one morning in London

Quick question to my UK-based readers:  it looks like I'm going to have about a ten hour layover in Heathrow on the way to Doha.  What should I do for one morning in London?  Any particularly interesting museum exhibits or whatever right now that would make it worthwhile heading into town instead of curling up in an airport corner with my laptop?

Comments

[Ghurab al-Bain]

I always go to the British Museum (entry is free) and see the Assyrian and Sumerian antiquities looted from Iraq in the 19th century. Nice gift shop and restaurant too.

[Expat Teacher]

I don't know of anything, but you could always check out The Londonist blog ( http://www.londonist.com/ ) because they are always highlighting music, restuarants, exhibitions, etc.

Thanks for your great work on this blog and hope you enjoy our city. ;-)

[Luke]

I'd vote for the Tate Modern, but that's just me, liking modern art, and it's free.

The new Tate Britain has a very nice collection of Tudors, pre-Raphaelites, and moderns. There's also the National Gallery.

The British Museum and the British Library are pretty badass. The latter's badass if you like looking at various samples of the written word for the last couple hundred years.

Hmm; the Imperial War Museum is cool if you like things that go boom, and such.

It all depends on who's doing exhibitions, and what they are. But for the love of god, stay away from the Academy.

Cheers

L

[Nur al-Cubicle]

Having killed time in London before ---head for Trafalgar Square. The National Portrait Gallery is never disappointing or you can pass the time at St. Martins in the Fields nearby...always something going on. Harrod's is a great time-killer too.
Bon voyage!

[the aardvark]

Oh, I've been in London bunches of time before - I was just wondering if there's anything particularly interesting going on right now, special exhibits, that sort of thing.

[John]

At the School of Oriental and African Studies, Univ. of London, there's an exhibit about the weaving workshop set up in the 1950s by Egyptian architect Ramses Wissa Wassef near Cairo, to test the idea that all persons are creative, if given the tools. Fifty years later, the workshop is still going, and has sold work to museums, including NYC's Metropolitan Museum. Here's Time Out London's review:
http://www.timeout.com/london/events/2/2381.html

If you're in London on Saturday the 28th, the British Museum is having a lecture on the travels of Scottish artist David Roberts (1796–1864), from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. From the blurb: [Roberts' travels] took him 1,000 miles across the Middle East to capture an array of people and places in his work. This seminar explores what motivated the journey, and considers the value of Roberts' art through the lithographs of Louis Haghe.

Hope this helps....

[Dick Durata]

First, go to a pub in central London. Over a couple of pints evaluate your mood and the choices of artistic and cultural enrichment. Devise a plan. Go have some good Chinese or Indian food. Absorb art and culture as planned. Return to pub for restorative. Back to the airport.

[Jeremy]

Go straight to the Royal Academy. Its the best in London by a mile, smaller, but with great exhibits. Luckily the RA and NAtional Gallery are all centred around Trafalgar, and even the British Museum is only a 20 minute walk away from there.

[issandr]

While you're in the SOAS / British Museum area, just head over towards Holborn, go to Lincoln's Inn Fields, a park just behind the London School of Economics, and look for the John Soanes museum. It's a house full of curiosities from the Orient and antiquity, it's fantastic and small and personalized. See http://www.soane.org/

I use to go all the time when I lived there. The big museums are too much for a quick visit unless you have something specific in mind. And if you like fish and chips, nearby Fryer's Delight on Theobald Road is the best in Central London and, possibly, the south of England.

See you in Doha!

[Jules]

First, go to a pub in central London. Over a couple of pints evaluate your mood and the choices of artistic and cultural enrichment.
Then go visit the Cabinet War Room and Churchill museum.
You'll have a hell of a good time !
http://cwr.iwm.org.uk/

[issandr]

While you're in the SOAS / British Museum area, just head over towards Holborn, go to Lincoln's Inn Fields, a park just behind the London School of Economics, and look for the John Soanes museum. It's a house full of curiosities from the Orient and antiquity, it's fantastic and small and personalized. See http://www.soane.org/

I use to go all the time when I lived there. The big museums are too much for a quick visit unless you have something specific in mind. And if you like fish and chips, nearby Fryer's Delight on Theobald Road is the best in Central London and, possibly, the south of England.

See you in Doha!

[issandr]

While you're in the SOAS / British Museum area, just head over towards Holborn, go to Lincoln's Inn Fields, a park just behind the London School of Economics, and look for the John Soanes museum. It's a house full of curiosities from the Orient and antiquity, it's fantastic and small and personalized. See http://www.soane.org/

I use to go all the time when I lived there. The big museums are too much for a quick visit unless you have something specific in mind. And if you like fish and chips, nearby Fryer's Delight on Theobald Road is the best in Central London and, possibly, the south of England.

See you in Doha!

[Hal]

Stay in the airport, you're not going to miss anything.

[Sasa]

Take the Heathrow Express not the tube (15 mins vs 1 hour) into town. Then take the tube to Waterloo, walk along the South Bank by the River Thames, pop into the Tate Modern gallery, cross over the brand new Milennium footbridge over the river which goes straight up to St Pauls. Then take the tube to SOAS (which, as others on this blog have mentioned, is truly one of the capital's gems). Look in their free and very small gallery, pop into the main building too and feel the vibe.

If you need more Arabism, head over to Egdware Road for lunch. If you're in a more crafty arty mood go to Covent Garden, or if you want some incredibly fresh food head to Borough Market.

That should just about leave you enough time to head back to Paddington for the train back to the airport.

And if that bores you, you could give me a call to see if I'm in London!

[hk]

Avoid Chinese food in London. A friend of mine, who is an expert on Chinese cuisine, if not necesssarily on China, went to a conference at SOAS last year and was treated to the second worst Chinese food he's ever had!

[chris]

"Avoid Chinese food in London. A friend of mine, who is an expert on Chinese cuisine, if not necesssarily on China, went to a conference at SOAS last year and was treated to the second worst Chinese food he's ever had!"

False extrapolation. There are thousands of Chinese restaurants in London, some of which are world class; others are rubbish. If you want good Chinese food, just Google.

If I were you I'd eat at one of the South Indian veggie cafes on Drummond Street behind Euston Station. That's what a Brit would probably do.

[hk]

Well, one would figure that SOAS people hosting a conference on China should take the attendees to one of world class Chinese restaurants....which is my reason behind thinking London Chinese restaurants might be bad. But you are correct that I'm generalizing from an N of 1, however.