Big birthday London weekend itinerary help please

[Bluezoo123]

Hi all, wondered if any experienced London visitors could help. I have booked a surprise weekend for my partner's big birthday in a few months and wanted to run the itinerary past some of you seasoned Londoner's to see what you think and if you have any tips.

Friday:

Coach arrives to Victoria at 11.45am

.arrive and check in at Hazlitt's (Frith St)

.collect theatre tickets (HP&Cursed Child)

.mcdonalds or similar for lunch

.2pm HP matinee

.5pm booking at Steak&Co Garrick St

.7pm HP evening performance

Alchemist for aftershow drinks

Saturday:

Duck&Waffle brunch

Tower of London

Sky bar

Rules for dinner

Sunday:

.perhaps a look round few shops in Oxford st in morning

.booking for Fortnum&Mason Parlour 1-2pm

.coach leaves 4pm

Does this sound like a good itinerary?

With regards to Sky Garden and Rules booking not sure what times to book for? Am guessing will want to go back to hotel to freshen up before dinner but Sky Garden is near to Tower of London so probably best to head on from ToL to Sky Garden before heading back to hotel for freshen up before dinner. Having never done duck and waffle or sky garden before I do wonder if it's a bit much to do both in the same day. Ideally we'd go to sky garden for sunset which would give a different view than from duck and waffle in the morning but sunset won't be until around 9.20pm so would have to head over to Rules and then back again to sky garden, unless did duck and waffle on the Sunday before leaving but it seems to make sense to tie than in with Tower of London visit as near to each other!

Opinions and tips appreciated! Thank you.

My immediate thought was the timings between the two performances, plus the meal was a little tight.

Have you confirmed the time when the matinee finishes? How close is the restaurant to the two meals? How much earlier do you have to arrive at the theatre in the evening?

@Riverlee yes that has all been meticulously planned - run time for matinee is 2h40m and restaurant is 5 min walk from theatre. - thanks for mentioning though as I'm sure some people get caught out by that!

Don’t go to McDonalds. That one on Shaftesbury Ave is disgusting.

There’s a Byron for nice burgers about five mins walk from the theatre. It’s on St Giles High Street, if you walk along Shaftesbury Ave with Piccadilly Circus behind you, it’s in front you when you get to the end of Shaftesbury Ave.

Shops on Ox St open very late on a Sun. You might want an alternative plan for the morning. Maybe walk through Covent Garden and down to the river, along to the Houses of Parliament. Then you can come back along Whitehall and through the park to Fortnums.

I would say you are cutting it fine to arrive in Victoria, get to the hotel in Soho, check in, collect tickets, have lunch, and then get back to the theatre in 2 hours. There could be delays for any of those things so maybe have a backup plan of some snacks or somewhere to have a quick sandwich by the theatre.

@HelloDulling thank you for your suggestion of Byron-hadn't heard of them before. I've been to the McDonalds on Shaftesbury avenue before and agree yes is a bit rough around the edges! @TheFlis12345 I had assumed would have enough time but I think you may have a point - perhaps prepacked sandwiches are the way to go! I'll have a look and consider moving the coach time earlier. Thanks all.

You might be fine if everything runs smoothly but a bit of traffic causing a coach delay, a few minutes wait to check in at the hotel then a queue at the box office could take all your time. There are loads of different places you can grab a quick or takeaway bite around there though.

🤞 the timings are all ok

Oxford street is dreadful for shopping unless you’re after a mobile phone screen or “I went to London” t shirt. Much much better and closer for fortnums is regent street - and an easy walk from your hotel past some really good indie shops in soho along brewer st etc to regent st and then down Piccadilly to fortnums. (Are you into bookshops? The route takes you past a Waterstones that was previously a department store - HUgE- and also Hatchards which has been on the site since 1790 and is awesome). Also - be aware that there’s not a lot of lunch at The Parlour - it is an ice cream parlour that can run up a sandwich / scone.

We did HP and the cursed child last weekend and just had to show our ticket in our phone to get in, no collecting before was needed. The doors openened at one and i think you needed to be seated by 145. We arrived around 12 and went to cafe nero for a sandwich. We also went in one of the disco tul tuks after which was fun. Have a great time.

Deffo reconsider the coach arrival time. They can be so unreliable and you want to start the weekend off in as relaxed way as possible am sure.

The gap between shows is fine. I've done the HP plays and there is time to eat.

Your itinerary on Saturday is a little packed. But you're on holiday, so why not? I wouldn't go to Rules and back again to Sky Garden but if you have the energy and want to see a sunset, go for it.

If you want to head up to a roof (not as high as the SG!) to finish the evening off with a drink you could always go up to the balcony of the Royal Opera House after Rules. You can see across Covent Garden garden and to the Eye. It's free, you don't have to be a ticket holder and it's really pleasant.

Sunday morning sounds nice and relaxing. A mooch along Regents Street or walk down and do a leisurely walk through St James Park if nice weather, looping round to F&M. The Royal Academy usually have something free on (apart from the paid stuff) you could pop in there maybe. They have a nice shop.

(Are you storing your luggage at the hotel on Sunday morning? You don't want to cart that with you I guess.

Sounds lovely. Happy birthday!

@AtillatheHun thank you for the info re shopping - I have no idea on the shops in London so will go with your suggestion of Regent Street. Re F&M yes I hadn't been intending to get lunch there just a big sundae or something! Waterstones and Hatchards sound great. @Tuilipcity are the disco tuks tuks easy to find? They sound great! Did you get them to take you anywhere or do they just take you back to where you started if you see what I mean?

I'll look at coach tickets and see if I can change them to arrive just before 11 to give a bit more leeway with timings.

@kindlyensure thanks for advice and info re Royal Opera House view. Yes I'm hoping the hotel will store our luggage for us on the last day so should have plenty of time to collect it and get to Victoria coach station in time for heading home. What is in St James' park - I know nothing much of London parks other than having heard of Hyde Park!

I have changed coach times to arrive at 10.50.

Thank you so much everyone for all your advice - I really appreciate it!

Would the train be better? Depending where you're coming from the coach could hit traffic issues or road closures

I’d shop on Carnaby St tbh. It’s more fun than Regent St (though less grand).

Shops on regent Street soho way better than Oxford Circus depending on what you like - I'd wander round Liberty, Anthropologie, etc

I just want to say that this itinerary is epic and amazing and I hope you both have a fab time!

Cursed Child is an amazing show and Duck and Waffle and The Alchemist are some of my favourite places in London - and great people watching too!

Definitely not sure you need lunch pre-show if you're doing dinner in the gap. Maybe a sandwich on the way over?

The disco.tuk tuks were all lined up outside. We just went around locally eg shaftesbury avenue, Chinatown, Leicester Square for around 15/20 mins and dropped off at covent garden. You could do whatever you wanted and agree the price. This was £30.

Just a word of warning, a lot of shops in London open 12-6pm on a Sunday, and this includes many of those on Regent and Oxford Street. I was caught out by this when I first moved here! It may not bother you but if mooching in shops is what you're expecting, it might be a disappointment.

I'd echo a walk around some of the parks in Central London or maybe a trip to Borough Market / Southbank? The market opens at 10 and there are some good breakfast options both in the market, on the river and on Southwark Street.

St James Park is just a nice size to walk around and you can stand on the bridge and see Buckingham Palace one way and Horseguards Parade and the Eye the other way.

Also, if you have a bit of time to kill before your coach at Victoria (and your luggage is not too heavy) you could pop across to Eccleston Yards which is nice for a coffee or they usually have a market on Sundays or you could wander up Elizabeth Street which is really pretty and has lots of little boutiquey shops (and end up at Peggy Porschen's bakery for the 'gram!) This is all right by the coach station.

Thanks for all the replies guys! Too many to reply to all individually @Blinkinname I've gone for the coach as never had issues with coach to London before (touch-wood) and much cheaper than train. @Tuilipcity thanks for further info on disco tuk tuks. Thanks for all the advice re the shops. I'm not too fussed about shops to be honest - budget blown already for the weekend but thought it might be nice to look in a few shops in it could be fitted in! @OhThatChicken I have actually seen the show with a colleague before but had the cheapest tickets, partners's not seen it though and has been wanting to for ages so have gone for top tier tickets this time! And yes just want to grab a quick takeaway bite to eat on the go before the show.