We were recently approached by a charming American gentleman who asked the way to London Bridge. We asked if he meant Tower Bridge, and he replied "Yes." It's quite possible he actually wanted to go to London Bridge, and we sent him the wrong way, but anyway — it got us thinking: "What things does a person do in London, which makes you instantly come to the conclusion: this person is not a Londoner?"
We put that question to you, our lovely readers — and here's what you came back to us with.
(For the record, we at Londonist love tourists — welcome to the greatest city on Earth!)
Sightseeing tourists
"Remarking 'so much history' as they stop by a building Londoners have obliviously strode past for years..." - Don
"The American I saw in Parliament Square with his family, huddled under the statue of Lincoln. His kids asked him what Westminster Abbey was, and he said "SAINT Paul's Cathedral." - Angie
"Walk into M&M's World" - Gordon [Ed's note: someone should write an article about that]
"Someone looking up at a building, rather than solely focusing on on where the next spare mm is of the pavement they can occupy for a nanosecond, in order to expedite their Usain Bolt-beating travel time from Eros to TCR!" - Colin
"Photographing a phone box." - Carole [Ed's note: Ha! Who's be geeky enough to do, er, that?]
Tube tourists
"Pressing the button on tube train to open doors." - Jack
"Buying tickets for the Tube at the ticket window." - Oxana
"Watched a video with SOUND on the District line." - Louise
"Confused that the Northern line goes south." - Colin
"Get the tube from Marylebone to Baker Street." - Matt
"Being surprised when the tube moves and it throws them off balance (then looking around laughing expecting people who have seen it every day for years to find it funny with them)." - Yvonne
"Using a paper travel card on the tube." - Dann
"The American who asked me which tube station to get off at for Windsor." - Tamsin [Ed's note: maybe they're just using a very old tube map?]
Direction seeking tourists
"Ask for directions to London Bridge when they mean Tower Bridge." - Shane [Ed's note: I think we ran into the same chap, Shane]
"Ask where the nearest Angus Steak House is." - Keith
Over-friendly tourists
"Smiled at someone they didn’t know." - David
"Try to start a conversation on the tube." - Ian
"Said please and thank you." - Mark
"Wait for the green man at traffic lights." - Gillian
"Pick up rubbish!" - Yourpanorama.ch
"Look hopeful." - foreignrifles
Not-friendly-enough tourists
"Keep their backpack on their back on a full Jubilee line at 6pm." - Loïc_OMLondon
"Talk to me without apologising first." - Penny
Escalator tourists
"Wrong side of the escalator." - Kim
"Stop dead at the bottom of an escalator." - Teresa
"Standing on the left!!! MOVE!!!!!" - Laneen
Queuing tourists
"Queue at the bar." - Ales and Tales [Ed's note: think that's just Gen Zers, no?]
Not queuing tourists
"Not forming a queue." - Dea
Miscellaneous tourists
"Walked slooowly." - Oana
"Taking pictures in Abbey Road like The Beatles." - EM hunter [Ed's note: we've met some of those folks!]
"Look at a map." - Marzena
"Wearing a flat cap and walking a whippet." - Dav [Ed's note: doesn't that just mean they're Hackney hipsters?]
"Used a knife and fork for pie and mash and had it with gravy." - John
"Going into a money launderi...sorry, 'American candy store' on Oxford Street." - Ian [Ed's note: why whatever could you mean, Ian?]
