Looking for itinerary insights for London.

Book the theatre tickets well in advance. Shakespeare plays at the Globe are practically impossible to get into now unless you book when the tickets first go on sale.

Borough Market would be good before a Globe matinee, but avoid Saturdays when it becomes quite intolerably crowded.

Our kids loved Windsor- both the town and the castle. It makes a nice day or half-day trip prior to the theatre. Easy to do on your own by train. Brighton might make a nice change of scene. Or Cardiff. I LOVE Cardiff! It has a bit of a funky vibe and seems filled with positive energy. There is a small market in the old St. David's church that is ok, too. And all the Victorian shops are like an old fashioned mall. And they have a nice small modern mall, too. All within easy walk of the train station. So is the castle that is right in the heart of the city! And if they are into soccer, their stadium is supposed to be one of the best in the world and I think you can book tours. The harbor has supposedly been 'redone' in the last few years and I hear it is nice. If they are into Dr. Who, Cardiff is a must. Our kids also enjoyed the 'regular' Tower during the day. Son especially liked the small military museum- turns out it is for the regiment we Americans know/knew as the Red Coats.

A West End production is also on our kids favorite memories list. We really enjoyed taking them to see Cats (this was about 18-20 years ago now) and Grease and Mama Mia. I think We Will Rock You closed last year, but check- it was great too.

If the kids like science, they may enjoy the observatory at Greenwich. You can take a boat there and return to central London by train.

If you only have 10 days, I don't think you have time to do London for 3-4 days, York, the Cotswolds and Bath. Are you really sure you want to see York? Salisbury and Winchester also have superb cathedrals and they are much closer to Bath. Stonehenge would also be right in the same area. My kids loved the Roman bath museum in Bath, loved Stonehenge and loved the cathedrals.

We saw a play at the Globe in August of last year and were able to secure excellent seats. Go onto their website and keep checking until they post the date that tickets will go on sale. Set your phone alarm for the moment online tickets go on sale, get onto your computer and buy them right away. In my opinion, the best seats are the one in the first balcony, right in the middle. Off to the side a bit is fine as well, just make sure you don't get an obstructed view. If you can get the front row, do it. The bench seating for the rest of the rows is VERY tight. You'll PAY for the tickets but it isn't as bad as you think and it will be a phenomenal experience for your family. We took our then 15 year old son to Midsummer Night's Dream and it was the perfect thing. He loved it and is now a Shakespeare fan!
If you time it right, you can take a tour of the Globe before the play, have dinner and a Pimm's at the BBQ in the forecourt or at one of the attached restaurants, and then experience the play.
If you go out to the borough of Walthamstow, they have the longest weekly market in Europe. It runs on a small scale most days but the big day to go is either Tuesday or Saturday when it's a kilometer long. Walthamstow is a very culturally diverse borough of London and you'll see interesting people, get to smell and taste food you've probably never seen before, and really get a sense of what a middle-class, diverse London suburb is really like. The area is in the process of gentrification right now so it's a great time to go! Some people find it a bit gritty but that is what makes it interesting. Walthamstow is at the north end of the Victoria line, about 35 minutes by tube from central London...just hang a left at the top of the escalators coming out of the tube, go up the stairs, straight out through the bus terminal, and then turn left onto the first street you come to and there it is.

Philip and Anita, thanks for your insights on getting good tickets at the Globe...I've already discovered our dates aren't available yet. I will keep checking, I am also eager to find out what's in production next spring so I can think about which play we'd like best.

Hmm, Toni, Cardiff...totally not on our radar but we have Whovians...I wonder if we'll be able to find much Doctor Who swag elsewhere? I will start looking up current productions in the West End as well, I've heard so many good reports from family travellers.

Al, the boat trip sounds really neat too, something different. I think there may be something similar to Hampton Court? (Or maybe that was just for Anne Bolyn! ;-) )

Eef, the things about York I want to show the kids are the accessible city wall and the gates, as well as the Shambles. Are there equally good examples of those closer to London? Of course the Minster is great, but we could find similar elsewhere I know. It is the longest distance from London on our list; we don't mind a longish drive (4 hours isn't much by Canadian standards), though I know it eats into our itinerary.

Walthamstow sounds neat, love the idea of getting beyond tourist London. Will have to look into that.

Doctor Who stuff - for massive fans there is the specialist Who shop at 39-41 Barking Road, near Upton Park tube station. This is a long way out in the wilds of East London. In central London go to Forbidden Planet, which is at the extreme east end of Shaftesbury Avenue near Centre Point. Forbidden Planet is for general SF/fantasy/horror books and merchandise, and comics of all genres.

Buy a good map of London and see where all the places you want to go are located. For example, the Tower, St. Pauls, Museum of London are all quite close and would make a good day. And you can take a boat ride on the Thames Clipper from the Tower to the Globe, so you could include that all in the same day. Google Thames Clipper for information of routes and times

I love the river trips because you see so much of London and the commentaries are usually pretty informative (even if the jokes are bad!). From Westminster (Houses of Parliament and Abbey). You pass Wren's house where he lived while building St. Paul's, the Monument marking the spot where the Great Fire of London began, Smithfield and Billingsgate markets (meat and fish respectively).

For theatre, Mamma Mia is still going strong. War Horse might appeal to your kids with its amazing use of full sized puppets and a great story. Also look and see what is going on at the National Theatre on the south side of the Thames - Plays range from Shakespeare to the avant garde.

I would choose either the Museum of London or the British Museum but not both. The British Museum is amazing and it contains material from all over the world. The Museum of London is specific to London for the past 500,000 years. It's address is London Wall, and right outside are remnants of London's Roman wall. The Museum is located in London's financial district.

Hello JoAnne. A total of ten days in Great Britain. That is not enough time for going to all of the places that a traveler wishes to go to. In London : I put a high priority on going to
Museum of London,
St. Paul's cathedral,
The place where the Queen's horse guards parade begins at 11:00 A.M. (near Whitehall Street),
day trip to Windsor Castle and the town Windsor (train from Paddington Station),
an entire day at Kew Gardens.
I do not recommend riding on a boat on the Thames river, as that would take a long time.
If you will be in Great Britain a total of ten days, I do not recommend traveling to both Bath and York. If it were my trip, I would go to York and other places north of London. I put a low priority on going to Wells and Salsbury and Stonehenge. And, I did not like Bath.

Just curious, Ron (SW MO), what didn't you like about Bath? And did you not enjoy the different archietecture in Wells Cathedral? Had you seen wishbone arches previously?

We were just in Salisbury and Stonehenge in July. The cathedral is amazing but our tour was a quick dash in and out, and on a Sunday so we missed seeing the Magna Carta! (bad tour bus coming from dock in Southampton up to London.) Tour bus went on to Stonehenge whicht was swarming with tourists (like me) but i mean thousands - not like you see on TV when a solitary person wanders around in awe. There were at least 50 huge tour buses, the car lot was filled and there were lines to get into the trolley cars that drove from the visitor center to the 'henge'.

And then I followed the audio guide the wrong way! Fighting my way against hundreds and hundreds of visitors circling the site it took me about 15 minutes to realize it was me going the wrong way - not them. The actual stones are roped off now - you just walk the circular path around them. And then you wait in line to get on the trolley back to the visitors center when you can have a hot dog and a beer, or wait in line to pick up a souvenir cup or a keychain with a piece of rock attached. It was not the spiritual experience I had hoped - but it was neat. And now I can impress people and say I was at Stonehenge.

To start with your original question/post:
"--The Tower. Am thinking we'll do the Ceremony of the Keys. Dh and I have done it, and it still gives me goosebumps. I think the kids will love it. If we do that, do you think we should still go back for the regular daytime Tower experience? Dh and I have also done that, and while very wonderful, the Ceremony was atmospheric like nothing else."

--Yes, do the regular daytime Tower tour. You and your children want to be able to walk around and see all the buildings in daylight. You also want to see the jewels, and take the Beefeater guided tour. Get there first thing in the morning when the Tower first opens.

--Ceremony of the Keys is awesome, but the daytime visit will let you see more. If you must choose between the two because of time constraints, do the daytime tour.

--You have spoken of wanting to go to Bath and the Cotswolds. One way to do this is: train to Bath, see Bath the first day. Spend the night there. The following morning, board the minibus with Mad Max Tours, for their tour of the Cotswolds. http://www.madmaxtours.co.uk/tours/cotswolds-tour Return to Bath, head out for London on the train. Use the rest of that day to see London stuff. (You could also do a "London Walks" day trip to go out to Bath and the Cotswolds, but that would be because you are constrained for time.)

--After a couple of days of London stuff, catch the train to York. You will want to spend that day seeing York Minster and the Walls. Try to catch Evensong at the Minster. Spend the night. The next day, there is still more stuff to see in York, so you could either head back to London at the end of the day, or spend another night in York and head to London the next morning.

--Check out the website of London Walks Company (www.walks.com) to see if any of their guided walks around London interest you. Also, they have guided day trips out of London. And a Harry Potter tour. http://www.walks.com/London_Walks_Home/Harry_Potter/default.aspx

London Walks also does day trips to Bath, the Cotswolds, Stonehenge, Salisbury, and many other locations.

--I didn't see Westminster Abbey anywhere on your London list. To me, it is awesome in terms of historical significance.

To address some things in your second post:
"The things about York I want to show the kids are the accessible city wall and the gates, as well as the Shambles. Are there equally good examples of those closer to London? Of course the Minster is great, but we could find similar elsewhere I know. It is the longest distance from London on our list; we don't mind a longish drive (4 hours isn't much by Canadian standards), though I know it eats into our itinerary."

York is unique. No, there are not equally good examples of the walls, the gates, the shambles and Minster closer to London, except there are a lot of cathedrals everywhere.

"It is the longest distance from London on our list; we don't mind a longish drive (4 hours isn't much by Canadian standards), though I know it eats into our itinerary."
There is no way in heck I would drive to York, given the short amount of time you have on your vacation, if you will only be there one day and then head back to London. The train is the way to go; absolutely the fastest way and the easiest. But that is just my preference or opinion.

(A car would be useful if you had a couple of days or weeks to drive around in the countryside near York, but not for a one day trip.)

And yes, I would go to York. There is no substitute. You are really missing something if you don't go to York, in my opinion.

The time up and back on the train can be used to enjoy the scenery out the window, read a guidebook, eat a sandwich, or just relax and talk with each other about what the plan is for the next several days.

Just to note other cathedrals that are interesting to see if you find yourself in that part of England: Wells Cathedral-gorgeous and unusual. Salisbury Cathedral and Winchester Cathedral-both beautiful and historic.

JoAnne, this is your trip and you should do exactly what you want to do. It sounds like you really want to go to York. I think you can do York, Bath, the Cotswolds and London in 10 days. You'll be rushed, but they are all good destinations. What makes your itinerary a little awkward is that Bath/Cotswolds are in a different direction from York. You can't possibly see all of England in 10 days or 3 weeks or much longer. It's just jam-packed full of wonderful places to visit. So you have to choose. If the extra travel time to York doesn't bother you, go with that.

Or, if the extra travel time does bother you, could change the places you plan to visit to make it more geographically compatible. I could get very excited about 6 nights in York, Durham (love, love, love Durham), Hadrian's Wall (kids love Roman stuff). Or 6 nights in Salisbury (day trips to Winchester, Stonehenge, Avebury, Portsmouth) and Bath (or Wells or the Cotswolds). I spent 3 weeks in England with my boys (same ages as your kids) the summer before last. It was a wonderful trip. But, we only spent a day in Bath (loved the Roman baths museum -- did as a day trip from a village that was in a convenient location for several day trips) and 2 nights in York, which we liked, but not as much as many other places as we visted. Everyone has their favorites. Bath and York don't happen to be mine, but I'm glad I've been to both (Been to each more than once, over a span of 30 years!)

Just wanted to add that Salisbury cathedral has a wonderful "tower tour" that can't be missed, at least it can't be missed if you are in Salisbury and you dont have mobility issues. You see the vaults looking down, the scaffolding used to build the "attic" and the tower. My boys loved this tour. I ordered tickets on line before I left the US.

Thanks Rebecca; I am glad to hear you say there's no substitute, because I am actually really looking forward to York, though I was open to being talked out of it if something else made more sense. We will spend at least two nights there.

JoAnne, I agree with Eef; this is your trip, and you should do what you want to do. I know you wanted to go to York, so it is good that you have decided to leave it in your itinerary.

There is a lot to see in London and a tremendous amount to see in England. You can only do so much in one trip. Eef is right, Durham is great; maybe best saved for your next trip to England. One could do a tour around England just to see cathedrals.

Your schedule is already getting pretty full. I believe you said you want to see Hampton Court Palace. Definitely keep that on the itinerary. In my opinion, it's one of the top 5 sights in London or the London area.

I'm getting a little off topic here, but Eef, I'm curious where you stayed that was convenient to Bath and other day trips. We do have a lot of interest points clustered in that area, including the Chedworth Roman villa...

Thanks Rebecca. I am adjusting and refining with the great info here, but my heart won't let me let go of certain things, you're right. :)

I spent a long time researching a base near Bath. We also wanted to see Wells and Glastonbury, so I found a base near Frome (actually east of Frome in the village of Rudge). This may not be convenient for you, because it looks like Chedworth Roman Village in north of Bath. I was looking for a place where 4 could sleep in a room, with a swimming pool for the boys, a place to eat (there was a pub) without driving. Bath is very congested and there is no shortage of tourists competing to eat at the same time! So, doing Bath as a day trip worked well, There was good parking near the Roman baths. We walked around some, but to be honest, the Roman baths were the draw for us and the rest was interesting but not trip-making. You ought to have plenty of choices if you decide to stay somewhere between Bath and Chedworth. Perhaps you could find one place to use as a base to see Bath and the Cotswolds. I would think the Cotswolds would be a good place for kids because the walking is superb and you can always stop for a snack in a village.

We also stayed in Osbourne St. George (northeast of Avebury) which was a nice base to see Avebury, but is close to the M4 so that you could get to other destinations quickly.

Good luck!

Trivia alert - Frome, mentioned just above, is the home town of Jenson Button, the Formula 1 driver.

My two schillings worth. Arrive, get settled. Back out. Visit Parliament Square. Take the tube to Westminster station. Follow signage to Exit 1. Says Westminster Bridge, London Eye. Exit into the light. The Thames and the London Eye are before you. Turn right toward the stairs and look up. Start your walkabout from there. That evening if the timing is right, enjoy Evensong with your friend and family. Nice dinner. Good night's sleep. Up early next morning, tube to Tower of London. First group in the door. After seeing the Tower, walk up to Leadenhall Market for a late breakfast/snack or early lunch. Look for the entrance to the Leaky Caldron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadenhall_Market. This whole area is architecturally interesting as old London and modern London meld together. The visual uniqueness and use of glass for both The Gherkin http://www.30stmaryaxe.com and Leadenhall Market is a prime example. I would hope your children would enjoy the dichotomy. From there I'd either walk across London Bridge over to Bourough Market or take the tube. Personally, I find walking in London the best way to explore it and resort to busses or the tube only when my dogs have tired. After visiting the market, walk over to the Globe and pick up the tickets you ordered online for that night's performance. From there a nice stroll over the Millennium Bridge, up past St Paul's and up to the Museum of London. Back to your accommodation to change or rest and then off to theatre that night. Dinner before or after the performance based your families need. Next day Hampton Court. Now if the kids want to do shopping a favorite spot of mine is the ever busy Camden Lock Market. They might enjoy a walk along the Regent's Canal before or after. Most travelers have no clue there are canals in London. You could also walk over to the nearby Regent's Park and enjoy a boat ride or merely enjoy people watching by having a nosh at the teeny Cow and Coffee Bean situated along The Broadwalk.

Have fun whatever you do. Great city to explore and expose to your children.

JoAnne, your itinerary seems busy but is probably do able for a person with a lot of energy. I recently came back from London with my family. Me, my wife and our 12 year old daughters. I also had a busy itinerary trying to do many of the things you have on yours. However, what I found is that although I was well capable of doing all those things, my family was not. My wife and daughters are real troopers having had other vacations with busy full days, but with the time change and the amount of walking you actually do, my family was just tired out, so we ended up cutting some of the things on our itinerary out. Just remember this, I know you may want to do as much as possible, but sometimes, it's better just to take your time, see what you can, and have a good time. Happy travels.

JoAnne, your itinerary seems busy but is probably do able for a person with a lot of energy. I recently came back from London with my family. Me, my wife and our 12 year old daughters. I also had a busy itinerary trying to do many of the things you have on yours. However, what I found is that although I was well capable of doing all those things, my family was not. My wife and daughters are real troopers having had other vacations with busy full days, but with the time change and the amount of walking you actually do, my family was just tired out, so we ended up cutting some of the things on our itinerary out. Just remember this, I know you may want to do as much as possible, but sometimes, it's better just to take your time, see what you can, and have a good time. Happy travels.