lauralue9

We are 2 adults, 2 teenagers, staying in Kensington near Gloucester Rd. tube station. Best to buy tube passes or 10 ticket packages? London pass worthwhile?? - seems expensive for 4. Please critique - thanks much!

Sun Dec 26 Travel Day Leave Paris, arrive London 1:45 p.m. at Waterloo station, taxi to Kensington, Natural History Museum?? If not too tired

Mon Dec 27 The City, Tower of London, Regent's Park/Marleybone - Madame Tussaud's Wax museum, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Selfridges, Marks & Spencer,

Tues Dec 28 Covent Garden - Leicester Square Hot Tix booth, Somerset House/Corthauld Gallery free tour at 1:00 p.m., Theatre Museum, Theatre evening

Wed Dec 29 Bloomsbury - British Museum, Mayfair - Buckingham Palace, Fortnum & Mason

Thur Dec 30 Soho - Leicester Square/Hot Tix BoothNational Portrait Gallery, National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Oxford Circus - Top Shop

Fri Dec 31 Kensington, Victoria & Albert Museum, Harrods, Harvey Nichols,

Sat Jan 1 Westminster/South Bank - Tate Britain & Tate Modern, open at 10 a.m., Imperial War Musuem

Sun - sleep on plane

kswl

How about a movie? There are cinemas all over London. Your teens would probably like to see a movie there. Also, if your kids are into video games or virtual reality games, take them to the Trocadero. There are hundreds of games there, and a theater too. Entrance is free, but they get you on the individual games.

I would also include St.Paul's in your itinerary, along with a visit to Windsor Castle (unless you've been before, it's strictly a seen-it-once type place), and Oxford. If your teens are old enough to be thinking about college they will enjoy Oxford, although there won't be many students about.

That said, I think your schedule is very ambitious unless you're planning to fly through some of the museums just to go there. Better to do one museum and see the breadth of its collection than see many cursorily, unless there is something specific you want to see somewhere.

kswl

sorry, forgot to say we've never bought the London pass because most of its subscribing institutions are outside of London!

janis

a couple of things -- The Nat'l History (and most other museums) are closed on Boxing Day (Dec 26). But you could walk along the Mall that day from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square, or through kensington Gardens. You don't really have to schedule a "visit" to Buckingham Palace since it isn't open to the public.

A couple of your days are pretty full of museum visits -- like Jan. 1 -- Tate Britain in Pimlico then Tate Modern and Imperial War south of the river. Many Adults would rebel at this schedule so it def might be too much for your kids.

I assume by "Hot Tix" you mean TKTS. if so, be sure to go to the stand alone bldg in Leicester Square proper, and not any of the other so called 1/2 price ticket boothe nearby.

There are Top Shops all over so you will see them in your other shopping trips -- no need to schedule a special trip there on Thurs.

janis

I think kswl is confusing the London Pass w/ the Great British Heritage Pass. Essentially ALL London Pass sites are in London, while only a few of the 600+ GBHP properties are in London.

That being said, there really isn't too much benefit from the London Pass since many of the places you are going are free -- but it does cover some of them. I probably wouldn't bother.

Also, do not buy the London Pass transport option since there are many more family tickets and special fares only available after you are in London.

flanneruk

There are Topshops all over London. But there's only one Topshop Oxford Circus. It has a far wider clothes range, and more other stuff, than any other Topshop (though if your teens are boys, be aware that the Topman bit is relatively small).

Incidentally, the New Look flagship store a bit west along Oxford Street has rather more cred these days. If they're girls, the nearby Oasis is also generally rather sharper.

caroline_edinburgh

I'm wondering if everything you want to visit is going to be open on the 27th & 28th - have you checked ? Since Christmas Day & Boxing Day which are normally public holidays fall this year on a Saturday & Sunday, the Monday & Tuesday are public holidays instead. Certainly the banks will be shut but I expect the shops will be open for the sales.

I'm not sure what you want to see in the City but it will be dead.

The Imperial War Museum is in South Kensington.

starspinners

Lauralue,
The Imperial War Museum IS south of the River, on Lambeth Road.

As for purchasing carnets of Tube tickets vs. Travelcards:
The CARNET will cost £15 for 10 tickets, each ticket is valid for a single journey in Zone 1. The tickets can be divided amongst your family. Since there are four people in your group, you would use up 8 tickets each time you made a round trip on the Tube, and you would have 2 tickets left over to use for another journey.

The DAILY Travelcard allows you unlimited journeys for the period the card is valid. An off-peak ( for travel that begins after 9: 30 AM ) Zone 1 daily Travelcard costs £4.30. Each family member will need his/her own card if your whole group is traveling together. That works out to £17.20 per day for a family of 4.

The WEEKLY travel card allows you unlimited journeys for the period the card is valid. A weekly Zone 1 Travelcard costs £17.00, and again ,each family member needs a card if the whole group is traveling together. That works out to £68 per week for a family of 4. By the way, a photo card is no longer required for use with a weekly Zone 1 Travelcard.

alg

We purchased week-long visitor tube passes online before we left (they were mailed to us) and I loved them. We took the tube all over London and it was so great not to have to worry about buying tickets each day. Just insert the pass and you're on your way. I think the pass was good for zones one and two.
http://www.britrail.co.uk/bc_travelcards.htm

Robespierre

The Family Travelcard is £2.80 per day for adults and £.80 for children 5-15 years (free on weekends). Unlimited travel in Zones 1-2 after 9:30 weekdays.

<b>&pound;47.20</b> for the lot of you for 7 days.

caroline_edinburgh

Apologies, all - I haven't actually been to the Imperial War Museum since I was 10, never wanted to go as an adult, but thought I'd retained the memory of it being somewhere near the National History Museum. The old brain cells are giving out on me...

lauralue9

Thanks much for all of your comments. Where do we buy the Family travel card Robespierre refers to? This sounds like a great deal. Is this something we have to purchase inside the US or can we wait till we arrive in London? I do admit we ARE heavy into museums. I did some research and most of the museums are closed Dec 24-26. The Natural History Museum site did not say it would be closed. We will use this as a guide and adjust accordingly and go shopping the few couple of days. We have 2 teenage girls who have been babysitting, cutting lawns and other tasks to earn money to go shopping. It's just such a shame the dollar doesn't seen to buy much these days. Thanks again!!

KathrynT

Your itinerary sounds ambitious but it also sounds like trips we have taken. I think it is often good to prioritize activities into &quot;must do,&quot; &quot; would like to do,&quot; and &quot;if we have time&quot; categories in case you just can't fit everything in. It is nice to allow for spontaneous inspiration possibilities and not feel like you've missed the most important places. I like to involve the kids in voting on their favorites (that way they don't complain as much if they are tired when they are actually there.)

We did most of our visiting together as a family but did branch out briefly with my daughter and I doing more shopping and my husband and son doing other activities.

Finally, if there are highlights you miss, you just have to tell yourself you'll save them for the next trip!

Robespierre

I believe the Family Travelcard is sold only in the UK, but I have never researched it. The TfL site only sells the Visitor passes.