off to london for theatre break next weekend - need underground advice please

[eleanorsmum]

OK so we've finally decided which show to see, Les Mis! Very excited now but have just had our train tickets arrive and discovered that the undereground is not included! We will def need it to get across town and to the show so whats the best way of buying tickets? what is the oyster card system and where do i get it from? how much is it etc. we will need it for two days sat and sun.

Also looking for nice place for lunch/tea on sat and lunch on sunday. we're staying in oxford circus so and seeing les mis at the shaftsbury, if anyone knows of any nice classy but not expensive eateries that'd be greta too!

I'm sooooooooooooooo excited about this trip, we so need it as a couple and it was our xmas pressie from my mum! childcare included!

To get an oyster card you just go to a newsagents / tube station and buy one (putting money on the card) - they work on the buses too, and keep forever, so don't worry if you have some left over because you can use it next time!

Don't be fooled by the tube map, though! It is often just as quick to walk between places as getting the tube/bus - check on the A-Z. Buses are better than tubes IMO anyway

Have fun!

You could walk from the hotel - it's not too far.

For travel passes go here:

www.tfl.gov.uk/tickets/faresandtickets/1055.aspx

If you get an Oyster you either 'charge it up' for a certain ££amount and scan it as you enter the tube or bus, or pay for a 7 day/month/annual pass.

If you get a 1 or 3 day ticket (they don't do 2 days) you can use it all day(will be zone 1&2 as I don't think they do zone 1 only). Under 16s go travel free.

Try eating up on Marylebone High Street (if you are walking up Oxford Street, go past Selfridges (keep on that side of the road) and turn off to the left (James St) and follow it up to Marylebone High Street (not to be confused with Marylebone Road). On Marylebone Lane (runs off the high st) there are 2 Caldesi restairants (the cafe and the restaurant) bith are nice. On the high st there is Pizza Express, Strada, Provadores, Eat & 2 Veg (a great veggie place), a Conran place (whose name escapes me), Patisserie Valerie (posh cafe which does a lovely breakfast), there is also a Giraffe (good for kids). It's nice there - not too touristy! There are a few places just off the high st too - all pretty good.

Have a lovely time!

Oyster cards are your best bet. You need to buy one (they cost £3 but that is refundable if you give it back when you've finished with it). Then you put money on it, say £10. You can do this at tube stations or shops that have the oyster symbol (typically nesagents and corner shops). By using your oyster card, all fares are about half the price of a cash fare. Also if you use it a lot in the 24 hour period and get to the point where you've spent the equivalent cost of a travel card, they don't charge you any more.
On buses it is a flat fare however far you travel, just scan you card as you get on.
On tubes it depends how far you travel, so you must scan your card on entry and on leaving the station.
Hope that helps and you have a fab time.

Oysters are really easy to use. You can get a pay as you go Oyster at any tube station. You have to pay a 'deposit' of £3 and then put some credit on it. You do not need to buy day passes in advance - once you've done a certain number of journeys in a day, the system automatically applies the day pass rate. So you can stick £6 on and know that it'll do you for a full day's travel within zone 1.

You've got the info about how to get an Oyster card and you'll probably visit London again - just bring it with you each time.

But buy an A-Z as well for use on visits to London, because I think you'll find your hotel and the theatre are actually quite close together. I often see visitors making journeys which probably involve as much or more walking to and from stations and up and down stairs and escalators and corridors etc etc as walking straight there would.

You can also use www.streetmap.co.uk (or multimap) to look up theatre and hotel now and see how close they really are.

Great thanks peeps! Do we both need a card or will one do? does it tke the money off for two people if travelling together?

You need one card for each person.

You can buy pocket sized A-Zs which are handy to have in your bag in case you get lost (as I frequently do)

At Shaftsbury Avenue - you are near China Town - fab restaurants there - and not pricey

If you want a good Chinese restaurant in Chinatown, The Canton at 11 Newport Place is fab, reasonably priced and friendly (not swish though).

You'll be near Kettners after Les Miserables - it's a Pizza Express but in very grand if shabby setting,lots of different rooms, plus a champagne bar

ahh, just checked and saw this
here
there is, or used to be an Ed's Easy Diner too
Have cakes and coffee at Patisserie Valerie or the other one whose name escapes me ( my mum used to go there as an art student in the 50s and I did as an art student in the 70s -) what's it called ?? - yes !! Maison Bertaux

maison bertaux

dinner at Barrafina would be hard to beat

thanks for all the advice everyone - barrafina looks great!might venture to chian town will see how we feel after. checked out maison bertaux - gonna have to give it a miss as dh is lactose intolerant and the french love the cream! Will see about getting an oyster card when we get there, might just walk and take in some shops on the way.

anyone got any ideas on what we can do sunday? going to have lie in and then breaky so not too much of the day left but don't wnat to just come home! can't afford to do much and most of the free museums are greta but i'd want to take dd too and she's with granny! so something grown up but fun too (done the london eye!)