If you had 8 days in Liverpool and London, would you make sure that you left in time to spend the weekend in london? We are 30 years old and have never been to the Uk. We will going for football but also to experience the museums, history, nightlife. Any thoughts?

You mean spending the weekend in London as opposed to weekdays? hmm. I'd opt for weekdays..it's pretty crowded on the weekend (although, well, it's pretty crowded during the week, too--but a Saturday or Sunday walking around Covent Garden or Oxford Street can be insane!)

Museums and historic sites are mostly open throughout the week, though museums do get more crowded over the weekend. Also, there are no theatres on Sundays. Cannot comment on nightlife, though I suspect it's busiest Friday nights.
If you're taking a train from Liverpool, just be careful and make sure your travel is not affected by engineering works over the weekends.

This board isn't heavily contributed to by people who know a lot about nightlife: most of us spend our evenings reading Proust with a mug of coffee, visiting friends, writing tomorrow's presentation or just getting plastered.

And, to be honest, the Thorntree board's not that better off for nightowls.

You MIGHT get a reply here from a nightlife expert (though all the ones I've read are experts on their nightlife, which may not be yours)

(accidentally pressed wrong button when the phone rang)
...but the best way of assessing what's on on a given day of the week is to go to the Time Out website. Bear in mind that events for the next two weekends are affected by the Xmas/NY Eve complication.

That'll tell you whether what's on is what you want to be on.

Incidentally, the Liverpool and Manchester war zones are a lot more raucous at weekends than London's, where things are spread out more. By 0700 on a Sunday morning, central Liverpool is ankle-deep in burger-sodden wrapping and broken bottles. Keeping the Flannerpooch from poisoning himself on them is practically impossible

My husband does a lot of entertaining (customers and employees) in central London during the week and there are many times late at night (say 2am) when he can't even find a cab to get home it is so crowded. He has a lot of employees in their 20s/30s and they stay out all hours at clubs (during the week - usually Wednesdays and Thursdays). I personally am home with our small children when he is out and about at night, but I feel certain from what he says that you will find plenty going on during the week at night. You may even have a problem getting into clubs on the weekends with lines and such. I also think that the tourist sites can get crazy during the weekend so if you have a choice, I would go during the week and somewhere else on the weekend.

Yeah--as far as nightlife goes, London is a lot like NYC and other major cities; the best nights to go out are weekdays, really.

Plus, it depends on the kind of nightlife you're looking for. Trendy clubs or a traditional (or non-traditional) pub, or what? Do you want to dance, or just "see and be seen".

Either way, London has it all, every night of the week.

I know it sounds touristy, but since it;s your first trip, buy tickets to Big Bus and just take the tour around London. We spent an extra night in London (Knightsbridge) on the way back home from Africa, and had a ball. The bus tour also includes tickets for the river tour as well. You can get on and off, and back on again, as you please, where you please, and it provides a great overview of London and will give you more ideas where you might want to spend more time. We got off to see the Changing of the Guard and then got back on again afterward. Fun. Just be sure to check the time of the last bus back to where you are staying. Harrods dept store is over the top,and you could spend a couple of hours there w/o spending a dime. Also, you can get same day play tickets at half price at Picadilly Circus. To see plays in London in the typically small venues is a real treat.

I would actually say it's better to be in London during the week than the weekend.

Weekday London is populated by people who actually live here, and the nightlife in the West End and City is populated by the local workers. At weekends, all the Londoners flee to our little suburbs (or leave London altogether) leaving the West End to the tourists and kids from Slough, whilst the City (financial district and ancient heart of London) literally closes down - barely a shop, bar or restaurant opens on Saturday or Sunday. Nightlife is a seven day thing here, so you certainly won't miss any major events by being here during the week. Buy a copy of Time Out magazine when you arrive for the latest info.

Museums are always open, and are significantly more crowded at the weekend.

Weekend London has its charms however, such as the colorful markets - the Columbia Road Flower Market and its Cockney atmosphere - Camden Lock, Portobello Road and Petticoat Lane markets are world famous.

And Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park is a London institution on Sunday afternoons - even in its diminished state it's quite a trip.

And theatres have matinees on weekends.

Oxford Street and shopping drags are a beehive of acticity on Saturdays and Sundays too now.

So depends on your interest whether to weekend it or not.

"Oxford Street and shopping drags are a beehive of acticity on Saturdays and Sundays too now."

That's a very rosy view of the human traffic hell that is Oxford Street on the weekend!