London: Where to "Go"

I have lived in London for over a year now and during that time I have spent numerous hours in the city just wandering around seeing what I could see. As I explored the city one of the most important questions that arose was, “where to go?” And of course by “go” I mean where can I go to the restroom and which places are the best? I am a person who drinks a lot and by that I don’t mean alcohol I just mean drinks things like soda, water, etc. So when I’m out on the go I often need to find a place to “go”.  

Not surprisingly two of the nicest restrooms I have found downtown are in museums. The British Museum, which is located near the Tottenham Court Road and Holborn stations, offers great facilities that one can get to fairly easily with no cost. If you are further South in London by Trafalgar Square then definitely go to the National Portrait Gallery. Both of these places offer large restrooms with numerous stalls and are kept clean. And, of course, when you go to and at these places you end up in some really cool places to visit.

Next is Oxford Street where I often end up amidst all the shopping. Here you can find numerous restrooms in various stores particularly the larger department stores. Often these restrooms are fairly small and are not as well kept as one would expect but they are generally easy to find and they are usually unpopulated particularly if you go out of your way to visit the basement or higher floors. If you are on the west side near Marble Arch and Bond Street specifically go to Primark, House of Frasier, John Lewis or Debenhams. I put that list in geographical order with Primark being the furthest west, closest to Marble Arch and Debenhams being the furthest east about a block east of Bond Street. Now if you are on the eastside of Oxford Street closer to Tottenham Court Road there is a Marks & Spencers on the south side of the street, which has decent facilities. But beyond that there are not a lot of great places to go on the eastside of Oxford Circus.

Now if you get to Tottenham Court Road station one can quickly find more restrooms by venturing south. One of the restrooms I use the most frequently is the one in Foyles Bookstore just south of Tottenham Court Road station. The reason I have used that restroom so much is not due to it being very nice, in fact it isn’t, but because of its location. Tottenham Court Road station is the station I usually get off at when I am coming downtown to meet up with Priya so after an hour and a half on a bus and train I often want and need to go. Also the store is directly across from the Chipotle I eat at so after a big burrito and bottle of water and around 30 minutes I often end up across the street at the bookstore. Let me say again that these are not very nice bathrooms. They are small and old and they are cleaned just infrequently enough to be bothersome. Again the main reason I use them is their location both where the store is and where the bathrooms are in the store. In the store itself I like where they are because they are on the second floor (what Americans would call the third floor) in the back on the same level as the philosophy, history and religion books, which is right where I end up whether I need to go or not so that’s nice.

If you continue further south you’ll end up in Leister Square and there you’ll find the bathroom that after Foyles' I have gone to the most. It’s in Burger King. It is a two level restaurant with the restrooms on the top floor. While they don’t exactly want people who are not customers using their facilities it is easy enough to slip in and out without being noticed due to the location of the bathroom in the store and that there is usually a lot of people so nobody is watching. This is not always the case there have been times when I have gone here and they have a employee sitting upstairs by the bathroom watching people come in and out. I have never actually seen this person stop anyone so I don't really know if they are their for security or cleaning duties or what? Now most of the time I will be a customer here due to the fact that Burger King is one of the few restaurant chains here in London that provides free refills on soda so I don't have to "sneak" in. So really this Burger King not only provides me a restroom that I use quite often it also provides me liters (gallons for Americans) of soda that facilitate my need to use their bathroom and the many others I have mentioned on this list. Now the restroom itself is not a large one (two stalls and two urinals for the guys) but they keep it relatively clean considering it is a fast food restaurant.

When I’m down on Strand Street and have moved east of Trafalgar Square towards Priya's office there are a few places one can go for sure. The best bet is Mcdonalds. There is one just to the east of Charring Cross station. It is a two level restaurant and the restrooms are on the bottom floor. Similar to Burger King they don’t really want you using the bathrooms if you aren’t a customer but it’s pretty easy to get in and out without being noticed. And unlike with Burger King I am usually not a customer here but I feel I’ve bought enough McDonalds over my life time to justify “going” there. Now you can also use the facilities at Charring Cross or a little further south by Embankment station but those are pay toilets. So that means you need 20 to 50 pence to get into the bathroom. The turnstiles for getting into the restroom are about waist high and the type with the three bars that make a triangle shape that you pay and push through. While paying is bothersome when you’ve got to go you’ve got to go. Now I will admit there have been a few times that I was desperate for a bathroom and found myself with no money in my pocket so I surveyed the scene, waited until I thought no one was looking and jumped over the turnstiles and used the facilities for free. The restrooms by Embankment station are not very guarded so it isn’t that difficult to sneak your way in to the,. Believe me that is not something I’ve made a habit of but it has happened.  

If you are on the south side of the river and find yourself near the London Eye there are facilities right next to it but similar to the ones at Charring Cross and Embankment you have to pay to use them.

There are of course other places to “go” in London but these are the places I have gone to the most often since I’ve lived in London. So if you ever find yourself in London wondering where to “go” hopefully this will come to your mind and help you find the relief you so desperately need.  

(pictures and actually ranks are forthcoming)