[...]... restaurants, museums, and other attractions on bank holidays, so call to check LONDON CALENDAR OF EVENTS Please note that the dates for many of these events vary from year to year Call or check the event website to verify the exact date January New Year’s Day Parade Starting at noon, 10,000 musicians, dancers, acrobats, cheerleaders, clowns, and carnival floats set off from Parliament Square January... festivals and ceremonial events: the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace and Whitehall; the Lord Mayor’s Show; the Notting Hill Carnival; and a year-long list of many more (see “Calendar of Events,” for details) You can enjoy the entertainment in the Piazza at Covent Garden any day—fire-eaters, mime artists, a jazz trio, who knows what 35 Take a seat in the galleries at the... Charles I Commemoration Banqueting House, Whitehall Hundreds of men march through Central London, starting at 11:30am at St James’s Palace, dressed as cavaliers to mark the anniversary of the 1649 execution of King Charles I January 27 February Great Spitalfields Pancake Day Race Teams of four run in relays, doing that pancake-tossing thing Noon on Shrove Tuesday (40 days before Easter) at Old Spitalfields... Canadians should apply to Royal Events Secretary, C H A P T E R 2 P L A N N I N G A N A F F O R DA B L E T R I P TO L O N D O N 26 Canada House, Trafalgar Square, London SW1Y 5BJ Mid-June Royal Ascot This 4-day midweek event is held at Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire It’s the glamorous event of the racing season, as renowned for its fashion extravaganzas as for its high racing standards The royal family... branded versions Join for free on the Web, and you’ll get free e-mail, cheap access to voice-mail and to a “travel vault” a secure place online to store passport and credit-card details, medical records, and so on—and super-cheap international calling rates The lowest British Telecom (BT) charges are only available on weekends eKit has one rate 24 hours a day, but you will have to pay for a local call... ccra-adrc.gc.ca) Canada allows its citizens a C$750 exemption, and you’re allowed to bring back duty-free 1 carton of cigarettes, 1 can of tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor, and 50 cigars In addition, you’re allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued at less than C$60 a day, provided they’re unsolicited and don’t contain alcohol or tobacco (write on the package “Unsolicited gift, under $60 value”) All... foreign currency exchanges, and telephone calls With money off at the Almeida, the English National Opera and Ballet, and the Royal Philharmonic, plus savings on admissions or tours at the Tower of London, Madame Tussaud’s, Westminster Abbey, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, and Kew Gardens, you’re sure to cover the sign-on cost The card and book are available in London at any tourist info center... guaranteed a good giggle See “Entertainment on a Shoestring” in chapter 8 • Make Like a Modern Mary Poppins Nannies have always taken their charges to the park for a dose of healthy fresh air before afternoon tea Today, you’re more likely to see stay-at-home dads in charge, or young Aussie travelers saving up to hop over to another European country They’ll be heading for the scramble-on pirate ship at... England, MasterCard is also called Access Using plastic is certainly convenient, but it’s not as economical as it once was because credit-card companies and the banks that issue the cards now routinely tack on a 3% “conversion fee” for transactions made in foreign countries You’ll save money if you use an ATM rather than convert your home currency at a traditional bureau de change The fees are generally... lower and the exchange rate is the “wholesale” rate, which is better Check with your bank before you leave about any Tips No Commission, Thank You! One benefit of the London Pass is free currency swapping at any branch of Exchange International, of which there are 17 in central London, and 1 each at Gatwick and Heathrow There is also a commission-free deal with a London for Less card and guidebook, at . ST. QUEENSWAY EUSTON STATION GOODGE ST. SLOANE SQUARE WARWICK AVENUE ROYAL OAK LANCASTER GATE ENGLAND WALES SCOTLAND Central London 03 541072 Ch01.qxd 11/12/03 9:11 AM Page 6 FROMMER’S FAVORITE LONDON. descended from a pair given by the Russian ambassador in the 17th century, by the lake in St. James’s Park. See “Parks & Gardens” in chapter 6. • Drool over Aspirational Antiques. London is a fantastic place. Paul’s Cathedral Houses of Parliament Westminster Abbey Kensington Palace Victoria and Albert Museum Harrod’s Law Courts Leicester Square Globe Theatre National Gallery Trafalgar Square 10 Downing Street Whitehall Tate Britain London Zoo Battersea Bridge Albert Bridge Chelsea Bridge Grosvenor Bridge Vauxhall Bridge Lambeth Bridge Hungerford