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16 Nov

Visit London Asks: What Are Your Rainy Day Recommendations for London?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in London 4 Comments

Duck familyThe weather in London this Saturday was typically autumnal: lots of exciting wind and rain, with a bit of thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure!

Sadly, the wet weather led to the fireworks at the Lord Mayor’s Show being cancelled for the first time in 20 years; although the rest of the parade was a great success.

According to The Guardian:

“The bad weather is nothing unusual… Forecaster Nigel Bolton said: ‘In most winters we experience gales and heavy rain, but the last three or four winters have been quite quiet. Most winters bring storms and gusts of winds so we shouldn’t be too surprised by this.

‘Thursday and Friday are looking particularly wet. It’s unpleasant but not unprecedented.’ “

In light of this news, we want your recommendations of the best things to do in London when the weather turns wet. We’ve got some great ideas to keep families dry in the city, but can you add to the suggestions?

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9 Nov

Visit London Asks: What’s Your Favourite Smaller London Art Gallery?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in Arts 6 Comments

Camden Arts CentreLast week, we brought you news about exciting forthcoming exhibitions at the Courtauld, the Wallace Collection, and the Dulwich Picture Gallery.

London is packed with smaller art galleries: the choice is fantastic.

From the Wapping Project in East London to the South London Gallery, to the Camden Arts Centre, London’s art offerings are many and varied. There’s the Serpentine in Kensington Gardens, the Gagosian on Britannia Street, the brilliantly named Haunch of Venison, and the Parasol Unit, to name but a few. In East London alone, you can tour more than 100 galleries for free as part of Time Out’s First Thursdays campaign.

We want your recommendations.

When the queue snakes around the corner at the Royal Academy, and you don’t feel like pushing through the crowds at the V&A, Tate Modern or the National Portrait Gallery, which are the smaller London galleries that get your vote?

Let us know!

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2 Nov

Visit London Asks: Where Are You Celebrating Bonfire Night?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in Special Events 8 Comments

Bonfire Night in LondonLast week was all about Halloween. Hope you all had a suitably scary weekend.

This week, London looks to Bonfire Night with a whole host of different firework displays taking place across the capital.

Bonfire Night is also known as Fireworks Night or Guy Fawkes Night. It’s a British tradition dating back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Catholic conspiritor Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament and King James I. Read the full story here.

And we’re interested to know where our readers are headed for this year’s firework fix?

If you’re still undecided, check out our list of London’s firework displays.

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26 Oct

Visit London Asks: What Are Your Plans for Halloween?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in London 3 Comments

Happy Halloween!

Last week, we celebrated the birthdays of Dirty Dancing and The Lion King by demanding to know about your favourite London musicals… Thanks to everyone who commented.

Today, we’re touching up our white face paint and donning a big black cloak and some fangs to cackle and ask: what are your plans for Halloween?

London’s fairly bursting with fantastic events this weekend. You can catch some really scary films at the Prince Charles Cinema, Halloween goes 3D in Covent Garden, there’s a collection of spooky shorts at the BFI Southbank, and you could get more that you bargained for at the Film4 FrightFest Halloween All-Nighter! at the ICA.

Creepy culture vultures will enjoy In The Dead of Night at the V&A Late this week; there’s also the rather special-sounding Day of the Dead Celebrations at the British Museum on 1 November.

With Halloween falling on a Saturday this year, there are plenty of club nights going ghoulish for the night. London clubs as varied as Heaven, Plan B, Notting Hill Arts Club, Vibe Bar, Pacha and Mass are among the 50-plus clubs doing something special for Halloween.

There’s also loads of Halloween fun for kids to get involved in, from craft to pumpkin carving, and creepy animals. 

Let us know what you’re up to!

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19 Oct

Visit London Asks: What’s Your Favourite London Musical?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in Theatre 8 Comments

That famous lift in Dirty Dancing The MusicalLast week we set stomachs rumbling and mouths watering with our question about your best London restaurants, in celebration of the London Restaurant Festival. Thanks to everyone who took part.

This week, our attention turns to theatre: namley musicals.

Today is Dirty Dancing The Musical’s birthday! It was three years ago today that the new musical opened at the Aldwych Theatre in London and broke all box office records with advance ticket sales of £11m.

And how is this brilliantly cheesy musical celebrating its 3rd birthday? With even more tickets going on sale! You can now book tickets to see Dirty Dancing right up until October 2010, taking the show up to its fourth birthday.

But Dirty Dancing is actually just like the Baby in the show in West End musical terms: yesterday The Lion King celebrated its 10th birthday. Celebrity guests arrived on a “yellow” carpet at the special 10th anniversary performance at the Lyceum Theatre. You can watch video footage of last night’s 10th anniversary show at the Official London Theatre website.

With both these wonderful shows celebrating success stories, we’d like to open up a debate, often heard in the VL office, to the world outside: what’s your favourite London musical? And why?!

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12 Oct

Visit London Asks: What’s Your Favourite Restaurant in London?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in Eating Out 13 Comments

Oysters and wine

In honour of this week’s ongoing London Restaurant Festival, we want to know:

What’s your favourite restaurant in London?

London really does have a fantastic range of different places to eat out. You can sample pretty much every style and variety of cuisine in the world in the city: here are 43 to whet your appetite, but we’re sure there are more!

There are cheap and cheerful cafes and budget restaurants perfect for grabbing a quick bite alongside really posh places where you can splurge on a special occasion… and everything in between!

But is there something that stands out for you? Let us know!

You can also vote for your favourite London Restaurant Festival Menu on toptable today: www.toptable.com/lrfvoting. Have your say…

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5 Oct

Visit London Asks: What’s Your Recommendation for Autumn in London?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in London 3 Comments

Autumn by kitty_alex, courtesy of the Visit London photostream

Last week was all about London vs New York: if you read the comments, you’ll find London certainly came out on top!

This morning we woke up to autumn in London. Coats, scarves, macs and umbrellas were all in force on the journey into work.

But autumn in London means more than the occasional early-morning downpour. On the sporting calendar we can look forward to world-class rugby league, a visit from both the NBA and the NFL, and world gymnastics and world tennis championships.

With the weather turning colder, you’ve also got an excuse to check out London’s cosy museums and art galleries: autumn brings the Turner Prize to the Tate, Maharaja to the V&A, and Suburbia to the Transport Museum.

You can also indulge in the Wine Show, the London Restaurant Festival and the RHS Autumn Harvest Show, bringing the countryside to London’s Horticultural Halls.

So, the weather might be a bit murky today, but there’s a lot to look forward to this season!

Let us know what your recommendations are for autumn in London.

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28 Sep

Visit London Asks: London or New York?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in London 3 Comments

Carnaby welcomes a slice of the Big Apple ahead of their Wish You Were Here events

Last week we donned our best London-designed threads and asked what you love about shopping in London. Thanks to everyone who commented.

This week, we’re celebrating Carnaby’s great Wish You Were Here event: 27 independent shops from Lower East Side, New York and Newburgh Quarter London taking part in a cool location swap.

From this Thursday, you can pop into Carnaby and sample 12 guest brands from across the pond. Alongside the shops, you’ll find New York-style food markets, fashion shows down Newburgh Street and discount shopping evenings, as well as an American-style Halloween party on 31 October.

After Boris’ successful New York trip earlier in the month, and many Londoners harbouring a secret love of the Big Apple, we want to know:

Which do you prefer, and why: London or New York?!

And if you’re stuck on the decision, why not take a look at www.metrotwin.com, a website that offers “the world’s two greatest cities in one place…”

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21 Sep

Visit London Asks: What Do You Love About Shopping in London?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in Shopping, Special Events 3 Comments

William Baker, Kylie's creative director, is putting on his first-ever catwalk show at Westfield during London Fashion WeekLast week saw the launch of London’s A Christmas Carol, and got us all thinking about London’s history. Thanks to everyone who commented.

This week is London Fashion Week and the capital is being taken over by all things fashionista.

While the main hub of LFW is Somerset House, there are hundreds of events taking place across the city. From art on the Underground to catwalk shows in the Charing Cross hotel; from new waxworks at Madame Tussauds to Kylie’s hotpants designer, William Baker, at Westfield London.

London’s fashion and shopping scenes are really exciting: constantly evolving and changing; among the best in the world.

So as London shows off the best of its fashion designers, models, producers, photographers and parties(!), we want you to tell us what you love about shopping in London.

Is it the great independent boutiques around Carnaby and Seven Dials? The historic shopping area of Covent Garden? The amazing, modern Westfield London shopping centre? The shoppers’ adrenaline rush you get stepping out of Oxford Circus Tube and onto the world’s most famous shopping street? Or do you have a favourite shopping hidden gem that you want to share with the world during this London Fashion Week?

Let us know.

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14 Sep

Visit London Asks: What’s Your Favourite Period in London’s History?

Posted by Zoe J. Griffiths in London 8 Comments

Mayor Boris Johnson launched Disney's A Christmas Carol in New York yesterday

Last week, we asked for your Only in London recommendations. Thanks for adding your thoughts to the comments!

With news announced yesterday that London will be heading back to Victorian times this Christmas with the exciting world premiere of Disney’s A Christmas Carol and Christmas Carol themed Christmas lights in the West End, we’ve been discussing London’s history here at VL towers.

So, imaginative thinking caps on. We want to know, if you were given a time machine, which period of London’s history would you most like to travel back to?!

Would you be interested in galloping across to Hampton Court Palace with Henry VIII and his Tudor court?

Or maybe you’d like to pop into an 18th century coffee house, and witness the new revolutionary age of pamphlets and trade and Enlightenment.

Perhaps you’re another fan of Dickens’ Victorian London, and would like to go back to the golden age of railway with stations like St Pancras; new buildings like the Houses of Parliament, and the Royal Albert Hall; the Great Exhibition of 1851, and the wonderful Crystal Palace.

Or would you rather swing with Twiggy and The Stones in Carnaby Street in the 1960s? Let us know!

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