V&A -, Science Museum, Natural History Museum and loads more). Ken has a lot of shops, restaurants and bars and the steak houses are very reasonable for the area. To be honest, Kensington is my favourite place in London because of the museums and restaurants, and I'm a snob :P

[MidnightRunner]

A black taxi is going to be around £70-100 from Heathrow depending on the time of day (after 10pm rate 3 which is the highest) for example and where you go in London, West London will be cheaper to alight than than East, O2 arena and so on. For Gatwick and further airports, prepare for eye watering fares as you look at the meter.

Tubes are ok for A/B and planned routes, but not if you're an explorer. You can wander down alleys, back streets and into little pockets of unknown gems simply by getting lost, although you can never really get lost in London.

There is so much to do in London and if you've never been, the normal tourist activities such as Buckingham Palace, St.Pauls Cathedral, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, the London Eye etc are great as are museums and bars in Soho/Covent Garden - but be aware there are so many 'hidden' less known places in London that are great to see and do such as seeing where the fire of London started near London Bridge (by Monument Street) or going to the Sherlock Holmes museum in Baker Street, taking a ghost bus tour, going to the City to see where the First 2nd World War bomb dropped (Fore Street) or going to 39 Furnival Street where big black doors are the entrance to an underground UNDER the underground with trains and bunk beds, although you cannot go down there now without pre planning it or maybe at all - but definitely an interesting read.

You could also go to the famous Alexandra palace, or Kenwood House (where Notting Hill scenes where filmed), Hampstead Heath or Primrose Hill (best place in summer IMHO) or take a taxi ride down The Bishops Avenue where the biggest houses in London are. And there is a little Venice in Maida Vale where people live on boats, the American Embassy in Grosvenor Square, or the RAF museum in Hendon.

Its all depends on what you like. It's limitless what you can do, not to mention the walks you can go on although not great at this time of year due to the weather, but if you want to know anywhere please ask as I know London well due to learning most roads/points of interest.

[Spn]

Wow Jamie, could I hire you as our guide?

We've found a promising hotel near green park. And from what weve read theres a Express train from Heathrow. Though a taxi sound more comfortable and less stressing for me.

So far it looks like we'll be going the first weekend in May.

[MidnightRunner]

Sounds good

If you need any help drop me a PM. Don't forget you can get a mini cab instead of a black taxi and while cheaper they solely rely on sat navs and can drive a bit quickly. But a pre booked Addison Lee would be fine for airport transfers.