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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 9:41:55 GMT
Hello, I'm a big fan of Broadway and have gone on many theatre trips to NYC from Europe. Now I have decided to take a theatre trip to London for a change, to really discover the West End and the city. I will be there next month, the week before Christmas and in that time I can see 8 shows. I will be staying on the Strand as that seems like a central location to be close to the theatres.
I was pleasantly surprised that the tickets are much cheaper in London than in NYC so I could buy some in advance. So far I have tickets for 42nd Street, The play that goes wrong, The book of Mormon and Mamma Mia. The last 2 I have already seen but that doesn't matter of course. While there I want to try for day tickets for Dreamgirls, never seen, and Kinky Boots which I loved in NYC. Not sure if I should try for day tickets for The Lion King? I'm also hesitating if I should get a ticket for An American in Paris as the reviews seem to be mixed and I'm not really a fan of ballet but the front row is very affordable.
So my question to you West End experts is that if you only have 1 week in London in December what else would you see? I have already seen Phantom, Wicked, Aladdin, Hamilton and Glengarry Glen Ross. At night I don't want to venture too far out of the West End. Then what attractions do you recommend to visit just before Christmas during the day? I saw that there is the Theatre Café that seems fun to check out. Thank you in advance for your replies. I am excited for this trip! 😃
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 11, 2017 10:06:19 GMT
Welcome to the forum ElleI think the Tower of London is hard to beat as an attraction. Quintessential London, historical interest, beefeaters in those funny red uniforms and the real actual Crown Jewels. On a clear day, London Eye is great for seeing the city from the air and the London Aquarium is right next to it. Taking a boat down the Thames to Greenwich which is beautiful and you’ll see some of the locations from the Les Mis film. All quite touristy but you’re a tourist, right?  |
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Post by kathryn on Nov 11, 2017 10:18:34 GMT
What kinds of things do you like to do?
London has some amazing museums and galleries, fantastic shopping, and lovely parks. So if you need to escape the cold there's lots of inside things to do, and if you like to bundle up and enjoy the festive chill there's lots of places you can go.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2017 10:45:30 GMT
Some of our theatre tours are quite fun! The National does excellent backstage tours, as does Shakespeares Globe and I believe Drury Lane still does as well. Of the three unless you have a particular passion for Shakespeare I'd vote for the NT but if you have time the Globe and Museusm is a great one for Shakespeare/history.
Talking of both NT and Globe one of my favourite things to do is to walk the South Bank from the Embankment Bridge down to Borough Market (which is near the Globe) there's plenty of 'pitt stops' along the way for coffee (or something stronger!!) or you could even go the whole way down to Tower Bridge and take in the newest theatre in London The Bridge as well.
But let us know what sort of things you like to do around NY theatre trips- lots of us do trips to both London and NY regularly so we can hopefully help with similar fun things to do!
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 11:32:09 GMT
Thank you BurlyBeaR for your suggestions, they sound like good options. I'm indeed a tourist and will be doing many touristy things! 😄 Thank you for your reply kathryn . I like all those things that you mentioned: sightseeing, shopping, museums etc. Since it will get dark early in the day and it's cold I know the options will be limited. For seasonal attractions so far I have found the Hyde Park winter wonderland which seems worth a visit. I think it will be wonderful to see London all lit up for Christmas. Thank you @emicardiff . I didn't know it was possible to do backstage tours and it sounds great! I will look into that for sure. 👍 The walk sounds good too. So in NYC after the first few trips I had done all the main sights and just explored the city. I really like walking around and discovering the different neighborhoods and what they have to offer. I would also take themed bus tours when it was very cold. Then for example I visited NBC studio's at Rockefeller center, took a Garment district tour, visited the Met. Another good surprise is that the museums in London are free. I always stayed near Times Square so I was within walking distance of all the theatres and TKTS. I realized that London is not like that and it's all more spread out. |
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Post by crowblack on Nov 11, 2017 11:41:55 GMT
If you have time, it's worth popping in to the Sir John Soane's Museum in Lincoln's Inn Fields, part of a square of fine houses near Holborn tube station (it's a bit tucked away but it'll be signposted). It's free to visit (but closed Mondays and Tuesdays) - it's the historic house / museum of a collector and has been left almost unaltered for nearly 200 years - very atmospheric and like stepping back in time.
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Post by No. on Nov 11, 2017 11:49:38 GMT
If you're into history I reccomend the HMS Belfast, the ship itself is on the Thames from what I remember, and to explore the deeper parts there are a few ladders to climb up and down if you're able to do that!
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 11:51:16 GMT
Thank you crowblack I will look that up, sounds interesting. 👍 |
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 11:57:37 GMT
Thank you No. . It's great the different and interesting suggestions you guys are giving and things I hadn't thought of! |
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Post by No. on Nov 11, 2017 12:04:07 GMT
There's also bus tours you can do that essentially show you all of London and are pretty informative, good if you don't fancy finding things on foot!
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Post by kathryn on Nov 11, 2017 12:09:25 GMT
London's not really any more spread-out than New York, and the tube is really easy to use to get around. It just depends what you fancy doing. There's some great themed walking tours you can do of different bits of London, but if you just want some nice touristy routes to wander, you could head down the strand to Trafalgar Square to see the big Christmas tree, and from there though Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus and Down Regent Street and Oxford Steeet for the Christmas lights. The National Gallery and National Portrat Gallery are on Trafalgar Square, and shopping on Regent Steet and Oxford Street. Or from Trafalgar Square you could head down The Mall to St James' Park, and Buckingham Palace, or down Whitehall to Westminster for Westminster Abbey, Big Ben etc. There's the mandatory hop-on hop-off bus tour every city has, but also they run the Heritage route master buses on the 15 route bewteen Trafalgar Square and Tower Hill www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g186338-c186641/London:United-Kingdom:Ride.The.Heritage.Routemaster.Buses.htmlThat takes you to the Tower of London via St Paul's. If you get off at St Paul's you can walk over the river to Tate Modern and the Globe via the Millennium (wobbly) bridge. |
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Post by firefingers on Nov 11, 2017 13:00:44 GMT
The Victoria and Albert Museum is a must do as it has a theatre wing with costumes and other design elements from shows. It's free too! The Globe, a recreation of a 17th century theatre that premiered many of Shakespeare's plays, holds productions but also has a museum and does tours etc.
There are some great experiences to be had outside London by short train journey (the Harry Potter studio tour and the Bluebell steam railway jump to mind) that can be done in the day before an evening show.
But my favourite thing to do in London is just wander. Take the tube as little as possible and walk everywhere.
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Post by kathryn on Nov 11, 2017 13:06:49 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 11, 2017 13:10:08 GMT
I’ve started using buses rather than the tube wherever it’s possible. It’s so much nicer to be above ground and seeing stuff. And so much easier since they let you pay by contactless card now. I use googlemaps to tell me where to get on and off, and just for general directions and getting around it’s brilliant (although getting onto the internet in very congested areas can be difficult sometimes).
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Post by TallPaul on Nov 11, 2017 13:46:23 GMT
If you are staying on the Strand, you will be very close to Somerset House. It's worth a visit at any time of year, simply for the architecture, but it's even better at Christmas with it's outdoor skating rink. And it's high river frontage is one of the best locations from which to view the Thames, upstream and down. Rather than pay a small fortune to visit the observation deck at The Shard, the one at the Sky Garden, on the other side of the times, is free, though you will only be able to book much closer to your London trip. Here's the link: skygarden.london . In addition to the theatre tours recommended by emicardiff, both the London Coliseum and Royal Opera House also offer guided tours, for a fee. Have you thought about adding Everybody's Talking About Jamie to your itinerary? Everybody may be a slight exaggeration, but many people are talking about this new British musical. Remember, when a man/woman is tired of London, he/she is tired is life. |
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 14:52:25 GMT
No. Yes, that's exactly what I want. A bus tour that just takes you around the whole city. It's a good way to sightsee when the weather is not so good. Thank you for all the info and tips @theatremonkey. When you explain it like that it's easier to have an overview of the locations of the theatres. I think I will take the bus instead of the tube. Since I will not be in a rush I can take the scenic route. By the way since last month I have been using your site to get info about the West End, which seats to choose and how to get day seats etc. It helped me a lot, very useful site! kathryn The Heritage bus tour looks good, thank you for the link and also for the one about the Christmas Carol concerts. All things I didn't know. The walking routes that you described are perfect for my first days there, to see the main sights near where I'm staying.
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 14:55:08 GMT
firefingers Thank you for the suggestion, I would love to visit the theatre wing of that museum and didn't know about it. I agree with you, I like wander to around on foot as much as possible as well. Hopefully the weather will permit it. BurlyBeaR I agree, I also prefer staying above ground and seeing where I'm going. Also for me as a tourist the red double deckers are an attraction on their own! TallPaul Thank you for the suggestions and link, I will look into them for sure. The Sky Garden looks lovely! I don't know why I have ignored Everybody's Talking About Jamie, will read up on it. I have a feeling that this will be the first of many theatre trips to London... 😊
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Post by longinthetooth on Nov 11, 2017 15:02:35 GMT
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Nov 11, 2017 15:12:10 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2017 15:12:43 GMT
Some other suggestions:
Follies or Network at the National Theatre (just across the river from where you're staying). Currently sold out but returns do appear online. Also if you have an american express card there are a few reserved tickets available for Follies.
Worth a look at todaytix which has daily rush tickets for some of the shows you mention (eg American in Paris, stalls for £20). Check the todaytix thread for loads of £10 off codes if you've not used it before!
For non-musicals - The Ferryman (day seats & todaytix rush available), Heisenberg (not selling well so check for offers!)
Tate Modern and Tate Britain are great - both free except for temporary exhibitions
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 15:14:08 GMT
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 15:27:10 GMT
@xanderl Thank you for your suggestions and tips. Yes, I wanted to see Follies but tickets are a problem. Don't have an American Express. I recently downloaded the TodayTix app but it keeps giving me bad seats for advance purchase, last row of the stalls for several shows. Maybe closer to the date or on the day better seats become available? The £10 off is great though!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2017 15:38:52 GMT
You can sometimes get better seats on todaytix by opening up todaytix.com on multiple browsers as well as the app and asking for seats in the same price band.
The rush seats tend to be better value than the advance purchase cheap seats - eg I did the rush for American in Paris and got seats about halfway back in the stalls.
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Post by Elle on Nov 11, 2017 15:44:03 GMT
BurlyBeaR Very useful, thanks! So far I had planned to go to Joe Allen but will need more places. Anything theatre or NYC related, I'm there. 😄 I wanted to try an afternoon tea but got discouraged by the prices. @xanderl Oh, good tips! Will try that. 👍
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Post by Deleted on Nov 11, 2017 15:46:28 GMT
Also lots of London markets- Spitafields/Brick Lane is nice for a wander around on a Sunday (do bear in mind that London shops don't open until midday for the most part, something that STILL catches me out...) and they'll be lots of Christmas markets too.
I love London Zoo but it does take an entire day (but will be quieter in the Winter).
Museums wise I really like the Imperial War Museum and the Museum of London (both seem a little 'out of the way' on a map but are easy to get to). And the National Gallery/National Portrait Gallery are fab. (They also do a lovely afternoon tea overlooking Trafalgar Square).
I'd also recommend a trip to Greenwich (take a boat one way!) to see the Observatory/Cutty Sark and have a little wander around.
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