Help with London Trip

[keeganface]

We have booked a few days in London in the Easter holidays. We have tickets to see Hamilton but need a bit of help with where to go and where to eat.

We are staying for two nights in Premier Inn Leicester Square. Does anyone have any recommendations for places to visit and eat that won't break the bank?

Are you in London on a Sunday morning? Columbia Road Flower market is a good diversion, lots of little independent shops, cafes including a great Spanish one where I used to buy my lunch, bakeries, my second favourite perfumier (Angela Flanders) and flowers of course.

(Favourite perfume shop is Santa Maria Novella, two in London, the easiest one to get to is practically next door to Fortnums. )

Haha, yes, finding toilets is often overlooked but very important, viques!

(Thanks for the Santa Maria Novella tip - I didn’t know that. Still look back fondly on my trip to the mothership in Florence)

Completely free - walk along the south bank from Tower Bridge to Westminster - loads and loads to see and do and there’sa big second hand book market under Waterloo bridge

@Doubleraspberry

Sadly the National Portrait Gallery is closed.

I forgot that! 🤦🏼‍♀️

Can't believe people are suggesting McDonald's! I'm sure the OP could work out that London has one or two branches.

I'd say head to Chinatown (Wong Kei if you like to be treated as though you're at Fawlty Towers) as there are plenty of reasonable and authentic places to eat.

Dishoom is lovely for breakfast, but not overly cheap.

I'd suggest going to a bakery, getting delicious pastries and coffee and sitting on the South bank to people-watch.

Hunterian Museum, Royal College of Surgeons is good - full of body parts etc in jars.
Wander along the South Bank, go to Borough Market for food. Watch street performers in Covent Garden.

@User01020304

This is really useful- thanks OP! We’re going over Easter weekend, DS9, DD7. Watching Frozen @ Drury Lane but not until the evening and have been a bit stressed around what to do around this/day after that doesn’t cost ££. This is a massive treat for us, we rarely go away and this will be their first time visiting and mine in 10 years 😂 I was 25 with no children last time!

The British Museum isn't too far. I used to love the Egyptian mummies when I was a kid. I think the museum is still free.

You could get a bus across Waterloo Bridge and then walk down the embankment. Lots of food options there. And there will be lots of free entertainment in Covent Garden.

Good location for a wander, Downing Street, Houses of Parliament then up to Trafalgar Square . From there a walk along the mall to Buckingham Palace. Others have also mentioned the sky gardens and Tate modern as they have great views. A trip to Hamleys toy shop is a winner for kids and a short hop from carnaby street. I love bodeans which has great family friendly food. You can also use the Oyster card and get a boat down to Greenwich and also use Oyster card on the cable cars. Enjoy!!

My teenage DC like Borough Market - can also take in the Tate Modern and walk along the Southbank admiring the sites (Tower Bridge, the Tower, the Belfast etc. The are nice boutique shops at Oxo Tower and Gabriel's Wharf. You can usually wander in to the Globe and browse the bookshop - small but select.

Greenwich is lovely on a Saturday - you can take the river boat there and the DLR back - the grounds of the Naval College are lovely and there is the market with lots of stalls to browse and graze. Maritime museum, Queens House, Royal Observatory depending on DDs interests.

Marylebone is a nice area although there isn't much Sherlock Holmes there. The is The Wallace COllection and Daunts bookshop is lovely. There is also a good oxfam bookshop on Marylebone High Street and the Cancer Research shop is regarded as one of the best charity shops in London.

@FleetwoodRaincoat I’m the only that mentioned it 😂 aside from other suggestions. As op is staying at LS I only pointed out there’s a MacDonalds right there. Hardly a recommendation, although the plant burgers ARE fantastic 😂

There's so much free stuff going on in London over Easter, it's a great time to visit! I've published this guide to Easter events, and if you search for FREE you'll find dozens, along with links to book. museummum.com/2022/03/31/easter-london-with-kids/

FREE - Natural History Museum ( they're not taking walk ups over Easter so book ahead), Science Museum - medicine galleries good for that age, Tate Britain for Hew Locke installation. New installation going into Somerset House courtyard.

Walk along the South Bank, and check out Leake Street graffiti tunnel.

If you like small quirky museums then Grant Museum and Sir John Soane's Museum both free and atmospheric.

Food - try a food Hall. The Mercato Metropolitano are great. The one is elephant and castle is the biggest and liveliest, feels like a night out! You can walk to Seven Dials food Hall from Leicester Square.

Book shop - I love Waterstones at Piccadilly, it's so Art Deco and really spacious. And if you're at Baker Street anyway then head to Daunt Books on Marylebone High Street.

Hope this helps!