We will be in london saturday, sunday and monday, leaving tuesday morning to Gatwick. How do we plan those 3 days in the most logical and economical order. I find the sights outrageously expensive. To see St. Paul's would cost us 40 pounds, that's almost $80. to see a church, London eye another $100., westminister abbey, london walks, theatre etc.etc. are all stuff we'd love to do, not to mention the price of food (with my 6foot 5, 16 year old son). We will be staying at Earl's Court tube station area. We will arrive from Heathrow on Friday night. Should we buy a travel card or pass or are we walking distance to a lot of the sights. We are big walkers. Thanks
Hello, My suggestion would be to look at this web site Vist London for special offers and then 2 for 1 which will halve the cost of entry to some London attractions if you travel by train. So yes do get travel cards for the days you want to visit anything on their list, including some theatrical productions! Scour the sites too for free late openings at art galleries and some exhibitions in the smaller galleries are free. Somerset House is a delightful spot and will give you free entrance into the building and riverside terrace,but you will have to pay if you want to visit the galleries. The cafe is modestly priced and provides good coffee, excellent cakes and very good lunches for a fraction of the price of any of the chains.
Visit London also gives walking routes between attractions but you'll find lots of helpful hints, including the half price ticket booth,if you run a search on S T as this question has been asked many times before.
I would consider changing my accommodation to something like Vancouver Studios which would give you the option of basic self catering facilities here is Maureen's review.
Not everything in London is expensive,our great museums are now free again and my Sons would happily spend hour or two in any one of them in their teens, now they go for hours! Happy Planning! Wendy
Posts: 2747 | Location: Lightwater Surrey U K | Registered: 30 March 2003
Wow, where to start. There is plenty to do and see in London without spending too much cash. We usually pick one pricy thing per day and freebies for the rest of the day.
I don't have a teenage boy (I do have a 12year old girl) so may be our ideas won't work for you but....
Many art galleries and museums are free British museum, National Gallery, V&A, Science Museum, Nauturel History Museum etc and are great on wet days.
If you like walking, London guide books (such as Fodor's) have walks in them which cost you nothing but point out the sights.
Many famous London landmarks are free from the outside including St Pauls Big Ben and the Houses of Parliment, Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace (time this one to see the Changing of the Guard), Trafalgar Square etc etc
Covent Garden and Camden Lock have great markets and only cost what you spend; Covent Garden often has street performers - some good, some not so brilliant.
We sometimes base trips around an event, person or theme and visit places in London connected with them. It gives the sightseeing a focus. For example we 'did' the Great Fire of London. Visited London Museum (free) went to Pudding Lane where the fire started and went up the monument (at Monument underground) put up to comemorate the fire (£2 each). The view from the top was fantastic. We then went onto see the street that Pepys (who recorded the fire in his diary) lived and worked in. The church he attended is still there. The whole day cast us our travel pass and £2 each for the monument.
A slow walk up a street like Fleet Street always surprises us with plaques and signs indicating events and people that 'happened'. Another challenge we did when we were flat broke was to identify and visit all the churches in the nursery rhyme 'Oranges and Lemons'.
I hope this gives you some ideas and sparks your own. There is sooo much more to London than the 'big' attractions I hope you discover 'your' London.
Some distances in london are bigger than you expect and you will probably want to use the Underground or buses to get to areas like Covent Garden.
One tip is to try and get a fantastic route map of the buses we have found at some underground stations called the Central London Bus Guide. It makes using the buses much easier and you get to see London as you travel around( saving the expensive tour buses) just read you guide book as you travel so you know what you are seeing. There are plenty of visitors doing the same thing. Your travel card will be valid for both the underground and the buses.
Bridget
Posts: 25 | Location: Cambridge UK | Registered: 06 April 2006
Earl's Court is notwalking distance from many of London's popular sights, so some sort of travel pass might be in order. A 3 day, zones 1-2 travelcard costs 15.40 UKpounds per person, or you can get one day passes in peak and off-peak versions (off-peak is 9.30 a.m. onward on weekdays). For info check the TFL website.
If you get a Transport for London pass, then you can take trips on commuter boats in the Thames for a discount. These boat trips are less expensive than the organized tour boats...you see the same sights, with less obnoxious loudspeaker commentary too.
One sight that I would notbypass because of cost is the Tower of London. Family tickets are 43pounds*. From here, you can also ride the Docklands Light Railway to Greenwich, where the nautical museum (free) and Royal Observatory (free) are really worth visiting.
* If you are considering going to Kensington Palace or Hampton Court in addition to the Tower of London, Historic Royal Palaces sells a 69pound family annual membership. By the way, the 2-for-1 rail travel offers that Wendyash mentioned expire at the end of May, I believe.
I believe there is enough free attractions and activities to occupy 3 days in London--almost all the museums for instance--but you could also check out something like the London Passifyou are going to visit many sights with high admission fees. A 3 day pass costs 52pounds--which isn't exactly cheap either.
Also, note that St. Paul's has family tickets for 21.50 pounds; Westminster Abbey, which is at least as historic and inspiring as St. Paul's, offers family tickets for 22pounds.
Food can be a challenge, especially inexpensive and teen-filling food. Suggest visiting food halls of dept. stores, or grocery stores, for take-away prepared food, and having picnic lunches. Also, notable among the "bargains" is the Wagamama restaurant chain, with several locations in London. If your B&B or hotel includes breakfast, and it is a substantial full English breakfast, that will at least start your days with a full teen.
To keep your food bill in cheap, I recommend the egg sandwiches from places like Pret A Manger. They're about 1.30 and healthy and filling. Well, your two growing teenagers might need to eat a couple - but it was the cheapest lunch I found in London!
David, 2for1 has been running for some time so will probably start again with new offers from June the 1st,or do you know that they are definitely stopping that promotion? We have used them several times and they are a marvellous way of saving money but sometimes the offers change hence the need to publish twice a year.
Visit London shouldn't be overlooked as I said before,it is particularly good with Family offers and was offering 2 for 1 on The London Eye a couple of months ago as well as a discount on the London Pass.
Wendy
Posts: 2747 | Location: Lightwater Surrey U K | Registered: 30 March 2003
My son (who is 23 but has lived in London since he was 19) really loves taking people to Camden Yards. He thinks the market is really cool and full of interesting things to buy and interesting people. The Tate Modern might be more interesting to younger people - my daughter is more into Modern Art and it's an interesting venue. As for food - Pret a Manger is good and there are cheaper versions around as well. and the ubiquitous McDonald's. There are also numerous Pizza Huts with a buffet lunch deal.
what excellent ideas, I will be looking out for the new schedule of 2for1 deals and maybe luck out on a couple of things. Is the show the Producers teen appropriate, knowing that kids these days are pretty exposed to lots through multi-media. And is 22 pounds for dinner at P.J.'s grill and show a good deal. Should i prebook?
Totally agreed with everyone else... you do NOT need to spend hideous amounts of money in London. The London Eye I didn't even bother with-- there are plenty of gorgeous views from the bridges along the river and everywhere else. I'd say pick a couple of major spots and pay for entrance (I suggest St Pauls, Westminster, or the Tower of London) and do the rest for free.
If you are renting somewhere with a kitchen, you should not have a problem with eating. I lived in Kensington for 4 months (upscale area) and ate easily... just find a Sainsbury and go to the frozen meals. I have never had better frozen dinners in my life than in London-- don't ask me why, but they're great!!! And for lunches I just went to the local Indian deli (is it still called a deli?) and got a chicken-curry baguette for a couple of pounds.
Also you can get a lot of theatre tickets half price if you wait in the line at the half-price booth in Leicester Square.
I too recommend Tate Modern (very fun if teens are not interested in "boring history") and Camden Square. Another fun place is the Portobello Market on Saturday mornings.
If the kids are at all interested in cool history stuff, I definitely say take a turn through the British Museum. I mean, they'll see stuff they've learned about all through school (ie Rosetta Stone, egyptian mummies, etc).
Topic Closed
....Camden Market is the interesting spot you mentioned in London.
