London - october half term - ideas please

MDUK

Hi, i wonder if anyone who knows London well or perhaps has done this themselves can recommend activities and/or accommodation for London.

Going down as a family 2 adults and 3 children (10,1215). We are arriving Thursday afternoon by train and leaving Sunday afternoon. I need to mix up what we do, sights, activities, history etc but limit spending where possible. ie a mix of free/cheap activities mixed with the stuff i am going to have to pay for.

The science museum or the war museum are a must as is the palace and horseguards and the eye. They want to do a show (mama mia, wicked or something similar) maybe Tussauds

I am not sure how to eat out on a budget (i can't stand mcdonalds) and would rather go somewhere nice for dinner even if we have to have subway for lunch every day)

i hope that gives you an idea of what we want to do - any advice on what to do, where to stay and where to get 'deals' gratefully received.

Debt_Free_Dreamer

We had one meal at a Weatherspoons when we were in the big City. As it is normally the drinks that bump up eating out, it was nice and cheap.

Great price for a quick lunch time meal and drinks. It was up the road from the London Eye, so worth checking out where they are before you go and you can include them in your route planning.

If you are staying at a Travel Lodge, eat breakfast and take a bag to breakfast. You can then take some muffins, yougurts etc., for later in the day. Sneaky, but the price they charge warrants you getting your money worth.

fiscalfreckles

Look in the Restauarant Vouchers section on this site, there are usually some good deals at places like La Tasca, Ask, Pizza Express, Prezzo, etc, ideal for families. Print off vouchers before you go & check websites for locations. Chinatown offers some reasonable set menus & buffets too, though the quality varies it is nice to walk down Lisle St (behind Leicester Sq) and soak up the atmosphere. Wetherspoons is good value too as mentioned above.

A walk round Covent Garden is good fun, as there are lots of street entertainers. We enjoyed the Tate Modern on the South Bank a lot more than we expected too (went one rainy afternoon!) and that's free.

Theatre tickets are quite pricey for the shows you want, but you could try TKTS in Leicester Square, though you have to queue on the day for half price seats. If you want to book in advance, try lastminute.com or Whats On Stage websites, some good deals there.