suse

My son and I will be spending 4 days in London the end of this month. I know some places we want to see, but I am not sure how much I should do every day. I would appreciate your help. I know after we arrive (Heathrow to Chancery Court Hotel by taxi) that we will take a hop on/off bus tour, then it's up for grabs.

Here are our must do's:
Big Ben, Westminister Abbey, St. Paul's, Tower of London, Royal Horseguards, MAYBE Buckingham Palace, Harrod's, Hard Rock Cafe ( a must for my music fan), a pub with fish and chips, Piccadilly Circus, funky shopping, We Will Rock You tickets (Saturday evening), Greenwich (is this a crazy time of year to go?)and one great museum (what do you suggest?).

Also, is the Chancery Court Hotel within walking distance of the Dominion Theatre and will it be a safe walk at night, since it will be a mom and kid?

Thanks in advance to all you London experts. If you have other suggestions for sites, they would also be appreciated.

Susie

AisleSeat

Susie, It sounds like a great trip. You can take the tube from Heathrow or a Taxi. I think the hop-on hop-off bus is a great first activity for first timers. You get the lay of the land and you at least get a drive-by on things you have to leave for another visit.

If you have to skip something on your list I would say Herrods (its a department store) and Greenwich can be left to the second visit.

Something you and your son might enjoy is the Jack the Ripper Walking Tour. You just show up at the proper tube station entrance at 8pm, pay your 5 pounds and join the throng to hear all about the first mass murderer. You end up at the very pub where Jack picke up his victims Great fun! You hotel can give you information on all the walking tours available from the Beatles, and Dickens, to Ghosts and Spys.

One our our favorite "musueums" is the British Library (I think it was at St, Pancrass Station). They have a room called 200 Treasures that everything from the actual Magna Carta and Gutenberg Bible to hand written manuscripts of Handel's Messiah, Mozart, the Beatles and Lewis Carrols Alice in Wonderland.

I suspect you will have a great time and I suspect this won't be you last time in London, even if you are going in the rainy season. Take your umbrella.

prue

Your son might also enjoy the Imperial War Museum - (and you too!) - it has some wonderful exhibits.

rj007

I also think the Imperial War Museum would be good. Since you have just 4 days it would be a good fit in your schedule. You could spend 4 days alone in the British Musuem.

I just called up the maps of the Hotel and the Theatre. Very easy walking distance. For a large city, London is safe. The major streets are busy even late at night.

It's easy to try to plan too much for each day. The hop on/off bus tour is a nice overview. I would suggest picking say 2 sites a day -this way you can spend several hours rather than rushing around trying to see as much as you can. I've made 8 trips to London and there are still things I haven't seen. There is plenty of great things to do in London. You'll have fun. Enjoy your trip.

gailscout

Having just come back from London where my 20 year old son is a student, I'd nix the Jack the Ripper tour. My son went on it and said it was meaningless. He didn't know the story and didn't get how looking at where buildings used to be during that time should help him learn the story.

I'd suggest the War Cabinet Rooms where Churchill conducted WWII. It's centrally located and can be done in an hour.

janis

Unless money is no object, I would definitely NOT take a taxi from LHR to your hotel in High Holborn. The cab fare could be over £50 - maybe well over if you are arriving during the morning rush.

The tube goes directly from LHR to Holborn w/o any changes for less than £6 for both of you. And in heavy morning traffic the tube could be just as fast as a cab.

If you just don't want to take the tube, a car service will pick you up at LHR and drop you at your hotel for a little more than 1/2 the cost of a taxi.

justairports, Swiss Cottage, and several others are recommended on MANY threads here. Do a search for "car service" and you will find lots of info.

Tallulah

Hi Susie,

Just a few thoughts...

1) You'll be much better off on the Piccadilly line tube straight from Heathrow to Holborn tube. It will take just under an hour but about the same time as it would take to do a combination of Heathrow Express and a taxi and quicker than in a taxi. It will also be a lot cheaper than both. About half the journey is above ground too. When you get to Holborn tube, go through the ticket gates to your right rather than dead ahead of you and then bear right - the hotel is about a two minute walk from there on your right.

2) You can walk to the British Museum from your hotel but I'd go with something like the Cabinet War Rooms as it's a very specific thing that is still important today, and which your son may know something about. It also doesn't take too long! Failing that the Science and War museums are both pretty good.

3) For shopping I'd say that Camden market on Saturday is fun. Take any train north on the Northern Line and as you exit the tube station bear right. It will be very very busy and at first glance full of 'undesirables' but if you're after 'funky shopping' for a 13 year old boy, that's the place to go. Others who have visited with their kids may have views on it too but I loved it when I was that age and considered myself to be cool! (A long time ago now!) The market is on your right but if you carry on just a minute or so further you'll reach Camden Lock which is full of nice bars and antique/curiousity shops, as well as an antique market. This will kind of make Camden a good compromise for the two of you!

It's also worth having a look around Covent Garden/Neal Street/Seven Dials for shopping - and the good news is that they're about a 5 minute walk from your hotel.

4) Pub fish & chips - do a search on here or post another thread for recommendations. I can't tell you the last time I had fish & chips in a pub so I'm not the best person to advise but a lot serve utter rubbish and I mean really bad. Don't whatever you do go anywhere they have pictures of the food outside or on the menu - in short, don't go to a Wetherspoons pub! Seriously though, there's nothing better than good fish and chips but you have to be discerning in your choice of pub.

5) Don't worry about walking around London at night, you don't have to take any more care than anywhere else. The walk from the Dominion to your hotel will take about 10 to maybe 15 minutes and it's along a very busy, well lit road.

Hope that you have a great trip!

suse

Thanks to all for your suggestions. You can always count on the people hear to give great advice.

1.I am going to look into the car hire for the ride to London as I don't want to mess with luggage on the tube during rush hour.

2. The Imperial War Museums and Cabinet rooms would be PERFECT for my son, as would the Beatles walking tour.

3. Being from Pennsylvania, I didn't think of an umbrella for January, so thanks for that advice. (in fact I am able to check this site right now because it is a snow day!!!)

4. Will definately do Covent Garden and am going to do a search about Camden Market. That sounds like something my son would love.

5. Greenwich, worth a trip this time of year?

6. Best pub to visit for good food and atmosphere?

Thanks again. My planning has just gotten so much easier.

mamc

With the amount of time you have and the number of things you want to do, I would not try to visit Greenwich on this trip.

As for museums, you have some good suggestions but, if you have time, I suggest a stop at the British Museum since it is not too far from your hotel.

Bree

For helpful information on pubs, take a look at www.fancyapint.com. One of the nice features of the site is that it lets you search by the nearest tube stop.

Patrick

If your son is even vaguely into things scientific, by all means make Greenwich a priority. He'd enjoy it a lot more than the Bristish Museum or the British Library. If he's more into art and history, then opt out of Greenwich and do the others.

suse

Patrick,
My son is extremely into things scientific! Thanks for the input. He is looking forward to standing in two hemispheres at one time. The descriptions of Greewich sound lovely. What would be the best way to get there?

mileaday

I don't know if you would still have time to get tickets but, our kids enjoyed the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower more than any of the museums.

rj007

Take a cruise down the Thames to Greenwich. I then took the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) back. One of the stops on the DLR is one of my favorite names in London - Mudchute.

MFNYC

My kids (boy 12 and girl 15 at the time) also liked the Tate modern and Globe theater tour.

We did a hop on/off bus tour the 1st full day there. It was a nasty, rainy, cold day, so the bus came in handy. We took advantage of fast track entry to the tower, and also went on the included boat ride.

We used justairports.com for airport transfers.

Patrick

I haven't been to Greenwich in a couple years, but I thought it was neat to take the Docklands railway out on the north side of the river and walk through the tunnel under the Thames to get there. More detailed explanation anyone? You can also take a boat there or back, but it's pretty time consuming for your schedule, so I'd probably pass on that, especially in January!!!

There is a scientific museum there filled with various instruments that is really fascinating. And yes, it may be touristy, but what kid (I guess I was a kid pushing 50 at the time) wouldn't want a picture of standing right on the line with a foot in each hemisphere?

mileaday

One of my favorite family pictures from our last London trip shows us all standing on both sides of the line. Plus everyone was smiling! Suze - when will you be in London?

jsmith

January or July, the boat ride to Greenwich from Westminster Pier is a great trip. You, suse, can stay inside and your son can make much of the trip on the bow (while turning blue) as my grandson did in February a few years ago. Just pick a good day.

I'd make the return journey by walking thru the tunnel to Island Gardens for a sterling view of Greenwich from Island Gardens and take the DLR back with a change to the Jubilee Line at Canary Wharf. The tunnel entrance is right at the pier. Incidentally, I believe the Observatory at Greenwich is undergoing some renovation so some areas are restricted.

If you think your son is up to being on his own for a short time, you could take him to the Science Museum and you could go to the V&A. They are just 5 minutes apart and I'll bet it would be a big thrill for him to be on his own.

suse

Well, you've convinced me. We are going to go to Greenwich and we will take the boat to get there.

Mileaday, we will get to London next Thursday. I can't wait!!

jsmith, thanks for the directions.

To all, how does this sound?

Thursday: hop on/off tour, British museum, maybe st. pauls, Picadilly at night,

Friday: Buckingham Palace, horseguards, Parliment, Westiminster Abbey, Trafalgar, MAYBE Harrods, Hard Rock Cafe, Scary London Walk

Saturday: The Tower, Tower Bridge(?), Covent Garden and other little shops,
Theatre

Sunday: Greenwich and ?

I wanted to go to Camden Market, but that will have to wait until the next time.


Do you think this will work?

AisleSeat

I think you are going to have a jolly good time. Mind the gap.