Weekend in London

[dancemom]

Decided to book a surprise weekend in London for my daughters birthday next month. Have booked the train but any suggestions of a cheap hotel, preferably near a tube station?

Also is it still the cheapest method just to use your bank card on the tube? But buy a travel card for dd?

We will use the ticket booth in Leicester Square to get tickets to a show if that's still open?

It's been a few years since we last visited, we like markets, shows, shopping any suggestions of activities or places to visit?

How old is DD?

If she's under 11, then she's free in the Tube and buses, and you dint need any form of ticket/card.

If over 11, it's still free on buses but child fare on Tube. I think buying a child Travelcard might be easiest, or you could get an Oyster and have a Young Visitor discount applied to it. For a brief one-off visit I'd get Travelcards

What sorts of things do you like doing?

Also, do have a browse in the topic for ideas:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/london

The travel lodge at Covent Garden is in a good location and cheap for that part of town. A colleague went to see Pretty Woman the musical last week and recommends it. Kingley Court by Carnaby St is great for restaurants.

She will be 16 that weekend

Thanks for that link

How about afternoon tea on a double decker bus?? Maybe quirky enough for a teenager to enjoy and you'll see a lot of the main sites.
I've just a had a weekend in London 2 weeks ago and I think it's fabulous at the moment. The office workers haven't' yet all returned to work and there are not a lot of international tourists so it's relatively quiet. Not sure if your dd will enjoy but we spent a day at the Tower of London and thoroughly enjoyed it. Also the London Dungeons are entertaining for an hour or so - it's quite expensive for what it is though. I used Tesco Clubcard points to get in so if felt like a freebie so made it OK for us.

Thanks @Martinisarebetterdirty I'll check out that travel lodge and I have heard great things about that show

How lovely! I’m doing the same with my kids in a few days. Book (free) tickets for the Sky Garden and afterwards wander over to St Paul’s and across the Millennium Bridge. Can go to Borough Market for amazing food stalls or along the south bank towards London Eye. Have fun, I love London !

@Bypassed21 we did the Dungeons and the Tower last visit along with the museums so probably won't repeat these. Afternoon tea sounds fun though!

@ramonaquimby we loved Borough Market last time so will definitely head back there.

Sky Garden is a good shout, how far in advance do you need to book tickets?

@dancemom

She will be 16 that weekend

Thanks for that link

Mine just used her debit card at that age

Try Camden Market

Then you could wander along the canal either in the direction of Regents Park (picnic) or Kings Cross (lots of places to eat in the plazas just N of the station), then just about anything central is within easy reach.

Or you could try Greenwich - Curry Sark, Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory and of course the market

There is a cap on the maximum you spend that way isn't there?

Thanks @SquirmOfEels we went to Camden last time but it was mid summer, roasting hot and crazy busy, might be better this time round in cooler weather

After Borough Market, head to Bermondsey which is cool (Fashion and Textile museum there). Maltby St market, Vinegar Yard etc.
For theatre tix try online sites like London Box Office for cheap tickets. Or direct website of theatre.
In Chinatown there are a couple of instagram mable places - a bao bun takeaway (yum) and a bubble tea place. My Dd loves them.
The South Bamk is fun for buskers etc.
Have fun.

@Houseplantmad thanks for the tips, instagramable places would be just up dds street!

I’d give Camden a miss, it’s all pretty much tat. What about paddling on the serpentine? Or something like this?
goboat.co.uk/

Travel Lodge have just released lots of cheap nights.

The museums around South Kensington (Natural History/Science/V&A) are great and within 2mins of one another. Also, a wonder around Harrods followed by the pedalo boats in Hyde Park is another idea. I used to love Portobello Market (Notting Hill) at that age, though it’s not as central as you may want.

Serpentine is a good call, I'll check out that boating too

@Fizzysticks oh pedalos boats sounds fun too and Notting Hill could be fun

@MistySkiesAfterRain I'll check that out thanks, is there any particular ones anyone would recommend or avoid?

Covent Garden good too - Rockit for retro (second hand!) clothing which my teens like, big H&M there too. Another instagrammable spot nearby on Long Acre going through to Petersham Nurseries restaurant.
Afternoon tea up the Shard at Aqua is an option.
Brick Lane really interesting (lots of retro clothes shop) and you can do a street art walking tour there.
Bond Street can be fun to see how the other half live - I went with DD into the Victoria Beckham shop and Alexandra McQueen's (she was doing GCSE textiles). The sales assistant was so lovely at AM and asked DD if she'd like to try some of the garments on. We were there for two hours!

For a 16 year old birthday I'd do afternoon tea at Sketch. It's incredibly instagrammable and super cool - have a Google- I expect she'd love it.

So I've been looking at hotels and found several cheap Travellodge rooms, we don't need anything fancy as it's just somewhere to crash.

Can anyone advise on the areas

Central Tower Bridge

Farringdon

Central City Road

TIA

Central Tower Bridge is the cheapest and very close to a tube station also

I would go to Spitalfields Market with a 16yo, plenty of great food options, some vintage clothes etc. And brick lane nearby.
Eataly is also super fun - if you’re into Italian food.
Circolo Popolare, Ave Mario and Gloria (part of same Group) are fun and Instagramable for teens and the food has been good when I’ve been there.