London/ Paris OYO time

[sayhello]

oops! I should have checked before suggesting it! The museum itself is worth a visit, especially for a first-timer to London. It traces the history of the area from early stone age through modern times, in an easy-to-follow spiral through the building.

I have to admit, I've never heard of the Museum of London, so thank you for that. I'll check it out!

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[kristilew]

I have to admit, I've never heard of the Museum of London, so thank you for that. I'll check it out!

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You would love it! Much smaller, but also interesting and not on most's radar is the Florence Nightingale museum. Since you've been to London before and have plenty of time on this next trip, you might find it worthwhile. Only takes an hour at most. http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/

 

[sayhello]

You would love it! Much smaller, but also interesting and not on most's radar is the Florence Nightingale museum. Since you've been to London before and have plenty of time on this next trip, you might find it worthwhile. Only takes an hour at most. http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/

Cool! Thanks!

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[Rapunzellover]

The Globe is awesome. Definitely do a play there instead of a regular theater. I saw Macbeth on my trip and it was one of the highlights.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

oops! I should have checked before suggesting it! The museum itself is worth a visit, especially for a first-timer to London. It traces the history of the area from early stone age through modern times, in an easy-to-follow spiral through the building.

I thought the Museum of London was more interesting than the British Museum.

 

[GastoninMD]

the Museum of London and the British Museum are both wonderful, especially of the kids are a bit older. Question - we are looking for an agenda for the day before our 2016 London/Paris trip begins and was wondering about the Harry Potter experience - is that part of the Warner Brothers Studio tour? Has anybody done it and would you recommend? Thanks!

 

[im4kycats]

We will be doing the Harry Potter tour at Warner Bros on Thursday! I will be sure to report back on the experience. I have heard it is excellent!

 

[sayhello]

the Museum of London and the British Museum are both wonderful, especially of the kids are a bit older. Question - we are looking for an agenda for the day before our 2016 London/Paris trip begins and was wondering about the Harry Potter experience - is that part of the Warner Brothers Studio tour? Has anybody done it and would you recommend? Thanks!

I did the Warner Brothers Studio tour (which *is* the Making of Harry Potter exhibit) before my Scotland ABD last year. I'm doing it again this year with friends! If you are a Harry Potter fan, then it's an absolute *must do*! They have the actual sets there, tons of props and costumes, and all sorts of great information & trivia, all wonderfully displayed. I spent 5 1/2 hours there! It's not that far from London. You can get the train from London Euston Station to Watford Junction (only 2 stops) and then a shuttle from there to the Studios. I highly, HIGHLY recommend it. If you check out my Scotland Trip Report in my signature, the first part of my report includes my trip there.

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[im4kycats]

@sayhello, do you recall if you were able to use an Oyster card to get to Watford or if you had to just buy that portion outright? I've been looking and it may or may not be in zone 9, which isn't part of the Oyster card I can buy online. I'm just trying to get an idea of what I will need to purchase on our Oyster card to get us through the first few days.

TIA!

 

[GAN]

Has anyone considered the Travelcard? In addition to transport(similar to the Oyster) you can get 2-for-1 deals on many attractions. You would have to do the math to see if it would be worth it for you. We used it last fall, purchasing a 7-day card, and even though we were only there 5-days it still paid for itself. I'm figuring some of the "big" attractions are covered under the ABD tour, but you might make use of it if you're arriving a couple days early. Just another option -more info detailed by trip advisor here:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...d-Kingdom:2.4.1.Travelcards.Step.By.Step.html

 

[im4kycats]

@GAN, I have looked at the Travelcard, as well. Watford is outside the zones, so I'm not sure either would work for getting there. We will probably get one or the other (Travelcard or Oyster) for our other adventures, though. Trying to decide which is the better deal for where we have planned to go before the ABD. There are a number of things we are doing within an easy walk of the Landmark.

 

[sayhello]

@sayhello, do you recall if you were able to use an Oyster card to get to Watford or if you had to just buy that portion outright? I've been looking and it may or may not be in zone 9, which isn't part of the Oyster card I can buy online. I'm just trying to get an idea of what I will need to purchase on our Oyster card to get us through the first few days.

TIA!

Watford Junction is outside of the Oyster card area, you need to purchase an actual train ticket.

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[Douglas Dubh]

You can go on the Overground, but it's much slower.

One thing to clarify about the HP tour is there isn't a separate tour for the WB studios and for Harry Potter. The studio tour is all about Harry Potter. It's definitely a must do for anyone who enjoyed the movies. And you should figure it will take most of the day - it's about an hour of travel from London and takes at least 4 hours to see. We were able to go on the first tour of the day and managed to get back to Westminster and see the Abbey before it closed for the day, but I wouldn't recommend planning on doing much else that day.

 

[GAN]

@GAN, I have looked at the Travelcard, as well. Watford is outside the zones, so I'm not sure either would work for getting there. We will probably get one or the other (Travelcard or Oyster) for our other adventures, though. Trying to decide which is the better deal for where we have planned to go before the ABD. There are a number of things we are doing within an easy walk of the Landmark.

Take a look at this -should be very helpful:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g...o.Tour.London.The.Making.Of.Harry.Potter.html

....if you haven't already found it. Trip Advisor is our friend!

 

[GAN]

Watford Junction is outside of the Oyster card area, you need to purchase an actual train ticket.

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One last thing I will mentioned and it is referenced on the T/A page ...if you do go, let the ticket clerk know that you have the Oyster/Travelcard because usually they will only charge you for the portion of the trip NOT covered by the card. So you can save a few pounds per ticket probably. Have a wonderful trip! And remember, Bob's your Uncle(feel free to google!)...

 

[sayhello]

One last thing I will mentioned and it is referenced on the T/A page ...if you do go, let the ticket clerk know that you have the Oyster/Travelcard because usually they will only charge you for the portion of the trip NOT covered by the card. So you can save a few pounds per ticket probably. Have a wonderful trip! And remember, Bob's your Uncle(feel free to google!)...

I didn't know that!

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[im4kycats]

I feel like I hijacked this thread, but thank you all for the great info and tips! I think it will make our trip that much better.