Planning a trip to London--HELP!

[NHdisneylover]

Hello all
I usually post on the main CB--as I like to hear from everyone, but I figured if i want help on a Londond visit the best knowledge would be concentrated here (not that you all spend time in london).
We will be in London for two weeks in early September and have never been before. We are a family of four (kids 11 and 13). Jet lag is not an issue as we are flying in from Frankfort, Germany.
No one wants to do the London Eye (too tall), Madam Tussuad's (did it in Berlin) or the Dungeon (too scary). Saturday through Thursday of the second week (bolded stuff) are jam packed because we are getting a London Pass for those days. We also thought movies would be good in there as many cinemas are include on pass, they would offer a nice break for my son (who get sick of sightseeing after a while) and we would all be so excited to see movies in English
If anyone has lots of time on their hands and wants to read it over and suggest ways to fill in the blank spots, tell me how to rearrange the London Pass days so things that are close together get seen in one day (I tried but I do not know what I am doing), tell me we picked all the wrong things to do, or whatever else I would be grateful. We also are trying to figure out what to do for transportation on the days we do not have a London Pass. Is an oyster card the best thing (I do really understand how that works at all)? Would you recommend something else? We are renting a flat on the West End .
MANY THANKS in advance for any and all advice

Sat--arrive and settle in
Sun--London hop on off tour bus with River cruise to get oriented. We are looking at The Original London Sightseeing company. Any feedback on which is best?
Mon--Daytime at Harrod's and evening to a meal deal for either Grease or Oliver
Tues--Legoland Windsor (has to be this day, we are meeting a friend of my son's that he met on a cruise)
Wed--?????? in the daytime. Hoping to get a mealdeal for Legally Blonde (they are only selling them through the end of July right now) or Dirty Dancing for the evening.
Thur--Daytime at Hyde Park and evening tickets to Wicked.
Fri--Maritime Museum
Sat--Kennsington Palace, Royal Albert Hall and bowling or a movie and Queen's Ice and Bowl
Sun--Hampton Palace, National Theatre Backstage Tour and maybe the zoo
Mon--Tower of London and Tower Bridege Expo, HMS Belfast and maybe a movie
Tues--Windsor Castle, Eton College Tour and a movie
Wed--Wellington Arch, Banquet House, Gaurd's Museum and the Royal Mews and maybe a movie
Thurs--Globe Theatre Tour, Bycycle Tour of London and St Paul's Cathedral
Fri--????
Sat--Leave

 

[Dollyrar]

Camden market is great for a morning/day trip. Lots of interesting stuff to see and buy, and lots of great food options
I would recommend doing some walking tours maybe as well. The Big Bus Company gives free ones if you do the hop-on and off tour with them. Their Ghost tour is great. There is also a company called Original Walks, that does some good ones. We loved their Harry Potter one, if your kid might be in to that? You should also take him to Hamleys on Regent Street for a few hours as a nice break.
I hope you have lots more fun planning anyway!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Oh I love the walks idea--thank you for that We may well skip the bus thing all together and just do walks instead. Yes Harry Potter (and Sherlock Holmes) are both bi deals to the kids.

Great to know about Camden market as well

Stupid question while I am at it: are stores open on Sundays in the UK?

 

[Dollyrar]

They are, but most are only allowed to open for 6 hours due to trading laws. This is normally 11:00-17:00 or 12:00-18:00

 

[NHdisneylover]

Wonderful, thank you so much. As long as I don't have to buy groceries on Saturday after we arrive I am happy

 

[Dimplenose]

My DD(16) loves Camden market - I hate it. It's really more aimed towards older teenagers and young 20 somethings, I'm not sure I'd want to take an 11 year old there. If you do go make sure you haggle - I have seldom paid full price for things for my daughter, if the stall holder thinks you are leaving they will soon drop the price.

 

[NHdisneylover]

My DD(16) loves Camden market - I hate it. It's really more aimed towards older teenagers and young 20 somethings, I'm not sure I'd want to take an 11 year old there. If you do go make sure you haggle - I have seldom paid full price for things for my daughter, if the stall holder thinks you are leaving they will soon drop the price.

Thanks for the heads up As long as I know what to expect I am good so I really appreciate it. The 11 year old was in markets in Naples, Italy and Tunisia last year so he can probably stick close and make it okay in Camden--off to Google for more info now though. I really do appreciate the information from you. Also very good to know we should haggle should we decide to buy something (generally we prefer people watching and "window" shopping but you never know).

 

[torsie24]

What struck me most is that you have a whole day planned in Harrods.

I personally am not a fan of it, so have nevr spent long in there, but then when in NYC I can never spend more than a couple of hours in Macys or Saks etc.

I never treat London as a tourist place, we just shop/eat/drink/see friends there, but our favourite places are:

Canary Wharf - great shopping and eating area, reminds me a lot of Manhattan so not very Londony, but in summer I just love sitting and eating by the river with big skyscrapers around me. Plus on a weekend it's really quiet as no one is in the officies, so it's good to escape the tourists.

Covent Garden - Manic on a weekend, but a really nice part of the city, and very easy for us to get to, so we tend to eat most of our meals here. There is good choice, we normally choose Nando's or Wahaca, which are both jsut around the corner, but if you like Mexican food then Wahaca is a really great place.

Map here

The Tate Modern - we pop in a couple of times a year to see what's changed, and we really like it.

China town - I mainly visit here to buy awesome chinese/japanese stuff. And also to grab good Sushi and candy! Also you can get Boba tea here, which I used to love when I lived in LA. I find it a really great area of the city, and again there are normally lots of empty pubs and bars as its off the beaten path a bit.

Victoria & Abert/Science/Natural History Museums are all awesome, and free, and we love to pop in and out and see different bits and pieces.

Wembley Stadium - I love the new Wembley stadium and am lucky enough to get tickets to all events there so I've been a lot, but everytime it impresses me. If we have foreign friends over I always check is a football match/concert is going to be on.

 

[NHdisneylover]

THANKS Oh and good Mexican food is HUGE (I swear there is no good Mexican food anywhere in Germany).

BTW--we are not planning on spending more than a couple of hours a Harraods. Just didn't want to plan a busy day and then keep the kids up late for a show. Good point though--we did not even spend an hour in the shops in NYC So maybe we would be better to try one of your other suggestions there I am thinking Convent Garden and Mexican for lunch sounds lovely.

China town is a fabulous idea--I don't know why it never occurred to me that there would be one. DD used to buy lots of shirts in the China Towns in Boston and Montreal. Great place to pick her up some new school clothes

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Harrods and Kensington Palace are well matched together as it is only about four stops on the bus from KP to Harrods.

Greenwich Maritime Museum and the boat cruise are a good match too. You can get on the river cruise near Big Ben and go right down to Greenwich, excellent way to see the main sights.

The museums are excellent - some of London's others include the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, The Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Imperial War Museum and Victoria and Albert and most if not all are free of charge.

A sightseeing walk is quite easy. Go from Trafalgar Square down the Mall to Buckingham palace and then back through St James park to HorseGuards Parade, Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (takes us about 2 hours to stroll this route) Back to Trafalgar square and a coffee stop plus browse of the National Gallery then walk up to Covent Garden, Chinatown and Leicester Square. (Another free day).

We also like the 'Churchill CAbinet War Rooms' museum which is between St James Park and Whitehall. Really interesting.

Can really recommend Oliver - saw it last year and it was the best West End show we have ever seen.

 

[j9000]

youre packing alot in, and i dont think you will be able to do it all
The tower of london & zoo will both take about 4 hours each,

camden is a great place to visit, its open 7 days a week, but each stall is independent and most close mon &tues, and dont go sunday as camden becomes hell on earth (saturdays are busy too)

if you have kids the natural history museum and science museum are great,

 

[Dimplenose]

Just noticed you're going to Hampton Palace - if you mean Hampton Court palace then it is a 30 minute train journey away (easy journey - so that's not a problem) and then you'll need at least 3 hours (I have spent 5 hours there in one day and not done all I've wanted to) so I wouldn't do it on the same day as the zoo which can also be a quite a full day in itself.

Also I'm not sure what you can do fo a day in Hyde Park - it's just a park. On the other hand your plans are more ambitious than my WDW holidays so a quiet day will probably be quite welcome by then - I just think it'll be a tad boring.

 

[NHdisneylover]

again thanks everyone

GREAT to hear Oliver is so good--that is what I was leaning toward so I think we will go for it.

Yes, the plans are ambitious--we always prefer to plan a lot and then drop items if needed than the other way around. In Denmark last summer I was stunned that we actually did everything on the plans and no one felt too wiped out--it's amazing how easy it is now that the kids are older

So many of the museums sound good, it was very hard to pick and choose which ones to get in there--but we went with ones that we think we be more unique to London (we go to lots of museums) and we do hope to get back again to fill in what we miss in a year or two.

Thanks for the info about timing for Hampton Court Palace. WE are not worried at all if we miss the zoo--we just wrote that down as something we COULD do if we are needing to fill time because it is on the card and we would be okay just seeing a bit of it--but we have seen lots of great zoos so it is not a must see for us. I hope we can pull off the palace and the theatre tour on the same day though, since that is important to us.

I tried not to have any jam packed days on the same day as heading to the theatre--thus just Hyde park (and I think that day is a national holiday so we figured we didn't want to fight crowds at other places).

We have done some updates based on all the awesome suggestions here and are down to this now:
Day 1--arrive in the early evening. Unpack and buy groceries.
Day 2--Orient ourselves by doing this self guided Harry Potter tour of London: http://www.the-magician.co.uk/
Day 3--Hyde Park in the daytime and either Grease or Oliver that night (chekcing for best mealdeal prices and leaning towards Oliver)
Day 4--Legoland Windsor
Day 5-- Shopping at Harrod's and in China Town. Maybe lunch at Convent Gardens. Hoping for a mealdeal for Legally Blonde that night.
Day 6--Beatles Magical Mystery Walk and seeing Wicked that night (the timing for the trip is based entirely around when we could get the best seats to the show).
Day 7--Maritime Museum
Day 8--Kennsington Palace, Royal Albert Hall and bowling or ice skating at Queens Ice and Bowl
Day 9--Hampton Palace and the National Theatre backstage tour (maybe the zoo if we have time--doubtful)
Day 10--Tower of London and Tower bridge expo, HMS Belfast and maybe a movie in there too
Day 11--Windsor Castle, Eton College Tour and a movie
Day 12--Wellington Arch, Banquest House, Gaurd's museum, Royal mews and again maybe a movie
Day 13--Globe theatre, Bicycle tour of London and ST Paul's
Day 14--Sherlock Holmes museum and the Sherlock Holmes walk
Say 15--go home and get ready for school to start two days later

 

[TotallyAngelic]

again thanks everyone

GREAT to hear Oliver is so good--that is what I was leaning toward so I think we will go for it.

Yes, the plans are ambitious--we always prefer to plan a lot and then drop items if needed than the other way around. In Denmark last summer I was stunned that we actually did everything on the plans and no one felt too wiped out--it's amazing how easy it is now that the kids are older

So many of the museums sound good, it was very hard to pick and choose which ones to get in there--but we went with ones that we think we be more unique to London (we go to lots of museums) and we do hope to get back again to fill in what we miss in a year or two.

Thanks for the info about timing for Hampton Court Palace. WE are not worried at all if we miss the zoo--we just wrote that down as something we COULD do if we are needing to fill time because it is on the card and we would be okay just seeing a bit of it--but we have seen lots of great zoos so it is not a must see for us. I hope we can pull off the palace and the theatre tour on the same day though, since that is important to us.

I tried not to have any jam packed days on the same day as heading to the theatre--thus just Hyde park (and I think that day is a national holiday so we figured we didn't want to fight crowds at other places).

We have done some updates based on all the awesome suggestions here and are down to this now:
Day 1--arrive in the early evening. Unpack and buy groceries.
Day 2--Orient ourselves by doing this self guided Harry Potter tour of London: http://www.the-magician.co.uk/
Day 3--Hyde Park in the daytime and either Grease or Oliver that night (chekcing for best mealdeal prices and leaning towards Oliver)
Day 4--Legoland Windsor
Day 5-- Shopping at Harrod's and in China Town. Maybe lunch at Convent Gardens. Hoping for a mealdeal for Legally Blonde that night.
Day 6--Beatles Magical Mystery Walk and seeing Wicked that night (the timing for the trip is based entirely around when we could get the best seats to the show).
Day 7--Maritime Museum
Day 8--Kennsington Palace, Royal Albert Hall and bowling or ice skating at Queens Ice and Bowl
Day 9--Hampton Palace and the National Theatre backstage tour (maybe the zoo if we have time--doubtful)
Day 10--Tower of London and Tower bridge expo, HMS Belfast and maybe a movie in there too
Day 11--Windsor Castle, Eton College Tour and a movie
Day 12--Wellington Arch, Banquest House, Gaurd's museum, Royal mews and again maybe a movie
Day 13--Globe theatre, Bicycle tour of London and ST Paul's
Day 14--Sherlock Holmes museum and the Sherlock Holmes walk
Say 15--go home and get ready for school to start two days later

Sounds like amazing plans you have Hadley. I think your kids would really enjoy the natural history museum and the science museum too. The Thames river cruise is a must do, and the HOHO buses are a great way to get about and see the sights and get your bearings.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Thanks Sarah Input from someone who has actually gotten to know the kids a little is especially helpful. I thought about contacting you (and gismo Sarah) but I was not sure if either of you spent much time IN London--and I know you are all busy getting ready for the TA anyway (I am still so sad we had to cancel out on sailing with all of the best people).

 

[TotallyAngelic]

Thanks Sarah Input from someone who has actually gotten to know the kids a little is especially helpful. I thought about contacting you (and gismo Sarah) but I was not sure if either of you spent much time IN London--and I know you are all busy getting ready for the TA anyway (I am still so sad we had to cancel out on sailing with all of the best people).

We are so sad you are not sailing with us too We were so looking forward to meeting you all in person. But sounds as though you had a wonderful cruise in the Med, and hopefully we will get to meet up with you soon on a future cruise.

We have spent the occasional weekend in London ourselves but don't know it that well really. There will be others on this board who know the area a lot more than we do. I'm sure you will get some great input and assistance.

 

[A Small World]

I tried not to have any jam packed days on the same day as heading to the theatre--thus just Hyde park (and I think that day is a national holiday so we figured we didn't want to fight crowds at other places).

Im not sure of your exact dates but your first post said September and there are no national holidays in the UK in September so dont worry about this

 

[NHdisneylover]

Im not sure of your exact dates but your first post said September and there are no national holidays in the UK in September so dont worry about this

Thanks. Most of the trip is in September but we do arrive in the end of August--so Monday is August 30--I think the last Monday in August is a holiday--but if I am wrong so much the better

 

[A Small World]

Thanks. Most of the trip is in September but we do arrive in the end of August--so Monday is August 30--I think the last Monday in August is a holiday--but if I am wrong so much the better

Oh yes that Monday is a bank holiday

 

[j9000]

Thanks. Most of the trip is in September but we do arrive in the end of August--so Monday is August 30--I think the last Monday in August is a holiday--but if I am wrong so much the better

I go to london every august bank holiday for a film festival, London is jammed to the gills on that Monday. Tuesday however, will be dead.