London: travel to, parking, hotels, things to do

davidkent_2

If anyone is planning to go to London, there's finally a site that compiles free discount codes and links to the musicals in the West End from a wide range of sources (like Broadway's BroadwayBox.com). It is at http://www.musicorld.com .

Regards,
David

Travelqueen

Theatremonkey is also pretty good for info and tips...

http://www.theatremonkey.com

TQ

andyb_5

Hi,
Would love to take the family (two adults and two girls 9 and 11) to see the sights, for 2 or 3 nights. Could anyone suggest where we could find some sensibly priced accommodation in the Oct half term. We are on quite a tight budget.
Cheers,
Andy

Tony-Anfield

Try Travelodge they have 11 lodges in London, they also do family rooms. Sign up for the email service and the will email you when they have special offers on.
http://www.travelodge.co.uk 8)

andyb_5

To Tony

Thanks for the advice ref. Travel Lodges in London, I just booked 3 nights in London for all four of us for £120.00.

And also because its the Docklands travel lodge its outside the congestion zone, and even has freeparking.

A cracking deal!!!!

Thanks again

Andy

celticsprite

hi andyb,

here's a site with loads of special offers for when you're in london

http://www.visitlondon.com/home/offers

hope you find something that keeps you and the rest of the family interested.

cs

Savvy_Sue

Not long back from 'showing the sights' to a French guest, luckily we have accommodation with the in-laws. But youth hostels would also have been a good place to look: some do family rooms. Travelodge will probably be more comfortable. ;D

http://www.citiesforfree.com/ also lists free stuff in London, eg tells you how to do a tourist bus ride on a bus pass (but without the commentary). In my youth I did a few walking tours of London and learnt a lot that way, but there's a lot to see on foot. If you decide to pay for one of the touristy bus tours - and the commentaries are good - do your research in advance, and make sure you get on the 'right' company's bus on arrival - their maps can look quite similar, so you may assume that you've got the one you wanted when in fact you haven't. Although they all make a huge selling point out of being able to hop on and off and getting reduced entry to places like Madame Tussauds, I think you'll get best value for money if you don't try to do too much other than the bus tour on one day. They cover several different routes, some have live commentary, some pre-recorded, and go all over the place.

Do not rely on being sold the best ticket at the railway station: I paid more for a single fare for one adult and two children from Victoria to Eltham (about as far out as Docklands but t'other side of the river) than I did the next day for a family travelcard on which we could have gone anywhere on any form of transport.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/ has comprehensive details on getting around London by public transport but if you can understand their fares leaflet you're doing well. If the hotel don't seem knowledgeable about travelcards, find a local shop which sells them and they will probably be very helpful!

There are lots of 'London for free' books available: see which of them you can get from your local library!

Lots of London museums are now free, and many of them have excellent displays for children. But you can't rush a good museum, or a good art gallery, come to that, so don't even try to do it all in a day. We spent an entire afternoon at the Imperial War Museum and didn't see half of it.

And decide what's important to you in 'seeing the sights'. I felt our French guest had to see Buckingham Palace, and we hadn't really on our main day in Central London. So en route to Victoria for the bus back to Bristol we went to the Changing of the Guard, which he was most impressed by. Discovered that despite having lived most of her life in London, the MiL had never been before!

Wonderful city, hope you enjoy your visit.

Final tip, carry your own water / cold drinks each day, and if you need to top up, look for a Boots or M&S Simply Food outlet or other national chain to buy more rather than paying over the odds in touristy shops. Those are also good places to buy sandwiches!

System

travel is cheap by public transport - it is cheaper to get a family travel card (30% off adult fare and kids 80P each) from memory £3.80 for 1 adult and 1 kid. If travelling over weekend you can get a weekend travel card which is even cheaper. You can use on mainline train, underground, bus, trams and get discounts on some river trips. Pick up leaflets at train/underground stations which have offers for various attractions/eateries. Many museums free now (Nat Hist/Science/HMS Belfast (although adults pay small fee for HMS B (about £1.50). Covent Garden/Camden good for markets and can get reasonable food there

Cullumpster

Hello All,
I'm sure there is something on this site already about this but i can't seem to find it.
I'm going away to London in October and need to find a nice cheapish hotel as we will be staying for 2 nights and i've spent most of the budget on tickets to see Billy Connolly Wahoo!!
Can Anyone Help At All Pleeze????
Cheers
Vic ::)

Donnie

Try http://www.travelodge.co.uk/