taking the family on a vacation this spring and trying to plan the itinerary.
Do most people visiting London take advantage of the London Pass to combine attractions they plan to visit?
Or do you just play things by ear and explore as you want?
We're usually beach people or spend our time in hockey rinks, but the kids wanted to go to Europe. I just don't like having set itineraries unless there's a reason to (like a Disney fast pass or stuff that sells out - for example).
So, just wanted to hear how most people explored London.
We're staying at St. Ermins in Central London (according to the hotel description), so I think most stuff should be accessible.
Thank you for any tips/suggestions.
The changing of the guard isn't all that exciting, but at least you can say you saw it.
All the other attractions you can get to easily. If you don't want to take the tube there are many buses.
Also, make sure to visit Tower of London. That might have been my favorite site there to see.
Unfortunately Big Ben was covered in scaffolding so we couldn't see it.
When you're buying souvenirs, most places you can haggle for the price. Seems like an odd concept, but it's true.
Food wasn't great, but the beer was cheap and good.
I'd recommend buying tickets to some sights ahead of time to save time/money (ie- Tower of London, the London Eye, etc.)
If you want to see Chuchill's museum tour where he was stationed during WWII, you need to book it ahead of time. I wish I did that and it books quickly, so we waited on line for a long time hoping for an open slot that didn't come and we gave up.
One thing, not sure if you will be there on a Sunday, but that day they close the roads around Buckingham Palace. We did a bike tour called "Fat Tire" that was amazing. It's about a 3 hour tour where they ride around some of the parks of London and they take you to various sights. With the roads closed, you ride right past Buckingham. If you can get it for a Sunday, I'd recommend it. My kids loved that.
And don't do the hop on/hop off bus. Waste of money. The underground is super easy. Get an oyster card and navigate your way around that way.
https://www.fattiretours.com/london?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgoab_M_U5wIVF6SzCh0a1Q07EAAYASAAEgIDp_D_BwE - ( New Window )
We saw a couple shows at West End and that was fun. The Tower was fun. Didn’t go on the big Ferris wheel thing but I’m sure kids would love that.
Actually I thought the changing of the guard was very overrated. As was StoneHenge.
We saw a couple shows at West End and that was fun. The Tower was fun. Didn’t go on the big Ferris wheel thing but I’m sure kids would love that.
I agree Westminster Abbey was great. If you do go, buy the tickets for the museum on the upper floor. There is an original copy of the Magna Carta up there, plus some other cool stuff.
Also do the walk to the top of St.Pauls. That was awesome too.
I would also recommend the Thames walk on both sides. Very educational
And just a nice walk.
Globe was great
Brewdog in East Cheap near Tower if you want some good beer
Brick Lane. On weekends they have findoor food carts. Every ethnicity Nader the sun. Heat and not expensive
There is also a smaller one on Bsnkside. Great for brunch
I really enjoyed he bike share bikes. Riding along the Thames was great
Foyles Bookstore
National Gallery
I liked the London Museum. Great exhibit on punk rock
Tower
British Museum
But basically just walking around is great
-Borough Market
-Kensington Gardens and other parka
-Tate Modern Art Museum
-what to eat: Full English Breakfast, jacket potatoes, Sunday roast with Yorkshire pudding, Indian food and fish and chips and must have crumpets and tea.
-check out some of the nearby towns off the tube and their markets like Camden and portobello road
-globe theatre was pretty cool to see a show
-Covent gardens
If you take day trips look into megabus—much cheaper than the trains. I loved York England. Also lived I. Manchester which I like better than London. If you can get to the Cotswolds that was very cool and relaxing.
- You can actually do a walking tour from Trafalgar Sq, down the Buckingham, Westminster Abbey, Parliment/Big Ben, and back in 3 hours all on your own (stopping at pubs all the time).
- Definitely hit up some West End London plays. Its like off Broadway, maybe better. I believe there are 60 or so different play houses, all with famous plays and stars
- Definitely do a tour of the Tour of London. You can get off from the Bus Tours (See above), of for a really spectacular ride take a boat down the Thames to it. You pick them up from Big Ben.
- For an offbeat thing to do visit the London Dungeon. IT is a walk through the seedy side of London history. IT talks about the Tower of London and when it was a jail, torture tactics of the mideviel times, the fire of 1666, and Jack the Ripper. It ends with you being hanged.
- The War Museums are fantastic if you are in to that stuff
- The High Class shopping area is Regents Street (think live models, etc.). So if you're into this go here
- For a sports bar go to Rileys Sports Bar on Haymarket. Two floors, lots of TV's. Shows soccer and rugby in the morning, then NFL in the afternoon
- Chinatown is behind Leicester Sq (actually behind the casino), so if you want that food go there.
- The Tube goes everywhere. You can go anywhere in Zone 1 (central London) for 5 pounds).
- See a soccer match, its wilder than football. Arsenal, West Ham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham are all Premier League teams in London
- Covent Garden is a nice outdoor shopping area to go to.
- All the pubs are great, some have really good food too. The pubs close at 10-11, then the clubs open. Some, like the Zoo Bar is Leicester Sq, offer both. So if you are in the Pub then you can go downstairs to the club.
- Pubs are all over the place, too many to discuss. Every corner has one.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot.
Also the self walking tour goes from Trafalgar to Buckingham Palace, to Westminster.
toad in the hole -
WHen in London you have to go to a pub, drink a few pints, and have authentic British pub fare --
Tp 10 things to eat in London - ( New Window )
The Tower is a must.
And when you do Westminster, pay for the enhanced tour. They take you in parts of the Abbey and show you things you won’t see any other way. It’s fantastic.
The Tower is a must.
And when you do Westminster, pay for the enhanced tour. They take you in parts of the Abbey and show you things you won’t see any other way. It’s fantastic.
- You can actually do a walking tour from Trafalgar Sq, down the Buckingham, Westminster Abbey, Parliment/Big Ben, and back in 3 hours all on your own (stopping at pubs all the time).
- Definitely hit up some West End London plays. Its like off Broadway, maybe better. I believe there are 60 or so different play houses, all with famous plays and stars
- Definitely do a tour of the Tour of London. You can get off from the Bus Tours (See above), of for a really spectacular ride take a boat down the Thames to it. You pick them up from Big Ben.
- For an offbeat thing to do visit the London Dungeon. IT is a walk through the seedy side of London history. IT talks about the Tower of London and when it was a jail, torture tactics of the mideviel times, the fire of 1666, and Jack the Ripper. It ends with you being hanged.
- The War Museums are fantastic if you are in to that stuff
- The High Class shopping area is Regents Street (think live models, etc.). So if you're into this go here
- For a sports bar go to Rileys Sports Bar on Haymarket. Two floors, lots of TV's. Shows soccer and rugby in the morning, then NFL in the afternoon
- Chinatown is behind Leicester Sq (actually behind the casino), so if you want that food go there.
- The Tube goes everywhere. You can go anywhere in Zone 1 (central London) for 5 pounds).
- See a soccer match, its wilder than football. Arsenal, West Ham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and Tottenham are all Premier League teams in London
- Covent Garden is a nice outdoor shopping area to go to.
- All the pubs are great, some have really good food too. The pubs close at 10-11, then the clubs open. Some, like the Zoo Bar is Leicester Sq, offer both. So if you are in the Pub then you can go downstairs to the club.
- Pubs are all over the place, too many to discuss. Every corner has one.
I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot.
this is a very good list. i'd especially recommend the self paced walking tour mentioned. your hotel is in westminster already so you're in the middle of those things.
additional things to consider, not knowing the age of your kids:
1. stonehendge / roman baths day tour
2. poppies for fish and chips
3. do a high tea at somewhere tony. i did at brown's. it's an experience.
4. st johns restaurant for some true old school british cooking.
5. churchill war rooms musuem. you can layer this into your walking tour.
6. veeraswamy for amazing indian. their plain roast chicken is just ridiculously tender and moist. other things great too.
7. dinner by heston blumenthal. get the meat/fruit pie.
8. when are going? maybe try to get to a soccer game.
9. evening/pre-dinner cockatil at top of the shard. best view of london you'll ever get. there's a secret menu (reduced price) menu if you say you work for a company that's located in the shard.
10. pick yourself up a pair true english shoes on jereymn street. i prefer cheaney because for their mix of quality and reasonable (relative) prices, but trickers, crockett and jones, and others warrant attention. these are shoes/boots for life if you take care of them, so factor that into the prices.
11. harrods. it's the original and will make your wife happy to go there.
12. again, how old are the kids? maybe think about the original madame tousads wax museum.
13. st paul cathedral and it's whispering gallery - pretty cool.
going in April
kids are 17, 17, and 12.
Many Pubs have really good traditional English fare (some of the best meals I have had were in Pubs). Things like Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, Steak and Ale pie, mushy peas, and Sheperds Pie.
The comment above on an English Breakfast is spot on. Different than what we have, but really good. Eggs, ham, tomatoes, toast, baked beans, etc. Need to try it.
London Walks - a few hours touring a specific area or theme (eg, the Beatles) with knowledgeable and entertaining guides. I've done lots of these over the years. Walking gets you so close to the sites.
Half price ticket booth at Leister Square. Like the TKTS booth in NYC. When I used it, it woul open around 11 am to get tickets for that nights plays or musicals.
Definitely go to Westminster Abbey and Wal across the Tower Bridge.
London Walks - a few hours touring a specific area or theme (eg, the Beatles) with knowledgeable and entertaining guides. I've done lots of these over the years. Walking gets you so close to the sites.
Half price ticket booth at Leister Square. Like the TKTS booth in NYC. When I used it, it woul open around 11 am to get tickets for that nights plays or musicals.
Definitely go to Westminster Abbey and Wal across the Tower Bridge.
My older and I have similar interests, and when she was in 8th grade we spent 2 weeks in England and Wales, and we loved it. In London, some of the highlights for her were: 1) hop-on/off Big Bus tour 2) 3-hour walking tour of all the places where Harry Potter stuff was filmed, 3) walking across the Millennium Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral to the Globe theater (and tours of both places), 4) touring the Royal Mews (carriage house) at Buckingham Palace -- from carriages to royal claret colored Bentleys... 5) Royal Museum 6) British Museum, 7) National Gallery. If my wife and younger daughter had been with us, the only thing among these that they would have enjoyed, would be the Royal Mews.
Again, it depends on your children. My 8th-grade daughter and I probably would say the top two things we saw were the John Harrison clocks at Royal Observatory in Greenwich (where you can stand in both hemispheres) and the lifeboat that Shackelton used in the greatest rescue in the history of exploration. (The James Caird, at his public school, Dulwich.) But she is a sponge for all things geeky. She LOVED the Harry Potter walking tour, too, though I was bored.
Know thy children, and plan accordingly.
My older and I have similar interests, and when she was in 8th grade we spent 2 weeks in England and Wales, and we loved it. In London, some of the highlights for her were: 1) hop-on/off Big Bus tour 2) 3-hour walking tour of all the places where Harry Potter stuff was filmed, 3) walking across the Millennium Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral to the Globe theater (and tours of both places), 4) touring the Royal Mews (carriage house) at Buckingham Palace -- from carriages to royal claret colored Bentleys... 5) Royal Museum 6) British Museum, 7) National Gallery. If my wife and younger daughter had been with us, the only thing among these that they would have enjoyed, would be the Royal Mews.
Again, it depends on your children. My 8th-grade daughter and I probably would say the top two things we saw were the John Harrison clocks at Royal Observatory in Greenwich (where you can stand in both hemispheres) and the lifeboat that Shackelton used in the greatest rescue in the history of exploration. (The James Caird, at his public school, Dulwich.) But she is a sponge for all things geeky. She LOVED the Harry Potter walking tour, too, though I was bored.
Know thy children, and plan accordingly.
Charlie -- you have an 8th grade daughter? How is that possible? What is the world coming to?