ccstrom

My 80-year-old father is looking at taking my 13-year-old son to London -- and possibly elsewhere in England (or maybe Wales). My son is a huge soccer fan and the purpose of the trip is to see an Arsenal game. He's also interested in the National Football Museum and perhaps seeing a stadium or two. He also talks about seeing the London Zoo and the Chester Zoo and the Natural History Museum. And of course, he'll be required to see some of the other main sites -- the London Eye, Buckingham Castle, Trafalgar Square. I'm guessing the trip will be 7-10 days plus travel time. All suggestions and ideas are welcome!

flanneruk

I'll let others explain the difficulties of getting tickets for Premiership football clubs, the messier problem of organising holidays around the unpredictable times those matches will actually happen, and strategies for dealing with all that.

But are you really sure your family wants to see Chester Zoo? It's 200 miles from London, highly underwhelming by comparison with America's major zoos (or with Whipsnade, an easy day out from London, or London Zoo which is on the doorstep of everything else you mention) and not necessarily surrounded by outstanding other attractions.

On the other hand, nearby Liverpool has two Premier League football clubs (and stunning architecture, and an absurd amount of sentimental nonsense about a few rock groups) and not quite so nearby Manchester, though infinitely less entertaining and beautiful, has two Premiership clubs currently better performing. All four, however, are as exposed as any other Premiership club to the curse of erratic timetabling, which can create real challenges for overseas visitors planning short trips to the region from a London base.

sparkchaser

When is this trip planned?

Getting Premier League tickets is going to be a PITA with no certainty of getting them. Everything else on his list is easily doable (although I would substitute Chester Zoo for Monkey World down in Dorset -- http://www.monkeyworld.org/ ).

Rubicund

The National Football Museum is in Manchester, chosen for its infinite superiority to Liverpool, home of two mediocre football teams.

May I suggest that visit the Museum and do a stadium tour at Old Trafford, home of Manchester United. www.manutd.com

sparkchaser

Hehehehe

Rubicund

sparky, being a Liverpool or Everton fan can't be much of a laugh.

sparkchaser

When I moved here, I was told by many that I would have to choose between Liverpool and Manchester. I always enjoyed the look on their faces when I'd say "Swansea".

BigRuss

<< I always enjoyed the look on their faces when I'd say "Swansea".>>

Is that the look people give when they wonder which asylum you've escaped from?

To the OP: good luck on getting legitimate face value tickets. The old boy is going to have to drop a couple of social security checks on the transaction because he'll probably have to buy from scalpers ("touts" in England).

Basically, to get face-value tickets to a Premier League team's matches, you need to be a member of its fan club (by whatever name it uses to describe that) and then you need to work through a complicated process to purchase the tix. In addition, the "erratic scheduling" is shorthand for how the networks (whoever carries the matches, BBC/Sky whatever) move match times or switch the games from Saturday to Sunday on short notice.

Getting a soccer fix in a country other than England is far easier (we procured tix to a Champions League match for Real Madrid with no problems; we walked up to buy tickets for a major Scottish Premier League clash in Edinburgh 12 years ago - which was before the SPL went completely in the tank).

flanneruk

"being a Liverpool or Everton fan can't be much of a laugh"

Being a Liverpool or Everton fan is a god-given privilege conferred at birth. Life's better if one's team is doing well: in those odd decades they're having a tough time one simply contemplates eternity.

The two easily top the all-time highest performance table ( http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engalltime.html ). Everton have held the championship of England's top division and have been in the top division longer than any other club, and have scored more goals in the top division than anyone else. The fact that they've also had a lot of goals scored against them merely means they've been providing the most thrilling games of all for the past 130 years.

We don't see to be having much success getting advice for you on football tickets though.

First, professional football in England is really played only between mid-August and mid-May: during summer most major English teams are abroad for one reason or another, though there are a few exhibition matches in the lower divisions.

There's faster advice dispensed about getting Premiership tickets at Trip Advisor, and you'll probably get faster advice there (and better than I'm able to offer).

London's top 3 or 4 teams are almost impossible to get tickets for, and that's broadly true these days of the two Manchester clubs. AFAIK, the timetabling problem can often hit midweek Premiership matches as well. Tickets for matches at lesser London clubs can be easier to get - as can Premiership tickets for some matches that don't feature the top 6 or so teams. But of course a very substantial proportion of matches in Liverpool or Birmingham ARE against top 6 teams.

sparkchaser

<i>Is that the look people give when they wonder which asylum you've escaped from?</i>

Rubicund

"Being a Liverpool or Everton fan is a god-given privilege conferred at birth. "

Is that like Original Sin flanner?

ccstrom

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've been in touch with a Facebook group that helps facilitate ticket purchases for Arsenal, so that's covered. A few further questions:

I'm looking into a side trip to Cardiff. It looks like easy access and could perhaps take in a match. Any thoughts?

Any suggestions in Manchester besides the National Football Museum, Old Trafford and the Manchester Museum?

PatrickLondon

>>"Being a Liverpool or Everton fan is a god-given privilege conferred at birth. "

Is that like Original Sin flanner?<<

More likely visiting the sins of the father on the child. I think that's how these things usually go.

Alec

Cardiff City, a Championship side, plays home games at Cardiff City stadium, and it's rarely sold out so ticket should be easy to buy from the club's ticket office.

In Manchester, there is Etihad Stadium, home of Manchester City with stadium tour. Other attractions include Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester Art Gallery, Whitworth Art Gallery, Lowry Centre, Imperial Museum of the North and renowned nightlife.

Rubicund

The Museum of Science and Industry quoted by Alec is exceptional. A 13 year old will love it, as will his Grandad. The Imperial War Museum North(IWMN) is in Salford, but you can catch a tram close to it and will give your pair 2 or 3 hours of absorbing entertainment. It's close to Manchester United's ground, Old Trafford, so they could "do" the IWMN, a United Tour and the National Football Museum in the same day.

Lunch at Old Trafford in the Red Cafe is worth considering to save time-burgers etc.

sparkchaser

Two other sites in the Manchester area are the "Runway Visitor Park Education Centre" near the airport (they have a Concorde): http://book.manchesterairport.co.uk/...wayvisitorpark and the "Avro Heritage Museum" (they have an Avro Vulcan)in Stockport: http://avroheritagemuseum.co.uk/