Spending money in London

[LondonToday]

I'm off to London for the weekend... I haven't been for a long time. I'm going with my partner. I've budgeted £200 for the weekend. Do you think this is sufficient? All evening entertainment has been paid for. I need this for travel, all food, drinks and whatever we do on Saturday during the day. Obviously he will be spending too.

As with most things in life - the devil is in the date

where are you planning to eat? In some restaurants £200 wouldn’t cover the bill.

whatever you do on Saturday? Again, what you planning? Theatre? Unlikely

We have two concerts to go to in the evenings. So dinner will most likely be eaten before we go so nothing fancy or at the venues. Again, not fancy but expensive for what it is. During the day I said I'd like to do the touristy things and we spoke about a river trip 😁 this isn't a romantic weekend as such more a rock out one but with a nice hotel at the end of it.

Honestly the beauty of London is you can find things at most budgets (ok maybe you'd struggle a bit at the super low end, but there's always fast food). So just keep an eye on your spending and you'll be fine. Alcoholic drinks are the ones that will quickly add up, so check prices before you buy any of those.

Have fun!

I would have thought that will be fine as long as you plan ahead with your transport and don't end up needing taxis etc.

You can get the Uber boat which is relatively affordable.

My favourite cheaper eats are Brick Lane bagels, Tayyabs in Whitechapel and Kanada-Ya for ramen. Padella for pasta. Ev or Tas for mezze and Franco Manca for pizza.

If you need daytime activities, museums and galleries are free and you could try a market or just walk along the south bank.

Have a great time!

Yes it is fine!

You're totally fine!

You can choose whatever level you want for everything in London.
Touristy stuff- the main galleries at National Gallery, NPG, Tate etc are all free, or spend £20 each for the special exhibitions. This sort of set up is the same for everything you could want to do - go to Hampstead Heath for free, or spend ££ at Madam Tussaud's. etc. etc
Food - you can have lunch in a Pret for £5 or a nice a la carte for £50 each.
You can hop on a bus for a couple of quid (or often walk!), or take a taxi for £20.

If keeping to budget is important just have an idea of what aspects you're going to do as treats and which as 'grab a bite along the way' style expenditure in advance and square it with the person you're going with so you're on the same page - build in a bit of flexibility but having a rough idea will just help keep things on track :)

Have a really lovely weekend!

the Price of a round shocked me this weekend….£30 for 3 pints and a large wine. Weatherspoons is probably your friend….

if you’re planning on getting around on public transport, having drinks in pubs & cafes & having pizza or burgers for dinner, it will be plenty. If you’re planning on using black cabs, drinking in smart hotel bars & dining in Michelin starred restaurants, it won’t.

My partner is very considerate of my budget so it is likely I'll pay for the cheaper end of things and him the more expensive. I know how that sounds but it is true. But yes to wetherspoons and public transport/walking. Great idea on the South Bank and Galleries etc. I'd quite like to go to Camden too. I'm just so excited to go and spend some time with my lovely partner ❤️

I would go for a small lunch, sandwich on the go (there are M&S Simple Foods, Tesco Express and Sainsbury locals everywhere) and then dinner before your concert. There are also free water fountains, at least near St. Pauls's where I work.

The issues are drinks, it got really expensive over the last 4-5 years, since Covid. even more.

Main museums are free, you can look up the net to see if they have any special exhibitions you may want to see and book in advance if there are still slots. Obviously things like Tower, Madame Toussad etc do cost a lot and if you want something bigger I would pre-order tickets.

No need for a cruise boat, take the Uber one, which is basically public transport. You can go from Westminster all the way to Greenwich for example.

The centre of London is very walkable. Whereabouts are you staying? Chinatown is very good for cheap eats. Camden Market (s) is great, but very busy so be prepared. Potobello Road Market is good on Saturdays or Borough Market, near London Bridge for food.

Camden - explore market - eat some street food there. Then take walk along canal. You can go to Regents Park (free), see London Zoo (not free). Kew Gardens and Hampstead Heath are also v nice. Hampstead Heath has Kenwood House (free). If entertainment paid for then £200 should cover it. I don't know if you need a hotel, but can find reasonable ones for £100 per room.

For me I'd probably Try take another £100 your going to struggle if you drink alcohol out its expensive sandwiches in supermarkets and maybe a large chippy to share or something

Yes, London is the home of the £20 Martini!

Alcohol isn't a necessity though. My husband and I had dinner with (non-alcoholic) drinks in Chinatown last night for just under £20.

Well I spent just over £100 yesterday on transport drinks and food. But that was mainly in Hyde Park. If anyone went to Guns n Roses last night I hope you had a great time. I thought they did brilliantly! It is possible that another £50 might need to be added to my budget but I'm ok about what has been spent so far.

Sounds fine if you walk / use public transportat (get the Citymapper app as it shows you all options and the price), and go to cheap places to eat , and aren’t drinking much alcohol

Travel is capped at 8.10 a day, so a max of 24.10.

A river cruise will be up to 25 quid (if you just do a one way trip on a commuter boat it'll be a tenner if bought online).

I'd allow fifteen quid for sandwich lunch and coffees on each of Saturday and Sunday - you could do it cheaper with a meal deal but allowing a bit more will give you the flexibility to use museum cafes etc. Do bring a water bottle and a few snacks from home though.

That leaves you 120 quid: 40 quid for dinner Friday and Saturday - which gives you lots of choice to go somewhere a bit nicer than a burger bar for a pre-theatre deal and two twenty quid entry tickets for paid attractions (most will be a bit less than that).

So that's a comfortable budget, but you won't have space to do much shopping bar the odd postcard.

That actually sounds relatively cheap for the SE!!! You can expect £8 a pint across the board these days. Heartbreaking