Finalizing June London Plans
 

Hello! I'm finalizing our plans for a trip to London this June. We're mainly going for Wimbledon but will have 3 sightseeing days. I'm trying to determine if a few things are "worth" it from anyone who's been there.

1. Clock Tower Tour - I need to send out a letter very soon if it's worth it. We are going on the London Eye for a "view".

2. The London Blitz simulation at the Imperial War Museum.

3. Any opinions on Discount cards? The British Heritage Pass vs The London Pass?

If anyone has an opinion on what I know we're doing, I'd love to hear that as well:

Parliament House of Commons debate (really wanted a tour!)

Old Bailey Trial at Central Criminal Court

Banqueting House visit after doing the Mounted Changing of the Guard at the Horse Guards Parade (I'm really bummed that we miss the Trooping the Colour by 1 week:-) )

Sent away for the Ceremony of the KEys at the Tower.

Of course, tower jewels and yeoman warder tour, Westminister Abby, Globe Theater tour,
Hampton Court Palace (did Windsor last trip), Cabinet War Rooms, London Eye, Play (with a 14 year old), Kensington Palace, Royal Mews.

Thanks for any info - Susan

Well, with only 3 days you may not get to all the places on your "already decided" list, let alone the other sites. Don't buy the London Pass. The Great British Heritage Pass (they now have a 4-day version) would be more than worth it if you visit Hampton Court, Kens Palace, Banqueting House, Tower and Royal Mews.

The Imperial War Museum has a LOT more to see than just the Blitz gallery. The museum takes at least a couple of hours. If you can find the time I'd go there - but probably on such a short visit the Cabinet War Rooms would be a better use of your time.

Janis, since we were doing the Cabinet War Rooms that's why I was limiting the Blitz simulation in the Imperial War Museum. Just don't know if the simulation is worth going to at all with so much other things to see.... susan

samejia,
I realize you are merely asking for opinions on these activities rather than whether or not you should include them so based on my experiences:
Houses of Parliament - Yes
London Eye - Needs good weather but will be great for your 14 year old .
Ceremony of the keys - I know it's touristy but we really enjoyed it. Again your 14 year old will love it.
Old Baily - Yes
Globe Theater - Yes
Hampton Court - Yes
I agree with janis. Your schedule seems very ambitious . You may have to cut a few things out. It takes time to get from one place to another in London.Have a wonderful time!

Thanks for your comments.... Has anyone taken the Clock Tower Tour? That's the one I reall need to send a letter out to if it's worth it. Thanks, Susan.

Sorry,can't help you with the Clock Tower Tour but would like to add that if you are going to the Old Bailey, St. Paul's Cathedral is just a stone's throw from there.

To go to the Imperial War Museum just for the Blitz tour would not be worth the time and effort. It was fine but not great. However, the museum in general is very good and worth the time in general. I don't like war museums in general but this one was very well done and very interesting. My husband and kids (aged 7 and 11 then) enjoyed it a lot too. The kids probably found the Imperial War Museum much more interesting the the Cabinet War Rooms but I liked the War Rooms better just because of standing in such an important place in WWII history.

Kensington Palace and the Royal Mews were also interesting but won't take much time.

Thanks, Kitty. I'll probably opt for the Cabinet War Rooms over the Blitz simulation.

Still trying to find someone who's taken the Clock Tower Tour. I'm hoping it's not a waste of time after climbing 300+ steps:-)

Hi
I've been in London 7 or 8 times and I've never heard of the Clock Tower or its tour? What is it?
Is it where Big Ben is, in the Palace of W'minster?

Elaine, yes, the clock tower is where Big Ben is. There are 3 tours daily but only 16 people go on each tour. You have to write to Parliament to secure tickets in advance. Go the www.parliament.uk and click on the visiting parliament tab to the far right. There will be a list and you'll see the details for the Clock Tower Tour. susan

look on the web for the dates of the trooping of the color. it is the celebration of q.e.'s birthday (which is really in april). you will get a chance to see the whole royal family.

Jay, I had already checked into the Trooping of the Colour. We miss it by one week. It's the weekend before our arrival. Thanks, susan

More interesting itenerary than normally seen on this board. As a Londoner, I'd suggest you pack in the Banqueting House (half hour max), Cabinet War Rooms (one of best museums in London) and the Horse Guards bit in one go in the morning, London Eye is a lovely structure but (and my kids will attest to this) not a great 'trip', unless you go at night or dusk when the lights are coming on - London's skyline isn't that great. No point in discount cards for such a short stay. You might also waste a lot of time queuing for the Old Bailey that could be better spent elsewhere.

Wimbledon (presume you mean the tennis) is great - go most years. but the food/drink is rubbish and over-priced: have a pub lunch first in Wimbledon Village (which is nice)...only thing is, I can't remember the names of the pubs (!): I just go to them - just ask when you get there: the good ones are at the top of village (on the hill, not far from the courts) - one's a Young's pub (Youngs is the name of a brewery) and the other is on Wimbledon Common.

I'd cut Hampton Court from your agenda - lovely place but you'll kill at least half a day, possibly more, getting there and back etc.

Mushed, thanks for your advice. I was planning on doing the London Eye at sunset. I'm curious about eating at Wimbledon. Are you allowed to leave the tennis and come back in? Otherwise, how would we do the pub lunch as you suggested. We're planning on doing grounds passes our first day but we do have centre court tickets through the public ballot for the 2nd day of Wimbledon. Do you know anyone who's taken the clock tower tour? Old Baileys is being squeezed in on our last morning there. Our flight leaves at 4pm so I figured we'd queue early and stay for 1-2 hours and off to the airport we go! Since you're a Londoner, is there a certain restaurant that you'd recommend making reservations for prior to coming? I'm not looking for formal dining but would like to maybe go to a nice restaurant one evening..... Thanks, Susan.

No doubt I am a po-faced old thing but I do wonder about people who want to see a criminal trial. Is the contemplation of human misery and folly a nice thing for your holidays?
Why not go on a Legal London walking tour instead?

Yes, you can pop in and out of Centre Court as often as you like (although only when the players change ends). But remember (stupid point this one!) to have your ticket with you otherwise they won't let you back in. To be fair, the food and drink isn't horrendous, but the prices they charge for it are.

Don't know about the bell tower bit. Thought I'd done virtually everything in London but have never heard of it...but will now do it. House of Commons debate will be fun, just to see how juvenile our politicians are. Is it Prime Minister's Questions? That's particularly silly, especially as Blair is now renowned in this country as a bare-faced liar.

There are loads of good restaurants in London but, like most places, it depends what you want to eat and spend. Let me know and I'll suggest. One of my favourite places is the Oxo Tower Brasserie (not the more formal restaurant) - good food, very buzzy and 'London' and, I don't think anyone will dispute this, it has the best views of London (think it's on the 9th floor, can't remember exactly). Costs about 30 quid a head including drink. Must book. You can ask for a window seat but they won't guarantee it; doesn't matter too much as the whole thing is a big glass box. It's on the river, about 10 minutes walk from the Eye.

Mushed, it won't be questions time in Parliament when we go. Our only available day is on a Friday when there is limited activity going on. I have confirmed that the Friday we're there is a sitting Friday. As far as food goes, we have very simple tastes. Can't go wrong with Italian food, Chinese, steak, chicken, etc... We're not big fans of Indian or Thai food.

Sylvia, I was interested in the Old Bailey because my daughter visited a courthouse here in the States and thought it was very interesting. Thought it would be neat for her to see how it's done at the Old Bailey.

Thanks for your help. Susan

Can?t comment on the Clock Tower Tour. The London Blitz simulation at the Imperial War Museum is very good, but I bet you won?t be able to just go in and see that. The Holocaust Exhibition on the top floor is a life changing experience. Also very good is the submarine simulation and the Trench Experience from WWI. Cabinet War Rooms are good as well, but only focus on a particular part of WWII.

I agree that the BHPass would not be worth it for London unless you?re going to houses, estates etc. in environs. And I?m not even sure the London Pass is necessary when so many of the entry fees are being waived.

We loved the Old Bailey. Will go there again. Sorry we waited so long. Was about 30 people in queue but once it got moving went very quickly. Trials are posted outside so if you want something not too dismal you can pick where you want to go. I enjoyed it because I'm an English mystery fanatic and I finally got to see how the Old Bailey works. Also, it gives you another opportunity to see different way justice is handled.

Play, definitely (we go almost every night when we are in London). Kensington Palace is nothing great and I didn?t enjoy the Royal Mews.

Some other things you may not have thought of: Covent Garden, a market, Harrods (the Food Halls are an experience), the Courtauld, the National Portrait Gallery (one of my favourite places in England), a behind the scenes theatre tour and second-hand book stores.

Have fun.

Thanks for your thoughts, rickmay. Did you get to the Old Bailey before it opened? I'm saving that for our last morning when our flight is at 4pm. I won't have time to wait in a long line. I was hoping to get in right when the session started. Susan

We went to the afternoon session. We were there about 1/2 hr. before it started and were first in line. Not sure if it would be that different in the morning. They don't let you in any earlier, however. Right on the dot.

There are two entrances, we've been told that the one out on the busy street (I'll look in my stuff to get the name of it) is a bit busier. We went to the one further east (I think) which is in a bit of tunnel/passageway. In between are the glass-covered bulletin boards with a list of the cases. You won't be able to go in the main doors, those are for staff, lawyers, etc. Although you may see the media lined up outside, if there's an interesting trial on, that's where they interview the lawyers.

It was actually one of the funniest queues I've been in, in England. There were fewer tourists and more trial junkies/groupies, older men who had retired from work and attended almost every day. There were two of them right behind us and we started chatting and they told us what were the 'best' cases to see, the fact that we would be patted down when we went in, where to sit (in the front row, against the wall so you could see the accused) and that we had to be very quiet, could not take photos or even draw (we actually saw the guard come and remove a schoolgirl's drawing of the judge).

Hope everything works out for you.

If you haven't wrote to go on the Clock Tower Tour here is their email address [email protected] I found this on the US Embassy for the UK site. http://www.usembassy.org.uk/ukbigben.html I just received my conformation letter from them for August. It took about a week and a half for them to respond. I heard about it from reading this post. Thank You samejia!

While this list is an ambitious one, everything on the list is worth seeing. But everyone on this thread is correct- this is too much for just 3 days. I would prioritize and select a couple things to do each day and save the rest for another time. I think you would get a lot more satisfaction out of your trip.

I have a list of things I would like to see and do and I just go down the list and check off. And I am not surprised to see more to add to the list. I did not know about the Clock Tower Tour.

I agree with rickmay about the National Portrait Gallery. It is definitely worth a visit. My personal favorite is the portrait of Shakespeare which is the first portrait NPG acquired.

Well, everyone, thanks for your advice on my ambitious itinerary:-)) I received both my Ceremony of the Keys tickets for Friday night and my Clock Tower Tour confirmation for Friday afternoon... Now, all I need to do is figure out which play to get tickets for and book dinner at a nice place for at least one night. I've been researching this forum for restaurant ideas for which there are many. As far as the play goes, is it "safe" to get tickets for the Unabridged World of Shakespeare when we get there. I'm concerned about waiting for half price tickets for June or finding out that we can't get 3 seats together.... Thanks again for everyone's help.

I'm still wondering if anyone "out there" has taken the clock tower tour. My daughter is very excited about it so we're definitely going to do it. Was just wondering what to expect? Or, maybe it's nice to be pleasantly surprised about something rather than overplan everything:-)) Susan

Well, it's been 2 months since I reviewed this post in detail. Since my trip is next month, I need to get in planning mode again. Do you think I need to tour the Tower before going to the Keys Ceremony? I was thinking of saving the Tower tour until after we do the Keys Ceremony (which is on our first night) so I can go see an Old Baileys Trial without feeling rushed before our 4pm flight. I only have 2 business days for touring since my other business days of the week will be spent at Wimbledon. Thanks, Susan

samejia: Just fit the Tower in where ever you can. Going to the Tower before or after the Keys Ceremony really doesn't make that much difference.

Ideally, you'd do a daytime tour of the Tower prior to attending the Ceremony -- but neither one will spoil the other for you.

The Yeoman Warder who explains the ceremony will provide a minimal explanation of the history and layout of the Tower - but the daytime tours are MUCH more comprehensive.

Susan, It sounds like we will be in London at the same time. We, too have tickets to tour the clock tower. I haven't been to it, but I've heard nothing but great reviews from others who have taken it.

Kayb95, my sister-in-law arrived in London today. She's going on the clock tower tour on Tuesday. I'll let you know how she likes it. She's going to try to email me once while she's gone. Susan

Well, I'm leaving in 2 days and am finally trying to make sense out of what we can "fit" in. My baby's been sick so I haven't been able to devote too much time to planning. Anyway, this seems to be a futile attempt but any recommendations would be great. It's quite frustrating realizing we can't fit it all in.

Thursday - Arrive at 8pm. Hotel in S. Kensington.

Friday

Prebooked a 11am Westminster Abbey verger tour. Lunch followed by a 2:30pm clock tower tour. My sister-in-law just came back and said the clock tower tour was fun, but exhausting! I'm tempted to squeeze in the cabinet war rooms after this but I think we'll be too tired. Might be a good idea to grab a hop on/hop off bus for an orientation. Is it too late to hop on the bus at 4pm? Don't they stop running at 6pm? 9:30 pm Ceremony of the Keys.

Saturday

First thing, Tower. Boat ride up to Westminster Pier. Lunch. Cabinet War rooms assuming we didn't do it on Friday. Rest of afternoon shopping with teen on Oxford Street. 5pm Complete Works follwed by dinner and possibly the London Eye or a walk along the south bank for sunset.

Sunday

Changing of Guards following recommendation of poster with inside tips.
Hampton Court Palace
(maybe squeeze in Kensington when we return but probably not enough time)
8pm Dinner at The Ivy

Monday

Banqueting Room, 10 Downing Street, walk through St James Park to Buckingham Palace, Royal Mews, Apsley House. (How long will this take up to here???) Afternoon, maybe Kensington Palace, Harrods. Dinner at Tate Modern then walk along south bank to Waterloo Bridge for sunset. Or, London Eye if didn't do it on Saturday night.

Tuesday

Wimbledon - centre court tickets in hand
Late dinner back in Knightsbridge

Wednesday

Either Old Bailey or Highlights Tour for British Museum. I'm going nuts trying to fit these in earlier in the itinerary but can't figure out where. 4pm flight back home.

Thanks to everyone who gave such great advice. I've been plowing through all the info which in itself can be overwhelming. Susan

Samejia: Since you have done so much research, I assume you know the Cabinet War rooms are practically next door to No. ten and the Banqueting House and a very short walk from B'ham Palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

You seem to be going back to the same neighborhood day after day after day. Maybe you can group these sites on the same day(s) and not spend so much time to-ing and fro-ing all over the city.

Janis, that's what I was trying to do but I didn't think we'd be able to squeeze all those places in after we get out of the Clock Tower Tour at 3:45. I thought we might be too tired after climbing up and down 350 or so steps. You've certainly got me thinking. I was trying to see alot but do it at as a relaxed a pace as possible so my husband doesn't complain. So, basically, combining as you suggest, opens up all of Monday morning.... I could push the Tower to Monday am and then do the Old Bailey for the afternoon session then head back to Kensington. Oh, this gets so confusing after looking at this for soooo long. Thanks for all your input. You've been great. Enjoy your trip. susan

I just returned from London with a 13 year old and a 15 year old and they really liked the Cabinet War Rooms and were bored by the Imperial War Museum (go figure).

They thought Hampton Court Palace was okay. (They liked the maze the best.) They enjoyed seeing Romeo & Juliet at the Globe Theatre. I don't know if they would have liked it nearly as much if it had just been a tour. On our last visit, they really liked the Tower of London and the London Eye.

If you're there for such a short time, I'm not sure if I would take the time to go to Hampton Court Palace. How about Greenwich? Walking the hill up to the Royal Observatory is nice. My kids liked that more than their visit to Hampton Court Palace.

Have a great trip.
-Susan

Bellairegirl, I have ruled out the Imperial War Museum and the Tour of the Globe. Romeo and Juliet won't be playing while we're there. I hadn't even given Greenwich any thought. I'll have to research that. My husband and I went to Windsor on our last trip so I was trying to do something different this time by going to Hampton Court. My daughter really wants to go shopping so I have to plan in some time for Oxford Street. I heard the TopShop was the place to go for teens. Did you do the Changing of the Guard with your teens? Susan

Susan,

No; we didn't try to see the changing of the guards (mostly because most posters to this forum didn't think it was worthwhile).

I heard Topshop is a good place for teens to shop. Unfortunately, since I have 2 boys, my shopping with them consisted mostly of shopping for soccer jerseys. You should make sure you also stop at Lush (there's several locations).

If you're looking for good, moderately priced restaurants that's good for teens, let me know and I'll tell you what my kids liked.

Susan

I would be very interested to know what restaurants your teens liked. We will be leaving in 2 weeks and food is a concern for them.
Thanks for the help.

My teens found that they really like the pizza in London - good, thin crust wood-fired pizza. Their favorite place to get pizza was at Pizza Express and Ask Pizza & Pasta (both of which we found around town).

They also liked to eat at Italian restaurants. One Italian restaurant that we all really liked was La Bersagliera (at 372 King's Rd, I believe) in Chelsea. It's a tiny place, so be sure to make a reservation. (If you take the tube to the Sloane Square tube station, you can catch the #11 or #22 bus down King's Rd.)

They also enjoyed Belgo Centraal, a Belgain restaurant in Covent Garden on Earlham. One son loved their rotisserie chicken & frites and the other loved the mussels & frites. They liked it so much and it was so reasonable, we ate there twice. They have a "Beat the Clock" special on weekdays where the price you pay is the time (i.e., if you go at 6:30 pm, you pay 6.5 GBP for chicken or mussels and frites and a soft drink or beer or wine). They also have a lunch special for 5.95, I believe.

For really wonderful gelato, check out Gelato Valerie on King's Rd (at Duke of York Square).

They also liked the croissants, crisps, yogurt & fruit and sandwiches at Pret a Manger (which is all around town).

I understand some kids like Wagamama too, but mine weren't into that. Also, I couldn't get them to go for Indian food, as they didn't want to pass up an opportunity to eat the pizza for something they weren't sure they'd like.

All in all, since the prices were generally expensive, we were pretty careful about where we ate, and I did a lot of research in advance. With 4 of us, I didn't want to blow $100 on a meal the kids didn't even like.

Have a great trip!
Susan

How was the Clock Tower Tour?

Buzzybuzz, sorry for the delay in responding to this. I've actually been trying to do a trip report but haven't been able to have that much time. Anyway, the clock tower tour was well worth it. My 14 year old daugther and husband both enjoyed it. We were huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top (about 340 steps). The climb is broken up into three segments. Hearing the history and being up in the tower when the bells tolled at 3pm was cool. They offer ear plugs or you can use your hands as we did. We have some neat pictures of behind the clock face even though the website states no photos are allowed. We were all able to take photos. The tour lasts about 1/2 hour. Susan

Thanks for the info. I'm going on the 2:30 tour also.

Let me know if you liked it. We got a kick out of looking up at the clock during the rest of our stay and commenting that "we were there". Enjoy, Susan.

We really enjoyed the clock tower tour, too. It was a very cool experience - well worth the climb. I was standing right by the hammer and watched (and heard) it strike 3PM. Our guide even took us into the chapel in Westinster Hall after the tour. That was also really cool.