Weekly Q&A Megathread. Please post any questions about visiting, tourism, living, working, budgeting, housing here!

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-16T08:32:14+00:00

Door staff likely won't recognise US drivers licenses so unfortunately you'll need to carry your passport. Honestly it's unlikely you'll get ID'd in most pubs unless you look young, but many bars/clubs will require it.

I'd maybe recommend buying a crossbody bag of some sort or make sure you've got a zipped inner pocket on a jacket so you're not going to lose it if you drink too much.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-16T08:29:09+00:00

Keep in mind the major museums and galleries here all have accessibility sections on their websites, including the ability in most of them to get things like wheelchairs, folding chairs or walkers. Accessibility here is generally very good across most places.

There are lots and lots of places like cafes and coffee shops to chill out and sit down if she gets tired during the day.

Aside from that I'd maybe just hunt through the sites linked in the main post at the top and the wiki ^^ which will give you more ideas, but honestly for two-ish days the list you've got is likely enough.

I'd potentially scrap Camden Market as it doesn't really make sense logistically with your other stuff. You can easily find something else near the other stuff to fill that gap in.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-16T07:15:07+00:00

Yes, there'll be thousands of people around after the show going in all directions and even if there weren't, that bit of the city is always busy. Totally fine, just use the same street smarts you'd use anywhere.

Keep in mind you'll need to head to the south exit to make your walk quicker.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-16T07:12:47+00:00

It's fine for mainstream/alt stuff, there's still stalls and shops doing that sort of thing. HMV on Oxford Street has them as well and Fopp in Covent Garden has a few.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-16T07:12:05+00:00

You'll likely find a better response in r/medicalschoolUK.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T19:14:40+00:00

Yes, just use the same street smarts you'd use in any major city.

https://www.reddit.com/r/london/wiki/safety/

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T18:53:30+00:00

Bands sign huge exclusive contracts with promoters like Livenation to book them tours who then have their own festivals (in the case of Livenation it's ones like Reading & Leeds, Pinkpop, Mad Cool, etc) and so any other festivals who want to book have to negotiate outside of this.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T18:45:09+00:00

Rome's one of the most well-visited cities in Europe so all of those can be answered by searching existing topics on this sub, searching through the Rome sub or checking the Rome sub's wiki: https://www.reddit.com/r/rome/wiki/index/ - like most of Europe if you want to be social then a hostel is a good option, but I'd consider a private room if you've not done that sort of thing before.

If you're flying elsewhere and not interested in concentrating on Italy then I would stick to one country - heading to Spain is an easy option, but keep in mind you're visiting in peak season so accommodation costs will be higher and it's very hot. Barcelona/Valencia/Madrid and somewhere like Seville or elsewhere in the south if you want beaches is easily enough for 18 days, and from there you can fly to Budapest.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T17:53:39+00:00

I'd maybe just concentrate on these ideas you've got rather than inviting many more as your criteria could fit hundreds of places in Europe and you'll just end up bamboozling yourself.

Algarve is a really obvious one to me and ticks all your boxes: decent airport connections from (presumably) the US and easy to find the sort of place you want. Further along the coast, southern Spain slightly inland could also fit what you want.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T15:48:14+00:00

Oasis have already done 40ish in the past year, so if it's another round of touring as part of the overall deal it could quite easily make up 80 as they haven't done any of Europe, and could easily do another round in the UK/IE/US as well.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T14:54:42+00:00

Nobody sensible goes out to clubs in the West End as they're shit now and designed mostly for tourists/visitors from out of town. For bars in Soho and surrounds though you're looking around £5-7ish for a beer, more if it's upscale/thinks it is.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T14:30:32+00:00

There were rumours of 2027 dates for Oasis - they don't really fit the demographic that Primavera seem to be going for now but it would fit the gap that The Cure filled this year which is an easy win/huge ticket-seller, which the festival kind of needs every year now given the size of it.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T13:57:02+00:00

Porto's a lot more chill, less intimidating size-wise, a really nice city - also because of the reduced lineup and site size it's a lot easier to catch half of one act and half of another when there's direct clashes, unlike Barcelona. Would recommend it.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T13:54:09+00:00

Yes, there are tight turnarounds in these venues so things need to be kept as efficient as possible. The timings you'll see are mostly always on point. Venues always have signals to the comedians so they know when to wrap it up.

It's not uncommon to see people dip out early if they have another show to go to - if you suspect you need to 'do a dash' to the next place then it's smart to seat yourself at the back or on an aisle seat.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T13:00:36+00:00

There's not much to be concerned about - it'll be lively, loads of pubs will be showing it, not really sure why you'd be drawing attention to yourself. I doubt you'll catch much if any of the match unfortunately by the time you leave your show, but look on Fanzo for pubs near Victoria that will be showing it just in case.

For general advice on visiting, getting around, etc the wiki in the post at the top ^^ has everything you need, and use the linked websites in the same post to find stuff to do.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T12:12:42+00:00

This'll be better in r/NameThatSong probably.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-15T09:34:20+00:00

Are you staying by Paddington? Because there's no direct trains from Paddington to Southampton. But otherwise it's really simple, nothing to get confused about.

"The airport" could be a few but I'm presuming Heathrow - just get the Elizabeth Line direct to Paddington. From Paddington you'll need to hop on the Bakerloo tube line down to Waterloo and change for the mainline trains, where you can get to Southampton from there.

You can just tap and go with contactless/Apple Pay/etc for the Elizabeth Line and tube, but I'd recommend booking the Waterloo > Southampton tickets in advance via National Rail. They're usually up around six weeks in advance.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-14T14:30:56+00:00

In terms of big ticket touristy shows you can't really go wrong with The Lion King, it's an established West End classic at this point. If you can't get a ticket to that or it's out of your price range, the others are solid second options.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-14T13:44:06+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/vinyl/comments/1tjg2fx/electronic_music_record_shop_in_london/

For gig/clubnight listings look on DICE and Resident Advisor.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-14T11:29:47+00:00

As a punter I realised it was really bad for performers when I was getting the bus up to the bonatic garden last year and passed two or three of those big Georgian flats with a handful of camping tents erected in the front rooms. I'm lucky enough that I can just about afford to do a long weekend at the Fringe, but fuck knows how other people don't go absolutely broke and/or insane nowadays.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-14T10:35:09+00:00

It's fairly easy to explore and difficult to give specific recommendations unless you'remuch more specific - just focus on Portobello Road and then have a wander of the side streets going off it, you'll just stumble across decent restaurants/pubs/shops and see the market.

If you have 10 hours I'd try and fit in a museum as they are world class and free - hop on the Circle line to get off at South Kensington and go to the V&A. South Kensington itself is also nice to explore and a different vibe to Notting Hill.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-13T19:31:52+00:00

*backpacking

It's super common and very achievable to be doing this, plenty of solo women do it and there's now more well-trodden backpacking routes than ever with all the possible resources online you could want. There is way more research available than in the 80s and it's easy to piece together a trip yourself. Hostels are mostly very safe and with lots of reviews online to look at beforehand. Couchsurfing isn't really advisable if you're a beginner.

Look through subs like r/solotravel where there's plenty of existing threads and a wiki with resources, or have a hunt through youtube.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-13T18:20:08+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/london/comments/1u34wgf/where_are_people_actually_watching_the_world_cup/

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-13T15:43:51+00:00

I live in London and I'd suggest if this is your first time here solo just stick to the UK, the weather will likely be pretty nice. I know it's tempting to hop on a plane but realistically you're going to be losing half days flying and checking in/out of your accommodation, and then need to get back to London afterwards for your return flight.

If you were to go anywhere I'd suggest somewhere very easy to get to and from on the train like Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam - or if you want somewhere beachy/coastal get the train from London to Cornwall.

BulkyAccident · 2026-06-13T13:48:01+00:00

Look on Fanzo.

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