Critique my London Itinerary

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Copying this from TUG to get more input!! Thanks!!
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Are you sick of hearing about my trip to London yet? No? What's wrong with you? Seriously, though, I'm glad...because I want you to critique my plans so far and tell me what to keep/change/leave out. You already know that it's Rachel and me, and Rachel needs to minimize walking or have rest periods. One thing she loves (as do I) is the theatre, and she also like amusement parks, but I guess that's not as relevant...lol!

And here we go....

Arrive Thursday Evening...plane lands at 8:30 p.m.

--Schedule car service to flat
--Get settled and run out for a late bite
--Try to sleep

Friday

Try to rise by 10:00. Take Original London (HOHO) Bus Tour for entire route, which I believe takes about two hours. Hop on/off after that if we see something interesting. Reservation for flight on the London Eye at 6:00 p.m. Perhaps visit Dali Experience (right near eye) or London Aquarium (also near Eye)

Must work in a trip to Hard Rock to get t-shirts if nothing else.

Saturday

Madame Tussaud's

Nice afternoon tea (dress-up) or perhaps the Orangerie at Kensington Palace or perhaps the Rooftop Gardens in Kensington

5:00 - Tickets for Mousetrap

Sunday

Tower of London

Thames Cruise (which come with my HOHO ticket) from the Tower...perhaps to Greenwich to see whatever one sees in Greenwich?

If not too tired after this, perhaps a trip to Harrod's Food Hall?

Ceremony of Keys at Tower of London, must be there by 9:30 p.m.

Monday

Tour to Hampton Court Palace or perhaps something similar a bit outside of London but not as far as Bath

No evening plans so far

Tuesday

London Zoo?

Tickets to see Jersey Boys at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Science Museum

Perhaps V&A

Tickets to see Sound of Music at 7:00 p.m.

Thursday

Return home (sigh)


I feel like we're missing so much! Should I spend Monday in London seeing more rather than going to Hampton Court Palace or other tour outside London?

Thanks for any input!!

Sharon

[johnmfaeth Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnmfaeth]

I would substitute the British Museum for the V&A or Hampton Court. Even if a brief visit to see some key items like the Rosetta Stone, etc.

Great pub across the street (Great Russell) to rest up/relax/eat. It was a favorite of Dickens and Marx wrote most of the Communist Manifesto while drinking there.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I have fond memories of the Thames River Cruise - this is going to be some great trip!
I think one 'day trip' will be good to give Rachel the idea that England is more then just a city - will put things in perspective.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

And my DD 22 LOVED Harrod's not just for the food hall (we had lunch there) but all the fancy designer 'boutiques'.....

[eal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close eal]

I second johnmfaeth's idea about the British Museum. It is a beautiful building, with lots of places to sit and rest a bit, and kids of all ages will find stuff that is fascinating.

[muzjik Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close muzjik]

What a fun trip you have planned! Personally, I would substitute Westminster Abby for Madame Tussuad's but that's because I love history and already know what Posh and Becks look like. :-)

Tamara

[samsarmy Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close samsarmy]

Make sure to leave yourself time on Friday to check out Big Ben, the Parliment buildings, Westminster Abbey, and cross the bridge on foot to the London eye.

Take a long walk through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace. It's very much like the National Mall in Washington D.C.

Make sure to use the Underground to save time & money; very convenient.

Consider a day trip to Windsor Castle. There's a rail station nearby.

Don't do like I did. I showed up at the British Museum on one of only three days a year that they are closed!

Mike

[terrazoon Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close terrazoon]

The British Museum is no ordinary museum. They have rooms where mummies are stacked three deep, and there always seems to be the head of a Greek statue lying in the corner. You get the feeling that they have so much stuff they don't know what to do with it all.

I was there in 1991 so I don't know if it's still true, but at Westminster Abbey they used to let you do brass rubbings of copies of some of the things engraved on the tombstones, etc. That's actually pretty fun and makes a good souvenir.

[Hoc Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Hoc]

I would substitute the British Museum for the V&A or Hampton Court.

I would not substitute out Hampton Court. It is a worthwhile trip, especially for a teenager. Very impressive Castle, and less gloomy than the Tower of London, which is the only other castle of similar stature in London.

However, I do agree that the British Museum is worth a look. It's free, but it might be worth the money to pay for an audioguide and admission into the reconstructed Parthenon in there.

[hliw Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close hliw]

The Ceremony of the Keys

We did this a few years back and it was the hightlight of the trip -

Depending on the ages of your party, I would not skip Hampton Court, it is a wonderful way to experience life in "court" - fantastic property, guides in costume...beautiful. I'd say if the weather is nice, do Hampton Court, if it is awful, do the British Museum.

One thing I did not see on your list that many are not aware of is Churchill's underground bunker. It is right by Parliament and is fascinating. It was "discovered" about 8 years ago after having been sealed off right after the war. THey basically went in and dusted, but left everything as it was...it is an incredible time capsule. It was a very big experience for us, especially me as my grandfather flew a bomber in that war. It was just...fascinating.

Have a great trip!

[MaryH Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MaryH]

I would actually suggest that you get a great big bus map and try to use the buses rather than the tube since some tube stations have many steps and many escalators and those steep escalater is sometime out of order.

If you have a little time and is near Piccadilly Circus or Gree Park, I would also go to Fortum and Mason.

you might also want to check out lastminute.com' UK website for some dinner and a show packages from GBP 20 or some show ticket for a tenner.

So are you and Rachel excited?

[RayAndrews Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RayAndrews]

Hi, as a native I hope I can suggest some less obvious choices.

I would echo the comments about Mdme Tussauds, and would also not bother with London Zoo, animals are animals whether they are in UK or the States.

Hampton Court is also on the Thames and if the weather is nice you can take short pleasure boat rides which may be a chance to relax for an hour or so.

Covent Garden has street performers and a nice mall converted from turn of the century Market buildings (Flower and fruit trade market).

If fashion grabs there is also Camden Street market v. Avant garde or you could try Harvey Nicholls also in Kensington for designer stuff.

This link may be of use Americans In London - 24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage

Not quite sure if you have young children, but a wander around Soho (close to Piccadilly Circus ) could be fun, it is also next to our Chinese community (Gerrard Street).

There is also The Imperial War Museum which has points of reference of interest to Americans.

Finally on the Macabre side there is the London Dungeon and many Jack the Ripper tours. Try Googling for details.

but what would I know ? I'm not a tourist in the UK!

I'm sure you will enjoy it

Ray

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Thank you all.

I'm afraid she is pretty stuck on Tussaud's, and even my son still says it was worth doing two years later.

It does seem a bit too stressful to pre-plan the meals, so I guess we will go wherever things take us...

Thanks again!!

[muzjik Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close muzjik]

Our London Intinerary

I was too lazy to pull out the scrapbook when I posted to cancel the wax museum for Westminster but here was our London itinerary from July, 2005 traveling with 4 kids (16, 14, 10, 8). Not offered as any sort of critique...just offered. Note: I planned and filled every minute of our trip.

Day 1 - Arrived, picked up discount tickets to Les Miserables in Covent Garden for that night.

Day 2 - Boat trip down the Thames, disembarked at Tower of London (scheduled for another day), walked to St. Paul's Cathedral, and then Museum of London. Evening - husband and I went to "We will Rock You."

Day 3 - Trafalgar Square and did brass rubbings in the basement of St. Martin's in the Field church, walked to the changing of the Horse Guards at Whitehall, and then past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben to tour Westminster Abbey. Then over to Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews and Queen's Gallery. At this point, my husband and oldest son (14) pooped out on us and went back to the hotel. The rest of us went to the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street.

Day 4 - Tower of London, then over the Tower Bridge to the HMS Belfast, the WWII Experience, the Clink Prison, and the Globe Theater...all within a short walk of each other.

Day 5 - We had planned to go out to Hampton Court but the 2nd subway bombing happened the day before so we decided to stay close to our hotel and went to the British Museum and the Sir John Sloan Museum.

That was it for London. From there we went to Scotland for a week and then Yorkshire for another week (the only timeshare we utilized).

Tamara

[johnmfaeth Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close johnmfaeth]

I can't say that HOC is less than 100% correct, in fact you CANNOT lose so long as you don't overdue it.

One suggestion is that you treat this as your daughter's initiation to London/The UK. And hope for and encourage her to experience it again down the road from a different angle.