Me and my family are going to london (west end) on friday?

Question

please could anyone tell us what we can do throughout the whole day, we will get there as early as possible and leave in the evening,

we will get all day underground tube tickets so we can go to different places.

i have 2 girls aged 8-9 yrs old

we want to finish the day with going to the odeon cinema in leicester square....

any other ideas would be great!!

Thanks

Answer 1

There's lots to see.and visit. Here's a brief list of the main attractions.

Palaces - Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court Palace. All of these are open to visitors.

Museums and Galleries - Natural History Museum, Science Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, The Tate and Tate Modern, British Museum, Imperial War Museum.

Famous Buildings and Monuments etc - The Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, Whitehall and Downing Street, Clarence House, St James Palace, Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, Marble Arch, Monument, Tower Bridge, London Eye.

Churches - Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, St Clement Dane, Temple Church, Saint Martin in the field.

There's such a lot to see I can't possibly list them all here. I'd recommend an Eyewitness Travel Guide as they're very comprehensive and include attractions, opening times, photos and maps.

Try the website for The Original London Walks as they do loads of guided tours around the city, They're very cheap and you can take Jack the Ripper, Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code, Charles Dickens, Museum and Ghost walks. They are very good indeed and you get to see the places lots of tourists don't eve know about.

Travel by tube or bus, It's cheaper than by taxi and very convenient. You can get travel cards from your nearest tube station.

The main shopping streets are Oxford and Regent Street. You can try New Bond Street for Designer labels. Camden for alternative clothing. There's a big mall in Brent Cross also. Fortnum and Mason of Picadilly, known as the Queen's grocers s a fantastic store as is Harrods of Knightsbridge. Leadenhall Market is lovely also and its been in one of the Harry Potter movies.

As for food, there are places to eat everywhere. China Town in Soho is good and Brick Lane for Indian Food in particular.

There are lots of public parks and green areas in London. I'd recommend lunch al fresco if it's fine.
Have fun.

Answer 2

All the suggestions other have given are great, but here are a few more:

- don't forget your travel passes also work on buses, try to include at least one ride on top of a double decker - seminal London experience
- they may yet be a bit young for this, but for future years you should know that Selfridges (Oxford St) have the largest cosmetics hall in Europe. Every brand there is.
- Piccadilly Circus - just stand and look
-The Wong Kei restaurant in Chinatown (Nr Leicester Square) has the rudest waiters in town. They make a feature of it, the sort of thing that would entertain children
-in Leicester Square there's a branch of Haagen Datz if you're considering Ice Cream at all.
-in nearby Charing Cross Rd you will find a statue of Edith Cavell, the WW1 Nurse, then its just a short walk to the National Portrait Gallery (which I loved as a little girl) and Trafalgar Square, with several interesting statues. No feeding pigeons any more, (hygeine) but a wonderful view down Whitehall. You can eat quite cheaply in the crypt of St Martins in the Fields, this is also the kind of thing little girls like.

London will be heaving and I hope yoou have lots of fun. Please watch your purses and wallets, not because Londoners are more dishonest than anyone else, but criminals are attracted to the London crowds, and come in from the country and suburbs especially for Christmas !

Answer 3

Well, it depends WHERE YOU ARE STAYING? I stayed in a BB in the West End, not far from Victoria Station!

The first time I went to London I took the BUS TOURS around the city and saw what to see.

In November I went again and Rode the City Busses, daily pass about 3.50 and the girls UNDER 15 ARE FREE! The # 11 bus does about the same as the Tour Busses.

YOU can get a Tube Pass, about 5.50 which is good for the Tube and the Buss!

See the London Museum and The LONDON EYE! That was the best part of this past trip in London.

Oh yes, this time I took the EuroStar under the Chunnel to Paris for the day! Bought the tickets here [USA] on line for about $116 USD, they are Over 222 UDS there at Waterlou station!

Thanks, RR

Answer 4

The kids might enjoy seeing the changing of the guard. Check ahead of time though. It's not done every day in winter. Also, a ride on the London Eye is really nice (expensive though...) Taking a walk along Embankment to see the House of Parliment and the street performers is fun. If you all like Chinese food take them to a restaurant in Chinatown for lunch or dinner. Visiting a museum is a good choice too. Try the Natural History museum or the British Museum. They are free, so you can pop in for an hour or two and let them see a few favorite things, then move onto other activities. Visiting the Tower of London is another great idea, especially if they like history at all. Hope you have fun!

Answer 5

Depends what kinds of things they are interested in

you could take them to Kensington Gore and go to the Science Museum - kids love it there, its really hands-on, loads of exciting colourful (and educational) things for them to look at and interact with.

If you ahve time and are not 'museumed out' after that one, the Natural History Museum is also pretty incredible, especially as the museums are all free

The great thing about the musems is that you will almost certainly enjoy them as much as your kids do.

Hamleys will definitely be good fun for the kids, although a little manic at this time of year and you may start getting nagged for presents, so if you go there be prepared to spend - its 6 floors of kids paradise, and is on Regents Street, which means that you are very near to Lecister square, so if you go there after the science mueum.

You could take them to see the houses of parliament and Buckigham Palace if you want, they are both pretty cool from the outside, but there isnt much else in the immediate vicinity, although parliament is only its about 10 minutes from trafalgar square.

If you are going for a meal before the cinema, you are best off booking something before hand if you want something particularly nice - i would recomend palais du jardin or asia de cuba, either of those might set you back £50 a head. Go to toptable.co.uk for more restaurants - alternatively, if you want something quick and easy you could try chinatown - although the restaurants around there are very touch and go some are excellent and some awful - if its busy its usually prety good tho.

Enjoy!!

Answer 6

It might be nice to go to the Science museum not far from the South Kensington tube station. It has interactive displays which might make it interesting for the kids. Also if you are treating them to their Christmas pressies you could take them to Hamleys - they have something for all ages and you may end up getting something for yourself!

A nice place to eat in Piccadilly is the Rainforest Cafe. Also an explosion for the senses.

Have fun at the Odeon.

Answer 7

Everyday that you can be together with your babies is a treasure. Even if you just spend some fun time with them in a park. Maybe it's in your mind how you want to end the day. That would be so lovely...in your mind. They have different things in their mind, and they'll probably just say they want to do that, just to go along with you. Take them to someplace fun at the end of the day, a place where little girls can be little girls. They will hold that day in their memory for a lifetime.

Answer 8

Was gonna suggest going to a theatre show but if your going to the cinema.... You could take a walk down south bank and see the human statues

Answer 9

For kids I'd recommend the Science museum (free) and perhaps go to one the 3D IMAX shows (you have topay for these) whilst you're there :

http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/imax/index.asp

The walking on the moon one is just amazing although 8-9 yr old girls may not appreciate it as much as I did!

Answer 10

natural history or science museum, london eye, get in a black cab or explorer your day pass and get monopoly out role the dice a few times to decide places to visit! lol

u r brave mind will be heaving i bet!