Category Archives: Hip Guide to Great Britain

Welcome to the Hip Guide to Great Britain

The UK is one of the most fascinating travel destinations in the world. It’s a country with a long history, a diverse population and economy chock full of fascinating sights for the visitor.
The cultural and economic capital of the UK, London, is the center of the action, but by no means the only place to visit. Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Brighton, the English countryside all make interesting trips. Small villages, lakes, rugged shorelines, castles, stone circles, even crop circles await your discovery.
This site will help you explore all the UK has to offer the visitor including 300 Hotels, restaurants, museums, and shopping.
Discuss the UK, get travel tips on our UK forums. Visit our UK bookstore for travel books and maps. Browse around our site and let us know what you think!
Don’t forget to check out our London Super Saver Hotels! Big discounts at quality hotels with online booking.

Brighton

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Royal Pavillion, Brighton

Brighton is only a 50 minute train ride from London, and it can be a wonderful escape from the crowded noisy city, especially on a hot summer day. I visited in Brighton in July when London was roasting in heat and humidity. The express train, full of families with the same idea as mine, only stopped once at East Croyden, then sped down to Brighton. A few miles before the town, it clouded up, and thus what was to be a sunny warm day, turned into a cool, windy one, but refreshing nevertheless.

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Covent Garden

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If you’re looking for fun in London, get down to Covent Garden, the center of London’s theater and entertainment district. There’s lots of trendy alternative shops, markets, music, and restaurants in this area to explore. Much of the area is closed to traffic, so walking around is easy. Window shopping is choice in this district with many specialty shops selling things like rare books, art, shoes, and the latest fashions. Just wander around the maze of short streets. Don’t miss Neal Street and James Street, as these are the alternative places to shop. James Street will take you right to the Covent Garden Market.

No visit would be complete without doing a little shopping in the Covent Garden Market. I found a good selection of typical tourist items like clothing, UK specialty items and knicknacks, all at very good prices. Unfortunately some of the stores in the market can now be found in any mall, ruining the uniqueness of this place.But still it’s a wonderful place to hangout on a nice day. In summer there’s live entertainment including music, magic, juggling or performance art. Now every month, on the second Friday, there’s a fresh produce market specializing in seasonal and organic produce!

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London’s Theater Scene

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The theater is alive and kicking in London these days. Major productions, including Phantom of the Opera, Bombay Dreams, Les Miserables and many others are still drawing huge audiences.

London’s Theater district surrounds the Covent Garden area, extending to Piccadilly Circus and down to Trafalgar Square. In addition to almost 50 stages, this area is also home to many other types of entertainment including movie theaters and live music venues.

If you visit the area during the day, you’ll see many ticket agents offering reduced prices, as much as 50% off, for that evening’s performances. When I was there one summer day, you could buy discounted tickets for about half the shows in London. Pick up the London Theatre Guide for a list of all the major productions around town.

Check the theater listings on this site for more info on theaters and plays!

Changing Money

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If you need to change your currency for English Pounds, beware that rip-offs abound. Most currency changing places and banks either charge large commissions or a “handling” charge, in addition to giving you a lousy exchange rate too. I cashed a traveler’s check for US$100 and ended up paying a 7½% fee for the exchange, in addition to an exchange rate that was about 4% over the interbank rate. I ended up with £57 for that $100. That’s at least £5 less than I would’ve got using an ATM.

If you plan on using cash, which is inevitable in certain situations, I suggest you withdraw funds from your home bank at ATM machines. You won’t be charged an extra fee, just what your bank usually charges. Although now it seems you won’t get the best exchange rate like you used to get. Credit cards likewise are a good deal since you’ll only lose 1-2% on the exchange.

Euros are being accepted in more and more places, but again, be careful because you’re still likely to pay more than using pounds. Until the UK decides to embrace the Euro (they’re pretty split on it right now), you’ll still have to pay to play the currency exchange game.

Also you need to learn the coinage in the UK, since the size of the various denominations isn’t in keeping with most countries’ standards. That is some coins are larger than you would expect, like the 10 pence, which is very large for its value. So examine the coins carefully to become familiar with them, so they don’t slow you down when you’re in a hurry.

London Underground

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London’s famed Underground, the oldest subway in the world, opened in 1863. Also referred to as “The Tube”, the Underground is one of the best ways to get around London quickly and cheaply. If you’re planning to visit a number of attractions in one day, the best way to go is to get a Travelcard for the day which allows unlimited travel through all four city zones for only £5, for the day.

It’s also valid on buses, trams and the rail service to the suburbs. This can be a good bargain if your travel takes you to the outskirts of the city where it can cost £1.90 for a one-way. It also saves you from having to queue up for tickets over and over.

There are maps at every station and in every subway car. The biggest hassle with using the big Underground maps is locating your present position, as this never seems to be clearly marked. A good street map is also essential to find the best route to your destinations.

The Underground now handles over one billion trips each year. That’s over three million journeys each day stopping at 275 stations stretched over 408km. Yet despite its size, it runs fairly smoothly, and isn’t full of grafitti and trash like other subways.

The Underground has no air conditioning, so it can be sweltering on warm summer days, especially during rush hour, when little air seems to circuluate in the packed cars. Improvements to the fan systems on the older lines are slow in coming.

Always watch your belongings and valuables in public transport. While theft is not as bad as in other cities (like the Paris Metro), you should still be careful in crowds.

Don’t forget to “Mind the Gap!”. That simply means watch your step getting on and off public transport as the gap between the doorway and the platform can be larger that expected.

For maps and more info check out the Underground’s website: https://tfl.gov.uk/