American Places In London

Why do so many Americans think London is the only place worth visiting in the UK?

It's a shame, I agree. But it pretty much mirrors your average Brit's obsession with New York, Orlando and Vegas. Basic human behavior.Personally, London is so low on my list, I'll probably never go back there. It's just not my thing. (New York and L.A. aren't my thing, either.) The English countryside? I'd go back tomorrow.Plenty of Americans get up to Scotland, so it's not the UK you're talking about. It's just the rest of England and all of Wales.London is most of what we hear about. It's the stock image of England.This is my major pet peeve about how tourism is marketed, but most tourists from every country on earth focus on cities when they travel. To Americans, England doesn't have the reputation of being a very "exotic" country, and London is the only city that makes the cut for most "city tourists." (Maybe Oxford, potentially York for people who branch out.)When Cornwall and other beautiful places start showing up in ad campaigns on American television, you'll probably see a little spike there. Though I'll probably hear complaints about bad American tourists in Cornwall.Trains in the UK aren’t super cheap. Gasoline is more expensive than it is the US. And a lot of us feel weird driving on what to us is just the wrong side of the road.Finally, Americans have to make a longer and more expensive flight compared to Europeans, especially if we're coming from the West Coast. Americans, especially on their first trip to Europe, tend to hit up several major European cities, get a taste, and use a Eurrail pass, because for decades that's been packaged as "the" European experience.I think it's wrong. To me, England's out in Yorkshire or somewhere. But it's not some mystery where the idea comes from.

What's a good day trip from London, for an American?

Oh my what a nice thing to think about, especially when the weather is fine, like today. First off transport - for a day trip from London the train is usually your best bet - there are probably hundreds of nice places you can get to easily and with suburban trains you get a cheap day return on the day with no need to book and they are relaxed about things like which exact route you take. Not only does this avoid all the hassle of driving out of London but you can enjoy a pint or two.Then what should you be visiting - well obviously that is going to depend on you but the proper day out should include some of: beautiful countryside, a pub lunch, a visit to a castle or stately home, a cream tea, a bit of a walk, coastal views, exploring a historic town or village, a picnic, another pub.A few options (all in Kent because I am biased and don’t have all week) Whitstable (do try the oysters), Chatham (for the dockyard) & Upnor (for the pubs), Canterbury (lovely town & pubs as well as the Cathedral), Margate (try the Lifeboat pub as well as the Turner Contemporary), Ightham (a bit tricky by train but Ightham Mote is one place you should visit before going back to the USA and the Old House pub is worth a pilgrimage), Lullingstone/Eynsford (Roman villa, two castles, lovely little village, a valley so beautiful they diverted the M25), Penshurst (maybe take the train to Leigh, very nice walk to Penshurst for pub lunch, visit Penshurst Place and take bus to Penshurst station), Folkestone (the best place for a fossil collecting day out from London, the Triennial art exhibition, and fish).

Can an American tourist use an "urgent care" in London?

You can use any of the following:Hospital A&E (Accident and Emergency) departments for serious problems.A variety of walk-in centres, urgent care centres and minor injury units, depending on the location. These are usually staffed by nurses, not doctors, so may not be able to prescribe antibiotics directly if you need them; their main job is stitching cuts, setting bones, treating infections and giving out the morning-after pill. some health centres are ‘GP-led’ and provide the full service, including prescriptions.Doctors (general practitioners) — you need to be a UK resident to register with a GP, though some will allow temporary registration if you're in the country more than 24 hours, and others will offer emergency treatment even if you aren’t registered. You may need to make an appointment, unlike with walk-in centres.There's a national helpline, 111, which can give health advice and/or direct you to the closest treatment centre suitable for your problem. The emergency number 999 (not 911) is intended for more serious or life-threatening situations.US citizens will normally need to pay for all non-emergency NHS treatment. In practice, I believe that this fee is sometimes waived for minor cases on the grounds that it would cost more in administration costs to collect the money than the treatment is actually worth; but don't rely on this! In addition, there is a standard charge for all prescription medicines, payable when you get them.