We did the London Eye around 6:30 p.m. one day. No line, and the light was great. You could squeeze it in at the end of the day. We did it right after we got back from Salisbury, so we were at Waterloo. The Eye is right there.

Thanks all.

Any suggestion for breakfast? We stay at St. Ermin's Hotel.

1 more day till touch down in beautiful London...

I read it's not safe to be in china town during the night.
Is it true? Should we change the first day plan?

Oh, hey. Just saw the post above about Westminster and trouble getting in. We took the Royal Westminster walk with London Walks (www.walks.com) and it was so worth it. Got right in, with a guided tour. So wonderful.

"<i>I read it's not safe to be in china town during the night.
Is it true?</i>"

Where did you read that?? I assume you mean for dinner - right? Of course it is safe -- Chinatown is basically a few blocks from Leicester Sq/Piccadilly Circus/the theatres along Shaftsbury Ave. There will be hundreds of others eating dinner and walking through Chinatown the same time you are. Heck - it will still be daylight since sunset isn't until about 8:30.

Hey,

I saw you wanted to try to get 20% off for Madame Tussauds and London Eye. Unless you thought about the London Pass you could also get 20% off for St. Paul's and Shakespeare's Globe and one pritable voucher would cover for up to 6 people so you could use it with your daughters.

http://www.smartsave.com/uk/days-out

Hope you have a lovely trip and try to visit Centre Pompidou in Paris if you have time.

janisj - Where did you read that??
Frommer's - London day by day.

ksbeem - Good suggestion, will do.

SLouJ - No plan to purchase the London Pass. Thanks for the smartsave.com

ksbeem-- Thanks for the suggestion of www.walks.com!

Any suggestion to get ticket to Buckingham Palace?
Tickets (on line) are sold out.

"<i>janisj - Where did you read that??
Frommer's - London day by day.</i>"

That is just silly. Sure --late at night in dark alleys. But you are going to dinner --not some opium den :)

You probably won't be able to buy tix to the Palace unless your concierge can get them through connections, or perhaps some ticket agencies have them at a big markup. But I wouldn't count on it.

You can show up at opening time when they open and get in line for additional tickets given out on the day. Get there early to get to the front of the line - they open at 9:30 but I would get there well before to ensure you arent spending hours in a queue.

Yes, you can queue for unsold/returned tickets. But they are 'subject to availability' . . .

montyester: On another thread you mention going on a guided tour to get inside the Palace. There may be some --but I personally have not heard of any commercial tours into the Palace. Be very careful reading a tour's description. "See Buckingham Palace" means seeing the exterior from inside the coach.

If it truly says "Tour the State rooms" --that means you go inside.

janisj - thank you. that's very good info.

last minute questions ...

1) i am thinking to switch friday's with monday's so we can see changing of the guards (even though it's not a must for us), is that a better idea?

2) considering that we have a day trip to bath on sat and to oxford on Tues, is it better if we purchase 1 day and 3 day travel card instead of 7 days travel card?

I don't think you can get a 3 day travelcard, but even if you could a zones 1-3 for 7 days is £32.20 and a one day travelcard zones 1-3 is £7.30 off peak and £10 anytime.... either way i think it would probably be cheaper to just get the 7 day one.

forgot to mention that it will be a bit cheaper if you only need zones 1-2

3 day travel cards are no longer offered. http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/14416.aspx

Thanks for posting this. It has helped me, too