Posts Tagged ‘England’

Are You Having A Short City Break In London? Why Not Have A Trip On The London Eye

March 13th, 2010

The capital city of England and Great Britain, London, has a huge collection of fantastic visitor attractions, from the amazingly old to the very young. The vast majority of the tourist attractions are well known all around the globe (for example, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace). Among the most recently built are the London Aquarium, Millenium Dome, Millennium Bridge and the London Eye.

The Merlin Entertainments London Eye (to give it its correct title), is more frequently referred to as, simply, the London Eye or,occasionally, the Millenium Wheel (because it was constructed for part of the Millenium celebrations). The Merlin Entertainments London Eye was officially opened by the then English Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, on the evening of December 31st however, alarmingly there were technical issues which led to the public not gaining access until March. At the time it was the tallest Ferris wheel in the world being 443 feet high.

The gigantic wheel is located on the South Bank in Jubilee Gardens looking over to the Houses of Parliament below. From within one of the thirty two compartments towering over the whole of London you are able to see a large number of well known London landmarks, the already mentioned Houses of Parliament, St Paul’s, Hampton Court Palace, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace are to name just a few, what an amazing way to see most of London and, more than likely, one of the reasons it is one of the busiest visitor attraction in London.

The London Eye’s first flight is at ten in the morning however the ticket office opens at 9.30 am.  The Eye closes at 9.30 pm between August and July, 8 at night between April and October and at 9 ‘o clock at night for the other months.

People traveling in a car will be pleased to discover that there are three nearby car parks. For coaches there are parking facilities very close to the Eye (Tel:) +44 (0)870 990 8886) for information.

The easiest method to get to the London Eye is by the Tube, simply get off at one of the following tube stations; Embankment, Westminster, Charing Cross, or the closest Waterloo. You can also travel by boat, get off at Waterloo Millennium Pier.

Finding hotel accommodation in London is as easy as popping over to Yahoo, MSN or Google (or another search engine you choose. Whichever kind you prefer you are bound to find the perfect London accommodation because the city must feature the most guest houses, hotels and bed and breakfasts than any other. Luxury accommodation to the cheap and cheerful, huge corporate hotels to the small boutique hotels and more.

Incredible Vacations In York, England

March 10th, 2010

Many people are deciding to take vacations nearer to home this year. For most of us it is to cut costs but is this the best thing to do or a dreadful error? Frequently we fail to see the large number of local tourist attractions and yet they are frequently superb and much better than those we see elsewhere. People living in the UK have an astounding list of places for a vacation each of which has a huge collection of first class visitor attractions to visit. In this article I introduce the English city of York and hotel accommodation in York.

York is situated in Yorkshire (an English county) and was, once, the capital of a huge kingdom covering most of northern England. With such an old city it will not be a great surprise to find a massive collection of incredibly medieval architecture, however you might not expect the astounding sight of the Gothic medieval masterpiece of York Minster.

The earliest incarnation of York Minster was a humble wooden church in which the Northumbrian King Edwin was baptised in the seventh century. It wasn#t until the 11th century that the first sunstantial construction made from stone appeared on the site. Constructed by Thomas of Bayeux, a Norman Archbishop it was extended by Archbishop Roger who added a a south transept and a north transept. After many more additions and alterations it was declared complete and consecrated in the year 1472. The interior features the largest medieval stained glass window in the world. York has many other places to visit including; the Jorvik Viking Centre, the Roman Bath Museum, Barley Hall, the National Railway Museum, Fairfax House, York Castle Museum and York Dungeon.

Besides all of the awesome historic and ancient tourist attractions mentioned earlier, the city of York is a thrilling place to spend an evening partying or enjoy the theatre, opera or live music. It that doesn’t excite you then alternatively you could spend the evening in a pub there are certainly plenty to choose from, to name but a few; Old Star Inn, The Minster Inn, The Bluebell Inn, the Slug and Lettuce and The Royal Oak, and, lastly, the Black Swan. Of them all the Black Swan is most probably the most widely appealing with a friendly atmosphere and sometimes featuring live music.

Hotels In York

Like many other UK cities you will discover a huge selection of B&B in York ranging from cheap guest houses to first class hotels. The Middlethorpe Hall hotel is just two miles from York city centre but offers excellent accommodation with private gardens, steam room, sauna and gym, and it is also possible to get a massage. Other superb hotels in York include; Bishops at 135 Holgate Road, Hotel du Vin and Bistro, Marriott on Tadcaster RoadBurn Hall Hotel and Parsonage Country House Hotel and one of the best guest houses is Crossways, or if you are looking for something different why not investigate Marmadukes Boutique Hotel.

First Time Visitors Itinerary For London

February 26th, 2010

With millions of residents packed into this vibrant cultural melting pot, London is always bustling with activity, regardless of the day of the week or the month. Before you arrive there, it is worth making a list of the what you want to see and do, so that you don’t miss out on any of the highlights.

The Tower of London, the Houses Of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey are all not to be missed. You can take guided tours of each of these, so you can learn about their colorful histories, which will give you an even better appreciation of what stands before you. The House of Commons and the House of Lords are pretty impressive in themselves, but more popular among visitors is the landmark’s clock tower. Locals sometimes call it St. Stephens Tower just to make a point. Everyone else affectionately calls it Big Ben.

There are various palaces and historical buildings spread around the city. The most famous of them all is Buckingham Palace, home of Her Majesty The Queen. Outside of Buckingham Palace you will see the famous guards clad in their red and black uniforms. You can take your picture with them, and even watch them run through some drills, which is a truly memorable sight to behold .

There is a great transportation system in London, so you can easily and safely travel to all the sights that you want to. If you are only going to be in London for a day or so, it might be easier to go by way of taxi. One thing that always stands out in pictures of London is the double-decker bus. They tower over traffic and are as reliable as public transportation can be. Take a ride just for the heck of it. Next time you see a double-decker in a photo, you can say, “I did that”. Also, spend some time getting out and about on the underground train system.

This article is brought to you by ‘Cheap Hostels in London‘.