Things to know about the English come down to what you would like to know and what you need to know. If your purpose is to take a trip to the United Kingdom, then you would want to decide how you were going to get there. By ship, train beneath the English Channel, airplane? The price, the schedule, length of time, convenience, passport and immunization requirements are just some of it. What you plan to do when you get there, nightclubbing and Shakespearean theater going in London, visiting its world famous museums and galleries, touring the countryside, will require a knowledge of the time of year and what clothes to pack.

Presuming that your are intending to travel to England, you will want to buy a book written for tourists with basic information that they will need, such as names and prices of hotels, cross-country travel by train, bus, or private car, and how to arrange for it. This will also have to include the currency used, type of clothing required, shops where you can get what you need after you get there and find out you forgot something, or in case plans change and something crops up.

You can search the internet for most of the information you need, book your trip, look up government requirements regarding importing pets, etc., the social and historical aspects of England and its people; and what to do, not to miss, and celebrations during certain times of the year and where they are held.

Depending on the length of time you intend to spend in England, you will have to narrow down your interests, or at least organize them if you are very eclectic in your exploration of the country. Reading up on history to acquaint yourself with the English people and their customs and cultural heritage is necessary to understanding the English. England has a traditional heritage from the royalty and aristocracy which has become diluted and in many ways radically transformed by massive immigration of workers and refugees from extremely diverse and varied religions and ethnicities.

It is important to realize that much of the portrayal of the English in movies and print media, is vastly different from how the various ethnic groups behave, think and live in multicultural England. From the crowded neighborhoods of impoverished immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa to Muslims from the Mid East, to the entrenched original inhabitants of England, the things you need to know about the English will probably surprise as well as enlighten you.