Brit Speak

On one of our very first trips to the UK in 2000, my partner (now husband) and I booked an apartment in Edinburgh with a reputable US agency (that is no longer in business, unfortunately, because I must say the customer service we received was terrific). While we found some of their booking process cumbersome, we loved the many emails full of additional and helpful information they sent out, helpful hints and interesting travel tips about our destination. Since then, this sort of “value-added content” has proliferated through the internet on blogs and travel guides, but back at the turn of the century (!) there was a lot less of it floating around the web.

One of the greatest pieces of non-essential information we received was a long and funny email titled “Brit Speak” and included the following guide to some of the common language uses and turns of phrase native to the United Kingdom.

Winston Churchill purportedly said that “America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language.” The following tips for travelers about “Brit Speak” tends to prove his point:

Sidewalk message "Look Right!" for out-of-town travelers to London. “LOOK RIGHT” and “LOOK LEFT” written on curbs are meant to be obeyed – they could save your life as you are not used to the traffic flowing in the “wrong” direction. Trust this.  Rely on this.

Language in Britain is very class conscious. A 1950’s book called “U and non U” (“U” meaning upper class) says that a “U” person would not say toilet or WC.  She might say loo, but proper use is lavatory.  A “bathroom” is a room that has a bathtub.  A toilet or gents or loo or lavatory does not have a bathtub.  A room with a shower is a “shower room”.  Tubs are baths.

The check in a restaurant is the bill.

Cell phone – mobile
A biscuit is any kind of cookie.  Sweets are candy.  Jell-O is called Jelly. All else is jam.  Brits love jam.
A crisp is a potato chip.  Chips are French fries.
Jacket potatoes are baked potatoes.
A cooker is an oven.  Range tops are hobs
The TV is called the telly.
Napkins = serviettes
Jugs are pitchers.
Take-away = take out
“To hoover” is to vacuum
Markers are felt pens.
A garbage can is called a bin.  Garbage is rubbish – and so is anything disliked.
Yards are called gardens – even if it’s just grass.
Q-tips are cotton buds.

A jumper is a sweater.  Trousers are pants.  Pants are men’s underwear.  Women’s underwear are knickers.
Purse – hand bag
Swim suit – swimming costume
Windcheaters or cagoules (Ka-gools) are wind breakers.  Wellies are rain boots.  Trainers are sneakers.
Nappies are diapers.

Backpacks are called rucksacks.  A fanny pack is called a bum bag.  (“Fanny” is a very naughty word in the UK.)

The letter “Z’ is pronounced “Zed”.

A queue is a line waiting for something. Brits are very patient in queues. You will see queues for busses, trains and taxis, all quiet and orderly. Civilized

A shopping carts is called a trolley.  Flats = apartments.

Holidays (or hols) are vacations.

A lorry is a truck.  A coach is a bus.  A parking lot is called a car park.  A highway is a motorway or dual carriageway.  Petrol is gasoline.  The car windshield is the windscreen.  A car boot is the trunk and the bonnet is the hood.  One hires a car, not rents a car.

The game of tag is called tig and the tagger is a tigger.  Soccer is called football.  American football is called . . .American football.

Math is called maths.  A school crossing guard is a “lollipop” as s/he holds a round stop sign on a stick!
What we call “private” schools, the British call “public” schools as they train the privileged class to serve the public. These are “fee-paying” schools. “State schools” are what Americans call “public schools”.

A doctor’s office is a surgery.  A surgical operation is performed in an “operating theatre”.  One is “in hospital”,not, in the hospital.  A plaster is a Band Aid.

Stalls = Orchestra seats in a theatre.  An off-licence is a place where one can purchase alcohol and leave with it.  You post (a letter) instead of mail it.
Brilliant refers anything that is reasonably nice or good or pretty or smart. It can get quite annoying.

Bobbies are London police, named for Robert Peel, who started the London police force.  Pharmacies are called chemists. 
You ring someone on the phone, not call.

The London subway is the underground or the tube.  “Mind the _____” means be careful of _____, as in “Mind the gap”.  If you don’t come home from London saying that, you didn’t spend enough time on the tube.

While & whilst are different. “Whilst” implies a passage of time. “While” may be sudden or immediate.  Will & shall are different. “Will” implies a decision; “shall” is future tense.  Got it?

The British ground floor is the US first floor. The US second floor is the European first floor. And so on. In other words, if a Brit says it’s on the first floor, add a floor to equal it to the US system. Their way makes much more sense since the ground level is not really a “floor”.

There’s one word you absolutely must master before attempting to Britify your speech, and that is “sorry.”  Use it whenever possible, and you’ll fit right in.  As in, “Sorry, you’ve made a terrible mistake on my bill.”  Or “Sorry, but you’ve just won the lottery. “

Jimmy is your name, even if it’s really Harold.  Smart means sophisticated: he dresses smartly.  I don’t like him, I “fancy” him.

A lounge is the living room in working class homes only.  In middle class homes, it’s a living room.  In upper class homes, it’s a drawing room.

And yes, at some point some innkeeper may well ask you what time you’d like to be “knocked up” in the morning. He means what time do you want to be awaken.

Generally, food in Britain is wonderful, but some old style foods linger. The Full English (or Irish) Breakfast is bacon, sausages, two eggs and a tomato, all fried in the bacon grease, and cold toast – a cardiac arrest served on a plate.

Pudding is dessert – any kind of dessert. What Americans call pudding, Brits call custard. But “black pudding” is neither pudding or a dessert.  It’s a black sausage. It’s blood, mainly, and it’s part of every “Full English Breakfast. There is also white pudding (lard sausage) & fruit pudding (lard, cereal, fruit & spices in a sausage). You have been warned.

All over Britain and Ireland, pubs serve a “Sunday Roast” 12 – 3 every Sunday. It consists of roasted pork, turkey, chicken and/or beef, two or three good vegetables, mashed potatoes, gravy and Wellington pudding. Wellington pudding is not pudding (of course). It’s a sort of puff pastry that is covered with gravy. These meals are served “family style” and they are big and delicious, a feast. Then the pubs close and everyone goes home to sleep it off.

Courgettes are zucchini.  Aubergine are eggplant.  A joint is a piece of meat for roasting.  Griddle cakes are pancakes.  Tins are cans – as in tinned tuna.  Ketchup is “red sauce”.  Brown sauce is sort of a thicker Worcestershire sauce.  It’s ubiquitous.  Eggs have only brown shells.  A bap is a roll – usually soft, sort of like a burger bun.  A Popsicle is called an ice lolly.

Lager = yellow beer.  Shandy = half beer and half ginger beer or lemonade.  Ginger beer is a stronger, more flavorful ginger ale.  Yummy.  Lager & lime = beer and sweetened lime juice.  Brown (or “broon”) = Newcastle Brown Ale.  One is “quaffing a pint”, not drinking it.  Last orders – just as you’d think: your last change to order a pint.

A barrister is an attorney who tries cases in court.  A solicitor does not.

A fag is a cigarette. I’m not sure what homophobic people call gay men.

A call box is a telephone booth.  A lift is an elevator.  One says “stopping” for “staying”.  “See thee” (often with a little lilt) is good bye.

A flannel is a face cloth or wash cloth. Bring one with you as they are considered personal items and are not supplied in self-catering properties or B&B’s.  Flannel can also be used in a more cockney term to indicate that someone is making up a story: “What a load of flannel”.

Don’t get your knickers in a twist means to calm down, please.  A punter is one who buys something from you or uses your services, a client. It’s a sort of put down, but in a soft way, not mean.

Pubs and churches are often the main points of directions: ” Go to The Dukes Head & turn left at the church and then right at Six Bells & pass The Fox Revived . . .

These are some of the essentials to know when traveling to London or the whole of the UK for the first time. Since receiving this list from the very nice woman at the now defunct vacation rental agency, we’ve picked up boatloads more small language details – like saying “chemist” for drugstore, and “that’s so boring” for anything troublesome or annoying – and will attempt to compile a complete (and perhaps alphabetized and searchable?) list of terms in short order.  Currently the list consists of a zillion tiny little scraps of paper, torn out of travel journals and piled into a pencil case in one of ERI’s desk drawers. The list of odd sayings (“Bob’s your uncle” and “Easy peasy lemon squeezey”) alone practically fills the thing.

For now, though, the above list will get you started and we hope you find it helpful on your travels to London, the English countryside, and parts of Scotland (where there is an entirely new list of terms and terminology to cover… but that’s another post!).

Happy Travels, from Elegant Retreats.

Embrace The Tourist Cheese (Why We Love City Bus Tours)

Generally speaking, we at Elegant Retreats are advocates of avoiding the usual tourist trappings while on holiday. The whole point of renting a holiday flat, cottage or home on vacation is to avoid the myriad costs, hassles and inauthentic experiences heavily marketed to visitors of any city, town or village. We cherish the sensation of living like a local as much as possible in the few short days or weeks that we get to spend in an area, and most of the tourist-targeting hoopla tends to detract heavily from that feeling.

There is one place where we quite emphatically and consistently contradict ourselves on the subject, however: City Bus (or Boat) Sightseeing Tours.

The first time you visit a famous monument and landmark-filled city, go ahead and hop on one of these delightfully garish tourist traps. Most large cities and some of the smaller, more popular villages in Europe have some version of these guided tours, usually on an open-top double-decker bus, sometimes on a small shuttle bus.  In cities with prominent rivers or waterways, there is very often a floating version of the tour via canal boat or other small craft.

These sorts of guided tours are the single best way to quickly and  easily get to know the approximate layout and major landmarks of a new destination. The best ones are manned by live guides, who spin tales of history woven with modern hints, tips and humorous facts about the places being visited along the way. Some versions feature taped commentary (which sometimes lowers the price of a tour) and ensures that you won’t be stuck with one of those bored guides who can no longer hide his disdain for telling the same story day in and day out. (To be fair, these sorts of sour guides are rare, and while they can dull the fun of a city tour experience, they can also rather funny to listen to in their own right – it’s amazing what a bitter, bored, had-it-up-to-here-with-this-nonsense person will come up with to amuse themselves or keep from karate chopping the 37,000th tourist who asks about leprechauns in Ireland, or where to find the best “coffee shops” in Amsterdam, or if it’s possible to attend high tea with the Queen in London).

What’s so great about these tourist tours, with their tourist price tags and their potentially snarky-at-tourists tour guides, you ask? They are, in just a word, great:

– Designed for broad appeal: They hit the hottest spots and most ubiquitous landmarks in every guidebook. You can get a cursory lay of the land quickly and without having to think too much about it.

– No thinking skills required: The absolutely perfect thing to do straight off the plane, require zero effort beyond finding a stop and purchasing the ticket (which can often be done ahead of time online and with a discount!), and can be enjoyed in the fog of jetlag while waiting for the sun to go down so you can finally collapse into bed on the day you’ve arrived.

– Inspires serendipity: A great way to figure out what of the major attractions you might feel most inclined to visit or experience more in depth. (For example, we had no desire to visit the Whisky museum in Edinburgh until our bus guide pointed it out as we drove down the Royal Mile away from Edinburgh Castle and told us that it featured an interactive carnival-type ride in a whisky barrel, carrying passengers through 3-D diorama scenes explaining the history of Scotch in Scotland and ended with a fancy shot of booze… off the bus we went, picking up the another one about an hour later, now very well informed about the intricacies of Scotch whiskey making in the various regions of the country and very pleasantly buzzed!).

– Dual carriage: A nice, low-stress way to get around on your first day in town. Passes are usually good for 24 hours and let passengers hop on and off at any spot.

– Reasonably priced for something that rolls sightseeing and transportation into one easy package. Some tickets come with discounts for the monuments and attractions along the route. Prices vary only slightly between competing companies in any given city. It seems that most offer a fairly similar experience, though in larger cities like London, routes and major attractions may vary by company, or even within a single operation.

The caveats: Yes, you will see the city in a bit of a blur. Yes, you will take terrible fuzzy photos of famous monuments and interesting sites from very odd and ultimately unattractive angles. Yes, you may very well be a bit chilly in the open top bus (but it’s really the best place to sit, so bring layers!). Yes, you will laugh at the corny jokes of your guide and immediately forget all the interesting historical anecdotes you found so fascinating in the moment, that you wanted to remember to write down in order to pass along to others later, perhaps at a dinner party or a wedding reception. Yes, the price of the ticket will feel a bit extravagant if you are trying to keep within a daily travel budget.

And yet: we cannot over-emphasize the value of these wonderfully cheesy, terribly informative, exceptionally tourist targeting sightseeing vehicular experiences. Once your 24-hour pass expires, you can continue on your merry trying-to-blend-in way, and no one (except those who might one day look at your cockeyed photos) ever has to know you indulged in such a guilty tourism pleasure.

DUBLIN:
Dublin Sightseeing City Tour
City Sightseeing – Dublin

EDINBURGH:
Here’s a round up of several of the bus tours in Edinburgh, that includes the following:
City Sightseeing – Edinburgh
Edinburgh Tours
MacTours City Tour Edinburgh

LONDON:
The Original London Bus Tour
Big Bus Tours
The London Tour Bus Company

Boats versus buses: more leisurely pace, less car fumes to breathe, none of the urgency of careening through city traffic! Often warmer, though sometimes views are obscured if raining heavily on the glass roof top above.

PARIS:
Paris A La Carte (Bus AND Boat package)
Paris L’Open Tour
City Sightseeing – Paris

AMSTERDAM:
City Sightseeing Amsterdam
Canal Boat Tours

We don’t have any particular tour operating recommendations. In every city, these kinds of companies seem to be well regulated by the local tourist board, well managed, legitimate operations and thoughtfully (if not sometimes cheesily) entertaining.

You could always sift through online reviews of various operators in your destination location in order to make your decision, or you can wing it and jump on the one that looks best when you stumble into town or is select one that lets on/off closest to your apartment.  Research ahead of time is worth it for large groups when group or pre-booking discounts might be available.

This is really rule number 1, of course. Have fun, take lots of wonderfully terrible snapshots and perhaps send us a few pics from the road!

A week in London

London is a terrific city for all travelers, first timers and oops-my-passport-is-full-ers alike. Fantastic for families, couples, groups, there’s never a lack of things to see, do and experience. Yes, it can be expensive, though prices are relative, and good value can be found in all price ranges, from basic to deluxe. No matter your travel budget, there are infinite tricks and tips for the many ways to enjoy the city without breaking the bank.

Of course, one of the great ways to maximize your trip budget, again at any price level, is to rent a flat or a house in London rather than one or a series of hotel rooms, especially for groups larger than two travelers. Between a stocked kitchen – with options for eating casually at home rather than every meal out or in a prices-padded hotel restaurant – and the ability to avoid VAT and bed taxes and a host of other hotel-related fees, flats and house rentals offer excellent value for budget and luxury travelers alike.

Because the purpose of our company, Elegant Retreats, is to offer the best selection of housing options for visiting groups of all sizes and within a broad range of budgets and accommodation needs, we pre-inspect the properties we offer to clients, and so we travel to London a fair bit. On our trips, we travel to see new properties and inspect those that have been in the catalog for a while to make sure they are still fresh and ensure that we are offering a good value to our clients. Along our various inspection trips, we have picked up some first hand knowledge about how best to enjoy the city that serves as the Gateway to Europe, and often as something of a gateway to International travel for many first time travelers.

 

Day 1: Arrival – City Sightseeing Tour

If you come in on an overnight flight from the states, plan to be a bit of a zombie at this point, and know that everything you see today may be remembered in a lovely dreamy haze. For this reason, we suggest simply heading to your property, dropping your bags, getting briefly acquainted with the joint, and then hopping aboard a city site-seeing tour bus for the rest of the day. No, really.

The site-seeing tour bus, which allows you to hop on and off for either 24 or 48 hours from time of purchase (and sometimes includes a boat-ride admission as well) is the perfect way to get the general (if not a little confusing) lay of the land, and to decide what big attractions you will want to return to in the following days.

It’s great to sit back and not have to think, just take it all in, point your fingers, point your camera, maybe oooh and awww a little at things like the pub that’s been in business for HUNDREDS of years, and the Tower of London where so much of that history you learned in school took place almost a Millenia ago.

Try to time it so that that you can hop off close to quitting time, as close to your house or flat rental as possible (be sure to save your receipt for tomorrow, you’ll be using it again!). Your internal clock will be a mess, but if you are hungry and can stand the sensory input, find a neighborhood pub to have a pint and a bite. Stop in at Marks and Spencer, or Waitrose or Tesco to pick up some sundries on the way home – milk, cookies, breakfast items, tea, etc. If not in the mood for a pub, pick up some food for an easy dinner.

Try to stay up as late as you can stand it, without thinking about what the corresponding time in is back home, or how long you’ve been awake. Just try to go to bed as late or as close to your typical nightly bedtime as possible, and hope you’ll be able to sleep through the night. By morning you’ll be laggy, but probably not fully on home time.

Day 2: Acclimate –

 

A Week in London with Kids

A Romantic Week in London

Christmas or New Year’s Eve in London

The Culture Vulture in London

Shopper’s Paradise in London

 

London is a year-round destination, and with the exception of Christmas, Boxing Day, New Year period and a smattering of bank holidays, you’ll rarely find things shuttered here.

If you absolutely must go in the summer, try for early June. Don’t bother with August, it’s crowded and weird and full of Europeans from elsewhere who get the entire month off. Prices are through the roof on airfare, etc etc.

If you can, aim for May and September – the weather is mild, the crowds a bit thinner, and the airfare is reasonable-ish (though not as amazing as in the winter and early early spring).

A week, minimum, we say. It’s not always possible, but it’s ideal to have at least your travel over and travel back days, plus 5 full days to explore and have fun. Since you’ll likely be jet-lagged the first few days, a 10-day stay is even more ideal.

We at Elegant Retreats are big fans of the Eyewitness series Top Ten Guides from DK Publishing for first time visits to any city, state or country. Billing themselves as “Your Guide to the Best of Everything” they are the the short-cut to all the big, interesting, or important attractions in a given place. Slim, colorful, and easily digestible, these books are broken up by categories, so you’ll find sections like “Top 10 Highlights” & “Top 10 Museums” & “Top 10 Royal London” as well as small area maps/guides for getting your bearings, and quick hits of advice on everything from travel safety to notable walks, children’s interests, and recommended cafes. Each item has the bare-bones bit of information you need to know in order to decide if it’s something you want to check out.  These guides are fantastic and the only thing you need in your pocket, really – though a smart phone doesn’t hurt either….

It’s hard to pick a bad place to stay in Central London, honestly. If you select something from our catalog, you can be assured that the area is safe, comfortable, active, and if not right in the heart of the action, then a very short walk, tube or bus ride to every possible area of interest in the city.

That being said, first timers in London often enjoy South Kensington (so many museums, so many restaurants, so much to see!) and Knightsbridge (shopping, oh the lovely lovely shopping!). Families seem to gather in Chelsea or the bits of Belgravia around Sloane Square and King’s Road.  Planning to see a lot of theater? Mayfair and Covent Garden areas are great, although they can be quite noisy and feel a bit more tenuous in the safety department at night (not unsafe, just… less obviously protected than some other areas).

Pack light. Anything you forget, with the exception of life-saving medications or one-of-a-kind comfort items, can be procured locally if necessary, and most can’t-live-without necessities turn out not to be missed on holiday after all.

Plan to dress in layers, the weather can change quickly. Wear comfortable but not ugly shoes, if possible. Avoid logos. If you plan to go to the theater, no need to break the bank, but do plan to dress on the nicer side of presentable, please.

19 people in a forum discussion about taking and using money abroad will have 23 opinions about the best way to accomplish spending money with regard to safety, security, maximizing exchange rates and avoiding transaction fees. You can read more about this what’s-your-financial-philosophy decision making here.

About London - Practicalities

Winston Churchill purportedly said that “America and Britain are two nations divided by a common language.”  It’s funny, because it’s true (and you can read more about this “Brit Speak” in a brief list of terms that leans toward proving his point). It’s also true that one of the great things about travel is discovering the ways that a society or culture is different and the ways in which they are the same as your own.  In London, you’ll notice many things that are just a bit different than you might be used to, and some fun can be had in discovering those differences. Sometimes, though, it helps to come prepared with information about a few things relating to accommodations that, if unknown, might stymie your enjoyment of the place, or cause problems for you while on holiday.  Here are a few examples:

Floors/Stories – In the UK and many parts of Europe, the first level of a building is referred to as the ground floor, and the next level up is known as the first floor. So a 4-story building would contain the following floors: Ground floor, First floor, Second floor, Third floor. If you were going to the top floor and there were an elevator in the building, you’d push the button for floor 3. If the building had a sub-ground floor or basement level, that is known as Lower Ground floor, or sometimes Garden level, depending on the type of building.

Elevators – Speaking of elevators, they are known as “Lifts” in England and they are hard to come by in the older buildings of London. Some Georgian and Edwardian buildings have managed  narrow elevator retrofits within, but they are not the standard. If you see a flat listed as a walk-up, you’ll know there is no lift.

Boroughs – Essentially another name for neighborhood or area, the boroughs of London all stem from historic villages the grew up around the city, eventually blending into the whole of Londontown. There are official designations like “The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea” or “The Royal Borough of Westminster” while neighborhoods like Chelsea, South Kensington, Belgravia & Notting Hill are contained within those official governing borough designations. Some of the borders are now rather loosely defined, with bits of one blending into another in different areas. You can refer to a map or peruse our neighborhood guides for reference.

Postcodes – Most boroughs or neighborhoods can be identified by the first 3 letters of the post code (like zip codes in America), and a full 7 or 8 digit post code can identify an exact building in a particular area. It’s quite a smart system, really.

Hobs –  This is what they call the stovetop or cook top in the UK. Sometimes they sit on top of an oven, but often they are separate, built into a counter top in another part of the kitchen. So if your Greeter is showing you how to work the appliances of your vacation rental property, you won’t have to stop them to say, “Wait, the what?” when they wave toward the kitchen and say something about operating the Hob.

Washer & Dryer versus Washer/Dryer – A lot of the appliances in Europe are high efficiency, designed to save energy and be more efficient. Washers and Dryers are usually smaller and more compact. Dryers don’t always get clothing bone dry.

Many London self-catering properties have a small combo Washer/Dryer that allows you to put in a load, set the wash settings and the dry settings and walk away. Come back many hours later and your washload is done, though again, not necessarily completely dried out. Expect to have to hang things like towels and jeans for a bit of an extra air out, and try to plan accordingly.

Air Con – Air conditioning is practically unheard of in the City, even after those few summers with a couple of scorching weeks over the last few years. If a property does have A/C it is often just in one or two rooms, rarely central air. There’s just no need for it most of the time and during the relatively rare hot periods, Londoners make due with opening windows and using fans.

Screens – Speaking of opening windows, screens are not commonplace. Bugs are not particularly rampant, though, so don’t worry too much about it and just throw those windows open when you feel so inclined.

Plugs/Adapters – Voltage in the UK is 220 -240 and the outlets are large three prong. You will need adapters for your electronic equipment. You can buy these online, from a travel store, or in drugstores (Chemist), hardware shops and supply stores.

Plugs/On & Off Switches – Londoners, and Brits in general, are conscientious about energy consumption. Heating oil and gas costs much more there than in the US and as a result there are many more efforts to conserve. One of the conservation efforts is not leaving appliances or electronics plugged in when not in use. Sometimes this requires literally unplugging something from the wall, but more often you’ll see a small switch, like a light switch, built in to an outlet that allows you to turn electricity to the outlet on and off. It took a day of cursing “all the broken appliances in this place!” in one of our first rentals to realize that we simply needed to flick the switch on the outlet to let the current flow to the toaster, the hot water kettle, the microwave.

Bathroom fixtures and terms – Shower room, tub, hand-held shower versus shower-over-tub.

Things to know before you go to London, England

Currency – the monetary unit is the British pound Sterling (£), and has been hovering at about $1.60 – $1.70 in US dollars for a while now. It can change on a dime (or more appropriately, ten pence), but has been enjoying a steady and moderate rate of exchange, which will hopefully continue. So, if something costs a pound, figure you’ll be spending at least a dollar-fifty, more like a dollar-sixty or a dollar and sixty-five cents. At the highest exchange rates of the last decade, the rate was nearly two dollars to one pound, and that was a huge bummer for the old travel budget.

They rely pretty heavily on coinage in the UK, so plan to be overwhelmed by the amount of change that will begin to collect in your pockets and purses. Coins come in denominations of £2, £1, £.50, £.20, £.10, £.05, £.02 and £.01. There are no paper £ notes under £5. Many a time we’ve gone to pay for something small with a £10 note and been handed back a fistful of £1 and £2 coins. Incidentally, £1 coins are of a very satisfying weight and thickness – they feel quite substantial in your hands. Though too many of them in the pocket of an unbelted pair of pants can also spell disaster, so there’s that to watch out for in your travels.

Access to money – if you  have 4 digit ATM pin number and you have let your bank know you’ll be traveling overseas,  you should have no problem withdrawing pounds directly from any ATM. (There is usually a fee associated with this, anywhere from $2 – $10 per withdrawal, depending on your financial institution, so check before you go and think about the right balance of how much cash you want to carry versus how many withdrawal fees you want to rack up).

There are also TravelEx and Bureau de Change all over London, from the minute you land and walk through the airport to many of the train stations and many strategically placed retail currency exchange storefronts dotted around the city.

Time – 24:00 clocks in the United Kingdom, so bone up on your military time now if you will be using trains or going to the theater or trying to make it to certain museums before they close. 5:00pm is 17:00, for example, and 11:00pm is 23:00.

Electricity – The voltage in the UK is 220 – 240. You will need an adapter to plug in your electronics. They can be purchased online, from travel stores, and in many hardware, travel or supply shops in London.

Driving & Pedestrian Caution – Cars drive on the opposite sides of the road from places like the United States and continental Europe. All the rental cars have little reminders on the dash that say “Keep Left!” You most likely will not be driving in London (no really, please don’t drive unless you absolutely have to), but as you walk through the city, be mindful that cars travel the opposite directions, so you must look right instead of left when stepping into a crosswalk.

Transportation – The London Underground or Tube, as the underground train system is called, is comprehensive and easy to navigate once you’ve familiarized yourself with the system. Read more about getting around London here.

Where to Stay – We suggest any of the lovely boroughs or neighborhoods fanning out around the parks – Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Holland Park, even St. James Park – as good places to base on a visit to London. Chelsea, Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington, Belgravia, Knightbridge… Beautiful and lovely, but not overwhelmingly busy or crowded as in the very center of the city. Each area has such a rich history, and a unique feel that comes from the architecture, the shops, the garden squares, and the locals who populate the place. Browse our neighborhood guides or self-catering vacation rental property listings for options to fit your group size, budget and itinerary.