anyone up for a challenge? How to 'do' London pleeeease

[laurawaterford]

I am coming to London for a week in summer with Irish hubby and children. They have never been and I want to REALLY impress them with Ye Olde English and the beauty and history and entertainment and and and.....

What are true 'must sees'? and what show should we see? boys are all teenagers.

I have found a brilliant site called londontown.com but I am still boggled. Can't do it all so how should I plan my precious 6 days?

Please sort me out an itinery. We will toast the best one with some real Ale when we get there!!!

feel free to jump on board unknownrebelbang! Borough market sounds as though its becoming contentious - I'll have to go just to see it even if I don't buy anything!!

psycho architecture exhibition at the Hayward is really cool for teenage boys, just took my nephews, then go to the benuga bar at the BFI / film theatre for lunch. Walk along south bank tate modern or london eye. see the skateboarders / and the banksy corridor. look on the national theatre website for free events outside called 'watch this space' festival. They go all through the summer, plus theres good food places there. And you could walk to covent garden from there too

Avenue Q is a fab musical , might be a little risque for teenage boys but my nephews 14 and 15 loved it!

Greenwich park brilliant views / observatory plus good shops and cafes. on sundays there is a great vintage market too, probably on saturdays aswell but not quite as big.

Oooo. So much to see. Lived here 10 yrs and still not done it all. SO, if I only had a few days, I would do the following (not necessarily in order of favourites): London Eye (long queues but worth the wait if the weather is ok), borough market (expensive, so don't buy, just look if you have to), the south bank - there are always great plays on at the National Theatre if you can get tickets and good cheap restaurants nearby. A walk around Soho - great boutique shops and very few 'naughty gentlemens establishments' that are too obvious. Go past buckingham palace in a black cab - you don't need to go in.
And if you're into art, then Tate Modern is fantastic. Phew! Have a lovely time.

dont bring any ruck sacks im sick of them.

Has anyone suggested getting a Visitors Oyster Card for the tube? You can get half price entry to varous attractions with one, and even half price theatre tickets.

DD says you must see WICKED. We will Rock You may also appeal to Teens (we enjoyed it, and we got half price Oyster tickets!)

oyster offers

What a fantastic country is ol' England! The links are all superb - thanks so much folks!! Keep em coming do.. What other gems are there out there. I love the ideas that include where to lunch and stuff. I can see myself there!!

Daft as this may sound but when we spent hols in London, DP insisted on ticking off seeing/visiting as many places on the Monopoly Board as possible. May be an idea?

St.Pauls and Tower Bridge were my personal highlights when we visited. Madame Tusards was over priced and dull in all honesty.

Shows - if you can get to Leicester Square earlier enough, and aren't too fussed on what to see, try the TKTS Booth. Half prices tickets on certain shows for matinee and evening performances that day. You do queue, but you could always queue and send the rest of the family off to look around Leicester Square/Trocadero. Fantastic seats too.

The open top bus tours are great - you can just get on and off, and the commentary tells you waht things are. I lived in london for 6 years and did one just before I left!!

Also - the markets are great - Colombia Road for flowers, Billingsgate for fish, Smithfields for meat - worth a walk round one of them they are amazing.

reccommend buying travelcards zones 1-5 is £7 a day for train tube and bus, stay outside if you can cheaper hotels etc we stayed tolworth changed at vauxhall on mainline train then used tubes from there reccommend -we will rock you as a show, camden market, oxford street, regents street, picadilly circus, then just hopped on and off tubes to see where we came out really funny as never knew where we would end up everywhere different if not to liking just hop back on tube

thanks for all your ideas, please add to them still. In the meantime here are my ideas roughtly, so far:

The Eye,
Ducktours,
starbucks (don't think there is one in Ireland - certainly not in Waterford and kids would love it?!)
British Museum and tutenkamun
trafalgar Square, Horseguard Parade (11.30 the change occurs I think?), stand on bridge in St. James Park and look at Buckingham Palace, covent garden, chinatown?, soho? Westminster Abbey, 10 downing st and westminster cathedral (for 3.30 and the choristers),
A son wants to do Madame Taussauds, and another one we,mbley stadium,
Hampton Court Gardens, Oh, the Tower of course!!
Highgate cemetries - what is that? other than the obvious!?

And a show - phantom of the opera probably, we are tourists after all!!

and would also love to fit in bus tour, boat to greenwich, a couple of the pubs recommended, a brilliant indian (any recommendations around wimbledon?) and tea at Wolsely (160 piccadilly) - is that recommended?
Visitors gallery at/in parliament worth it?

So that it so far, we are in London for 7 nights. What order do we do it all in PLEASE!!!

wow! Bloody Hell!! just been pricing the London Eye. Fancied pims and strawberries (well, I might not be back for a while..) £430 or was £470 - I was so shocked my fingers 'stammered' trying to get away from 'book now' - was so afraid I;d book it in my nervous state

bump

We did train to Waterloo, London eye, tube to Covent Garden, Belgos for lunch,(kids free) Black Cab to Natural History museum, london Bus to Victoria and home.

The london Transport bit was the bit they liked most. And the crazy fountain sink in the Belgo's loo (I liked the raspeberry beer)

Ok - as a Londoner I would say not to go to Madam Tussauds as is really overpriced for what it is - though you may have no choice if weather is awful or your son would make your life unbearable otherwise ) - it is hideously overpriced and the queues are always awful (I live over in North West London and am always astounded at the queues outside there everytime I pass). If you do have to do it, invest in a saver ticket which will get you on the London Eye, in the London Dungeon (apparently better than Madame Tussauds and suitably yucky to impress teenagers) and into Madame Tussauds without you having to remortgage your home...

Personally, would start off the day with walk along the river from Borough market to the London Eye (stopping off at Tate Modern along the way for abit of art and coffee) and then after the London Eye take the boat down to Greenwich which is beautiful and has loads to look at. Just go for the basic London Eye pre-booked flights.

Use another day to combine Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, the Cathedral and a walk along to St Pauls (plenty of Starbucks to stop at along the way) - you can walk all the way to the top of St Pauls and the view up there is great (though is hard work on the legs).

Another day you could hit north london - Hampstead (pretty village on top of hill), Hampstead Heath (beautiful heath, with great views, outdoor swimming pools - complete with ducks), Highgate and Highgate cemetery (which is beautiful). If you've still got energy, you could also head down to Camden which am sure your teenage boys would like.

Really good show to go see with kids is the Lion King if you can get tickets - or maybe Wicked. Covent Garden - where lots of shows are near - is nice place to wander with lots of shops, bars, restaurants and entertainers.

Wembley is absolutely miles out from central london - you may wish to divide and conquer if your son really wants to go there .

If weather is not so great, British Museum is great. As is Natural History Museum and the Science Museum.

You should be able to cram most things in but really I think your day to day itinerary will probably be guided by the weather... hope you have a great time.

just been looking at transport around London. Is Oyster the official transport people? My mind is a bit boggled by the site - sunday afternoon dimness setting in.

Do I purchase a card for each of us when I get to London (taking car so won't need transport outside London) and will this allow us to travel on any public transport? and is it cheaper that going for a family ticket (if they exist) with the tube people etc.

oh and by the way thanks so much dinkystinky - its all becoming clearer and more doable

What transport ticket do I go for? I have looked at oyster but am unsure what I get for that...- it is affiliated to the tube I think? Or do I go for daily travel in travel zones as suggested?