Worst mistakes tourists can make in London?

[whole diary]

[grahame]

For those of you who dislike listies - nothing to see here, move on by.  For the rest of you, 14 Of The Worst Mistakes That Tourists Make In London from Buzzfeed, many of them travel and transport related.

has Buzzfeed missed anything??

[patch38]

"2. Paying for singular tube trips, rather than getting an Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) card."

Surely a singular tube trip is worth paying for?


They forgot "All London brothels display a blue lamp..." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq-q6TcbHLE

[ChrisB]

It's cheaper on an Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) PAYG^▸ (Pay as you go) card....

[JayMac]

15. Actually going to London. Get out and see the real United Kingdom.

[patch38]

It's cheaper on an Oyster^▸ (Smartcard system used by passengers on Transport for London services) PAYG^▸ (Pay as you go) card....

A single journey is cheaper on an Oyster PAYG, yes, but a singular one... Maybe I missed off a smiley 

[Mookiemoo]

Stopping at the top/bottom of an escalator to read a map/chat about life causing a 20 person pile up behind them

[didcotdean]

One particularly for Americans - only referring to street-names only by the first part. So asking directions to Oxford, Edgware or Liverpool could have unpredictable results.

Seeing 'Abbey Road' on the London Connections map without realising there are many of them and this one has no connection with the Beatles. Ditto Stratford for Shakespeare.

Knowing you are booked into the Hilton (or whatever), but don't know which one. This was experienced frequently by my uncle who was a London cab driver. Sometimes he could work out which was the most likely one but often he had to just tour round them.

[RichardB]

Here's another one - going into a pub, sitting down and waiting for someone to come and take their order........

[Bmblbzzz]

I'm surprised the Bard of East London didn't make the list.

[ChrisB]

One particularly for Americans - only referring to street-names only by the first part. So asking directions to Oxford, Edgware or Liverpool could have unpredictable results.

You're not wrong - I gopt asked for directions to "Liverpool station" only the other day....I had to think for a moment, stood outside Moorgate station.

[Celestial]

Seeing 'Abbey Road' on the London Connections map without realising there are many of them and this one has no connection with the Beatles. Ditto Stratford for Shakespeare.

There is an official DLR^▸ (Docklands Light Railway) poster at Abbey Road advising tourists that they're not in the correct location.  Of course it's full of Beatles puns.  At least, it was there Yesterday.

[broadgage]

Asking for directions to "London Bridge" when circumstances suggest that they want tower bridge, the one that goes up and down.
Believing that HM the Queen lives in the Tower of London.

Presuming that draught beer that by foreign standards is warm, must therefore be weak in alcohol and hardly intoxicating. Australians are particularly liable to this, and can make great fools of themselves after 6 pints of London Pride or similar.

Not understanding that cider served in pubs is at least as alcoholic as beer. (in America and some other places, "cider" is what we call sparkling apple juice and is suitable for children. The alcoholic drink made from apples is known as "hard cider")

Slightly odd pronouncing of place names can have bizarre and expensive consequences when seeking directions or taking a taxi.
A London Cab driver looked in vain for "Holland pier"
A cab driver at Taunton station picked up a foreign gent who had just alighted from the London train and spent a long time looking for "Taunton Heath" sounds like a new housing estate perhaps, not yet on maps.

[Bmblbzzz]

I think with pronunciation it's often a variation in stress, accenting the wrong syllables, that can have heel 'aryy us quince-scones.

[TonyK]

Here's another one - going into a pub, sitting down and waiting for someone to come and take their order........

I've seen an American couple do that in Long Ashton, never mind London.

But how about leaving it until 5 minutes before the train to buy a ticket to Stratford-on-Avon / Bath / The Cotswolds, where they may want to see a Broadway show.

[rower40]

Not London, but UK^▸ (United Kingdom) for Americans brave enough to hire a car and drive it on the left:

Assuming that the gas-station attendant is trying to fleece them for fuel.  No sir, it's not because you're American.  Our fuel costs that much for everyone.  That's why you see so many small cars on our roads.