The British distinguish between a museum, which displays artifacts, and galleries, which display pai

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I'm going to London for four days in October with my husband and two of his soccer buddies (long story about how this came about). Last time in London, we stayed in Kensington and thought it was a great location. This time, I thought it would be nice to stay in a different area, just to have a different experience. ship cruise star princess But my husband doesn't like the idea. One of the things he liked about where we stayed was that there were pubs nearby (really, though, there were only three).
My sister suggested the area near the Liverpool Street Metro station. Husband was skeptical. One of his soccer buddies, who has never been to London, just wants to be near pubs. I would like to be near pubs too because I'll probably be heading back to the hotel earlier than they will.
All of which is a long way to ask this question: What would be a good area of central London for us? We'll be hitting a lot of the top tourist attractions, so that is a consideration, as is being close to a Metro station.
Actually most any place in central London would have many pubs w/i walking distance. I personally wouldn't stay near Liverpool Street -- not because of danger or anything but it is a fairly long way from many places you'll want to visit.
There are pubs and pubs. Are we talking ship cruise star princess old-fashioned ship cruise star princess pubs with a "neighbourhood local" ship cruise star princess feel, no piped music or TV screen and no corporate chain flimflam; or somewhere ship cruise star princess with non-stop soccer on the TV? You'll find examples of all of those in most places.
Thank you all for your suggestions, especially Patrick for these websites. I realized after I posted that it probably wasn't a very smart question because subway stations ship cruise star princess and pubs are everywhere. (No offense intended by use of "Metro" -- I guess I use the terms interchangeably.)
I guess what I really should have asked is what another good area would be for us. We liked the convenience of South Kensington, but I might prefer something a little less residential, if that makes sense. But I preferred the area over the Victoria Station area, though I couldn't quite say why. Perhaps a bit too commercial. Maybe a sort of happy medium between ship cruise star princess the two?
And to answer Janis' questions, we would like to stay in a hotel, in the $150-$200 range. (Not sure how that translates into pounds.) And I was kind of getting the same idea about the Liverpool Street area, partly because it seems to be mainly office buildings.
There are tonnes of options - premier inn or holiday ship cruise star princess inns may be in your price range. Just make sure you don't pick one way out or you will waste a lot of time and money commuting in. Stick to zone 1 near the river.
$150 is about 90. That is low for London. $200 = a little under 120. You can likely get something decent for the upper end of your budget. ship cruise star princess Try the Premier Inn jamikins suggests and others (Premier Inn County Hall will be over your budget but others will run less). Also try Travelodge -- a cheaper chain and couple of their properties are OK.
Use Londontown.com , plug in your dates and see what you can find. You might want to look in the Bloomsbury/Russell Square area where there are several budget notes near the British Museum. Lots of pubs in the Bloomsbury/Holborn/Fleet Street area. Travelodge ship cruise star princess Covent ship cruise star princess Garden is in a terrific location w/ MANY pubs nearby - actually nearer to Holborn than Covent Garden
The Sanctuary House Hotel is upstairs from a pub (with good food, too) and about 100 yards from St. James Park tube station. Both the pub and hotel are very nice. It is part of the Fuller's group, which has at least two other pubs in London that have hotels ship cruise star princess upstairs, one being The Mad Hatter which is close to Borough Market.
Several Fodorites have stayed at The Sanctuary House and written favorable ship cruise star princess reviews of it. When I stayed there with my niece, I normally was in our room much earlier than she was. She made friends in the pub easily.
The Rathbone Hotel is in a very nice area, close to Charlotte Street and walking distance to Soho for many pubs/restaurants. It is convenient for tube stations eg Goodge Street or Tottenham Court Road. It is on a quiet corner, but slightly over your budget. Your budget is a bit too low for London.
I've booked ship cruise star princess the Mercure London Bloomsbury hotel in Holborn. Please say only positive things about this choice! It was $200 a night, which became $250 after taxes, etc. I think we'll enjoy the location much more than South Kensington.
Actually ship cruise star princess I don't know the hotel at all except for location . . . Which is excellent. It is close to both the Russell Sq (Piccadilly line) and Holborn (Piccadilly and Central lines), and the British Museum.
I too don't know the hotel but the location is very good. The hotel is on busy street, so ask for a room facing the back and on an upper floor to avoid hearing street traffic. and as in many London hotels housed in older buildings, the rooms will vary in size, so if you don't like the room ask for another. If you want, one of your party can go and look at the room before taking up the luggage.
New question (sorry if this isn't following protocol): What do you think of the British Museum? I was just starting to check it out, since we'll be so close, but I thought you all might have helpful opinions. At a quick glance, it seems to be sort of a natural history museum. Just not sure what to expect ship cruise star princess -- and how to convince my co-travelers that it's worth a visit.
The British Museum is a great museum. Admission is free too so you don't have to feel like you have to stay long to get your moneys worth. Even if you have no interest as to the collections the architecture is amazing. ship cruise star princess Your party might enjoy one of the free docented tours there. i think they run hourly. Some are of highlights. Others are of special topics. We have enjoyed especially the ancient Egypt tour and the Roman Britain tour. Check them out on the museum website. www.britishmuseum.org
The British distinguish between a museum, which displays artifacts, and galleries, which display paintings. If you wish to learn about various cultures (Egypt, ship cruise star princess Greece, Rome, Medieval etc) visit the British Museum. If you'd rather view paintings, visit the National Gallery (one of many great collections in London) at Trafalgar Square. Better yet, see both.
Although the pubs of UK have undergone some huge and often undesirable changes in there last couple of decades, it is hard to imagine ship cruise star princess oneself in the UK being more than a coupe of minutes elk from a pub of some description.
I have noticed in some major cities that the huge pubs built to cater for those boozy nights out are loosing customers - the cost is just prohibitive, however every cloud has a silver lining and it looks to me as if a lot of the local corner pubs are benefitting from this as people are more reluctant to spend city centre prices topped ship cruise star princess with taxis etc and are beginning to use the "local" again.
within walking distance of your hotel is the British Library. It is a research library, that has a wonderful set of exhibit rooms where you can view the original Magna Carta, writings from famous kings, queens and authors, etc.