Rick Steves London

by Rick Steves, Gene Openshaw

Overview

Now more than ever, you can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling through London. From the sacred stones of Westminster Abbey to the top of the London Eye, the city is yours to discover! Inside Rick Steves London you'll find:

• Fully updated, comprehensive coverage for spending a week or more exploring London
• Rick's strategic advice on how to get the most out of your time and money, with rankings of his must-see favorites
• Top sights and hidden gems, from Trafalgar Square and the Tower of London to where to find the best tikka masala or fish and chips
• How to connect with local culture: Catch a show in Soho, take afternoon tea, or have a pint of English ale with Londoners in a pub
• Beat the crowds, skip the lines, and avoid tourist traps with Rick's candid, humorous insight
• The best places to eat, sleep, and relax with a Pimm's Cup
• Self-guided walking tours of lively neighborhoods and world-class museums like the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert
• Day trips to Windsor, Cambridge, and Stonehenge
• Detailed neighborhood maps and a fold-out city map for exploring on the go
• Covid-related travel info and resources for a smooth trip

Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves London.

Spending just a few days in the city? Try Rick Steves Pocket London.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781641714693
Publisher:	Avalon Publishing
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Series:	Travel Guide
Edition description:	24th ed.
Pages:	632
Sales rank:	29,110
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 4.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Since 1973, Rick Steves has spent about four months a year exploring Europe. His mission: to empower Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. Rick produces a best-selling guidebook series, a public television series, and a public radio show, and organizes small-group tours that take over 30,000 travelers to Europe annually. He does all of this with the help of more than 100 well-traveled staff members at Rick Steves' Europe in Edmonds, WA (near Seattle). When not on the road, Rick is active in his church and with advocacy groups focused on economic and social justice, drug policy reform, and ending hunger. To recharge, Rick plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade Mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie. Find out more about Rick at www.ricksteves.com and on Facebook.

Connect with Rick:
facebook.com/RickSteves
twitter: @RickSteves
instagram: ricksteveseurope

Gene Openshaw has co-authored a dozen Rick Steves books, specializing in writing walks and tours of Europe's cities, museums, and cultural sites. He also contributes to Rick's public television series, produces tours for Rick Steves Audio Europe, and is a regular guest on Rick's public radio show. Outside of the travel world, Gene has co-authored The Seattle Joke Book. As a composer, Gene has written a full-length opera called Matter, a violin sonata, and dozens of songs. He lives near Seattle with his daughter, enjoys giving presentations on art and history, and roots for the Mariners in good times and bad.

Table of Contents

London 5

Orientation to London 25

Sights in London 49

Central London 50

North London 73

The City 82

East London 87

The South Bank 88

West London 101

Greater London 109

Self-Guided Walks & Tours

Central London

Westminster Walk 126

Westminster Abbey Tour 144

Houses of Parliament Tour 157

National Gallery Tour 167

National Portrait Gallery Tour 186

West End Walk 202

North London

British Museum Tour 212

British Library Tour 238

The City

Historic London: The City Walk 251

St. Paul's Cathedral Tour 279

Tower of London Tour 293

The South Bank

Bankside Walk 308

Tate Modern Tour 325

West London

Victoria & Albert Museum Tour 340

Tate Britain Tour 356

East London

East End Walk 372

Greenwich Tour 382

Sleeping in London 401

Victoria Station Neighborhood 403

South Kensington 407

Near Earl's Court 407

Bayswater, Netting Hill & Nearby 409

North London 413

Other Sleeping Options 414

Eating in London 420

Central London 421

Victoria Station Neighborhood 429

South Kensington 433

Bayswater, Notting Hill & Nearby 434

North London 436

East London 437

Food Markets 441

Taking Tea in London 443

London with Children 445

Shopping in London 455

Entertainment in London 469

London Connections 486

Day Trips 499

Windsor 500

Cambridge 516

Stonehenge 537

Britain: Past & Present 545

Practicalities 568

Appendix 611

Index 625

Map Index 644

Editorial Reviews

"The country's foremost expert in European travel for Americans."—Forbes

"Steves is an absolute master at unlocking the hidden gems of the world's greatest cities, towns, and monuments."—USA Today

“Every country-specific travel guidebook from the Rick Steves publishing empire can be counted upon for clear organization, specificity and timeliness."—Society of American Travel Writers

"Pick the best accommodations and restaurants from Rick Steves…and a traveler searching for good values will seldom go wrong or be blindsided."—NBC News

"His guidebooks are approachable, silly, and even subtly provocative in their insistence that Americans show respect for the people and places they are visiting and not the other way around."—The New Yorker

"Travel, to Steves, is not some frivolous luxury—it is an engine for improving humankind, for connecting people and removing their prejudices, for knocking distant cultures together to make unlikely sparks of joy and insight. Given that millions of people have encountered the work of Steves over the last 40 years, on TV or online or in his guidebooks, and that they have carried those lessons to untold other millions of people, it is fair to say that his life’s work has had a real effect on the collective life of our planet."—The New York Times Magazine

"[Rick Steves] laces his guides with short and vivid histories and a scholar's appreciation for Renaissance art yet knows the best place to start an early tapas crawl in Madrid if you have kids. His clear, hand-drawn maps are Pentagon-worthy; his hints about how to go directly to the best stuff at the Uffizi, avoid the crowds at Versailles and save money everywhere are guilt-free."—TIME Magazine

"Steves is a walking, talking European encyclopedia who yearns to inspire Americans to venture 'beyond Orlando.'"—Forbes

“…he’s become the unofficial guide for entire generations of North American travelers, beloved for his earnest attitude and dad jeans."—Outside Magazine

"His books offer the equivalent of a bus tour without the bus, with boiled-down itineraries and step-by-step instructions on where to go and how to get there, but adding a dash of humor and an element of choice that his travelers find empowering."—The New York Times

"His penchant for creating meaningful experiences for travelers to Europe is as passionate as his inclination for making ethical choices his guiding light."—Forbes

"[Rick Steves'] neighborhood walks are always fun and informative. His museum guides, complete with commentary about historic sculpture and storied artworks are wonderful and add another dimension to sometimes stodgy, hard-to-comprehend museums."—NBC News

From the Publisher