Best places to visit in London?

My son is in London currently, doing a summer course at the LSE.

I wonder if there are people here that have suggestions for my boy. Musea, restaurants, places of historical value or beautiful parks that he could visit?

I would live in the British Museum, if it were allowed. If he has any sort of artistic or historical inclination, it's not even an option, it's a requirement.

Thanks! :)

I guess we should ask Tara... or Pinky Princess..

but as I know, London Bridge should be crossed!
it looks beautiful..

He did cross that bridge, Abed:) And saw Big Ben and Downing street..

all tips are welcome, peeps!

*jealous*!

Is he going to visit only London?

I was in London a month ago for a week. Loved the museums...the British Museum was the best, agree with Sibs on that...plundered wealth from all over the World (I don't mind) in one place to enjoy. Numerous other museums, but the best in my opinion are Victoria & Albert, Natural History, Science museum (all together in one area) and the National Art gallery (Trafalgar square). The London Tower has the Crown jewels stored (the Kohinoor, the Cullinan I & II, some of the largest "rocks" in the world! and - lot more). I only had time to see 3 museums.
But, he may also enjoy day trips to Windsor castle (1 hr NW from Heathrow), Stonehenge and Bath (ancient Roman baths).
I thought I needed a month next time to enjoy the place. It is a place I will go again and again.

Thanks David, I will share this info with him:)

Yes, Karla, he is doing a three week summer course at the London School of Economics, so he is having colleges every day. His only time off is during weekends and then he has to go back home to defend his thesis!!

London eye
Madam tourse( nvm the spelling but its the place where there is a waxxed version of all the world figures)
Olympics since it's in london
Edgeward road (arab road) point him to a resturant called maroush. It's the best food he would ever eat.

Lister square nvm the spelling on that either :p

Thanks Rabea. I will tell him, especially about the restaurant, he so loves foreign dishes:)

Yup, Yup!!

"MAROUSH" how could I forget? :P lol Rab

London is a very big place to view most of its Landmarks especially over just the weekend.

eternel blue has most of them listed as well as the British museum. He should visit Westminster abbey (where sir Issac newton is buried)..etc and i think you can also visit the house of commons as well (where the UK parliaments MP's conduct their discussions about law and other foreign affairs etc)

oh, there is also a aquarium by the London eye, not sure if its still there oO

I'd suggest he buys one of those City Bus Tour tickets. Not sure of the cost but there should be concessions for students. He will be able to hop on hop off anywhere he wants to so...if he wants to look at something for an hour or more he can...if he wants to just take photos of certain things then he can just hop off the bus..click and hop on again. I think the tickets last for two days so that should give him plenty of time and...the buses run every 15 mins or so.

There's also the Olympics haha!!!!

Totally agree with Hellon, get the zone 6 tickets to spread out his area. They're good on the Metro also.
Leadenhall Market 1a Leadenhall Market, Gracechurch Street, aka Daigon Alley in Harry Potter (especially Lamb Tavern)
Covent Garden Market (get the meat pies in the lower level)
St. Paul's cathedral

City tours and hop-on hop-off buses are Ok, but a waste of money and time. The London transit system worked best for us, also much less expensive when using Oyster cards with individual pay as you go fares, rather than zone fares or daily off peak unlimited passes, and automatically cap off to a day pass rate when you exceed £8.50 (off peak) for zones 1-6 and allows you to cut across town from one attraction to another at you convenience rather than follow the slow surface routes. I am sure he has it figured out already. You can only do 1-3 attractions a day any way, as each of these museums are huge. Many museums are free.
Restaurants are in every nook and corner in the metro London area, with an abundance of International cuisine.

Thanks guys, for all the input:)

I don't think they're a waste of money at all LS. As Larry said there is obviously more than one of these routes because London is huge and the tourist attractions are spread out a fair bit but...if he gets an idea of what he really wants to see...two days is enough in my opinion. The London Underground? Could be easy if you can decyfer the colour coding and you have plenty of time to do so haha!!! I've used both but, as he's a stranger to London (I assume?) them the tour buses are far less stressful.

Yup, he is a stranger to London. But he has one friend from Holland living there, and that friend bought my son a sort of credit card that he can use in the subway and he also gave me son a map that shows all stops in the subway. But it is so crowded, especially now the Games have started!! I think maybe a buscard would be a good idea, Hellon..

Hey ingrid london is my play ground....omg there's so much to see where abouts is he based and it will be better to answer.....alomost all the galleries and museums are free to enter but if he just wan to wander in london the for me its gotts be off the tube at the enbankment and just walk straight ahead and explore, walking around london is. Such a wonderful experience i love it and ty to do it every other week end, ooooooo he can take the district line to tower hill and it brings him right by the tower of london :-)))) omg im strangly excited for him lolol

Lol, he is staying in the Holborn District, in a special hotel for students there, very near the LSE!

Ingrid: I was just giving you my recent experience. People advised me to take the tour buses (av of £21-29/d) or the full day off peak travel pass too, but things have changed and are now lot easier with the "credit card" you mentioned above..it is called the Oyster card, truly a debit card which works on all metropolitan transport (tube, buses & surface trains). You load it up with some money at a machine or ticket clerk at any underground station or a newspaper/convenience store and you are ready to travel anywhere in London at an average of 40% discount to single fares. If you spend more than than £8.50 (off peak student) in a day, the Smart Oyster automatically caps it, so no need to really buy zonal day passes these days. Any money left on the Oyster is completely refunded back to you at any tube or rail station, incl heathrow when you leave the country.

Next, the London tube maps are very straightforward, easy to decipher/plan and available at the entrance/exit of nearly all tube stations. The bus maps are more complex, but I had a little "welcome to london" tourist booklet we picked up at heathrow which had the most important central london bus routes color coded and numbered making life simpler for us.
We used a combo of bus and tubes. For short distances in central London, it is probably best to take surface buses, and for cross town, the tube. Buses save you the walking and up & down to enter a tube. London is one of the easiest places to travel in. Your son is in Holborn, which is central London, so easy to get around with surface buses. But when he has to go to Madam Tussaud's or the Museums, best to take the underground. Don't worry he will figure it out. I can understand a parent' worry :)

Here are some links which will make travel and planning for each attraction easier. Simply type in where you are and where you want to go and it will tell you how to. For the bus routes, use PDF versions in the second link.

http://www.visitlondon.com/areas/tube/
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/maps/buses/
Private tour operator (Rec : Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford tour)
http://www.goldentours.com/partner/visitlondon/productlist.aspx?categoryid=31
London Museum and more guide:
http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/culture/major-museums

And the best part, as of the beginning of the Olympics, 80 tube stations have free WiFi, so if you ever need any Internet help, simply turn on your smartphone and access it, if you do not have a 3G UK sim.

All the best to him. I too was once his age, and was able to figure out things. Luckily, London is one of the easiest cities in the world to travel or find food to eat. You have a tube station within 10 mts walking of most places centrally located and a bus stop practically when you step out the door.

Thank you, David, will share all this with my boy!

He indeed has an Oyster card, will tell him about the refund, that will come in handy:)

Oh I just noticed this!

I'm not sure if this was mentioned but The Victoria & Albert Museum is one of my favorite museums. The Natural History Museum is also nice!

Oxford Street is great for shopping and the best shopping mall is Westfield Mall (either in Shepherd's Bush or Stratford).

Great department stores to visit either for shopping or eating: Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty, and Harvey Nichols.

Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square for cinemas and other entertainment.

Covent Garden is a fun atmosphere with shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Portobello Road Market is one of my favorite markets! (Saturday is the best day to go to)

Hyde Park of course - it's best to go when the weather is nice! He can rent a bike, or go on a pedal boat etc.

If he will be there in November/December there's a fun event happening in Hyde Park called Winter Wonderland. There are fun rides and yummy food. I always have a great time there!

There are so many delicious restaurants in London, but it depends on what your son likes.

I wish your son the best of luck with his course in LSE! :)

Thank you, PP :D

He loves all kinds of foods, from all over the world. He found a Lebanse restaurant the other day, called Kaslik. It is situated in 58 Greek Street, Soho. he loved it and he also loves the atmosphere in Soho.

I will forward this to him also!

He is one of the few serious students, by the way. A lot of students have come to party all night long and arrive at the hotel around 5 AM...A shame, if you consider the costs..