London (cheaply!!)

[Bonneville]

Okay - going to London soon for 3 days and are trying to do as much as we can as cheaply as possible. Have already got very cheap train travel and travelodge.
Got a few thing already planned once there London Zoo, Design Museum etc. (Tesco vouchers). and tickets to be part of an audience in a show recording. Anyone got any other tips on things to see/do?. I am also interested in any recommendations for eating out on a budget.

daysoutguide lists lots of attractions that will do 2 for 1 when you print off the voucher and show your train ticket

museums are mostly free, natural history museum and science museum are both good. you can get a boat up and down the thames quite cheaply , thats good if the weather is ok,
have a look on this site for 2 for 1 meals, most of these places have restaurants in london
www.vouchercodes.co.uk/printable-vouchers.html

Buy Oyster cards for travelling with (available from stations and certain shops etc) it is much less of a faff and usually works out cheaper.

The Science museum is great and free. You can get Pizza Express vouchers via Tesco now too.

Would recommend a trip to Greenwich too. You can get a boat, but would look around for 2 for 1 deals on the web.

Thanks for suggestions.

If it's a sunny day, lunch in St James' Park. Pick up some food at the M&S by Green Park tube then wander across to the lovely lovely park.

Wandering along the South Bank is good fun - lots to see and places to stop and have a coffee

Borough Market is also free and great if your dcs are older

You can get a very cheap chinese meal around Soho if you pick the scruffier looking,less touristy caffs at the end of Gerrard Street (Gerrard St? George St? The main one with all the restaurants anyway.) Not flash, but you'll get good food cheaply priced.

If you do get a boat to Greenwich, I'd get a commuter boat rather than a guided one. They go from the piers outside the London Eye and the Tate Modern. It's much cheaper (£4 single per person iirc) and much more fun imo, as they whizz along really quickly and zig zag across the Thames.

Picnic in St James's is a great idea, DH and I had an early picnic date there.

I second the south bank for free entertainment, always lots going on there esp if sunny.
In Covent Garden you can often get fixed price pre-theatre meals before 7pm. Not necess very very cheap but v reasonable for location.

Maybe take packed lunch to the zoo, they do do those kids meals in a box but adult meals are pricey. Zoo is fab tho and well worth the entrance fee. You can get 2for1 with that days out guide deal.

If you're there on a Sunday morning then Columbia Road flower market is beautiful and fun.

Also get a copy of Time Out as it has a cheap eats section and a London for free page,

Natural History museum is a must for smaller children.

I will never forget how I was the first time I went into the entrance hall!

Food on the cheap - sad to say but M&S/Pret type places can be a life saver if you find yourself somewhere which seems to be expensive only.

Your best bet for cheaper resaurants is anywhere off the beaten track - a couple of side-roads off the main tourist place and the prices are halved.

Masala Zone is my favourite cheap restaurant -- I like the Soho one best.

Best for wandering are the South Bank and Covent Garden. Don't eat in Covent Garden piazza though, all tourist traps around there!

Tate Modern is fab, you can walk over the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's .

Sofra www.sofra.co.uk/sofra_coventgarden.htm in Covent Garden and elsewhere, has reasonably priced meals and is really nice food, if you want a 'proper' meal out.
The Stockpotwww.timeout.com/london/restaurants/reviews/330.html chain has basic honest meals at very good prices.

London Zoo is VERY expensive - is that what you have vouchers for? Stick to museums and galleries that are free - NHM, Science Museum (both absolutely fab), British museum - great for mummies / egypt, and if you go to greenwich on a nice boat trip, the Maritime Museum is good - all have good interactive bits for children. Except the British museum. Also in Greenwhich there is a Space and Astronomy museum at the top of the hill, in the observatory, that is free and v interactive.

Blu - yes we have vouchers for the Zoo. Thank you all for your ideas/tips esp ideas for eating out near Covent Garden/Soho as we are staying nearby.

Carluccio's is reasonable and they are great with kids and have great cakes.

Don't know how old your kids are, but the playground at Kensington Gardens is fab and free and not just for tinies.

Yes, the boat trip is a good one - we got 2 for 1 vouchers from the days out guide mentioned earlier. DD who is 7 enjoyed it as well as her cousin who is nearly 4. The two babies slept through it all! Was pushchair friendly as well - I think a ticket is £11 for an all day rover - possibly an idea rather than using the tube all the time as that is a pain with the steps if you have a pushchair!