linders Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 We will be spending 11 days in London over spring break, staying in a flat in Westminster. The DS have each identified their "top 2" - British Musuem, Imperial War Museum, Tower of London, and London Eye (is it worth it?). I am looking forward to Westminster Abbey, hopefully with one of the smaller verger's tours. DH is game for anything. Any other attractions/events that you highly recommend (there are so many)? And we think a couple of daytrips are in order. I am thinking Cotswolds, maybe Caterbury or Bath. Open to other recommendations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AprilTN Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 I've been to London twice, each time for a week. My favorites in addition to what you have already mentioned: Day trip to Stonehenge Day trip to Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory Museum of London National Gallery Tate Modern Churchill War Rooms Southwark Cathedral (this won't take long but it's worth doing) and eat at the George Inn St. Paul's Cathedral 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Awesome! We spent a week there on our honeymoon. Stratford Upon Avon was a nice day trip. I also really enjoyed a concert at the Church of St. Martin in the Fields. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Any performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company Kew gardens National Portrait gallery 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 If you go to Stonehenge be aware you now have to book a timed ticket now. I really like walking tours, in London these are good self guided ones http://www.walklondon.com. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) Ooh, if you are staying in Westminster, don't miss the ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers) building right across from the Churchill War Rooms, at 1 Great George Street. Upstairs in the library is an exhibition on bridges, including the longest-ever bridge made from Legos! (We were there last month; it may be different when you are there.) Also, the building is beautiful. Definitely worth popping in. I personally feel the London Eye is overrated, but probably worth doing once if you like that sort of thing. If you like quirky, the Hunterian Museum (not far from the British Museum) is fascinating and free. I'd take a boat to visit Greenwich or Kew Gardens, at least one way. I enjoyed attending evensong at Westminster Abbey (and at St Bride's, in the crypt) more than the tour. Also, free! The tourist info center near St Paul's has excellent, free maps. I'll try to come back and link. At the Bank of England museum you can try to lift a gold bar, currently worth something like £500,000. Oh, we saw both the House of Lords and the House of Commons in action. Highly recommended. Theatre district is much cheaper than Broadway, especially at the current exchange rate. Edited January 28, 2017 by Laura in CA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) I think Bath makes a good day trip, especially if you are interested in Jane Austen or the Roman period. It's a pretty town too and completely walkable. ETA: the train is direct and takes between 1 hour 32 and 1 hour 38; it seems to run roughly twice an hour. It's a six minute walk from the train station to the Roman Baths. Edited January 28, 2017 by Laura Corin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 York is another possible day trip. Walled city with walkable walls. Good mix of museums both Viking and Roman artefacts. Free National train museum. Everything is easy walking distance from the station. Lots of trains out of Kings Cross. The travel time is roughly 2 hours depending on the train you choose because of stops. If you do decide to do longer train trips make sure you consider buying a friends and family card for roughly £35. It can mean a big savings on tickets. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 You might want to visit: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/avebury/ Above Stonehenge. We had the luxuary to walk almost alone there :) http://dickensmuseum.com Is on my wish list. And we like york. We often pick a museum when we arrive too early to take the ferry homewards. The trainmuseum is free / cheap and has a good menu of the day :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 I forgot the Harry Potter Studio tours https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk. We have been several times and love it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Is Vindolanda doable from London? We liked the place and other musea's along Hadrians Wall, But we stayed in the North both times, and I presume that makes a difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Avebury Manor near Stonehenge. You can't actually go anywhere near the rocks at Stonehenge now, so we went to Avebury. It was fabulous. The Harry Potter movie studio tour was a huge huge hit with all of us. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Is Vindolanda doable from London? We liked the place and other musea's along Hadrians Wall, But we stayed in the North both times, and I presume that makes a difference. It's a bit of a trek. It looks as though it would be about 4 and a half hours by train from London to the nearest station, then a ten minute taxi ride. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 Awesome! We spent a week there on our honeymoon. Stratford Upon Avon was a nice day trip. I also really enjoyed a concert at the Church of St. Martin in the Fields. Thanks, love the concert idea especially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linders Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) Avebury Manor near Stonehenge. You can't actually go anywhere near the rocks at Stonehenge now, so we went to Avebury. It was fabulous. The Harry Potter movie studio tour was a huge huge hit with all of us. Good to know about Stonehenge. when I was there 25 years ago, I could get very close. We'll shoot for Avebury. Edited January 28, 2017 by linders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Hampton Court Palace is part of a larger ticket scheme that includes the Tower and Kensington Palace. http://www.hrp.org.uk/support-us/individuals/membership/#gs.RgLZ7Vc. Hampton Court is a fun day out of the city that is really easy to do on the underground. Windsor also works as a day trip really easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 It's a bit of a trek. It looks as though it would be about 4 and a half hours by train from London to the nearest station, then a ten minute taxi ride. I was afraid for that, we came from Hull or Keswick and by car. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Boat trip to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FriedClams Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The other thing I'd recommend is canal boating. You could do a weekend or overnight. Holy Smoley buckets of fun!!!!! It's so easy to drive and navigate (they teach you in about 30 minutes), the kids run the locks (mine were 12 and 13) and it's so fun!!!! We did a week out of Middlebury (Andersen Boats - highly highly recommended) but you can do less. Awesome time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twolittleboys Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Okay, things we have done and enjoyed that are somewhat outside London (at least not right in the center): - Greenwich (Cutty Sark, Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory) - Kew Gardens (can be combined with Syon House) - Windsor and Eton - Hampton Court - Oxford (can be combined with Blenheim Palace) I have also taken a daytrip to the Isle of Wight. Not sure I would recommend it as it is fairly expensive and a lot of travelling BUT I did enjoy it a lot (and we have since gone to the IOW for vacation repeatedly). Other possible daytrips that I haven't done yet but am considering for future trips would be Cambridge, Brighton, Bath. Maybe Canterbury (used to go there on the way to London when we still used ferry/bus to travel). Really anything in the Southeast would be do-able. Favorite attractions in London for me are Tower, British Museum, V&A Museum, Covent Garden... A couple more ideas/tips: I would try to make sure you have a nice mix of churches, museums, stately homes, nature, shopping... Obviously, you may be more interested in some than others but Ãf you have to many of one kind they tend to just kind of blur together. Try to see some show/play Leave some time for shopping, relaxing, strolling through neighborhoods etc. Two activities I would highly recommend: I love "London Walks" - they are fairly inexpensive, you are flexible as you don't have to sign up in advance, there are lots of different ones offered, and they are quite interesting/fun. Also, we have really enjoyed "Treasure Trails". Basically, you buy instructions for a scavenger hunt through a specific area. If this is your first/only trip to London you may not want to spend the time for it but I love them. Usually, you pass some major sights (and of course you can stop the trail to go see them) but you also see things that are less well-known and it sharpens your eye to notice small stuff (e.g. inscriptions on house walls, small statues etc.). We have seen some really cool stuff that way! Enjoy - sure you will have a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Boat trip to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Remember to dress warmly. I froze on a hot sunny day in July on the Thames - it gets really chilly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Thanks, love the concert idea especially. Most churches have at least one free, lunch-hour concert a week. Last month we went to a fabulous (free) organ concert at Temple Church (worth visiting on its own; lovely church full of history, with effigies and displays about the Knights Templar and the Magna Carta). In fact, we did one musical event a day. :) Even Wesley's chapel has free lunchtime concerts. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingaway Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 I don't think London Eye is worth it personally. We loved Kew Garden. I also really like the Museum of London and the Wallace Collection. York gets my vote for a day trip. My youngster loved the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andani Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 I liked the Charles Dickens museum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Such a great thread---thanks to everyone sharing suggestions :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 We visited Avebury and Salisbury. We also took an organized bus tour---I think it's this one: https://www.viator.com/tours/London/Oxford-Cotswolds-Stratford-on-Avon-and-Warwick-Castle-Day-Trip-from-London/d737-3858EE023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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