Going on a family vacation to Britain, any advice on what to see.

[*End Is Forever*]

If you're a tourist, stay away from York. There's a reason I pay over-the-odds for a pint despite it being a University city.

[molly bloom]

Lucky you.

In London, see the Tate Modern- worth it for the building alone. Go see the Banqueting Hall in Whitehall- it has some of Rubens best work- a magnificent Baroque ceiling.

Go visit the Monument in the City of London- you get to walk up to the top and view the historic Square Mile from a great vantage point, and you get a souvenir certifiate to take home and impress the folks. Try the night time walking tour of the East End, which visits the murder sites of Jack the Ripper's victims- well worth it, even if you do it out of season (not in Autumn, that is).
Whilst there, you could also take in some of London's Banglatown curry houses.

Also, try Westminster Roman Catholic Cathedral- it's often overlooked, and is just down the road from the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey- it's in Victorian neo-Byzantine, and has a fascinating array of artworks inside.

Outside London, Leeds Castle in Kent is well worth a visit, as are Warwick Castle in Warwickshire, Kenilworth Castle and Blenheim Palace, a world heritage site and ancestral home of the Churchills.

Older sites worth a visit are Stonehenge (of course), Avebury Stone Circle, Arbor Low Henge in Derbyshire, the Rollright Stones, and the white horse of Uffington.

If you have the opportunity, try to visit Cornwall- it is like another country, with a rugged landscape rich with Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, and a variety of Norman, Jacobean and Tudor castles (Pendennis and St Mawes, Cotehele, for instance).

As for those mocking the north, I put it down to their small brains and lack of experience- Manchester begets new things which are taken up in London later. It also boasts some of Great Britain's best cuisine. It played host to Engels, Dickens, Charlotte Bronte and Ernest Rutherford, was home of Britain's first proper computers, and the genius of Alan Turing.

Leeds now has the Royal Armoury museum, and Bradford has again some great Anglo-Indian cuisine and museum complexes including the National Museum of Photography.

Salisbury is worth going to for the cathedral alone, Bath for the Georgian crescents, Roman remains and the Pump Room, Winchester for its cathedral, the great round table, and its association with Alfred the Great. Canterbury should not be missed, and try walking the walls of York- not as stimulating as the Jorvik Centre, but worth the effort nonetheless.

I envy you the chance. I hope you have a great time.

[Solly]

What are you interested in?

Seeing what the UK is really like? Lancashire and Yorkshire for that.

Seeing what the tourist guides want you to see? Stratford and London for that.

Seeing a typical bit of English countryside? Go to Wales.

[Shi Huangdi]

"Seeing a typical bit of English countryside? Go to Wales. "

[Solly]

Never mind...

If you find spare time (as I wouldn't recommend it an immediate job), take the train from Birmingham to Aberystwyth. The views after you pass Shrewsbury have led to The Cambrian Line being voted the most picturesque railway trip in the UK. It's worth it.

[MikeH]

Originally posted by Boddington's Seeing what the UK is really like? Lancashire and Yorkshire for that.

The UK is really like an amalgum of it's many interesting and varied parts. I mean Sunderland is a very [i]real[i] part of England but you wouldn't advise a tourist to go there.

Somerset is just as English as Yorkshire but in many ways very different.

[Buck Birdseed]

Except what has already been mentioned, I'd also recommend Newcastle which is very nice, probably the only English town outside London that feels like a proper, naturally evolved european-style big city. The Baltic Gallery is nice, the classic bit with all the bridges is awesome and I really like the way the city is structured around a deep river valley with really steep sides, can't think of a city except Bratislava that's like it. Very unique.

[Buck Birdseed]

Oh and Bristol looked nice too what little we saw of it.

[Curiosity]

If you come over to Dublin, then you should visit the Guinness brewery and take the tour.

Unfortunately, that's about all there is to see in Dublin.

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

If you're going as a family, you really must see the Cerne Abbas giant. It sums up the English spirit magnificently.

[Barley]

If your coming to the UK for three weeks I suggest you split your holiday into 3 - 4 Chunks.

1) London and all the sights listed in previous posts.


2) Southern England, 1)Stratford (If your American you cant come to UK and not see Shakespears birth place - or maybe you can), 2)Warwick, 3)Kenilworth (i.e. the Castle) I lived there 30 years and the castle is orsume. NB Kenilworth, Warwick and Stratford are within 10 miles of each other. The Cotswolds (an area of beauty and small traditional villages) is worth a try - you can maybe then brach out to places like Oxford, Birmingham.

http://www.cv81pl.freeserve.co.uk/kenilworth.htm

3) Northern England/Scotland, I truly recommend you go to scotland the scenery is terrific, Lock Ness is there to.

4) Dublin / Southern Ireland.

[The Viceroy]

Nahh don't bother with Newcastle, its crap ! I know, I live there.

Actually, to be fair, if you like History, there is a fair amount to see up here, Alnwick castle (where some harry potter was shot) is ok, nice castles in general around this area, and you have the wonders of Haddrians wall .. Roman wall that stretched from Newcastle to Carlise .. not much left of it now though.

Wales has some brilliant castles, especially North Wales.

My home town Chester is also an interesting historical place. It still has its Roman walls around the city, and most of the shops (called the Rowes) are medeival.

[Provost Harrison]

I should be proud of my home and recommend that you come and visit Yorkshire...but quite frankly, I just can't be arsed...

[Buck Birdseed]

Yeah but then I think York is crap, 'cause I lived there. It kinda taints your viewpoint, I suppose.

But OTOH York is really quite crap (dubious-vintage heavily restored city walls, awful brutally-architectured cathedral, artificial viking "experience", ugly medieval town centre, ugly part of the country, boring people, awful commerce. Pros: some good drinking holes.) and Newcastle is actually really nice, at least for a day trip. Best place I ever visited while in Britain I think.

[Az]

So is he coming to the 'poly meet, or not?