Help me plan a trip to London

[Farcry66]

Hi folks,

Its my partners 40th birthday next month. Obviously the big party he was going to have is not going to happen. I've got him some bits and bobs but I really want to put an itinerary of a lovely weekend or midweek break away when we can go - so I'd present it as a rough itinerary but with no dates on it and nothing booked yet!

It doesn't have to be London if anyone has any better suggestions.

I have a budget of about £150 Not including hotel, but does include food. Would like to find some slightly unusual fun things to do. He's an incredibly clever man, musician, plays rugby, loves sci-fi, generally interested in stuff, we both love singing and have massively missed karaoke during lockdown. We do have quite a few friends in and around London, so could include suggestions for things for us during the day and something for a group in the evening. We are both teachers so could be something we do midweek in a school holiday rather than has to be fixed at the weekend.

So ..... any ideas or recommendations?

Sounds lovely but you do realise London is unlikely to be out of lockdown next month? I live in C London and nothing is open. Aside from walking or hiring bikes, it’s hard to suggest anything for next month. Also, think about whether you should be traveling outside of your area and visiting friends. Don’t wish to sound negative.

People’s reading ability astounds me.

£150 is not a lot-you could spend that on one meal. As you are a teacher go mid week as more offers on food.Cheap and free things, take the Thames clipper to Greenwich, go round the park and market-could do the observatory but there is a cost. Go up the walk-in talkie building-free but need to book. Often free concerts at churches around trafalgar square. Do a cheap walking tour. All museums (pretty much) are free as are many art galleries. I love the v&a snd the cafe is beautiful. However if you can do any of the above by summer or even next year, I’d be amazed.

Sorry - missed the “when we can go” bit.

Your budget is v low for London. Why not another city like Bath, York, Durham, Edinburgh? None of which likely to be accessible for anyone to visit this side of the Summer I fear

I’d hire bikes and cycle all around Hyde Park - it’s very beautiful. Agree with cafe in V&A. The Wolseley in Piccadilly is lovely for a coffee and cake. If you go on a Sunday is a usually book market near the Royal Festival Hall. Check what is on there. Great to walk there from Westminster. Her day travel passes to use on the bus and tube.

£150 is very low if you are including food. Is that for both of you? And how many meals? What sorts of things to do you want to eat?

I assume you are looking for free things to do then?

Sky garden - free to visit, lovely views. Look at the website can't remember how far in advance it needs to be booked.

Forbidden planet shop - as he likes sci fi. Huge comic book store that also sells merch.

Theatre - try a lottery, some need to be done the day/week before. Have a google for the shows you think he may like. Seats tend to be good and only £20 each. Book of Mormon also has a matinee lottery that you can turn up and have a go at. If not you can try and get day seats.

Museums - if you can give me an idea of the sorts of things he likes, there are quite a few unusual ones.

Do you visit London often? If not just walking is fantastic. I'm happy to write you a map/route to see the main sights.

Sky garden at breakfast time, there's a pastry and coffee deal for about a fiver and it's free to go up but you need to book.

Buy a printed Treasure Trail to include in the itinerary - you can order them on their site for around a tenner and it's a good cheap way to see things.

Do you like board games? A board game cafe would be a pretty fun way to spend a few hours if so.

Harrods food hall one day for takeaway fancy pies for a picnic in Hyde Park - you could print out a food hall pic or menu and include a micro folding picnic blanket and a couple of mini bottles of Prosecco or cans of g&t or whatever you drink.

Visit to the Beatles zebra crossing thing for a pic is free

Covent Garden to sit and watch the artists/acts with a Hotel Chocolat visit - include small voucher to spend there?

Changing of the guard?

Include a tube map and Oyster card in the gift package. Mark out all the places to visit on it.

A free walking tour? Just tip the guides.

Visit some of the museums, as their main collections are free- perhaps buy a coffee once there. If it is going to be in the summer, then the Royal Academy will have their summer exhibition, which is a unique event and varied in a way no other one is.

Curzon cinemas (there are three in central London) offer a varied selection as do the Picturehouse and Everyman ones, may given you something unusual.

Definitely second the bike hire around Hyde Park, and if you have time, a walk around Hampstead Heath.

In answer to your questions, yes I know there is a lockdown, and yes I know things won't go back to normal for a long time, but it's a plan for when things are back to normal.

We've never been to London together, but we have both been a fair amount on our own so we don't need to do the big sight seeing tour. As for food, probably 2 lunches and a dinner, but quirky off the beaten track type places. Last time I went to London for leisure I went to an amazing Jewish Deli that was meant to have the best pastrami in London, it wasn't expensive, but it was quirky and a nice experience. I've been to all the big main museums, and we will probably swing by British Museum as we both love Egyptology. I love unusual museums, I went to the cinema museum a couple of years ago which was crazy weird, £10 for a guided tour and was certainly an experience! If I was taking kids then we'd probably do natural history museum and London docklands museum, so we will probably save those ones.

Don't want things like Madam Tusaude s or Ripleys. Have done Hyde Park a lot, quite fancy Crystal Palace.

I guess, maybe I shouldhave asked if anyone knows any low cost, slightly quirky things to do in London. Love the idea of the clipper down the Thames though.

Love the idea of a board games cafe!

Picnic in the park is a great shout for lunch.

Curzon cinema could be a goer actually, we do like independent films.

I liked the postal museum too but it does cost.

I love a walking tour when visiting London. Two years ago I did the Loo one which was fun.

The museum of brands might be worthy a visit.

Www.museumofbrands.com

It isn’t free, so might not be worth it but give it a look online.

Highgate cemetery tour is very good.

Ohh the Highgate cemetery tour does look good!! I think that might go on the list.

The monument
Covent Garden
Walk down the south bank
Literally just mooching about and eating within your budget and you will have a great time just looking at the sights op

There is a pretty cool Roman temple to the god Mithras underneath the Bloomberg Building in the City (free entry) and a Roman amphitheatre underneath the Guildhall Art Gallery nearby (also free, and an interesting gallery too).
I love a Victorian cemetery - Highgate is pretty cool ((£) or Abney Park in Stoke Newington (free).
If you're there on a Saturday, I love to take a train out to London Fields and walk down through trendy east London; Broadway Market sells mainly food and a few other bits, through Hackney to Columbia Rd (the flower market is Sundays but is SO packed, you're better off enjoying the shops and atmosphere of a lazy Saturday without the crowds of tourists. Hackney City Farm has a lovely, hippy wholefood cafe and there are some great quirky shops in these parts.
Then down to the beautiful old houses of Sptialfields and to Brick Lane where you can pick up a guided tour of the impressive local street art scene.
That would be my perfect Sunday. I'm so looking forward to being able to do these things again.

The Petrie Museum is free and good for Egyptian stuff. And any number of other quirky museums/galleries that are free/cheap depending on what you're interested in. Two Temple Place is worth a visit just to see the building although it's not always open; Linley Sambourne House or Carlyle's House if you're into Victorians. They're poky, though - and I know Carlyle's House didn't re-open last year when other NT properties did; not sure about LS House.
It seems pointless going to cinemas when you could see the same films at home and probably cheaper. But there are lots of free/cheap concerts in churches and they were certainly happening when London was in tier 2; also a few theatres open with hugely discounted tickets as people either didn't seem to have registered they were open or were too nervous to go.
Borough Market is good for cheap lunches.
Spitalfields is like walking back into history. Street art around Brick Lane. Then vast lunch at Pellicci's on Bethnal Green Road; you'll be hard put to spend £10pp.

Books for Cooks in Notting Hill is a great place for lunch and a browse; again, it's tiny - so I'm not sure whether the cafe was open pre-lockdown. Also the LRB cafe opposite the British Museum is good for tea/coffee and cake. £150 budget for two is tiny, though, if you're planning to sit inside and eat. Best hope for good weather - or a repeat of Eat Out to Help Out.

The wellcome collection in Euston is really
interesting and quirky

wellcomecollection.org/

We spent a night in London just before Christmas when we were in tier 3 I think.

We stayed at Sea Containers on the southbank. Had a lovely stay. If you tried to book a few nights here and there now on booking.com with free cancellation you might get a better deal. Just remember to cancel what you don't use, we had a river view room. Stunning. Approx £200 per night.

You mentioned liking a Jewish restaurant, there's a great one in Kingly Court off Carnaby street, you can get reasonably priced good lunch. It's called The Good Egg. Approx £20pp. You could spend some time in the west end shopping or see a matinee.

If you stay on the southbank you can spend a few hours there visiting the Tate, the Globe, the National and then have a look around Borough Market. Depending on restrictions, events may be happening at those places. Can be done for free if just wandering around.

Boro Bistro by Southwark cathedral by the market has a great atmosphere and food and they have outdoor seating with heaters. Approx £30pp.

Highgate cemetery is a brilliant idea, as others have suggested - and don't forget that it has an Egyptian Avenue!

Check the Tower Bridge website for the schedule when it will open (I took an American friend and had him nearly convinced that I requested the bridge to open especially for him ).

Tower Hamlets cemetary park is beautiful and interesting, although lacks famous 'residents'.

The Olympic Park in Stratford is nice for a walk.

The Crossrail garden at Canary Wharf is nice, could combine with a ride on the DLR, Greenwich foot tunnel, and look round Greenwich.

Inner/Middle Temple off Fleet Street have some interesting buildings.

Royal Courts of Justice is a Victorian gothic cathedral of the justice system, and free to go in, and you can sit in the public gallery of some of the courtrooms. (Civil cases rather than criminal)

(All with the usual covid caveats)

The slide at the Orbit in the Olympic park is brilliant, and cheap! Then you could wander around the Olympic Park? Picnic there? Then get the Emirates Cable Car across to North Greenwich station (you normally get a whole cable car to yourself as it’s barely used), have a cocktail on the roof of the bar there (I forget the name but great cocktails). Then do the section of the DLR that’s on the ‘greatest rail journeys in the world’ list?

Depends where you stay as if it's just a weekend you could spend a lot of time trekking out to different ends of the city. So if you give an idea of the area that would help.