Attention Londoners - Travel Tips?

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Feb 13 2019, 11:38 pm

Hi everyone. I will be traveling to London in August and I'm looking for suggestions where to stay in general, and especially over Shabbos. Assuming Jewish places don't come cheap, I wouldn't mind a cheaper option for during the week, and a kosher place for Shabbos.

Also, is it true that Jewish London shuts down for holiday in August? How might that impact my plans?

What about glatt kosher and chalav yisroel takeout/restaurants in London?

Is the London Pass worth it?

Any other tips for making the most of my visit?

amother

Ecru

Wed, Feb 13 2019, 11:41 pm

We went during holiday which starts the day after tisha bav fir 3 weeks and most kosher restaurants were closed! So was the kosher hotel!

amother

Firebrick

Wed, Feb 13 2019, 11:50 pm

amother wrote:

We went during holiday which starts the day after tisha bav fir 3 weeks and most kosher restaurants were closed! So was the kosher hotel!

That's a bummer.

I wouldn't travel in the three weeks, which is I guess the same calculation made by Jewish Londoners. The week after tisha b'av is the only time that works for me.

How did you make it work?

Metukah

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 3:12 am

I have lived in London all my life and I have been here for the holidays more years than I have been away and never ever have I come across a closed restaurant in August.

ImaMum

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 5:58 am

Me too.

Live in London and it definitely does not shut down in August!

Yes during the 9 days some of the meaty restaurants will be closed but that is self explanatory. Some will just serve fish that week.

I would recommend Golders Green or Hendon which are very close to each other, just seperated by a road really. This is where the most glatt and chalav yisroel restaurants, cafes, take outs, bakeries and kosher shops are.

These locations are also great if you are using public transport as you can get straight to town and many places from here either via the tube or bus. You can get an oyster card which makes travel cheaper than a paper ticket. If you're hiring a car be aware there is a lot of restricted parking and mostly not free plus a charge to drive into central london.

For shabbos maybe try The Pillar Hotel (not cheap) or The Croft Court Hotel (cheaper).

People have also been happy with MStay on Golders Green Road but I dont think they have a food option though, they might be self catering. These are new and cheaper.

If you're looking for self catering there are holiday rentals available with kosher kitchens if you prefer to get your own food.

A cheaper location would probably be Edgware which is further away from central london but still has some kosher restaurants and transport links etc.

Regarding the London Pass, how many adults and kids are you and what are your interests whilst you're here?

Welcome to London Very Happy

Raisin

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 6:09 am

ignore what people tell you about London being cold and rainy. It can be HOT in August. Like 30c. So bear that in mind when looking for a place to stay. You may need air conditioning if you don't like being hot.

Agree golders green and hendon or edgeware are your best bet. Stamford hill also has shops and few restaurants but not nearly as many as Golders green.

Lots of museums are free so bear that in mind.

nicole81

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 7:31 am

The Mstay on golders green road is very central and relatively well priced. They have no food option but you can do takeout from any number of places within a couple of blocks.

amother

Firebrick

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 10:01 am

Thanks everyone! I'm so relieved to hear that places are open.

Thirty degrees celsius is like a regular NYC summer day. Can it get much worse than that?

Thanks for hotel suggestions. How is the Holiday Inn at Golders Green? They claim to offer kosher breakfast and shabbos meals but I emailed them to find out what that actually means.

Regarding London Pass, we are two adults, and we want to cover all the basics like Buckingham Palace (which I read has parts open to the public in August), Churchill War Rooms, London Eye, Tower of London, Parliament, Madam Tussauds, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Harry potter Studio Tour, and every other museum we can find time for.

amother

Firebrick

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 10:08 am

Both of us are history, literature, and sci-fi nerds, so I'd love cool suggestions such as the Sherlock themed escape room, or if you want to warn us away from anything like that which may not be worth our time.

There are many themed tours of London, such as Doctor Who and Harry Potter, but I'm not sure they're worth it. Thoughts?

Is the Charles Dickens museum worth a visit?

Which exhibits are a must-see in the major museums?

Raisin

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 12:46 pm

You would probably enjoy a day trip to Oxford. Lots of Harry Potter themed stuff there. (I think maybe some filming was done there) And its worth a visit anyway. And some very good museums. Its an easy bus or train ride from the West End.

You would also like the British Museum.

amother

Bisque

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 12:55 pm

We stayed at the Pillar Hotel in Hendon, bordering Golders Green. Great location, near the heart of the Jewish community. We took uber to tourist sites.

amother

Firebrick

Thu, Feb 14 2019, 5:34 pm

The Pillar looks beautiful.

Holiday Inn Express responded and sent menus. It looks quite traditional. The hechsher is Kedasya. What is that comparable to on this side of the pond? What's a trustworthy resource for checking out the hechsher at specific locations?

Metukah

Fri, Feb 15 2019, 4:37 am

amother wrote:

There aren't loads of hechsherim in London. Kedassia is a great hechsher. The most widely accepted one. There is London Beth din, kf, ska and beis Yoseph but whether they are acceptable depends on your standards.

ImaMum

Fri, Feb 15 2019, 5:35 am

Weather: 30°c is very optimistic in the summer it is usually late 20's if we're lucky. Last year we had unusually hot weather.

Holiday Inn: This hotel is really in Finchley not Golders Green, it is opposite Kinloss Shul. It would be about half hr walk to central golders green from there on a shabbos. But if you dont need anything particular its a good location in general for during the week, its on the outskirts and right on a motorway style road, though you'd probably have to get a bus to the train station, its about half hr walk to Golders Green Station.

Hechsherim: There are a lot of politics regarding hechsherim as Im sure there is most places! In general, Kedassia is the 'highest', best and most recognised kashrus authority.

The other main hechsherim are KLBD and Federation, then there is London Board of Shechita, and Manchester Beis Din plus a few other smaller ones. In general, people who are specific about eating only Kedassia, wont eat meat from KLBD, Fed or LBoS. But I know a lot of frum people that arent so bothered and will eat all. For Chalav Yisroel there is no difference really in the hechsher.
Many people that will only eat Kedassia at home will eat out at KLBD restaurants. There is no meaty Kedassia Restaurant in GG, only take away places Reich and Amors. There is only one Kedassia milky restaurant called Maxim. I hope that makes some sense, maybe someone else will chime in on the subject.

Regarding the meal the hotel is offering it sounds like it could be an airplane style meal as I dont think they have a kosher kitchen, perhaps check exactly what they are offering and that you'd be happy with that.

London Pass: Wow sounds like you've got a great list of things to do already! To see if its worth it you'd have to check out individual prices of places and see if it works out cheaper. There are lots of places that have offers for example you can get 2 for 1 vouchers to Madam tussauds on certain cereal boxes. There is also 2 for 1 when you travel by rail to certain attractions (overground from hendon not underground) you could google this for more info. My advice would be to check and ask on the tripadvisor forums, I find them really useful and helpful when planning holiday itineraries.

Most museums are free and there are loads of them, some that may interest you are:

Science museum
RAF museum
British Museum

I agree with previous poster that recommended Oxford as a day trip.

England is full of amazing things to see and do and many can be done as a day trip from London and you'd be able to find all this information and what interests you on TripAdvisor forums.

Also for the places you are interested in I would advise you to get an Oyster card and take the underground tube as it will get you to all the right places, it's a really good transport system and very easy to use. Though of course during rush hour in the morning and afternoon it does get very busy!

renslet

Fri, Feb 15 2019, 5:41 am

If you like history there is a great walking tour called Jewish London or something, it's not run by Jews it's one of the tours offered by walking tours of London and it's great.
Imperial war museum is also great.