Our Greater London Megathread

Another cheap option is BLOC - which is literally beside the entrance to South Terminal security:

www.blochotels.com/gatwick/

It's literally a pod - cheap and cheerful

The cheapest way to Greenwich would be get the train to New Cross Gate from Gatwick, depending how far out you can book this in advance it can be found for around £7/8 each way.

From New Cross Gate get the 177 bus to Greenwich but be warned that for buses you will all have to have Oyster Cards- assumably if you are spending a few days you would be getting these anyway

goochy wrote: »

Need to stay in London for one night sat. Week. Just want someone clean and safe. Looking for somewhere not too expensive . Have to sort out family things so it's not a leisure visit. Must be in central London as only there for one night and relative lives in central london.

If you could state what your budget is, that would help. Where in central London is your relative? If you're flying, which airport are you using?

Can anyone recommend some nice restaurants in London that are not too expensive but with good tasty food - like not cheap places either! Going there in October with friends so would be nice to have a few places in mind to try.

Thanks

shrapnel222 wrote: »

Any idea of what part of London you'll be staying in/hanging out? london is a big place and has 1000s of restaurants. Easier to eat closer to where you'll be hanging out.

Eh no.....not yet! But will come back here when I know where we'll be staying!!

goochy wrote: »

Best value as possible. But must get a place either way. Flying into city airport - relative lives in Soho. Usually stay there but there was a family fall out so trying to sort it before relative passes away as she's getting on a bit !!

We stayed in Tune Hotel Westminister last weekend (Friday). It was grand. Room had no window and was tiny but clean. We just needed a place to sleep. Paid £55 but everything else (even TV) costs extra.

Any suggestions to add to this list http://www.worldofwanderlust.com/20-must-see-london-attractions of things to do when visiting London?

• Big Ben
• Houses of Parliament
• Buckingham Palace
• The London Eye
• Trafalgar Square
• The Natural History Museum
• St Pauls Cathederal
• The Tate Modern
• The Globe Theatre
• Kings Cross Platform nine and three quarters (for Harry Potter fans)
• Tower Bridge
• The Shard
• The Tower of London
• The Gherkin
• Hyde Park
• House Guards Parade
• Piccadilly Circus
• Downing Street
• Changing of the Guard
• Covent Garden

I'm travelling with two kids aged 11 an 15 for a long weekend (Thursday to Sunday March 24th to 27th) so I'm thinking there must be other things to do such as

• Harrods
• Camden Market
• Have a meal in Chinatown
• Visit Kew Gardens
• London Transport Museum
• The Emirates Air Line

We'd like to plan out each day but we don't want to try and squeeze too much into each day. One or two main things each day and if there is something nearby or somewhere interesting nearby for food that would be nice.

For us I'd say the main things over the three full days we have will be Tower of London, The globe Theatre and Parliament (so school learning can be put in context) and then experiences like the London Eye, The Emirates Air Line, having a meal in Chinatown, the Natural History Museum, The London Transport Museum, Harrods, Kings Cross platform nine and three quarters.

Any other suggestions as to what else we should prioritise?

rainbow kirby wrote: »

A stadium tour if your kids are football fans? The Wembley one is quite good and the Emirates is very accessible from the Piccadilly line (Holloway Road station).

Good idea but we're LFC fans for our sins Not sure I could pay to do a tour of Arsenal and Wembley is just too far out.

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Good idea but we're LFC fans for our sins Not sure I could pay to do a tour of Arsenal and Wembley is just too far out.

A common misconception.

It is only 9 minutes from Marylebone Station to Wembley Stadium Station on Chiltern Railways trains (two per hour). The stadium is less than five minutes walk from the station. You can use Oyster Card on these services.

Hardly that far out.

Ruu wrote: »

Cable car is nice as well, think the Shard is a bit overpriced, there are plenty of places to see a good view for free.

Shard is very nice but definitely overpriced.

here's a little tip for you. link below is for the sky garden and at the top of the walkie talkie building (well 35th Floor). It's free but you need to book and you get one hour up there, or you can have lunch, dinner,tea.

well worth a visit, but book well in advance as week ends can be difficult to get slots

https://skygardentickets.com/skygardenpublic_ui/events/

schemingbohemia wrote: »

If you're going to the Globe you could pop into Borough Market - lots of really interesting food stalls.

http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

We love markets, thanks for the suggestion.

shrapnel222 wrote: »

Shard is very nice but definitely overpriced.

here's a little tip for you. link below is for the sky garden and at the top of the walkie talkie building (well 35th Floor). It's free but you need to book and you get one hour up there, or you can have lunch, dinner,tea.

well worth a visit, but book well in advance as week ends can be difficult to get slots

https://skygardentickets.com/skygardenpublic_ui/events/

Great suggestion. Pity the days we're going in March are already fully booked. Only 5 days with availability in March

shrapnel222 wrote: »

have a look again next week. it's possible it only looks 3 or 4 weeks ahead, so the rest of march aren't bookable yet. worth a try anyway.

other things:

science museum is great, as is the british museum, and the national gallery.

Greenwich is lovely and the planetarium is excellent you also get an entry to the national maritime museum which is by the river in greenwich.

walking down/cycling down the mall towards buckingham palace is great also

Some great suggestions there Shrapnel, thank you. They are exactly the kind of things we all enjoy doing. Last year we spent a weekend in Oslo and had a great time generally exploring the place. Lot's of museums and a fantastic public transport service. We also did a city bike tour which was superb but I don't think London really lends itself to a guided bike tour, especially with an 11 year old in tow.