Infrequently Noted

The British Museum. Imagine treasures from all the lands the British conquered and add the private collections of rich British sea merchants. The good art from the Parthenon, the gates of Nineveh, the journals of Newton, it's all there.

I also enjoyed the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. You're inside one of the most important bunkers of WWII and get a good feel for the technology used in the mid-40s to orchestrate major operations around the world.

Best food - head for the Witchery at the top of the high street (next to the castle).

Numerous fantastic pubs..

Best food - head for the Witchery at the top of the high street (next to the castle).

Numerous fantastic pubs..

For a good view of the city, go on the London Eye. You have to book in advance.  If you're short on time but want to get the most seen in both London and Edinburgh, you may want to take a day and do one of the jump on/jump off double decker tours to give you a good overview and then make a beeline for some of the things you liked best from the tour.  We've done that in both cities and enjoyed it a lot.

Wow, I had no idea this was going to be your first trip here. The British Museum is an excellent starting spot - it's free, it has the Rosetta stone and a ton of other neat stuff. It's also very close to the best cheese shop in London...

Here's a map I prepared for some other American visitors: http://icanhaz.com/londonmap

Important tip: if you're going to be in London for more than a couple of days, buy yourself and A-Z map. London is best explored on foot (the tube is great, but any less than three stops and you can probably walk it in just a few minutes more) but without a good map you'll be totally lost.

Except for museums, and in winter? Camden.

Kinda depends what you like to do, but for the more geek-inclined then Greenwich Observatory is really good from a science point of view (yes you too can have your own cheesy tourist 'one foot either side of Greenwich meridian' photo) + you can get the boat there from the west end or city and see all of London from the water.

A couple thoughts for you. Head over the tower bridge (tube station of the same name) to the south bank and walk west along the river down towards the Tate Modern. There's nice pubs along the way and a great view. Its also a rare place to escape the claustrophia of London. If you make it down to Vauxhall/Pimlico area, stop and drop your jaw at the Battersea Power Station which is phenomenal piece of emblematic architecture by the same guy that brought you the red telephone box.

A random piece of nostalgia from me: If you find yourself in town on sunday, the Lamb and Flag pub in Covent Garden has good beer and live trad jazz on Sunday evenings.

Do walk though - London is a walking town. What's not to miss - what cant you possibly see anywhere else, or any other way? The town itself. The buildings, the poky courtyards, the bustle. Drop youself in the middle of it at Charing Cross station and wander up to Soho, Covent Garden, lots to see in any direction from there.

thanks everyone! The trip was great, and I got to see tons of stuff. There's tons here for me to get to next time, though, and I can't wait...although maybe I'll hold out until a summer-ish month for next time.