Staying near the London Eye this weekend -what's not to miss!

[Sharptic]

Hi, we're going to see a show, then free for rest of time. We have 2 girls 9&12. Any ideas what we can do nearby within walking distance?? Or will sightseeing keep us busy.

I looked into pre booking the London eye but it seems like there's lots of queueing and it's going to cost us £70, is it worth it?

I went to London in April for two days for a concert and crammed SO much in! I want to go back soon.
We enjoy walking so didn’t tend to use the tube too much, we did have a “guide” in that a friend who had been loads navigated the tube when we did need it. We managed to see Buckingham Palace, Parliament, St Paul’s which had loads of pink blossom on the tress and looked beautiful, walked all around Leicester Square, Hamleys Toy Shop (which was crap, not sure what I was expecting).
Next day we did the Natural History Museam and the Science Museam. Had a lovely ice cream from some Italian place around that way.

We ate at Five Guys, we don’t have one near us and I really enjoyed it. We also ate an a all you can eat Argentinian (I think) place in the o2, which wasn’t cheap but was really nice.

Next time I’d go for a day longer and get tickets for a show, maybe go in Buckingham Palace, go to Harrods. There’s loads I want to do....I’m a total Chandler and Joey in London type though haha.

Can’t think what else you might want to do, I always just go and get drunk
But I have been on the eye once before, wouldn’t recommend it, it’s really just a big wheel and you can get a great view up the Shard!

South bank- always loads going on

www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on

Tower Bridge is opening at 1:15 on Saturday, so if you want to see that then you could plan to go to Borough Market for lunch and either walk or take a boat back.
www.towerbridge.org.uk/lift-times/
There’s an Aladdin/Lion King thing in Covent Garden which might be interesting: haven’t been myself
disneyonstage.co.uk but Covent Garden is always fun and an easy walk from Trafalgar Square.

I'd get an open-topped bus tour if the weather's decent. You'll see loads of London and get some interesting commentary. Make sure you get one you can hop on and off and start early in the morning so you get good value for your money.

Download the free Citymapper app. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Stroll downstream along the South Bank to the South Bank Centre. There's street food and the Great Big Summer Weekend's on. If you keep going you'll get to Tate Modern (not my cup of tea, but...) and still further there's the Globe.

Covent Garden has interesting shops and very talented buskers (the Royal Opera House is close by), and it's a level stroll from there to Seven Dials and more shops. It's walkable from the Eye - the West End and City can be reached on foot and Citymapper will give you options for public transport if you get footsore. If you do use public transport be aware that you can't use cash to pay. Get an Oyster card or use contactless.

It is a nice walk from south bank to Tate Modern. You could take in the free exhibitions there for a couple of hours. You're also not far from the Globe. I'd definitely recommend the food market at Festival Hall - it is open every day just now, not just the weekend.

This is where I'll be, been going for 25 years

Also, if you climb to the top of Tate Modern, there is an amazing view across London (similar to the view from the Eye) for free!

We’re there right now.

So far we’ve done Science museum & Tower of London (took the river bus there as well for added excitement).

Plus I downloaded one of these treasure trails www.treasuretrails.co.uk - we did the wedding ring one which took us all round Westminster, the mall, st James park & Buckingham palace and meant the DC (6&4) walked 3+ miles without realising that’s what they were doing!

I also think the fire of London monument (near monument on the tube) is a bit of a hidden gem, great views from the top.

Not sure what we’re going to do tomorrow yet - I’ve heard good things about the postal museum, other choices will be natural history museum or the Diana memorial playground in Kensington gardens.

Good thing about the Eye location is it’s v well connected & easy to get all over. Plus plenty to do here.

We decided against the eye though the dc are keen because it is just so much money for something not that great, and a lot of queuing. Planning to book sky garden (free) or go up the Shard (paid but better than London eye) next time I think.

sky garden free- great walk from the eye- along bankside- drop into free tate- across wobbly wobbly bridge

skygarden.london

Oh just remembered, we also went to Covent Garden where there was free street entertainment. First thing we did was go to Borough Market, mainly because I think it’s only open on certain days and I was starving and they do amazing food! We also went through china town, at least I think it’s China town. There’s tonnes of Chinese restaurants and bakeries etc and loads of Chinese decorations, so I assume it is. The cake shops had some brilliant looking brightly coloured cakes.

I really must go back, I don’t like the tube but the rest was brilliant, especially because it was so sunny and warm.

Boat to North Greenwich and then cable cars.

So much to do! Can't make my mind up. Thanks for your suggestions.

I've tried to book our free tickets to sky garden but it's fully booked. Don't think we can just walk in can we?

Camden Market is always busy and buzzie for an alternative experience. The perfect place to get some Freak Brothers comics and a tie-dye hat.

Plus, within a v. short walk between tube stations you could start a game of Mornington Crescent.

No, there’s no walk ins for Sky Garden, you normally need to book at least a week in advance I’m afraid. But Tate Modern’s new tall extension has great views for free. Other not free but not too expensive viewpoints are the top level of Tower Bridge or the London Monument (interesting if the DC have been studying the Great Fire).

There's a lovely little Turkish place near there called Ev which is on The Cut. It has a garden with outdoor seats and does cakes and tea plus a huge array of salads and quiches. Great for a lunch and very cheap. And it's always quiet! Hidden gem