My family and I are spending three nights at Odyssey Wharf in the Docklands. I have heard a number of contradictory things regarding this area, so I thought I'd reach out to those who know.
First, how long does it take to get to the Big Ben/Parliament area via tube? What about the Knightsbridge/Harrods area?
Is it an easy walk from Odyssey Wharf to the Canary Wharf tube station? and, lastly, can anyone recommend some nice restaurants in the Docklands?
I'm afraid I'm uncertain of the precise location of Odyssey Wharf within the docklands, but most areas that bill themselves as being in the canary wharf area are within 10 minutes' walk of Canary Wharf underground. From there it's around 15 - 20 minutes to Big Ben (Westminster Station) and a further 5 minutes to Bond Street station, which is handy for the "West End" (shopping etc)
As far as reataurants are concerned, there are plenty in Canary Wharf, from very upscale (Ubon, which is the sister restaurant to the trendy Nobu) to more casual Chinese, Argentinian, Italian, Japanese and fish retaurants. There are also plenty of bars and pubs to cater for the thousands of people who work in the area.
Andrew is 100% correct about the many bars/pubs for people who work in the area, unfortunately this is a slight problem at night as most people only have a few drinks after work and head home, hence a lot of places can be dead after 8 PM. If you want a bit more fun/excitement/noise..etc.. make the effort to head into town..
We have our London office in Canary Wharf and it is just like Wall Street area in NY in that during the day, the area is full of workers, but in the evening the place dies out quickly, though there are some pubs that tend to stay full (All Bar One, Henry Addington, etc.). Your best bet would be to go into the heart of the city (Leister Square, Piccadilly Circus) in the evening. The Canary Wharf tube station (Jubilee Line) will get you to most areas, with connections of course. look at the website thetube.com for more info.
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I live about 10 mins walk from Oddysey and it takes me about 8 mins to get to the Canary Wharf Tube station platform. You can catch a D3 or D7 bus that will take you to the station and back if you don't fancy the walk.
Does your family include children? If so then the West End Bars and clubs will probably not interest you. There is a modern 10 screen cinema with stadium style seating at West India Quay. Also there you will find an avenue of eateries ranging from JD Ledger, a Weatherspoons pub with standard pub fare at a reasonable cost,to Scuzi (Italian) and Browns (modern). These are reasonbly busy at weekends and after work, but especially in the Summer when you can sit alongside the docks.
5 mins walk towards the river is Fish!, another Scuzi, the Nobu (inside the Riverside Hotel) and clustered together is a high quality Chinese, Guacho Grill (Steakhouse) and Jamies wine bar that serves nice snacks and has board games you can play while watching the river traffic go by. You can follow the river walk back almost to Oddysey or maybe catch the ferry from there to Westminster (Savoy Pier). It's about £5 return and there may be a stop closer to you, ask your friends.
Inside Canary Wharf there is a Chili's and a Pizza Express along with coffee shops and snack bars. Inside the Waitrose department store you will find Mushi Mushi Sushi and a Steak and oyster bar, along with more modest fair.
Further afield if you take the D3 to Commercial Rd you will find the Tai Pan, (Chinese) and my favourite, the New Thai Gardens. If you hop on the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) and get off at the Cutty Sark stop you end up in Greenwhich which has a multitude of eateries and bars also, too many to list. If you are there and its sunny you can go up to the Royal Observatory and get a good view of Canary Wharf and London. The park is wonderfull in the summertime too. Also you can take the Jubillee line to Baker Street and go to Regents Park.
Because Canary Wharf is private property, it has it's own security guards, so safety is rarely a problem. If you come off the tube late at night, just walk along Heron Quay (using the white bridge to get to it) and you end up on Westferry Rd. It's probably a 15 min walk to Oddysey from there. It's well lit and there is always some traffic on the roads. You also have the option of the N50 night bus from the West End.
That's just a brief run down of what's around and about. If you need any more info, just ask!
Our family stayed in the Docklands area (a few kms south of Canary Wharf) twice this past year. IMHO, I would liken the Canary Wharf area like an upscale fashion mall area in the US--great for shopping but not very representative of the area.
I think we spent most of our time in Greenwich (a few mins. away on the DLR) when we weren't in London. The Jubilee line is very modern, and you can connect with just about anywhere in central London in 20-30 mins.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by dddc: You can follow the river walk back almost to Oddysey or maybe catch the ferry from there to Westminster (Savoy Pier). It's about £5 return and there may be a stop closer to you, ask your friends.</font>
For timetable and further information for the ferry, see http://www.thamesclippers.com . It's probably the most efficient, reliable, pleasant and stylish public transport service in London.
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