London this Friday

[Stillcountingbeans]

What can we do in central London this Friday - late morning and afternoon, for two adults?

No churches or cathedrals (seen enough to last a lifetime)
No art galleries - unless something really different
Not Buckingham Palace (pricy, feel like I've seen the best bits on their website)
Not Westminster Abbey (too expensive for too short a slot)
Not the Tower of London (done it)
Not the London Eye (done it)
Not Madame Tussaud's (done it)
Not Kew (done it, and too far out)
No wine (alcohol-free party member)

So far on my list I have... the planetarium 😕

We like history and architecture and gardens
We don't like sporty activities, loud music, or hordes of children.

Our itinerary so far is:
Arrive Thu lunchtime, spend early afternoon seeing the 'boring' bits of the Natural History Museum that we never see with children/grandchildren in tow.
Then walk past Albert Hall and across Hyde park, then tube to hotel.
Meal booked, then see Les Misérables (thanks to the MN hive mind for that advice).
Then so far we have Friday free, before starting the journey home late pm or early evening.

All suggestions very gratefully received.

Wellcome Collection?
Postal Museum?
Old Operating Theatre Museum?
Tour of National Theatre? I think they are at 5pm every day.

Okay I am officially a finance geek - the Bank of England museum looks great!

Sir John Soane's Museum is great if you're interested in architecture.
One of the big Victorian cemeteries? Highgate or Brompton are closest to central London and are gorgeous at this time of year and interesting for history.
Inner Temple Garden is v pretty. I think it's open 12-3 on weekdays.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/londons-surgical-museum-is-back-to-bring-you-organs-in-jars-with-a-dose-of-medical-ethics-180982181/

opened today I think after renovation and free!!

https://oldoperatingtheatre.com/ The old operating theatre in London Bridge. Right next to Southwark Cathedral and Borough Food Market. (Home of the Hotel Chocolat restaurant (which is divine!)

It is very good, from memory there was a WW1 floor, WW2 floor, and then 2 more. When we went there was a gallery for Ukraine which we didn't stay in long as dd2 found the photos upsetting. There is also the holocaust gallery, dh went in but I didn't as I was with dds.

You can go in and out too, we went outside in-between each floor to get some fresh air and have lunch/coffee.

Museum of London Docklands, West India Quay. Is full of fascinating history about our imperial history, The East India company, the docks themselves, slavery and 18th and 19th century trading.

Sky garden?

The roof/view at 120?

Stroll the Southbank?

The Hockney at Lightroom in Kings Cross is fabulous and then you can shop and browse round Coal Drop Yards and get something delicious to eat round there (Barrafina, the Granary Square Brasserie are lovely but loads more casual, cheaper places for light bites there).

Boat trip - best to get the Uber clipper - the newer boats are great and it's much cheaper than a tourist trip. You could go to Tate Britain first and then get the boat to Battersea Power Station with lovely places for food and drinks plus a nice walk round Battersea Park. Then you can get the clipper back to Embankment or places further downstream.

I hope you are having a wonderful trip OP. Would love to know what you ended up choosing.

Victor Wynd's museum of curiosities Bethnal Green

Wow the Hockney lightroom looks amazing… seems to be child-friendly from the website, do you think a 10yr old would enjoy it? Does it involve sitting still for long?

Yes definitely -there were lots of children there of all ages. It's only an hour long (on a continuous loop) and includes Hockney talking about his art but in an interesting not dry way. It's not cheap but it is lovely.

Hi All,
We spent about 3 hours looking at rocks and minerals in the NH museum (could have spent three days!). It was busier than I thought it would be. Then as planned we walked through Hyde Park, just along the southern part. Evening meal was at Randall and Aubin in Brewer St., which is a seafood place. Food was fabulous but the atmosphere was more like a cafe than a restaurant, as it was all hard surfaces and big windows onto the street.

Les Miserables was awesome! I was blown away by the singing.

Next day we arrived at the Bank of England an hour early, so wandered into the city area, spent some time gawping at skyscrapers getting a stiff neck from looking up. There is an amazing mix of 800 year old churches, 100-300 year old neoclassical grandeur, and modern glass and steel, all right next to each other.

The bank museum was okay, quite interesting, and free, so worth going to if you are in the area, but not worth a special trip. We then went up to Camden High street on the Northern line, but DH decided it was not for him after all - e.g. young peoples' clothing and cheap jewellery, with every stall and shop blaring out music. We did have a great lunch of street food there.

So we got the tube to Vauxhall and walked up the embankment to the Garden Museum. With hindsight the best route would be Westminster tube stop and walk over Lambeth bridge.
The museum was disappointing - more like a cafe with a bit of museum attached that the other way round, and my garden looks better than theirs. However the cafe is a lovely place for refreshments in amongst some greenery, and best of all was the old church tower which you can pay £4 to go up without paying for the museum. 131 winding steps, which I puffed my way up (best done if you are slim and fit). The view was stunning all around. This must be one of the very best views of the Houses of Parliament, well worth going out of your way for if the weather is clear.

Legs are now aching from all the walking but it was a great trip.

Thanks, sounds good :)

I'd agree with the OP that the Garden Museum is not all that, but climbing the church tower is well worth it if you're in the area. The restaurant is great too. Very civilised.

Science miseum
London Dungeon
hidden london tour of one of the underground stations

Manze's Pie & Mash in Tower Bridge Road. It's an INSTITUTION.

Ah sorry, you've already been!