Calling all UK/London peeps

[lillian13]

My niece is going to London! She is a geek and I am looking for suggestions for cool things to do and see.

Also, is there anywhere she can pop in and buy Discworld paraphernalia? A particular gift shop/chain?

She'll be there March 7 through the 13th.

Comments

[tehomet]

Here are some places in London that I love.

Westminister Abbey: it's gorgeous and it's full of historic and literary interest.

Camden Market is a good place to hang out. There's stalls all over the place, lots of nice shops, a bohemian vibe. I like the Inspiral Lounge Cafe there which turns into a nightclub after dark.

The Tower of London tours are great craic and a sort of crash course in Englishness.

The Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garrett is a supercreepy but very interesting old medical facility that got walled up some centuries back and forgotten, only being rediscovered quite recently.

Saint Bartholomew the Great's in Smithfield because it's a beautiful place, really breath-taking. And conveniently it's near a Tube station but off the beaten track, and has a very nice cafe in what used to be a cloister. ;)

The V and A (Victoria and Albert Museum) and the The British Museum are both treasure houses full of fascinating things.

Sir John Soane's House is great fun and one of my favourite places in the world. The guy who created it and gave it to the people was an architect, a rabid collector, and a total fruitcake. His tall, narrow house is crammed with awesomes things and full of shadowy alcoves and secret doors, with double walls that swing open to reveal layers of pictures, an Egyptian sarcophagus in a coal cellar, and a tomb for a dog, all lit in amber or blood red through stained glass windows. There are paintings by Canaletto, Turner, and Hogarth; Greco-Roman and medieval antiquities; stone carvings from Old St Paul's Cathedral and other long-lost buildings; and a jewelled badge worn by Charles I at the Battle of Naseby. All exactly the way he left it two hundred years ago. It's basically the real-life Room of Requirement.

Bon voyage to your niece.

If she finds someplace that sells Discworld stuff, I'd love to hear about it. She might be able to get figurines at Forbidden Planet but apart from that, I'm drawing a blank. :(

[snow-white.livejournal.com]

Terry Pratchett lives not far from where the HFMB is located, and there is a shop there called the Discworld Emporium! It isn't in London, but she could get there and back by bus...alternatively, they do mail order.

http://www.discworldemporium.com/shop

[pushkin666.livejournal.com]

Depends what she's into. If she's into Harry Potter, I'd recommend a visit to Leadenhall Market, which was used as the exterior location for Diagon Abbey in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.


Also, if she's into Sherlock Holmes, the Sherlock Holmes museum is worth a visit.

http://www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk/

With regard to a gift shop I'd recommend Forbidden Planet although it can get ridiculously busy. The megastore in London is on Shaftesbury Avenue. Worth visiting.

https://forbiddenplanet.com/events/for-location/london-megastore/