In London after Christmas, maybe

[Pedrito]

After a really shitty year at work, I'm seriously considering taking some days of holiday and going to London with the family. Tentative timeframe would be from Dec 28th to Jan 4th.

Being with the wife and kids, I cannot make promises about a Languish Meet, but one beer at the pub (or a hot cup of tea!) with fellow languishites would be more than welcome

Oh, and being there with the kids means I'll be forced to do all the classic tourist attractions: Madame Tussaud's, Tower Bridge, British Museum, Natural History Museum, Buckingham Palace, etc.

Any suggestions for more interesting sightseeing?



L.

[Gups]

Greenwich is good. Take a river bus there from central London. There's a good market and shops, the Maritime museum, the Cutty Sark, the Royal observatory and a nice park.

The London museums are generally very good if crowded during the school holidays. Close to the natural history (the most popular one with parents) are the Science and the excellent Victoria & Albert (less popular with families). I wouldn't bother with Tussads or Buck House.

Near the British Museum are lots of lovely squares to the South and to the north there is a new development near the canals. Further afield, the hipsters congregate around Shoreditch whcih has lots of good bars and restauraunts including ones specialising in table football, ping pong etc

I'd also suggest getting a good map and walk between your attractions, assuming the kids are old enough. For example Tower of London to the Tate  Modern over Tower Bridge and through Borough Food Market or St Pauls to the British Museum through Fleet Street and the Temple is another.

If the weather is OK, the parks are great - St James, Hyde and Regents are the most central ones but Hampstead, Richmond and many others are worth wondering around.

[Tamas]

Bad timing. Would have been great to say hi but I won`t be back until the 5th of January.

[Richard Hakluyt]

Some advice on the tube. In the centre of town the underground stations are often only a couple of hundred yards apart, tourists sometimes make the mistake of getting the tube when the walk in dreary corridors and riding on escalators is longer than simply walking the surface route.

[Grey Fox]

Imperial War Museum.

[Brazen]

I don't expect I'll be going anywhere!

Yes, the Tower Of London is far more interesting than Buckingham Palace, especially for kids. Madame Tussauds is vastly overpriced crap.

Keep an eye on Time Out's kids' section for things to do. The various winter fairs and skating rinks should still be in operation then.
http://www.timeout.com/london/kids

If your wife likes shopping, it'll be sale time, the shitty economy means they're practically giving it away!

Remember January 1st is a public holiday so quite a lot will be shut, but many pubs will be open.

Traditional British food is strangely hard to come by in central London, but pie and mash in the East End is an authentic alternative to fish and chips. Local areas specialise in naturalised ethnic cuisine - Soho (off Leicester Square) for Chinese and Brick Lane for curry.

[Brazen]

Imperial War Museum.

Not right now, it's undergoing refurbishment until next spring.

[Grey Fox]

Imperial War Museum.

Not right now, it's undergoing refurbishment until next spring.

That's really unfortunate.

Pedrito, you should postpone your trip.

[Gups]

I don't expect I'll be going anywhere!

Brick Lane for curry.

C'mon Brazen. Brick Lane is about the worst place in London you could go for a curry. Good market on Sundays though and great bagel shop.

  Ten minutes walk  from teh south end, however, is Whitechapel with the incomparable Tayyabs and Lahore Kebab House  spicy lamb chops

[Brazen]

C'mon Brazen. Brick Lane is about the worst place in London you could go for a curry. Good market on Sundays though and great bagel shop.

  Ten minutes walk  from teh south end, however, is Whitechapel with the incomparable Tayyabs and Lahore Kebab House  spicy lamb chops

Oh yeah, I kind of transposed those in my mind with Brick Lane. Far superior, and BYOB is much cheaper

The bagel shop's a 24-hour operation and has proved useful in the past when traversing from south to north after a long night out.

[The Brain]

Is the London Dungeon still around? For the kids.

[Syt]

Is the London Dungeon still around? For the kids.

I went to the Hamburg version years ago. It was fun, but the queue was murder.

[The Brain]

Is the London Dungeon still around? For the kids.

I went to the Hamburg version years ago. It was fun, but the queue was murder.

A German version strikes me as incredibly tasteless.

[Syt]

At the time it had Inquisition, pest hospital, Viking Raid, Klaus Störtebeker (a ride, and then an execution as shadowplay - nice touch: sprinkling warm water into the audience's faces at th beheading), a 19th century city fire and 18th century flood. They've since revamped it, and I doubt it's half as cool as the ones in the UK.

[Pedrito]

Thanks for all the suggestions. 

I'm still looking for humanly-priced flights, but have found what looks like a really interesting accomodation: a 3-bdroom flat in Knightsbridge, very near to Natural History and Victoria and Albert Museums: is ita convenient location? Restaurants, pubs, Tescos in the area?

Oh, and are there nearby hospitals/clinics, in case my allergic daughter eats something that gives her a bad reaction?

L.