Things to see in London/Dublin

[Szepilona]

Hi all!
I'm going to visit my sister in Hungary over Christmas Break, and we will be going to London and Dublin after Christmas for a few days. Since I know that many of you have been to one or both cities, what places do you recommend as 'must-sees'?

Thanks!

[maartendas]

I can't believe I'm the first one to reply in this topic but then again I am a bit of a London freak since a few years

In London you must see Westminster Abbey. Evensong there is unforgettable, especially if you get to sit in the Quire stalls. Also a tour of the building is great. I simply love the place so I could gush about it for hours

St. Paul's Cathedral is worth a visit too ofcourse, but a totally different experience: huge and imposing, whereas Westminster Abbey is much more 'intimate' even though it's crammed with history.

If you're into exploring the city, walking along the Thames is very nice, even in bad weather. Especially if you cross a bridge somewhere, the views are just wonderful.

If you enjoy art, there are some very nice free museums, like the Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the National Gallery that you can easily spend a rainy afternoon. Temporary exhibitions are expensive though. If you visit National Gallery you get the lovely Trafalgar Square as well, with great views. A very nice find from our last visit was Courtauld Gallery in Somerset House: a great art collection from medieval to 20th century in a very beautiful building - and they serve really good food too (plus the waiter was really cute, hehe ).

Not sure if it's as nice in winter but St. James' Park, near Buckingham Palace, was perfect for a stroll. I even got to feed a squirrel The palace itself is nice too, while you're there, but a bit boring to be honest - we had more fun taking pictures of the Victoria Memorial.

If you want a night out, there are plenty of shows to choose from. I only ever went to one performance of Billy Elliot but it was simply one of the best shows I've ever seen. Not sure if it still runs but I think so. There's a topic about it on here.

Oh and don't forget, St. Philip's in Norbury has service every Sunday morning

As for Dublin, I remember a beautiful park in the city centre, a National Gallery with free entrance and a wide ranging collection, a nice zoo outside the city centre and plenty of opportunities to explore the city just wandering around (many statues and churches).

I hope this helps! Whatever you do, have fun

[Yorkie]

More info needed.

What do you like?
Do you have a tight budget?
Culture or party time?
Modern art or 'traditional'?
When will you be in London & for how long?

[Szepilona]

Thanks for the suggestions, Maartendas! Westminster Abbey is a definite stop!

More info needed.

What do you like?
Do you have a tight budget?
Culture or party time?
Modern art or 'traditional'?
When will you be in London & for how long?

Yorkie, we'll be there Dec 27 to Jan 1. I am very interested in culture and history, and both my sister and I love music. We're trying to keep it as low budget as possible, so free is always good

[Yorkie]

Well,it is possible to see lots of things for free - personally I could spend hours just walking the streets.

The good news is that the public museums are all free (there are some private museums that do have charges but with the time you have available I think there is enough to see without going to them).

My favourite museums (and of course you might hate them) are:

the British Museum - see the Rosetta Stone

The National Gallery - Icon paintings that you've always wanted to see

The Victoria & Albert Museum - Like the cast rooms but huge amount of interesting designs

Tate Britain - British artists, majors on Turner

Maarten has mentioned Westminster Abbey & St Paul's Cathedral and I second those. I personally love Westminster Abbey (where Kate & Will were married) but others prefer St Paul's. Both charge an entrance fee and unfortunately it is not cheap (the Abbey is more expensive). However, you can get in for free to attend Evensong and hear the choir (but you can't wonder around so you will only get a flavour) but the normal choir will be on holiday when you are here so I'm not sure what the Evensong services will be like.

Westminster Abbey

St Paul's/

Do you like castles? I do and the Tower of London fits the bill nicely, especially if you like diamonds

Tower of London


Finally, read the Trip Advisor forum for plenty of tips and trip reports to get an idea of what's on offer

TripAdvisor