London!!!

[mumj18]

Ok, so trying to persuade OH to take me to London for my 21st in March but have no clue where to stay.

I'd want to do all the touristy things like shops, palace and most importantly shows! I have to see The Lion King!

Does anyone know what area we need to be looking in? Can anyone recommend a hotel? A nice hotel where we're either near to things or near to transport to get to things. I do not know where anything is in London!

Any help hugely appreciated.

 

[suzib76]

Look at the tube map for where you want to be going and the select hotel that is near a connecting line

 

[littlegenes]

Ok, so trying to persuade OH to take me to London for my 21st in March but have no clue where to stay.

I'd want to do all the touristy things like shops, palace and most importantly shows! I have to see The Lion King!

Does anyone know what area we need to be looking in? Can anyone recommend a hotel? A nice hotel where we're either near to things or near to transport to get to things. I do not know where anything is in London!

Any help hugely appreciated.

Look at Last Minute Top Secret hotels- always really nice 5 and 4* star hotels in lovely areas heavily reduced- I am in London tonight and although I have sisters here I have to stay in a hotel. Kensington/Chelsea are nice areas- keep around central. With top secret hotels you don't know the hotel until you book (I assure you won't be disappointed!) but you will know the area- so research the area. Feel free to PM me and I will give you my honest opinion of what I think and whether you should stay there

Throught last minute I am staying at a hotel on Kensington high street for £83 instead of £130. Gorgeous area- I am surrounded by houses that cost millions, no "riff raff" (as my mum calls it ) and its close to shops and literally a stone throw from the tube.

Don't go for a cheap hotel- firstly you will more than likely be miles from anywhere and will spend whatever you save on travel or you will be in a total dive where someone would mug you for a primark handbag.

Regards to lion king- go and see Matilda. Kicks the Lion king out the water- kicks any musical (and I have seen a LOT) out of the water. Wicked is second to Matilda for me.


Regards to other things...

Travel when you are in London- make sure you get an Oyster card. Avoid the tube- ridiculously expensive. Granted I had to travel in peak but it cost me £5 to go three stops earlier on to get to my hotel- for overcrowded, cramped, smelly conditions. Get the bus- £1.20 for a journey and there is a cap of £6 a day (or there abouts)- buses to pretty much es. However- this is only with a valid oyster card. You could buy it when you get there or get it sent to you- requires a £5 deposit which you get back when you give back your oyster card, obviously if you will be coming back frequently don't bother giving it back.

Some suggestions for things to do:

Shopping- DO NOT go to Oxford Street. Full of chavs and you can't move without bumping into someone and it is so run down now. I had a big thing about going a couple of years ago- and then I went to the Westfield and I haven't been back since apart from when I went to the flagship Topshop last year to get an exclusive dress and I felt like shooting myself after being there for 10 minutes at 09.30 in the morning- already hundreds milling about. Westfield shopping centres are your best bet- theres one in Stratford (you will probably have to get the tube here as it is quite far) and of course if you go there you will the Olympic park (or whats left of it anyway) or there is one in Shepherds bush- west London.
Portobello road market is worth a visit- don't go near Camden. Complete over hype. Borough market if you enjoy food.

Museums- not sure if your into them but this is a great way of doing something for free. Highly recommend the V+A- arts and fashion museum. Lots of permanent exhibitions that you can see for free but they have some great paid exhibitions on- this year has been one about British design, ballgowns and I am going to one about Hollywood costume on Wednesday.
Science and natural history museums are next door- also worth a look, again some things are free and other things you have to pay for. Natural portrait gallery is good too- not been for a while though.

Kensington palace is DEFIANTLY worth a visit and not too expensive- Buckingham palace is (unfortunately as I really enjoyed it this summer) only open in the summer.

Try and do some "tourist walks"- last time I was here I walked past the Houses of parliament, past Downing street and along to the Mall where Buck palace is and saw them all for free. Don't waste your money on these "tour buses"- awful and complete waste of money. Look at places you want to see and see if you can walk to see several places at once.

Maybe a river boat ride? I went on one from Embankment Pier to Greenwich in the summer and saw lots- including the sights around Tower/London Bridge and Canary wharf.

If you fancy a posh treat- tea and ice cream at Fortnum and Mason isn't all that expensive (or as expensive as you would think for F+M)- I had a huge ice cream sundae there in summer for about £8- can't remember how much I paid for Mums tea!

Giraffe Cafe is nice for breakfast- or of course there is good old Mcds! If you go past a Whole Foods market go in there and buy yourself a stick of their foccacia- to DIE for!


Really can't think of anything else- I come here every few weeks so feel free to ask any questions here or in a PM.

 

[littlegenes]

Sorry I meant to add- if you want particular hotels:

The Grange brand has never let us down (we have had several hotels with them through Last minute) we have stayed in Tower Bridge (near tower bridge/tower of London) u - excellent 5* hotel with a pool and bus stop around the corner. Stayed at the Grange St Pauls- again excellent and had a pool. Bus stop a 30 second walk away from the front door of the hotel. The Grange City- close to London bridge and also a great hotel- we have stayed in these with a saving of £20/30 a night. With some hotels the discount is less as the hotel itself will give special offers.

The Grosvenor in Victoria was nice- it was about £100 a night through last minute and according to their website its £125 a night- saving of 1/4 which could be a meal a day!

Not stayed in a Hilton here in London but have stayed in them in other places and usually nice hotels.

 

[littlegenes]

Some budgeting for you

For a two night stay expect to budget about

£15-20 each on a Oyster card- remember to avoid peak times and use the bus when you can- takes longer but is going to save you money!

Depending where you are going to eat- about £60 a day for food. Obviously there is voucher codes etc- we tend to avoid chains so this is a big guess. A Mcds breakfast is about £5 a head, Boots meal deal for lunch another £3 and then an evening meal can get very expensive if you drink and have more than one course.

Sightseeing maybe another £100 per head- of course you could work this out exactly if you go on the websites of the places you want to go.

Obviously budget what you can afford for shopping- but if I go to Porto I will spend about £50 easily and I can walk out of the Westfield a couple hundred £ lighter

 

[suzib76]

I got a travel card for a few quid which covered bus and tube

 

[maryp0ppins]

There is some good advice already given above but therw are a few things i disagree with.

Def get a travel card to include bus and tube! Try and buy it after 9:30 am as this is when the price goes down after rush hour. Busses can be a nightmare if you dont know where you are going. You dont NEED an oyster card,a paper travel card is less than £1 more a day and if u are only staying a few days its easier to get that rather to faff around with a deposit and then get it back at the end.

Markets are grear,both mentioned are always a good day out. I do think camden is worth it if you enjoy music. I might be biased as my friend runs a stall there which i am taking over for december!!

Cant say much about hotels as i live here but the areas mentioned above are lovely,i used to live in west london. I went to see lion king 2 weeks ago and it was great!!

 

[mumj18]

Wow thanks for all the help ladies!!

I feel like I have half a clue now. Will check out that website for a hotel.

Matilda sounds good, tbh I didn't know there was a musical of Matilda!

Littlegenes I will pm you if I need some help, thank you!

Wish we vcould go for more than two nights as it sounds like there's so much to do but were going child free and can't leave the girls any longer than that.

Any one have any thoughts on what's a must do??

Thanks again xxxx

 

[littlegenes]

Travel cards- great if you know for sure what Zone you want to go to- but what if you have a change of heart and decide to go somewhere in Zone 3 when you only have a Zone 1-2 card? You then have to spend more to travel to Zone 3.

Also- for £6 that will be an off peak ticket meaning you couldn't get a very early start (before 9.30am) and you wouldn't be able to travel between 4.30-6.30

Stick with oyster- much more convenient. Plus you can top up online so no standing in ques in tube stations.

 

[littlegenes]

Wow thanks for all the help ladies!!

I feel like I have half a clue now. Will check out that website for a hotel.

Matilda sounds good, tbh I didn't know there was a musical of Matilda!

Littlegenes I will pm you if I need some help, thank you!

Wish we vcould go for more than two nights as it sounds like there's so much to do but were going child free and can't leave the girls any longer than that.

Any one have any thoughts on what's a must do??

Thanks again xxxx

For me its the V+A and Westfield (im going off there now) but as I said it really depends on what you like to do- do some research on the places I suggested and see what you fancy. You will be surprised at how much you can fit in!

PM anytime!

 

[Kimboowee]

It depends what you want to do. If you are only there for the day and want to do tourist-y things then In would skip Westfield and head into central London.

 

[Pearls18]

For places to stay look at the tube map, if you're close to a tube station that will take you most places you need to go. I personally always used paper tickets until I moved to London, we always stayed within and travelled in zones 1 and 2 so the £5 card wasn't worth the money for us as we very frequently visited- however queuing for tickets is a pain in the arse so whichever way you do it maybe try and sort beforehand. Now I have to use the tube every uccch - but it's great for getting places! I would recommend staying mid week, it is busier on the weekend than peak time rush hour from my experience!

 

[Pearls18]

Oh and if you have an iPhone there are great apps for London, especially for the tube.

 

[suzib76]

I don't understand that about an Oyster card tbh I can't see why the need for one unless you live/work in London

Anytime I have been in london I have just bought a travel card for the zones I would be in, sometimes only needed 1-2 and other times up to 6 but it has been valid at all times not just off peak - maybe there is an off peak option, but it isn't the only option

You can get a map online of the zones, and how much the cards cost, I usually buy mine online and have them sent to me so I have it ready when I get into London

 

[maryp0ppins]

I don't understand that about an Oyster card tbh I can't see why the need for one unless you live/work in London

Anytime I have been in london I have just bought a travel card for the zones I would be in, sometimes only needed 1-2 and other times up to 6 but it has been valid at all times not just off peak - maybe there is an off peak option, but it isn't the only option

You can get a map online of the zones, and how much the cards cost, I usually buy mine online and have them sent to me so I have it ready when I get into London

You dont need an oyster card unless you live in london or come to london frequently..paper ticket is fine. Thats what i was trying to say earlier on. I think if you buy the day travelcard after 9:30 am it will be cheaper but still work later on during the evening rush hour. For example zone 1-3 day card peak is about £10, after 9:30 when it becomes off peak its around £7

 

[maryp0ppins]

Oops sorry for some reason i thought you were the OP suzib and i quoted you haha

 

[Pearls18]

Yeah and I would always recommend the tube over the buses, I live in London and still find the buses confusing lol, plus...as lame as it sounds, the tube is kinda part of the tourist process I guess?

 

[Pearls18]

It depends what you want to do. If you are only there for the day and want to do tourist-y things then In would skip Westfield and head into central London.

Yeah Westfield is like any other mall you can get in the country, unless you have the money to shop in Tiffanys lol.

 

[littlegenes]

Central London shopping is Oxford street- chavvy, dirty dump. Great if your OK with that- but personally it isn't for me. Would much rather spend an extra couple of £ on travel and go to a clean, air conditioned shopping mall. The shopping you can do in London you can do anywhere in the country regardless of wherever you go.

I checked on the machines today- its £10 for a peak ticket on the tube and bus. Madness to pay that- and as I said, if your going to London surely you want to get up and out and not hang around until 9.30 until you can go out and do something- waste of time. I was out at 07.30 this morning for breakfast and went onto the V+A before coming back to the hotel and getting some bits and then headed off to the Westfield was there for 10.00 and been to Harrods and back now. If I decided to wait around until 09.30 to go out- then it would of been after lunch that I got down there and if I woke up I would be sat twidling my thumbs- maybe more you could do if you hadn't been here before though.

I do agree the tube is part of the "experience" but IMO once you have done it you have done it- not to mention its just a complete waste of money when you can just get on a bus for so much less. You can use an app to plan your journey or the TFL website and print them off.

You can get tourist oyster cards that cost less in deposit than the normal- and it isn't hard to go up to an assistance desk in the station and ask for it back.

 

[littlegenes]

Also OP- if you have children you may want to go and check out Hamleys! I'm going there tomorrow to buy *more* haha Christmas presents