Welcome to LONDON and a selection of dining, shopping and day-trip options designed specifically for the frequent traveler to Britain who'd like to spend two to three nights in one place with value-added, behind-the- scenes - sometimes rarely open to the public' - opportunities to see and experience more of the 'real Britain'. Ask our Britain Specialists to include one of the interesting dining, shopping, sightseeing, and day-trip options by train or hotel stays for you and your group with your next visit!
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Visiting London with kids? Apartment is way to
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Your First Trip to London -
Six Things to See and Do
Day-Trips Dining
Hotels Local
Tours Museums Shopping Sightseeing
Tea
Restaurants: Best NEW Bargains from
'Food & Wine" Magazine
Your First Trip to
London?
6 Things to See and Do
British Airways London
Eye Changing of the Guard
Madame Tussaud's
The Tower Bridge Experience Westminster Abbey
At 440 feet, this is the world's highest observation wheel. It provides a 30-minute, slow-moving "flight" over London. Admission: $14.85. Hours: Rides daily 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tube station: Waterloo.
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CHANGING OF THE GUARD
Buckingham Palace
The ceremony, which lasts 40 minutes, takes place inside the palace railings; visitors watch from the outside. The Queen's Guard, accompanied by a band, leaves Wellington Barracks and marches via Birdcage Walk to the palace. The ceremony is canceled in very wet weather. Hours: In November, on odd days at 11:30 a.m. Tube stations: Victoria, St. James's Park and Green Park.
Horse Guards Parade
A separate ceremony is held daily throughout the year near Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall. In this ceremony, the Queen's Life Guard leaves Hyde Park Barracks and rides to Horse Guards Parade via Hyde Park Corner, Constitution Hill and the Mall. Hours: Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. Tube stations: Embankment, Charing Cross and Westminster.
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MADAME TUSSAUD'S
The Beatles "perform" at Madame
Tussaud's Wax Museum
At Madame Tussaud's, visitors can see the rich and famous - or at least wax replicas of them. Exhibits include Hollywood Legends and Superstars, Chamber of Horrors and Sporting Heroes. Admission: $23. Hours: Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m; Saturdays and Sundays, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tube stations: Baker Street.
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THE TOWER BRIDGE EXPERIENCE
You are standing on Tower Bridge looking south towards
Tooley St.
The Tower Bridge Experience
is a look at the bridge from different perspectives - from above, from inside and through
exhibits. Visitors has access to walkways 140 feet above the Thames and a viewing of the
engine rooms.
Admission: $7. Hours: November through March, daily 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Last tickets sold
one hour and 25 minutes before closing. Tube stations: Tower Hill; turn right out of the
station onto Tower Bridge Road.
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WESTMINSTER ABBEY
St. Margaret's Church & Westminster Abbey
The church has been the scene of the coronation, marriage and burials of British monarchs. Visitors can view the grave of the unknown warrior, the Royal Tombs, Poets' Corner and the cloister, among other areas. Admission: $940. Hours: Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; Sundays, worship only, no tours. Tube stations: Westminster or St. James's Park.
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Day-Trips
The Cotswolds Lacock Village Leeds
Castle Oxford Stratford-on-Avon Windsor
TO OXFORD
Centuries-old Oxford
About an hour and a half via train from Paddington Station, Oxford's spires reach into the sky and pull visitors in. You can stroll through the inner courtyards of the centuries-old courtyards of the centuries-old residential colleges (all 35 of them) and admire the different architectural styles. But save time to browse the city's many quaint shops.
TO WINDSOR
Windsor Castle
Take in the old town of Windsor with its sprawling castle and royal residence. The 800-year-old medieval castle, with sumptuous state apartments and grand reception hall, displays a fascinating array of architectural styles. Severely damaged by fire in 1992, Windsor Castle was repaired at great expense. The exclusive Eton School lies across the river. Down a couple pegs (and best for younger children) is Legoland, about two miles from Windsor Castle. Take the train from London's Waterloo Station.
TO LEEDS CASTLE
Leeds Castle
Set on two small islands in the middle of a lake and surrounded by 500 acres of landscaped grounds, Leeds Castle is one of the most romantic, ancient and well-preserved castles in Britain. Enjoy getting lost in the maze created by 2,400 yew trees, watch the black swans and other waterfowl at the Duckery and gape at the extravagance in the Dog Collar Museum. National Express offers bus service from Victoria Coach Station. By rail, take the Connex South Eastern line to Bearsted Station (and then a 10-minute connecting bus ride). The castle is located near Maidstone, Kent.
TO STRATFORD-ON-AVON
Royal Shakespeare Theatre - The Stage from Dress
Circle
Devote a day to William Shakespeare. You can visit his birthplace, Trinity Church (where he's buried) and the theaters. Anne Hathaway's cottage is just outside town but well worth a stop. And if you have time, call at nearby Warwick Castle, a vast medieval relic. Take the train from Paddington Station.
TO THE COTSWOLDS
Snowshill House near Broadway
If you have a car and the time, this is a must. The area, roughly bordered by Oxford to the south and Stratford-on-Avon to the north, is beautiful and historic, with small villages, thatched-roof cottages and venerable manor houses. Visit the picturesque Upper and Lower Slaughter, Bourton-on-the-Water and Stanton (with its pub perched on a hill overlooking the tiny village). Broadway is where most tourists flock, browsing in the antique shops. Many of the area's manorhouses have been converted into luxury accommodations, but Snowshill House near Broadway is open to the public March to September. You can tour around the Cotswolds in a day, but we highly recommend staying at least one night.
TO LACOCK VILLAGE
Lacock Abbey
A National Trust site, the village's mixture of architectural styles spans more than 700 years. As you walk along High Street, feel yourself transported back to the early 19th century. Highlights of the village include Lacock Abbey and the Fox Talbot Museum of Photography. Wander through the quaint shops scattered about the village and stop in at a pub or tea room. Lacock's latest claim to fame was serving as location for the "Pride and Prejudice" film. It's located just south of Chippenham. By car, take the M4 to Junction 17, then the A429 (for about four miles) to A350 (for about six miles).
Dining Out
The Georgian Restaurant Motcombs Restaurant & Bar Rhodes in the Square
The Rooftop Restaurant Veronica's British
Historic Restaurant Virginia Woolf's
MOTCOMBS RESTAURANT & BAR
26 Motcomb St., Belgravia
(011) 44-207 235-6382
Motcombs Restaurant (left) & Bar (right)
A celebrity favorite, Motcombs has a ground floor bistro and a main restaurant with a wide selection of entrees. Open for lunch daily and dinner Mondays to Saturdays. Nearest tube: Knightsbridge.
RHODES IN THE SQUARE
Dolphin Square, Chichester Street
(011) 44-207 798-6767
Dolphin Square Hotel
Offering modern British cuisine with many traditional recipes, the restaurant setting is a high-ceiling room in simmering midnight blue set off by sparkling chrome raffling and portholes. A three-course meal costs about $75. Nearest tube: Pimlico.
THE GEORGIAN RESTAURANT
On the fourth floor of Harrods, Knightsbridge
(011) 44-207 225-6800
The Georgian Restaurant - Harrods
The Georgian Restaurant offers a respite from a hard day's shopping. It serves traditional and contemporary British cuisine and is open for lunch only. Nearest tube: Knightsbridge.
THE ROOFTOP RESTAURANT
Inside the St. George Hotel, Langham Place, Regent Street
(011) 44-07 580-0111
Neighborhood of the St. George Hotel & The
Rooftop Restaurant
A contemporary setting offering standard cuisine, this 15th floor restaurant offers panoramic, west-facing views of London. A three course meal runs about $40. Nearest tube: Oxford Circus.
VERONICA'S BRITISH HISTORIC RESTAURANT
3 Hereford Road, Bayswater
(011) 44-207 229-5079
Food preparation - Veronica's British Historic
Restaurant
This is London's only restaurant specializing in re-creating authentic, historic British food spanning 2,000 years. It's the caterer to the Historic Royal Palaces. The restaurant offers a wide choice of menus, with set menus starting at $20 for two courses. Nearest tube: Bayswater.
(You can also access the daily recipe from the restaurant's web site, such as the following:)
RECIPE:
STILTON AND APPLE SOUP
('Recipe of the Day' - Jan. 5, 2003)
A rich soup can make the perfect meal for cold days when served with warm rolls and cool butter. The basis for this soup is onion and apple - half a dessert apple and half a medium onion per serving, cook them gently in a knob of butter until soft and just turning colour, then cover with water or vegetable stock and simmer for half an hour. Puree in a blender and bring back to simmering point, take off heat. Sprinkle a tablespoon of crumbled Stilton per serving into the soup, bring back to barely simmering stirring constantly. When the cheese has melted serve in hot bowls. Small pieces of granary bread topped with Stilton, toasted and floated on the soup, make a good finishing touch. (If you haven't a tureen to serve soup at table for special occasions, then use a big jug to pour it from - it's also the best way to serve lots of portions at speed.)
VIRGINIA WOOLF'S
Inside the Hotel Russell, Russell Square
(011) 44-207 837-6470
Virginia Woolf's Bar & Bistro - Hotel Russel
Named after the famous Bloomsbury author, this is an informal restaurant minutes from the British Museum. It offers burgers, pasta and salads in an oak-paneled room. Nearest tube: Russell Square.
Restaurants: Best New Bargains
from Food & Wine magazine
Chowki Menu Mezedopolio Racine
Timo
With Mela, Kuldeep Singh started a trend as the first of the "name" Indian chefs. Its ambitious sister offers delicious specialties from three regions every month - at supercheap prices (entrees average $10). The decor is modern, the chairs are comfy and the location is dead central.
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The biggest buzz in town belongs to this "new" hotel restaurant, an overhaul of the Connaught's beloved but staid Anglo-French. Young genius and Gordon Ramsay alumna Angela Hartnett cooks inventive, punchy modern Italian food. The $33 three-course lunch - a showcase for dishes like the game mosaic, a terrine made with mostarda di frutta - is such a deal. Five-star service included.
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Beside the Real Greek, in magahip, arty Hoxton, is the restaurant's offspring. Its serves the same unusual dishes but in miniature (about $6 each): marinated caper leaves; lamb's liver sausage; tiropitakia (spinach phyllo pies). And Greek boutique wines as well.
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Everyone's raving about famous-from-Fifth-Floor Henry Harris's trendily old-fashioned French bistro. Go for the bargain prix-fixe meal ($23 for two courses. $26 for three courses), served from noon till 7:30 p.m.
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This fresh-faced Italian restaurant from the River Cafe school has a garden mural on its all-white walls, generous portions and lots of choice on its $32 or $40 (two- or three-course) all-day prix fixes: smoked tuna with caponata; pheasant ravioli; braised lamb shank.
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Hotels
Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments
The Grove
One Aldwych Savoy Group's Berkley
Three of London's Most Renowned & Recently-Renovated Hotels
Minding England's Manor - THE GROVE
Queen Victoria was a guest at THE GROVE, an 18th century estate a mere 35 minutes from London's West End... and now you can be, too. One of England's newest country house hotels, The Grove is set on 300 acres with a golf course and spa. Its 227 guest rooms are a sumptuous mix of stylish furnishings and modern technology and its three restaurants are fit for royalty: THE STABLES which faces the golf course and serves pizzas from a wood-burning oven; the aptly named GLASSHOUSE overlooks the formal gardens and COLLETE'S a charming, intimate restaurant is where chef Stephen Wheeler turns out dishes like pan-fried Dover sole with cockles, clams and fresh linguine in herb sauce.
ATHENAEUM HOTEL AND APARTMENTS
Athenaeum Hotel and Apartments
At this exquisitely appointed hotel, an American remarking that "this is my home away from home" is far from unique. Furnished as a perfect (and flawlessly staffed!) classic house might be, the SMALL LUXURY HOTELS property's public rooms and guestrooms - especially when they overlook Green Park - which temps guests to simply stay put and order room service. (In Athenaeum apartments in adjoining townhouse- style buildings for family and extended stays, guests can even cook.) Conversely, the superb location on Picadilly inspires full days of sightseeing. Afterwards, we recommend an hour in the attractive spa/workout area before dinner in the softly-lit, traditional favorite restaurant, BULLOCH'S.
SAVOY GROUP'S BERKLEY
Wellington Suite Bedroom - Savoy Group's Berkeley
From its discreet Knightsbridge entrance to its penthouse pool/spa, guests can also count on pampering at the SAVOY GROUP'S Berkeley, as well as its other posh properties. And for guests or non-guests, we suggest an evening of food and ambience to remember at the hotel's famed Thai-French restaurant, VONG's.
ONE ALDWYCH
One Aldwych
(Every guest room displays original works of contemporary art.)
With its pretty pool, West End location and more, you may even wish to have us steer you to One Aldwych. The hotel's decidedly-gourmet restaurant, INDIGO, looks down on well-heeled 20- and 30-somethings from London's nearby City, thronging an expansive Lobby Bar.
Three of
London's Most Renowned & Recently-Renovated Hotels
Claridge's The
Connaught The Ritz
If there's one, established address that epitomizes London's happening modern image, it's Claridge's, the 1812 beauty in Mayfair now reborn after a $75 million makeover. Mirrors, chandeliers, marble forers - the hotel's new flash hits you the moment you walk through the polished brass, revolving door. Clearly, this is not a retreat but a place in which to 'see' and 'be seen'. No wonder 'Dynasty' diva, Joan Collins, staged her latest wedding here.
You'll be further impressed as you ride to your room in a gilded elevator with a silk banquette at the back. And what a room - an Art Deco extravaganza straight out of a Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film! And everything in the new Claridge's has a movie-set 'feel' - even the fitness center has received the full Deco treatment, with glass columns and images of Apollo and Aphrodite.
Still, the essence of Claridge's is not its dramatic decor, but its energy. Round the clock, the place buzzes - especially in the glamorous public rooms. The hotel's hippest hangout is the bar, a favorite with the Jade Jagger-Kate Moss-Liz Hurley crowd, that's been redesigned in a low-key Deco style by London decorator David Collins. The Foyer is a more traditional lounge of silver-leaf columns and Deco chaises, re-created by decorative arts specialist Thierry Despont. Here, under artist Dale Chihuly's chandelier made from pieces of Venetian glass, you can sit for hours as everyone from formally-dressed private party people to chic, Arab women with designer shopping bags parade by.
Further upping Claridge's buzz quotient is Michelin three-starred chef, Gordon Ramsay's, namesake restaurant, which opened in October, 2001. Although hotel guests supposedly have some leverage in getting a reservation, you may need to help it along to get a a 2 p.m. lunch slot. The $37 prix fixe menu provides a well-edited sampling of Ramsay's expertise with dishes such as lamb with grilled asparagus, baby leeks and shallots. Yet when you think back on your stay, the meal you remember most fondly may be your intimate steak frites supper in the Reading Room, where fat leather-clad columns and club chairs create the feel of a first-class lounge on some long-lost Cunard liner. It's a welcome respite from all the action. Of course, the great thing about Claridge's is that you can have it both ways.
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With its posh location across Grosvenor Square from Claridge's, its staff in black tie and tails, and its old-money regulars (many of whom leave entire wardrobes in storage), the Connaught has always represented, the consummate British club. In fact, for some, always intimidated by this aristocratic hostelry so elitist that you once needed a written invitation to book a room.
Decorator Nina Campbell has done the remarkable transformation of the lobby and formerly frumpy lounges, in an effort to make the hotel more appealing to contemporary travelers. Also redone by Campbell is your luxurious but not pretentious, room with beige-and-ocher striped wallpaper, green damask curtains and a marble bathroom with old-fashioned fixtures. Add to this, all the modern necessities - a fax machine, modern ports and an ISDN connection. Instead of the ubiquitous min-bar, a cabinet holds an array of drinks. For ice, you simply need to ring for the butler. Very civilized.
Campbell's hand is especially evident in the public areas. The Red Room, with its red-lacquered walls, red banquettes and red marble fireplaces would have had Diana Vreeland drooling. You'll find it irresistible. But what you may like best are the things that remain of the Connaught's past. Campbell hasn't laid a finger on the hallways, which are crammed with museum-quality paintings and antiques. You'll rarely take the elevator, preferring the stairs so you can ogle all the objets. Except for the occasional greeting from staff members, no one ever questions you on your rounds, which makes you feel totally at home. In such an environment, the hotel's strict rules seem eminently reasonable. How nice to be in a place where cell phones may be used only in soundproof booths.
If you've dreamed of dining in the Grill Room, you won't be disappointed, with no less than five waiters attending to you, wheeling up trolleys of beef Wellington and bread pudding. Despite the fuss, the service is unobtrusive and friendly. And $40, the prix fixe lunch is one of London's best buys. The cuisine is currently in transition, prompted by the retirement of Michelin-starred chef, Michel Bourdin. Rumor has it that big changes are in store. Whatever happens, you can expect that everything will be done in the best of taste. After all, this is the Connaught.
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This 1906 hotel is not just a landmark but an institution, practically an extension of official Britain. When Prince Charles made his first public appearance with Camilla Parker Bowles, it was at a charity dinner at The Ritz. The Queen Mother treated the hotel as her home away from Buckingham Palace, frequently lunching at her corner table at the hotel's restaurant. A citadel of exclusivity, the Ritz generally turns away casual gawkers, citing dress code violations. So, armed with a reservation and a Versace blazer, you may finally storm the gates of this legendary palace.
You will be instantly awed by the palatial public rooms, lavishly restored to their Louis XVI opulence by a $45 million overhaul. And although you may be a confirmed minimalist in the decor department, you'll be won over by the beauty of your bedroom, with its gilded moldings and silk-upholstered bed. And then the phone will ring, and the young woman who had just escorted you to your room will call to ask whether you are happy with it. For a second, you may think someone thinks you're there by mistake, but the call is a Ritz standard procedure to make every guest feel like a VIP.
In the new Rivoli Bar, where London decorator Tessa Kennedy has broken with tradition by eschewing Louis XVI in favor of 1920s Deco, the staff is exceptionally friendly - and ties are optional. Then there is the restaurant. Right up there with Versailles, this marble-columned hall with 20 foot-high French windows, frescoed walls and gilded gods and goddesses is nothing short of magical. Dining here would be memorable, even if the food were mediocre. But it isn't. Chef Giles Thompson does amazing things with British game, salmon and asparagus. And though the service might be a little snappier, you won't care, because you'll linger amid the beauty. The Queen Mum knew a good thing when she saw it.
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Local Tours
Catamaran Tours of the Thames
Original London
Sightseeing Tours Original London
Walks
Provides cruises from Charing Cross pier to Greenwich via The Tower of London. Roundtrip takes about an hour, with boats departing every 30 minutes from 10:30 to a.m. to 5 p.m. in summer, to 3 p.m. in winter.
ORIGINAL LONDON SIGHTSEEING TOURS
Specializes in double-decker-bus tours. The four different tours offer hop-on, hop-off service. Pickups are at Victoria Street, Marble Arch, Trafalgar Square, Haymarket, Embankment Street and Baker Street. The cost per adult is about $20.
Offers 60 different walks in and around London such as the 'London Nobody Knows', 'Along-the-Thames Pub Walk', and 'Old Westminster'. Cost per adult is about $8.
Museums
The British Museum Royal Academy of Arts Sumerset House Tate
Modern
TATE MODERN
The turbine hall - Tate Modern gallery
This hot, new museum opened last year in a converted power station and has been filled ever since with visitors - millions, actually - from normally cautious critics to sleeping babies, and with 20th-century art. Its dazzling view across the Thames to St. Paul's is living art, which visitors can enjoy from several levels, including the 7th-floor cafe. www.tate.org.uk
ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS
Royal Academy Schools, Royal Academy of Arts
Dates back to its 1768 founding by George III. Its permanent collection includes works of Royal Academicians from Reynolds and Gainsborough to Foster and Hockney. Special shows such as the forthcoming "Botticelli Drawings" and "Rembrandt's Women" are often blockbuster-style "musts".
SUMERSET HOUSE
One of a pair of magnificent cabinets made for
William Beckford (1760-1844) - the Gilbert Collection
A cultural complex with an awesome history as a tax office, and Royal Navy headquarters, still noteworthy for its Nelson Staircase and more. Newly opened to the public, its riches include a Great Court for the likes of concerts and holiday ice skating. An impressive Embankment entrance now leads to its Great Arch and the GILBERT COLLECTION of gold, silver and other recent donations from the British-born Los Angeleno, Sir Arthur. www.gilbert-collection.org.uk. And the COURTAULD INSTITUTE OF ART with its remarkable Impressionist painting is a treasure trove. www.courtauld.ac.uk
THE BRITISH MUSEUM
The Great Court - British Museum
Is the supposedly staid British Museum "hot" as well? Actually, yes. Like London itself it demands numerous visits, especially since Queen Elizabeth II's opening last fall of a Great Court following an original design and topped by a stunning Norman Foster dome. A revised READING ROOM, once exclusive to scholars and writers from Karl Marx to Tennessee Williams, is now a "multi-media center" accessible to all and including facilities, required in new British construction, for the disabled. www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk
Where to Shop
Bond Street Burlington
Arcade Camden and Islington
Jermyn Street
King's Road, Chelsea Knightsbridge Oxford
Street Picadilly Tottenham Court Road
OXFORD STREET
Selfridges Department Store
London's biggest shopping street wuth lots of department stores, including Selfridges and John Lewis.
PICADILLY
Fortnum & Mason
Home to Fortnum & Mason, one of London's most distinctive department stores; Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus and Waterstones new, flagship bookstore.
JERMYN STREET
Cheeses at Paxton & Whitfield
Parallel to Piccadilly and well-known for traditional English Shirtmakers and tailors, perfumers, florists and cheese specialist Paxton and Whitfield.
BOND STREET
Silver Urn
Window Display, Asprey & Garrard
Elegant street famous for art and international fashions, home of the auction house Sotheby's (also at 67 Bond St.) and Asprey & Garrard, reputed for fine jewelry, watches and clocks, silver, china, glass and leather.
Charming historical arcade filled with exclusive boutiques.
KNIGHTSBRIDGE
Harrods (left) & Harvey Nicholls (right)
Home to Harrods and Harvey Nicholls, this area is for the shopper seeking big designer names.
KINGS ROAD, CHELSEA
A few of the trendy shops - Kings Road, Chelsea
Trendy since the 1960s and still great for fashion, design, bars and restaurants.
CAMDEN AND ISLINGTON
Camden Passage
Markets and boutiques with young designers, antiques and crafts and plenty of restaurants.
TOTTENHAM COURT ROAD
One of the many electronics shops - Tottenham
Court Road
The best place to go for hi-fi, computers and electronics. Tourists can bargain shop and pay cash for the best deal at the many electronics shops that line the street.
Must-See City Sights
British Museum St. Paul's Cathedral Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Tate Gallery and the National
Gallery Tower of London
Westminster Abbey, Big
Ben and the Houses of Parliament
TOWER OF LONDON
Tower of London
(Dating to 1066), is always popular. Waits of up to three hours aren't unusual in summer.
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ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL
St. Paul's Cathedral
St. Paul's Cathedral, huge, built by Sir Christopher Wren, can take hours to wander through if you're in the right mood.
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WESTMINSTER
ABBEY, BIG BEN AND THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
Westminster Abbey (left) - Big Ben and the Houses
of Parliament (right)
Where the royals are crowned and some are buried. Across the street is the Big Ben clock tower, attached to the Houses of Parliament.
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BRITISH MUSEUM
The old reading room - the British Museum
Don't expect to see everything in a few hours at the British Museaum. There are too many treasures to see and too many other people to navigate through.
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TATE GALLERY AND THE NATIONAL
GALLERY
The Tate Gallery (left) & the National
Gallery (right)
Art Lovers will find paradise at the Tate Gallery and the National Gallery.
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Fans of the literary arts should treat themselves to a tour.
Water-taxi service on the Thames enables visitors to venture farther afield: Kew Gardens and Hampton Court Palace are accessible by river. Immerse yourself in tranquility at the former and royal prosperity at the latter.
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Tea
Cozy Local Tea Room Brown's Hotel Claridge's
Harrods The
Ritz Savoy Hotel
There are few things as pleasant as sitting down to afternoon tea somewhere in Britain. And there are all sorts of ways to do this. Dress up and head to the elegant PALM COURT in LONDON'S RITZ HOTEL, with a reservation, please. Stop in at FORTNUM AND MASON, the department store on Piccadilly (get there by 2:45 p.m. to be assured of a table). Or, drop in at a cozy tea room in virtually any town during late afternoon and stand a good chance of getting a pleasant window seat overlooking High Street (Main Street to us 'Yanks'). For those unfamiliar with the routine, Afternoon Tea traditionally comes with a pot of tea, naturally; finger sandwiches of salmon, tuna or cucumbers and watercress with cheese; scones with clotted cream and, sometimes, cookies. The tidbits are virtually always served on fine china, making afternoon tea an elegant repast even in rural tea shops. I've got a short list of my favorite teatime places in London, which are listed here, along with a few additional recommendations culled from the British Tourist Authority's Web Site at www.visitbritain.com. Prices are approximate and per person.
BROWN'S HOTEL
Albermarle Street; (011) 44-207 493-6020
Tea at Brown's
Two sittings are bookable at 3:00 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. $28.
BROWN'S HOTEL
RE-OPENING
After a 20-month $33 million renovation, BROWN'S HOTEL will re-open Dec. 12, 2005 with a
new design evoking English elegance. The 117 gust rooms, including 15 luxury suites, have
been refurbished with antiques and paintings. The renovation also added a 235-square-foot
fitness center with three spa treatment rooms. The renovation also features Brown's
English Tea Room.
CLARIDGE'S
Brook Street, Mayfair; (011) 44-207 629-8860
Setup for Tea at Claridge's
Daily from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. $30.
HARRODS
Knightsbridge (011) 44-207 730-1234
Ready for Tea in the Georgian Room at
Harrods
Monday to Saturday from 3"45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in the fourth floor Georgian Restaurant, with live music. $28.
THE RITZ
Piccadilly; (011) 44-207 493-8181
At the Ritz Hotel, Tea is served in the Palm
Court
Daily from 2:00 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sittings at 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. require bookings. Tea is served in the Palm Court with music from the resident pianist. $38.
SAVOY HOTEL
The Strand; (011)44-207 836-4343
At the Savoy Hotel, Tea is served in the Thames
Foyer
Daily from 3: p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Thames Foyer, with a pianist $29. On Sundays, a tea dance usually is offered from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. $42.
COZY LOCAL TEA ROOM
Oh, do pack, and get you to London and beyond -
once again!
Outside the capital city, you will find that tea rooms are abundant in small towns and villages. They lack five-star fanfare, but often provide something that might be more important - fellow tea drinkers that are more likely to be locals than tourists.
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