twistofreality
Northwest
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I should have thought of this sooner.
After this Sunday, I'm going to be in the UK for a couple of weeks. I'll be in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh. Anyone been to any of these places before and have off-the-beaten-path tips? I think I have most of the tourist-y stuff down, but if you have favorite spots in any of those cities, I'd love to hear about them before I leave!
mightymighty
North Side
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I've always been a fan of Globe Trekker, they are easily found in the library.
Also check out Lonely Planet (which is what the Globe Trekker series used to be called), you can find resources and ask questions there too.
caitlin
brewery district
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don't know how long you'll be in dublin, and this isn't really off the beaten path, but if you have an entire day to set aside i would highly recommend the railtours irelan tour to the cliffs of moher. you stop in various locations but the cliffs of moher are absolutely breathtaking.
i have some photos from that tour here if you want to take a look. there are a million but i think the last 30 or 40 were from the tour.
anyway, enjoy your trip!!
spramp
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I was just in Dublin this May. This might sound fairly touristy but it's a great way to travel around the city and see the sites (or go exploring) in an easy way. There are at least two bus companies that have routes throughout Dublin - stopping at tourist spots and cultural sites. You pay one price (12 euro per person, I think) and can hop on or off the bus all day. You can skip some stops or stay as long as you want at others. A bus comes by every 10 minutes. You can also wander around on your own and pick up the bus at another well-marked stop. We had great fun doing the really touristy stuff (Guinness Brewery tour) and then the more cultural things (National Gallery, St. Paul's Cathedral). Anything around Temple Bar area is fun....just be careful as pickpockets are plentiful in Dublin.
Also - Grafton Street, while touristy, is incredible people watching and talking to locals.
Roscoe
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If you've got time to kill, Hyde Park in London is a great place to do it. Very relaxing, yet still a lot going on. Think NY Central Park but bigger. There are usually a fair amount of speakers on egg crates on weekends which can be interesting.
Dublin is OK, but don't forget that Ireland is roughly the size of Ohio; if there's something you want to see in Ireland, you've probably got the time to get there. I'll second the bus tours if you're just browsing. If nothing else, get in a car and drive, the countryside is amazingly beautiful.
FaireM
Columbus
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There is a company called LondonWalks. They do all kinds of walking tours of London, including pub crawls and the famous Jack the Ripper Tour. They are a great way to see the sights and differant districts. I highly recommend it. The website is http://www.walks.com
Also, I agree with everyone about BusTrips in Dublin. They are the best way to see Ireland.
Have fun! :D
caitlin
brewery district
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FaireM wrote There is a company called LondonWalks. They do all kinds of walking tours of London, including pub crawls and the famous Jack the Ripper Tour. They are a great way to see the sights and differant districts. I highly recommend it. The website is http://www.walks.com
there are similar tours in dublin - there is a literary pubcrawl that is touristy and a little lame but entertaining.
also there are ipod walking tours that are good.
HeySquare
German Village
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In London, Brick Lane in the East End for Indian food. Just go. I don't even like Indian food that much, and it was really cool. Slightly sketchy, so look cosmopolitan and walk with confidence, and don't take anything too valuable. Remember the Tube stops at midnight, so finish up dinner before 11 PM so you can get home (does this sound like the voice of experience talking? Trying to catch a bus home from the East End at midnight was an experience that I really never want to repeat. But the food was worth it.)
Camden Town... great flea market on the weekends. just get on the Tube, and get off at the Camden Town stop on the weekend. It's GREAT. Everyone goes. There was a really nice carribean fusion restaurant there called Mango, (or it might have been the Mango Room) which I've been to twice, and enjoyed both times. One thing to remember-- the Camden Town tube stop is in Zone 2 on the tube, so make sure you get a zone 2 ticket. The po-lice love to ticket out-of-towners riding there on the local zone tube tickets. I got slammed for a 15 pound fine. It was clearly the London version of a speed trap.
Portobello Road Market. You'll have to check for times-- mainly weekends, I think. If you have ever read Paddington Bear, this is that market. Or seen Notting Hill-- that's it too. Antiques, food, clothing... pretty much anything. It's great.
It's probably too late in the season, but there is an open air theater in ... I think it is Regent's Park. They have wonderful open air theater performances there-- was probably the best live theater I have ever seen in my life. The tickets are woefully expensive-- as I recall somewhere in the 70-80 dollar range; however, they have first come first serve "lawn" seating (the lawn essentially being the grassy areas on the sides of the amphitheather) for like 6 pounds.
If you go to the British Museum, beware the gypsy children, who will try and stop you, distract you with some magazine thing, and steal your wallet. Do not stop, even if they get in your path.
Even the touristy stuff is fun in London. Skip the changing of the Guard.
I largely slept during my visit to Edinburgh (prounced Edin-borro) so I can't make many recommendations about that town.
Have a great trip.
vestanpance
Harrison West/at work OSU
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hide your eyes when you see the exchange rate from dollars to pounds! eeks!
I lived in England every summer while growing up but mostly in the north. As for London, make it out to some of the suburb markets to find some good raw deals of interesting things. There is a good one in Shepherds bush. Also if you have not been to london before don't be shocked by the culture. Most people have this image in their head about what england and the english should be like. I'm not saying you do but remember London is about 40% Pakastani now. Which makes for some really good foods!
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