Hope this doesn’t throw a spanner in the works, but between the Tower and St Paul’s, you could nip down St Dunstan’s Hill for a few moments and a sit-down (if you need one) in St Dunstan’s Garden - formed in the ruins of a blitzed church, it’s an atmospheric but peaceful sort of place. Last time I went, they had a little ecological display with a bug hotel or two. https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g186338-d5998784-Reviews-St_Dunstan_in_the_East-London_England.html
And don’t forget that the 15 bus runs from the Tower, along Eastcheap and Cannon St towards St Paul’s, then down Ludgate Hill, up Fleet St towards the RCJ and the Strand (for Covent Garden); they run some of the old Routemaster buses on this route for part of the service, which might or might not be fun. Sitting up top gives you a view and a bit of a rest.
The Wallace collection is great and another free attraction that kids love is the Grant Museum of Zoology. It is almost a cliched version of what we all think a rich victorian gentleman would do with his large collection of natural curios gathered from across the empire.
Open 13:00 to 17:00 Mon-Sat and near to Euston Rd and Warren St tube station.
In the garden of Southwork Cathedral, adjacent to Borough Market. Given that you plan to visit very late in the evening, I’m not entirely sure it will be open to visitors.
Ok, I’ll do that. We have similar gates here in Brussels but without attendants :rolleyes:.
Well, I’ll only have myself to blame because I’ll probably be the one who wants to stay longer.
I will :D.
Yeah, I considered the NHM but since I changed our schedule this weekend, I had to drop the museum visit I had planned. Still, if it’s really cold, the NHM would be an alternative to sightseeing.
Another nice possibility but too little time, unfortunately. We should have stayed longer, I knew it :mad: .
Nice and I see it’s really close to our hotel. I’ll try to fit it in our Day 1 evening walk (if it’s not closed) or on Day 4, before heading off to Camden Town.
That’s good to know if we’re too tired to keep on walking but still want to go Covent Garden.
Bear in mind that it will be dark about 4pm in December. Since you plan on ending up one day around Covent Garden, the Christmas decorations and lights will be up in the market building and the streets around (have a look around Monmouth St). Likewise, Regent St and Oxford St already have their lights up (another opportunity to ride on the top deck of a bus). On Regent St, you might want to steer the children’s eyes away from Hamley’s toyshop, but on the far end of Oxford St, Selfridges windows are usually worth a look.
You might want to check out TfL’s map of buses in relation to central London attractions: they’ll be slower than the tube, but you do get to see more en route, and it’s one way to get out of any rain: https://tfl.gov.uk/maps/visitors-and-tourists?intcmp=40408
Mmm, we’re leaving in exactly 2 weeks and, as I re-read the information about Oyster Cards and Travelcards, I realize that I may have been a bit careless.
My plan was not to buy anything in advance and just get a Travelcard the old-fashioned way, as soon as I arrived at St Pancras International : go to a counter, get my 7-day paper ticket and go ! Now I’m getting confused.
If I don’t buy my ticket in advance, what are my options when I arrive in London ? Can I get a paper Travelcard or not ? If not, can I get an Oyster Card at the station or do I absolutely need to have one delivered at my place before I leave ?
On your third day if you still are looking for something, there’s the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park. Not traditional sight-seeing - carnival rides, a circus or two, outdoor food stalls. The Cub loved it (wasn’t able to get me in the scariest roller coasters, however…)
Zippos Circus in the afternoon is billed as “fun for the whole family.” Cirque Berserk in the evening is acrobats, fire juggling, crazy motorcyclists in a steel frame ball. The Cub liked it.
From what I’ve read, it looks like I can’t buy a paper 7-Day Travel Card: I’ll have to buy an Oyster Card. We’ll be arriving at 6:30 pm and Visitor Centres will be closed. I suppose that the regular ticket offices will still be open. If yes, I’ll get the Oyster Card there. If not, what ? Can I get an Oyster Card from the ticket machines ?
I thought this would be a 5 second Google search, but I couldn’t find any information on ticket hall opening hours from tlf. It should still be open, but if not Oyster cards are available from the machines. Make sure to go to the ticket hall for the Underground, not the National Rail one. Some corner shops will also do Oyster cards.
There’s tons of information, so much so that it becomes almost overwhelming but I couldn’t find clear answers to some basic questions and I’ve spent hours looking at that website .
By the way, why shouldn’t I go to the National Rail ticket hall ?
They deal with overground train tickets mainly and though they may be able to help you and they may have machines and counters that dispense oyster cards, they may not. Whereas the underground station concourse will have ample service windows and ticket machines that definitely will sort you out.
Don’t sweat it. There are several underground concourse areas in St. Pancras and unless you are arriving in the middle of the night and everything is locked up you’ll be able to find a working ticket machine at the very least.
@Northern Piper: I didn’t have the time to address your suggestion yesterday but we’ll be near Hyde Park on Day 2 and might still have some energy left for the Winter Wonderland ;).
As mentioned the Cub enjoyed it as a break from sight-seeing. And there’s a marvellous display of ice sculptures, complete with an ice slide you can go down. And yes, I’m aware of the irony: what does a Canadian family do in London? Tour ice sculptures, of course!
The Tube station at St. Pancras will be open much later than 6:30, and there are Oyster ticket machines that also provide cards. Not all of them do, so you need to choose the right vending machine. I wouldn’t worry about it, though, because there will be staff there to ask. Turn left out of Eurostar arrivals to go towards the Tube station - I think it’s at a slightly lower level. Map (PDF): http://stpancras.com/media/148712/stpancras_map_20161111.pdf
Or image: http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/static/images/content/SME/3114-0200574.jpg
I don’t believe you can get 7-day paper tickets any more, so get an Oyster card and get your travelcard added on to it (electronically - you don’t get a second card).
I’m sure the Station will be open at 6:30 but it looks the Visitor Centres will be closed. That’s where I was planning to go to get the oyster cards since I’d rather speak to a person than deal with a machine. I’ll probably ask a member of the staff if I come across one. Otherwise, off to the ticket machines !
Tube ticket offices will be staffed until the station closes (around midnight) so you can get your fill of human interaction rather than having to deal with machines. Just ask a member of staff where the ticket office is.
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Just ask a member of staff where the ticket office is.