Am I alone in saying I dont like London and don't see the attraction ?

[Bertybamboozle]

I am SE based and can be in London in around 20 mins on the train. I cannot stand the place. There is no reason to visit, unless you are a tourist. I really cannot see the appeal and apart from the tourist things, there is nothing else especially special/different to do. I can do pubs/cinema/shows/shopping anywhere.

I feel like I am the only one who thinks this.

You really don’t read do you?

@Tiredalwaystired what's your point?

At no point did you ask in your post that I originally responded to why London was BETTER than anywhere else. You asked why I liked London. I gave you my answers. I also qualified this more than once against the “other great places are available too” statement.

Then you seem to query against a question you never asked me.

@Tiredalwaystired ok apologies. I did miss interpret what you were saying 🙂
I get what you mean - I did ask what people personally like about London.
It's just several people on this thread (not you 🙂) have basically said that London is the apparently the only place in the UK with large amounts of culture etc. Which is just not true 😂

I can be in Central London inside of half an hour and I regularly go for days out. The shows I can see in the West End aren’t available locally to me. I also visit museums and special exhibitions. Then there are lots of interesting walks on which I’ve discovered bits of London entirely new to me. For instance, there is a street lamp just off The Strand which is powered by bio gas from the sewers. I bought a couple of excellent guided walk books and discovered great walks and (bonus) unusual pubs! I love London!

London pigeons are very civilised. Look at these polite ones queuing nicely like proper English gentleman 😂

London is one of my favourite places. I go once or twice a year (I'm in the UK but reside on a different land mass).

I love the variety, the food, the entertainment, the ease of transport, the busyness, the atmosphere.

It feels like a real treat.

Homelessness is terrible 😭

I've only been to London twice, but I thought it was amazing. I've barely touched what it has to offer. I've done most of the really big tourist sites and next time I'm going to skip them and see some of the many other museums and art galleries.

We're all different though.

I agree

Its tedious

I absolutely love London. But I get irritated by the 'busy-ness'.

I live about 40 mins away by train so go fairly often. In the past couple of years, I've started going on regular walking tours around the city. They've been incredible for showing me new areas of the city and uncovering hidden parts. They force me to slow down and take in my surroundings: something I didn't do before.

OP, you are the first person I have ever heard express this bold opinion.

Rocky Horror isn't exactly new!

@SereneCapybara yes I know it's not new. It's pretty much been on tour in 100s of towns and cities for many many years. Yes - lots of towns and cities ! Which was my point. You don't have to go to London to see fantastic theatre.

@Tiredalwaystired There are loads of really brilliant cities in the UK with fabulous culture and opportunities.

What makes London different is it is one of the few truely world cities, it is even different from most European capital cities in terms of its energy, diversity, opportunities etc..

You don't have to go to London to see fantastic theatre.

But it helps

@RadioBamboo so you're saying no other theatres in the UK have good shows?
I'll let Stratford Upon Avon know 🤔

I said no such thing!

But if you want fantastic theatre then you have far more choice and variety in London than any other location in the UK, and quite possibly in the world.

Similarly you can go on a lovely walk across Hampstead Heath or Epping Forest. But no one is going to be compare it to Cumbria.

@RadioBamboo so what exactly did you mean by "it helps" then?

Bloody hell! If you want to see fantastic theatre it helps to be in London.

It depends on your point of view. I live in SE London and love going into central London. Always have. 🤷‍♀️

@RadioBamboo but it doesn't.
There's theatres all over the UK. Many "west end" shows go on tour.
Two shows I'd like to see next year are Mamma Mia and Joseph Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Both are "west end" productions but doing a UK tour. I possibly might see them in Oxford.

I live in London and feel that way about Central London. It's incedibly busy and shops are much smaller than shopping centeres like Bromley and Bluewater. I also found public transport much better in Manchester when I visited, compared to the ages you spend waiting for a bus in the outer parts on London. I like socialising locally, but pubs and cafes are pretty much the same no matter where you are.

The one thing I like about living here, which I suppose is the same in every city, is the wide varitey of takeaways and delivery services. When I holiday in ithe Cotswolds or some parts of Kent, you still have to drive in to the town centre if you want a takeaway.

It really depends what you enjoy and what time you have. Both my DC are in their 20s so I'm free to roam. In the last couple of months I've been to the Van Gogh show at the National Gallery and Michael Craig- Martin at the RA as well as a couple of films at the cinema down the road. Over the next 2 weeks I will be going to see David Tennant in MacBeth, going out to dinner in Coal Drops Yard in Kings Cross, to a mix your own cocktails party, a comedy show near me as well as another gallery show of Passmore and Heron the week after.

The thing with London is it's a distinct series of villages
You get a shopping street like Oxford Street and just off so many parts of it are quaint little alleys leading to a whole other experience. St Christopher place case in point.

I ❤️London. So much to see and do. I live by the sea in Wales so it is a different experience for me going to London.
Looking forward to my visit in January and will be seeing Sigourney Weaver in The Tempest!