Off to London on Thursday, other half just wants to do the shopping thing which I don’t mind to a point as off to the Rapha store 🙂 just after idea’s that are cheap for the afternoon as im sure she will spend all mine and her cash in the morning!!! Planning on taking the camera and getting a few shots of the usual touristy stuff and a visit to the Olympic park.

Was trying to find a price for a day pass on the tube but none of the websites seem to want to give a price, or its oyster price for this and that. Anyone know the standard rate for tube travelling day pass.

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/tube-dlr-lo-adult-fares-jan-2014.pdf

Its all going Oyster (which IMO is a massive rip off, an excuse to penalty charge you plus you pay £5 for a card which costs 40 pence and most tourists and occasional users never get their £5 back so its a gift to TFL). Note bus fare is £1.35 with an oyster or £2.40 cash (you can pay via contactless debit card). Likewise with the tube.

If you are arriving by train get an all zones travel card added to you train ticket – that will be the usual paper type and will cover all-zones (required if you are going to the Olympic Park). If not you will have to pay up for the Oyster and get the deposit refunded at the end of the day.

You need not spend anything in London other than transport, just walk around, get the bus (study routes IMO much better than using the tube for short/medium journeys), have a wonder through the parks. As for the Olympic Park I think it would be interesting to see what they’ve done with it (I was luckily enough to go during the games) but it’s quite a trip out and back.

All central-ish, you only have an afternoon and I assume the mrs is doing Oxford Street

Buckingham Palace, Mall, Trafalgar Square, Houses of Parliament, Downing Street

Hyde Park or Green Park (the end near the Ritz always has lots of people, deck chairs etc, far end is quite peaceful

If you want a place to stop off Oxford Street here some suggestions

Wallace Collection – free gallery with coffee shop/café, on Manchester Square
Lancashire Court – lots of bars etc, Mayfair Pizza pretty good, bar down stairs
St Christopher Place – bit touristy but lots of bars/restaurants to chose from

If the mrs is going shopping in the morning you could be weighed down with bags, not that much fun if you are walking around all afternoon

Have a look at the map and make a plan.

Walk round, hop on and off the tube up and down the canals, wander round camden locks etc. If it’s nice and sunny then it won’t cost you any more than lunch and the tube. I think parts of Tate modern are free and generally worth a wander too.

Cheers!

Im hoping she doesn’t spend much or buy anything too big, she wants to go to Harrods I have no idea why, but guessing she feels the same about rapha!

Planning on taking the camera and getting a few shots of the usual touristy stuff

Best thing to do is walk places. The touristy stuff is just touristy, but if you are in anyway interested in the aesthetic side of life London is absolutely jam packed with beautiful architecture and lovely things to see. I would advise not taking the tube, you miss it all. Walk, or Barclays Bike.

The parks aren’t that special imo but west London has lovely buildings (Marleybone area, Kensington back streets etc) but also between Westminster and the City there’s cool stuff and lots of lovely City churches. Imo the London Museum is great, and free. The Temples are also fascinating.

Most of the best museums are free. I like to wander around camden markets, covent garden etc if I’ve got the time- covent garden’s good on a warm evening, usually stuff happening

was going to suggest the Imperial War Museum but checking the entry price see its shut until mid July – but spotted

http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms which I’ve put on my list

less than £20

Harrods is always worth a wonder round, total maze but it is a special shop !

If you want a wander from there you can take back streets to Belgrave Square and then onto Buckingham Palace (past Goring Hotel where Kate spent the night before the wedding).

Lots of bus routes from Harrods, inc to Oxford Street past Hyde Park up Park Lane. I never grow old of a bus ride on the top deck.

As posted by others a lot (most) of the big London Museums are free (Natural History, V&A, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery – last two both on Trafalgar Square – quick spin round either takes 30-45 mins)

EDIT: @antigee – War Rooms are on my list too, everyone I know who’s been say they are excellent

Easy answer; The British museum, one of the greatest collections of historically significant artifacts in the world and free, yes FREE!! to enter, it still blows my mind slightly that this is the case.

The Natural History and Science museum are also ace but a bit further west and tend to be rammed full of noisy kids at this time of year.

It’s also in a nice bit of London (Bloomsbury) which is well worth a potter round if the weather’s nice.

Problem is what’s worth seeing tends to be away from the shops e.g. Tate Modern or Tate Britain or National/Portrait gallery. Soho is well worth exploring and not too far from Regent St but I think what you are trying to achieve will require more than one day and a focus on one activity at a time. London shops are not much different from Milton kin Keynes, why make the effort?

Lol pretty much what I said about shopping but she puts up with my biking and is going to have a pootle round llandegla this week so it’s only fair we do something she wants to do as well.

@LMT / @BillMC – bus goes from Oxford Circus (so Oxford Street) direct to Traflgar Square (National Gallery etc) – or you can take the tube to Charing Cross/Embankment.

Museums or look for a guided walk online. We did one (can’t remember the company) and it was brilliant. Met this bloke at the entrance to Picadilly Circus, paid about a fiver each for a 2 hour stroll around some of the spots you’d never find on your own.

As above – the Olympic park is quite a way out. It’s do-able but will eat into your time a lot.

There’s also The Monument to climb. I’ve not been for years, but it was very cheap and you got great views over London.
Check the opening hours, as I went with my Wife a couple of years back after spending the day there and we missed the opening time by about 15mins.

Tell her that Selfridges is better than Harrods anyway – that way you don’t have to head out to it from the centre 🙂

Easy answer; The British museum, one of the greatest collections of historically significant artifacts in the world and free, yes FREE!! to enter, it still blows my mind slightly that this is the case.

The Natural History and Science museum are also ace but a bit further west and tend to be rammed full of noisy kids at this time of year.

But if Harrods is on the must-visit list compiled by SWMBO, the NatHis and Science museums are pretty convenient. Although I’d probably go to the V&A instead. (And the British Museum will be rammed full of noisy Spanish tourists, which are just as annoying as kids…)

I’d give the Olympic Park a swerve it will take hours off your day. Do your Harrods/ Kensington Shopping AM then head for Chancery Lane Tube and have a cheap street lunch in Leather Lane Market and a pint at The Craft Beer Co, from there take a walk along Holborn to Covent Garden and have a mooch about there, go via Neal Street and surrounds for shops and then on to the Plaza itself there’s always lots going on. You can then keep walking on down to the National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square which are within a few mins walk of each other for the touristy bit, art ect. It’s a futher 10 mins walk from T Square to Parlament and the Abbey. That should see you through until tea time. I’d have a drink at the Radio Bar in Aldwich for the view and then go somewhere nice for dinner like Hawksmoor in Covent Garden or have a walk around Soho/Chinatown (between picadilly circus and leicester square) which kicks off in the evening.
And he’s right Selfridges is much better than Harrods. Better to shop in the PM to be honest annoying carrying bags all over town all day.

Exmouth Market is good too as an alternative to Leather Lane.

OBTW just get a travelcard it covers all travel all day for 8 quid and less hassle than an oyster.

Have you been to London before? Will you be together or going solo while she shops?

There’s something wonderful about cycling round on a boris bike, cycling is an excellent way to see the city

Its all going Oyster (which IMO is a massive rip off, an excuse to penalty charge you plus you pay £5 for a card which costs 40 pence and most tourists and occasional users never get their £5 back so its a gift to TFL). Note bus fare is £1.35 with an oyster or £2.40 cash (you can pay via contactless debit card). Likewise with the tube.

I’m confused. So a fare is half the price with an Oyster card, yet it’s a ‘massive rip off’?

Th £5 is a ‘deposit’. If people chose not to redeem it, then that’s their choice. As for penalties; very often you can have them reimbursed. And they’re generaly only incurred if you fail to do somthing simple like touch in/out correctly.

You don’t need to visit London often for an oyster card to be useful. And yep, it is refundable (though I think still with some annoying exceptions?)

Tell her that Selfridges is better than Harrods

or go to Libertys – which is smaller & quieter than selfridges… 😉
You could also have a half decent pint @ the Clachan on Kingly street while she spends all your mulah. 🙂
If you do go to Harrods , I would walk back to the center via Hyde park in the afternoon.

If it’s just a day I wouldn’t waste any of it going to the Olympic Park. You are a couple of years too late.

British Museum is still an awesome free day out.

Tell her that Selfridges is better than Harrods

or go to Libertys – which is smaller & quieter than selfridges…

Yeah, but if Mrs. LMT has said she wants to visit Harrods… And Harrods is quite interesting to visit, the downstairs at least.

Another vote for the British Museum.

for a full day casual walk I’d suggest.

Harrods – tube to Tate Britain – marvellous café
then walk the rest
Westminster abbey and parliament
Whitehall for downing street and banqueting house
Trafalgar square for national gallery/Leicester square/china town
Covent garden
Somerset house
then either St Pauls Cathedral (3 miles total) or south bank (2.1 miles total)and take your Mrs up the Oxo tower

lots of variety – lots to see – plenty of places to eat and not that long a walk in reality, you wouldn’t need to go to all these places but can plan to come back subsequently if you like

lots of touristy stuff on route without getting bogged down – easy to detour to parks if required and easy to detour to river also

Also Olympic park still looked like a building site 2 weeks ago so I really wouldn’t bother

I’m confused. So a fare is half the price with an Oyster card, yet it’s a ‘massive rip off’?

Th £5 is a ‘deposit’. If people chose not to redeem it, then that’s their choice. As for penalties; very often you can have them reimbursed. And they’re generaly only incurred if you fail to do somthing simple like touch in/out correctly.

They premium charge (surcharge) cash. A cash ticket on the Paris metro costs the same as the electronic card for example. there is no need to premium charge cash. It’s rip off as if you have a paper ticket and you walk through an open barrier or pas the small yellow touch point on the wall you don’t get charged £10. It’s very easy to fail to touch out or in if the barriers are open (as they are every evening once the ticket staff have gone home) or if there are no barriers at all. It’s a rip off as they know most visitors never refund the Oyster. If the OP is travelling to London by train he should definitely get a Travelcard with his train ticket.

I’ve never had a cheap day out in London – always costs me a fortune

I’ve been travelling up to London often enough over the years to be pretty sure they don’t ‘overcharge’ on the cash, because the fares didn’t go up when Oyster cards were first introduced. They have crept up over the years, but so have all travel fares.
I’ve had an Oyster since they were free to obtain, and I generally only go up two-three times a year, but I wouldn’t be without it for the sheer convenience of not having to fanny around trying to get the bloody ticket machine to accept cash.

woody21 – Member
I’ve never had a cheap day out in London – always costs me a fortune

You’re not wrong there. 😐

Get a travel card about £9 for unlimited travel

Fwiw, according to tfl website, contactless card payments are still £1.45 on buses ie a bit more than oyster but way less than cash and no £5 oyster ‘deposit’… When it was £1.40 last year we did really well using longer bus routes. Also if you only know london a bit and have all day (across the middle it is quite probably faster to walk!) its quite nice seeing it all from the upstairs of a bus.

Take your mrs up the OXO tower……………..snigger!