1 week in London next April - seeking suggestions

[HawkeyeNFO]

Used the 3-day London pass in October. If used correctly you save lots of money. It is discounted frequently, which can save you another 10% or 20%, and it lets you skip the lines most places. Buy it with the Oyster card option. London Eye is not included, and is expensive, but what a great view! We did that at night, which I highly recommend.

If the 14 and 12 year olds involved are Harry Potter fans, then take the train out to the Warner Bros studio where the movies were filmed. It is excellent! Our girls thought that was the highlight of the trip.

Be advised that spending a week in London will make any other city on the planet seem inexpensive.

As far as getting around, stick with the tube. Traffic in London is horrible, so buses could slower than walking. Trains in the Underground/Overground run every 3-5 minutes most of the day.

 

[rodi]

Thanks for those links regarding the Oyster Card/Travel Card.

We also have T-Mobile and found having a data plan to be really helpful. I will look into the Citymapper app - thanks for the suggestion! It wound probably be good to use both buses and the tubes so the kids can get some experience with both.

We used the google maps app on the smart phone for bus/tube directions/times. It works very well. The kids liked riding in the upper deck of the public buses.

 

[Bamaman]

Thank you for this thread. I will be in Europe for six months next year. I like the suggestion about the war museum, I might not have thought about it. My husband is a word war 2 buff.

My wife and I would also like to go for an extended time, but our U.S passports don't allow us to stay any longer than 90 days at a time--due to the Schengen Agreement. Getting a Eurozone visa approved for a retiree is virtually impossible.

 

[Fedup]

My wife and I would also like to go for an extended time, but our U.S passports don't allow us to stay any longer than 90 days at a time--due to the Schengen Agreement. Getting a Eurozone visa approved for a retiree is virtually impossible.

Are you US citizen? I'm not aware of any visa thing for US citizen, but I still have time to apply.
EDIT to add, thank you for your comment. I did some googling, as a US citizen, I don't need a visa to UK if I stay less than 6 months. My flight is in and out of London. I will fly to other European place from there.

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[mpeirce]

When we took the kids to England, we spent a couple of days in London then rented a car and drove to Bath. It was a great place to stay - a nice contrast to London. It also made a great base for visiting Stonehenge and Warwick Castle (surprising fun).

A lot depends on if the kids would rather spend extra time in the British Museum or exploring the countryside.

 

[explanade]

I only did a day trip to Bath (beautiful Welsh countryside in the distance) but they have a very commercialized shopping district now, with things like Gap and other US chain stores.

This was a couple of years ago.

Certainly the old buildings with the baths are charming but ah well, guess it's a tourist magnet so they put in the shopping amenities.

 

[InTheSticks]

Following with interest

This is a timely post. DW and I plan on heading to London next May.

 

[HFWR]

Well, if you're a Beatle fan...

 

[ivinsfan]

YMMV, but I have traveled with family and 2 weeks of constant togetherness during all the awake hours doesn't really work for all of us. There are some teenagers in my DSis's family and so we always build in a little "do your own thing time" into the schedule. If you are paying for everything(which is so generous of you) your brother might hesitate to tell you this. In fact we have planned multi-3 family trips with teens and we all say up front, "Everything is optional and if you want to do something on your own feel free to do so and no one will mind."

If your brother is watching his pennies in London they might like the original "Foyle's" bookstore or the flagship Virgin record store. Teenagers are late to bed and late to rise, that's just the way they are built, plus throw in a little jet lag. You could always leave your apartment separately and agree to meet up at a museum at a certain time.If I were in your shoes I would begin the early planning with this premise. Obviously your brother and his family don't travel much and it's such a simple thing to offer someone a little independent time on a trip. At the end of the day it's really about family being together and not really if you all make it to every museum. I used to get caught up in the excitement of planning lots of fun stuff on family trips until I realized the teens and I had pretty different schedules, by 10PM I was wasted and they were just getting their 2nd wind and raring to go.

When wandering London, we always found lunch to be a problem. The restaurants are expensive and pretty slow so eat up a lot of your time. Pubs can be an option. We found taking food along doesn't work to well as you need to find a quiet place to eat. We ended up going into the major store chains M and S, Harrods, Selfridges and eating in their food court area. It's quicker and quite a bit cheaper. Also it's amazing how few bathrooms you run across, some places you'd be certain you could find a bathroom, you'd hear either No, we don't have one or it's for staff only.

 

[rodi]

We did 9 weeks with our kids this past summer. I agree you need to build in some time NOT with everyone else. In our case, we did some divide and conquer (I'd go on an outing with one kid, DH would go with another.)

I see you're renting an apartment - that's good - it will give you some space you don't get in a hotel room.

And build in some veg/down time. For us, since it was summer, it was beach time when we were on the Mediterranean, and in London it was hang out in a park, renting bikes, chilling watching geese on the lake. Too much go-go-go tends to stress a group out.

 

[pb4uski]

I worked a lot in London and was occasionally there for weekends.

I enjoyed the boat tour up the Thames... has a luke-warm beer and enjoyed the commentary. I also went to Wimbledon for a day when the tournament was in progress, but I see they have a museum and tours as well and that might be interesting if your family has any interest in sports.

I also liked just walking around Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Trafalger Square. I stayed near Charing Cross Station and would occasionally pop into the National Gallery for an hour or so.

 

[pullmyfinger]

Thank you so much everyone for all these thoughtful posts!

 

[pullmyfinger]

YMMV, but I have traveled with family and 2 weeks of constant togetherness during all the awake hours doesn't really work for all of us. There are some teenagers in my DSis's family and so we always build in a little "do your own thing time" into the schedule. If you are paying for everything(which is so generous of you) your brother might hesitate to tell you this. In fact we have planned multi-3 family trips with teens and we all say up front, "Everything is optional and if you want to do something on your own feel free to do so and no one will mind."

If your brother is watching his pennies in London they might like the original "Foyle's" bookstore or the flagship Virgin record store. Teenagers are late to bed and late to rise, that's just the way they are built, plus throw in a little jet lag. You could always leave your apartment separately and agree to meet up at a museum at a certain time.If I were in your shoes I would begin the early planning with this premise. Obviously your brother and his family don't travel much and it's such a simple thing to offer someone a little independent time on a trip. At the end of the day it's really about family being together and not really if you all make it to every museum. I used to get caught up in the excitement of planning lots of fun stuff on family trips until I realized the teens and I had pretty different schedules, by 10PM I was wasted and they were just getting their 2nd wind and raring to go.

When wandering London, we always found lunch to be a problem. The restaurants are expensive and pretty slow so eat up a lot of your time. Pubs can be an option. We found taking food along doesn't work to well as you need to find a quiet place to eat. We ended up going into the major store chains M and S, Harrods, Selfridges and eating in their food court area. It's quicker and quite a bit cheaper. Also it's amazing how few bathrooms you run across, some places you'd be certain you could find a bathroom, you'd hear either No, we don't have one or it's for staff only.

These are excellent points. I absolutely adore my brother and above all I want this trip to be a good experience for all of us. My plan is put together this itinerary as suggestions to help all of us make sure we get to see what we are most interested in. I am trying to control my "bossy big sister" urges
and letting them know that we don't all have to go the same places together at all times. I think I will borrow your disclaimer.

Other than the flights to and from Europe, which my brother used miles for, we are picking up the costs of the trip. We anticipate some pushback from them, because we come from a family of moocher-types, and my brother has gone to the opposite extreme and has a hard time accepting any gifts. That is definitely going to be a challenge in a city as expensive as London, so whenever possible we are prepaying for things that make sense. I have told him that the second leg of our trip in Berlin will feel like a bargain.

I like the idea of the food courts in the department stores, I was thinking about eating at Harrods while we visit, but will definitely keep the other places in mind.

 

[pullmyfinger]

Be advised that spending a week in London will make any other city on the planet seem inexpensive.

Boy, isn't that the truth! Another reason why my favorite city to visit is Munich! My secret agenda is that if this trip goes well I might be able to talk them into another one- but this time on the continent.

 

[explanade]

Harrodsburg food isn't cheap at all.

Marks and Spencer, Waitrose.

 

[ivinsfan]

Harrodsburg food isn't cheap at all.

Marks and Spencer, Waitrose.

Yes Harrods is more restaurants price, the food is pretty gourmet , it's the experience of the food court area that you pay for.

 

[fosterscik]

If you're looking for cheap lunch options I like the pret a manger chain of sandwich/coffee shops. They're all over London, cheap (for London), fast and easy. They have great coffee and the bread pastries are really tasty.

 

[ivinsfan]

If you're looking for cheap lunch options I like the pret a manger chain of sandwich/coffee shops. They're all over London, cheap (for London), fast and easy. They have great coffee and the bread pastries are really tasty.

some pret-a-mangers don't have bathrooms! and a lot of walk in coffee shops don't have restrooms either.

 

[audreyh1]

Another underrated place, if you have good weather, is take the boat all he way to Greenwich. Lot of green space, people sunning themselves on the lawn, hike up to the observatory.

This would definitely be on my list. We're geeks. Have to make a pilgrimage to the UTC location.

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for your post! I agree, there is so much to see even amongst the free museums! I should have said that I was going to buy the London pass, rather than the museum pass, so that covers admission to sites like Tower of London and Westminster Abbey among others. I am embarrassed to say that in my previous trips to London the only museums I visited were the British Museum and the National Gallery. I am especially looking forward to the V and A.

This is good to know, because I think Tower of London and Westminster Abbey would be our destinations.

There are only so many museums I can take.

Been thinking ahead for when we hop over to London from Amsterdam one of these years: LONDON to AMSTERDAM by train & ferry or Eurostar from £49

We've spent quite a bit of time in the areas around London, but not within except for taking a bus to Peterborough!

 

[explanade]

London does have more prepackaged meals than just above about any city I can think of. Pretty good quality too.

 

[Bamaman]

Are you US citizen? I'm not aware of any visa thing for US citizen, but I still have time to apply.
EDIT to add, thank you for your comment. I did some googling, as a US citizen, I don't need a visa to UK if I stay less than 6 months. My flight is in and out of London. I will fly to other European place from there.

Every time you go into and out of Europe, they're going to date stamp your passport. And you cannot be in the EU more than 90 days out of 180 days. You'd essentially have to stay in England/Ireland the other time. Visa's are out of the question unless you're a college student, and retirees usually are not going to be eligible for any visa from an EU country.

But Americans buying houses in certain EU countries can get a Visa if the bring between 300,000 and 500,000 Euros into their banks. One country charges 60,000 Euros admin. fee.

 

[audreyh1]

London does have more prepackaged meals than just above about any city I can think of. Pretty good quality too.

New York City?

 

[explanade]

New York City?

I'd say so. Not talking about a deli type place which will make food to go.

Talking about a large supermarket where there are packaged meals you just grab and pay for.

Some need to be heated, some can be eaten cold.

 

[audreyh1]

I'd say so. Not talking about a deli type place which will make food to go.

Talking about a large supermarket where there are packaged meals you just grab and pay for.

Some need to be heated, some can be eaten cold.

When my brother lived in New York City, there were quite a few places nearby where you bought food to-go off a buffet, putting what you wanted into a container, and they weighed the box and charged you by weight.