what to do in london for one night
 

im going to be in london for 1 night on august 17th. i land at 8:30 pm and take of at 13:30 the next day. i am staying in a youth hostel near the museum district. is there going to be what to do? what time do shops open? when to cd stores open?
should i eve bother going out, or just stay at the hostel then go back to the airport?
any advice would be much obliged...

It's shame you're arriving in London so late, otherwise I'd offer to take you to Ashtray Navigations in Eastbourne.

I'll check the gig guides and get back to you.

cool, thanks!

ah, but remeber that im landing at 20:30, so i probably wont be at the hostel until 22:00ish, so i ont be ready to leave till 23:00ish...
i think

go to a gay bar and do some record shopping. not in that order.

I just saw your point about your arrival time, so you're not likely to get to any gigs, but here's a list anyway:

GENE DRAYTON UNIT
@ London 100 Club, £7.00

INGRID LAUBROCK, LIAM NOBLE & TOM RAINEY
@ London Vortex, £10.00

JESSE MALIN
@ London Monto Water Rats, £12.50

MARY HAMPTON, THE RG MORRISON, TANDY HARD, MATT EATON - THE LOCAL VS DRIFT RECORDS
@ London Knom @ Downstairs at The King's Head, £7.00

PARTISANS
@ London Jazzlive @ The Crypt, £6.00

SPITZ FESTIVAL OF COUNTRY: THE PINEY GIR COUNTRY ROADSHOW + OLI N CLIVE
@ London Spitz, £8.00

SPOON
@ London Borderline, £12.50

MARTHA WAINWRIGHT
@ Shepherds Bush Empire, £20.00

THE VIBRATORS
@ Camden Underworld, £12.00

SEPULTURA
@ Islington Academy, £16.00

Most record shops open at about the time that you'll be heading back out to Heathrow, I'm afraid - although, according to the Rough Trade website, their new shop "Rough Trade East" (The Old Truman Brewery, Rough Trade East, Dray Walk (off Brick Lane), London, E1 6QL) opens at 8.00 am.

ECHO CHAMBER JAMM
A special benefit gig for Resonance 104.4fm, hosted by James DC.
Expect an eclectic mix from over 6 awesome live acts, including:
punk-funk fusion from RANDOM CONNECTION QUEST, neo-new-wavers STRIPLIGHT, psychotic surrealist BEEPOID POOLORD, Ramones cover band HEY HO LETS GO!, avant-rockers STARVATION BOX, Psychedelic garage-punk from THE JOHNSONS and ambient electronica from STAFF
plus DJ'S,raffle, visuals and other happenings!

ECHO CHAMBER JAMM:
8pm - 4am, FRIDAY 17TH AUGUST @ JAMM, 261 BRIXTON RD, London, SW9 6LH. £5 (with all proceeds going to Resonance), (Tube: Brixton/Oval:10 minutes walk, Buses: 133, 333, 159, 59). www.brixtonjamm.org www.resonancefm.com

Brixton is fairly central and easy to reach by tube. On top of that you'd go for a good cause.

cool so i might got there in the morning...
the shows will probbly bo too early for me to get there on time\find them. i have not been in london since i was three

that looks pretty cool, but what time does the tube shut down?

Last train is at around 1:00 am on weekends, but since you are staying somewhere central, it is easy to get anywhere by nightbus. Where exactly is your hostel?

Nice one, Porky. I rather expected that you'd be able to come up with something more suitable than me.

I'm not sure what time this finishes but on the few occasions that I have been to these events they tend to come to an end rather late. Whitechapel Gallery is the world-famous second home of Tracy Emin, so make sure to wear dirty underwear for this occasion. Just kidding, check it out:

Whitechapel Gallery: The Wire presents: Below The Radar: An Evening of Outsider Sounds: John Wall & Lgamble + The Wire Sound System DJ's + more TBC 7pm. £6/5

I'd go with this option. Just take a look around, anything else seems a bit rushed to me (but then I'm old, and a leisurely walk is more appealing!).

im staying around the corner i think from the london museum

I wouldn't walk around Picadilly Circus or Oxford Street on a Friday night. Not terribly exciting.

I've spent many a happy night wandering around Picadilly Circus.

On a summer night, the South Bank is a nicer walk, and some of the views are gorgeous. Whitechapel is a little gritty, rather than touristy, but it has its charm.

The walk along the South Bank, from Vauxhall Bridge to Southwark Bridge, is my favourite London walk.

cool! i think that is what i would enjoy the most, just walking around at night...
how far is the southbank from where i will be? is it a walking distance away?

If the museum that you're staying near is the Museum of London, it's very walkable - the museum is about five minutes' walk from the Millenium Bridge, which crosses from St Pauls Cathedral to the Tate Modern gallery (near Southwark Bridge) - go over the bridge, head towards the National Theatre, and just keep walking.

http://www.southbanklondon.com/

It's not far, but you better take the tube to Waterloo and start walking on from there. Once you get to the station, follow the directions and get near to where the Royal Festival Hall is, then walk along the river past Waterloo Bridge and towards the Oxo Tower, The National Theatre and Tate Modern. When the weather is nice (fingers crossed), it's nice to cross over the Millenium Bridge as there are some great buildings on that side of the river bank. Outside the National Theatre there's the regular summertime 'Watch This Space' festival that finishes at around 11pm on weekends (I can pm you the program, if you like), and inside the theatre there is a nice bar that faces onto the river and where you get a great view of Somerset House from its balcony.

shucks, i was gonna start a similar thread about what to do in LAX for 4 hours...ah well...all the good threads are taken.

Stay in the hostel, of course.

if its an international flight that gets in at 8 30 and then leaves at 1 30 the next day.. you wont be home to the hostel before 11 or so.. and you'll have to leave the hostel at like 10 am to get to the airport in time to check in and all..

so really that isnt much time haha.

I'd say get up really early and go to the museum and the science musem and tate gallery. I think they're all close by, the tate might be in a different spot. I cant remeber. but that would be really nice. I think.

i dont know if two of these things would still be there.. the trees one was an exhibition i think so wouldve moved on.. and the flat brass instrument one hanging from the roof well im not sure. but the crazy big glass thing.. i thin kthat was permanent. anyway.. there would still be lots of cool stuff.

my trip to the museum:

so i'm leaving in two days. i think i'll see what time i get to the hostel and if its not too last i'll walk to the southbank. then in the morning i'll walk around near the museum and then at around ten start heading back to the airport.
any good pubs in the area that i should check out?
once again, much obliged...