Advice Sought on Long Weekend and Show in London

S

SparkRite

Registered User
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Hi all,

Just a quick question, would anybody have any recommendation on who or what site to use for a long weekend and west end show in London, in the new year.

I have had a look myself an but really cannot put one above the other, there are so many sites to choose from. Obviously I can discount some of them, mainly because of price but in the end I would value hearing about somebody's experience with an operator.

Thanks in advance.
 
@SparkRite

I have done this many times! mostly just my own research on trip advisor etc, no tour operators, if thats what you were thinking of? I booked the tickets on tickermaster.co.uk (though you may get them cheaper elsewhere).

If possible, identify what shows & attractions you'd like to see and that will narrow down the area you should stay in (either nearby or on one of the underground routes). With only a long weekend, I personally didnt want to spend too much time figuring out how to get around / getting lost, so the time I saw Wicked (great show IMO) I stayed near Victoria station & could walk to the theatre :)
 
stephnyc said:
@SparkRite

I have done this many times! mostly just my own research on trip advisor etc, no tour operators, if thats what you were thinking of? I booked the tickets on tickermaster.co.uk (though you may get them cheaper elsewhere).

If possible, identify what shows & attractions you'd like to see and that will narrow down the area you should stay in (either nearby or on one of the underground routes). With only a long weekend, I personally didnt want to spend too much time figuring out how to get around / getting lost, so the time I saw Wicked (great show IMO) I stayed near Victoria station & could walk to the theatre :)
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Thanks for that, yeah I'm putting it together myself, well in so far as using the likes of Expedia,Superbreak, Alpharooms etc.
Am thinking of flying into London City Airport and staying close by, what would you advise on that. I was never in London before so really have no idea of areas etc.
 
London City is a good choice to fly to - plenty of cheap flights to there at the moment and it's very convenient ( though flights are limited at the weekend as the airport is closed Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning )

As covered in other posts here LCY is the cheapest airport to get to/from (it's only in Zone 3 for pricing of transport tickets) so even if the flight is a little more you're saving lots of time/money on longer journeys from the further out airports like Stansted/Gatwick/Luton etc.

However immediately around the airport while there are a few hotels they're not that exciting looking and there's very little else around there ( In Dublin terms think of staying there a bit like staying near the ferry terminals on the North Wall - it's quite an industrial area with little else going on apart from the airport and a few large venues like the O2 and Excel Exhibition centre)

If you're mainly interested in going to see shows these are all on in the "West End" which is quite a long way away ... I would try to stay as central as you can, and I certainly wouldn't consider staying somewhere East of Canary Wharf - that's just too much of a trek

If you're travelling at the weekend you can often get quite good deals on hotels around Canary Wharf or in the City (Financial Discrict - around Bank/Liverpool Street) as the hotels there tend to be quiet at the weekends. Staying in those areas wouldn't be too bad at all.
 
SparkRite - as EvilDoctorK says, London City seems to be the preferred airport on aam - check out the key post as well: http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=133690

Actually do a quick search & you will get decent reviews of where to stay, try for example http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=184425

I second the suggestion of the Financial District at the weekend, there are some great restaurants around there too, and they are quieter than central London

If you want to say which show/attraction you are heading to, I might be able to recommend better.. I understand if you dont want to share your love of showtunes with the aam'ers though :)
 
No problem saying what show ;-)

The Phantom of the Opera is herself's first choice and if I'm honest I wouldn't mind seeing it either.
Its on in "her Majesty's Theatre" in Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4QL.

Whereabouts is the financial area?

 
The London Eye is certainly worth going to. Book it in advance and avoid the massive queues. The Houses of Parliament are just across the river if you want to walk over.

Going to Harrord's is an experience. Loads of people looking, very few buying. Got a £30 ice cream there once!

Pre plan were you want to eat too. Just like here, you need to book the good restaurants in advance.

London is a great city, there is tons to see and do. It is so big, you won't get to see it all. Pick a few things that you really want to see and make sure you have plenty of time to do them as you might be spending some time on the tube.


Steven
www.bluewaterfp.ie


I must look into going back there soon. :D
 
With the Jubilee Line taking you to West London you should be able to base very well in the Canary Wharf as already suggested. In terms of hotels there I can certainly recommend the Marriott West India Quay. A little further out, close to the airport (and a charming Emirates Air Line ride away from the Jubilee line at West Greenwich) the Crowne Plaza Docklands is another pleasant place to stay. If you have neither the head for heights nor the stomach for a windy crossing, it is a short one-stop DLR ride instead to Canning Town from there. As it is close to the ExCel centre it can book out when that is busy but it is worth a look. If that is too pricey there is also two Ibis hotels close by. There is also a Holiday Inn Express about 5 minutes walk from Canning Town station but there is nothing really in the vicinity.

There is a wide selection of restaurants, cafes, etc in Canary Wharf and a reasonable selection at West Greenwich (which is by the O2 arena), they are mostly chains but that doesn't mean they aren't good.
I'd agree with other posters that it makes sense to book in advance where possible - but some of my best eats in London have been stumble-upons - get TimeOut and have a look-see what it recommends.
 
I love to do London just by walking some of the most interesting parts of the city and some of the oldest parts. One takes in the main artery of the Georgian city from The City to the West End and it is full of different points of interest along the route. It also takes you past a large number of theatres. Working from Tower station across the City (so St Mary's Axe - aka The Gherkin and Lloyd's of London, the Bank of England) down to St. Paul's Cathedral, on to Fleet Street (plenty of excellent wine bars), up to the Courts of Justice (Twinnings Tea Shop is just across the road - it is very cute and almost never open but absolutely charming when it is!) past St Clement Danes (remember the nursery rhyme?) along the Strand (stop off at the Coal Hole for a quintessential London pub) along to Charing Cross and all the wonderful second hand bookshops in the area, up to Trafalagar Square and on to Covent Garden. There is literally so much to see just in those areas that you couldn't do it in a single weekend. Plan a few things you want to see and arrange around them but leave some space to just wander a little bit too :) Oh and if you stay in the East you might as well take advantage of that and consider exploring Greenwich while you are there. Also consider taking the river ferries - a very different way to see London.
 
SparkRite said:
Whereabouts is the financial area?
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Also known as "The City" .. it's basically the area around Bank Underground Station (Say 1/2 mile in any direction from there) .. it's the original City Centre ... but now it's very much the financial district with little other stuff going on there (hence it can be refreshingly quiet at the weekends) .. Most of the Shopping/Theatres/Nightlife is around the West End which would be more or less centred on Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Oxford Circus.

Basically stay somewhere with Good transport links .. if you can manage it stay inside the Circle Line in true central London .. If that's not possible try to stay somewhere not too far out and on a good tube line into town - hence Canary Wharf is a good choice sometimes as you've got the fast Jubilee line that whisks you into the West End in not much more than 10 minutes (and it's also very convenient for LCY airport if you're flying to there) .. Avoid places that are well out of the city centre and without good transport links as it's just not worth it for a weekend break when you're going to be mostly wanting to be in central London.
 
We stayed in The Apex Temple Court you can get good deals there at the weekend as it's really for business people (though isn't a business style hotel, bit quirkier than that).

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Borough Market is a 15 minute stroll away and well worth a visit, though i'd advise going on a Friday rather than Saturday as it does get very busy.

Get an oyster card, also make sure to check out bus options as sometimes we can be slaves to the Tube and buses can be quicker than having to change tube lines etc.

We went to The Book of Mormon which was hilarious, would need to book well in advance though.

Enjoy, it's a great city for a weekend.
 
Definitely second getting an Oyster card. It provides considerable savings. Agree that we shouldn't be afraid to stray from the Tube onto London's iconic red buses - use the TfL Journey Planner to work out the best route. Bus fares are a flat fare so there is no need to worry about tagging off your Oyster or telling the driver where you are going unless you want him to let you know the stop. Generally bus stops in the city centre have good local information so if you are stuck somewhere you could do worse than find the nearest bus stop.
 
If you're looking to stay somewhere central, as others have recommended, you should have a quick look on AirBNB. You can find pretty nice accommodation for less than the cost of a basic chain hotel. Last time I did it, we got a lovely townhouse apartment for 4/5 in Greenwich (right on the DLR line) for about £100/night.
 
so-crates said:
Definitely second getting an Oyster card. It provides considerable savings. Agree that we shouldn't be afraid to stray from the Tube onto London's iconic red buses - use the TfL Journey Planner to work out the best route. Bus fares are a flat fare so there is no need to worry about tagging off your Oyster or telling the driver where you are going unless you want him to let you know the stop. Generally bus stops in the city centre have good local information so if you are stuck somewhere you could do worse than find the nearest bus stop.
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Yes, bus flat fare =1.45 with Oyster card,

But capped at 4.40 for as many buses as you like.

4.40 stg for unlimited bus travel in London is a bargain.
 
We went to that theatre to see the Phantom of the Opera and bought tickets fot the Matinee that day, from what I recall it was a weekday but the tickets for that evening were available at the box office also. That long weekend we stayed in Kensington, which was a bit far out but lovely, that theatre is very central just a couple of minutes walk from Piccadilly Circus
 
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