Things to do in London with kids in he evening

[louise]

Hi, I know some of you live nearby London so I wonder if you or others could suggest anything. We are staying over night on the monday after the olympics as ds age 8 has his yearly hospital ap. Ds isn't fussed about a show so it doesn't have to be that. He has already asked to visit Tower of London, HMS Belfast and the Tate Modern. We would like to do something else in the eve rather then being stuck in the hotel room.

Thanks Loux

[bunyip]

If you want to do a show, now is the time. The Olympics has totally stuffed the West End. A couple I know is going next week. They have theatre/show tickets for every night, at an average of £30 a pair. To get round the current London hotel price hikes (thank you, Lord Coe) they are staying quite cheaply in Oxford, and have a week's pass for the 24hour coach service.

If not, one of the nicest things is just to walk or ride the regular buses and see the place in the evening when many parts are less crowded.

[wendywu]

Go to the Rainforet Cafe for dinner or even ice-cream.

The duck boat on the river ( dont know what time this ends ) .

Look at the Original London Walks they do some night walks. Don't do the ghost one or he will never get to sleep :laughing:

[louise]

Thanks guys.

We have the hotel booked and luckily as the Olympics close the night before we got it at a normal price. We have taken him to many of the free attractions and landmarks as he has going for various hospital ap since he was 2. He loves history esp Victorian London. I'd rather he wanted to go to the theatre then buy tickets for the sake of going. We can easily take him another time.

The duck tour may be a good idea as I'm sure our feet will enjoy a sit down, will take a look.

[Maza]

I usually look on a website called 'Family days out in London' (or something very similar, can't quite remember the exact name) but if you google those words you should come across a really good website that lets you type in the age range and then it gives you ideas in different categories - museums/parks/adventure etc. Not got experience with kids of that age, but I'm thinking London Dungeons or Madame Tussauds (sp?). I know you said evening rather than daytime so I'm not sure on opening times. Walking along the South Bank there is The Clink Museum, one of the Tate Museums, Millenium Bridge with lovely views of St Pauls and Tower Bridge and Nandos and Wagamamas amongst others to get something to eat and just 'take in' London. The South Bank centre usually has something going on too. You're never too old to enjoy the fountains in Trafalgar Square! Let us know what you decide to do, it's exciting! Hope the app goes well. x

[littletreasures]

If you want to do a show, now is the time. The Olympics has totally stuffed the West End. A couple I know is going next week. They have theatre/show tickets for every night, at an average of £30 a pair. To get round the current London hotel price hikes (thank you, Lord Coe) they are staying quite cheaply in Oxford, and have a week's pass for the 24hour coach service.

If not, one of the nicest things is just to walk or ride the regular buses and see the place in the evening when many parts are less crowded.

Ooooh, can you find out where they booked their tickets. My daughter has her friend over from the States at the moment and they were looking to go to the theatre, but the tickets are still expensive on the sites they've looked on.

[Twinkles]

oooo ooooo I know , I know.

You said maybe not theatre but....

tickets to see 'The Lion , the witch and the wardrobe can be had for only £12.

It is in a huge marquee in Kensington gardens and is amazing !

There are more expensive tickets but it is purpose built amphitheatre and it's impossible to get a bad seat.

I saw it a few weeks ago and want to go again.

[Toothfairy]

The London eye at night is great if it's a clear night.

[louise]

Thanks for all the ideas. I just suggested the lion, the witch and the wardrobe and he said he will prefer that to shrek.

Littletreasure while looking for idea theatre monkey was linked for tickets. It shows all the dealsetc. I haven't used it though.

Will take a look at all the ideas when we've got back home. Thanks again

[louise]

Wow I googled it on my phone it looks amazing, only problem is the shows at 2.30 on a Mon :'(

[wendywu]

The clink is good if he likes Victorian history as it was an old jail. :eek:

[bunyip]

Ooooh, can you find out where they booked their tickets. My daughter has her friend over from the States at the moment and they were looking to go to the theatre, but the tickets are still expensive on the sites they've looked on.

They used a mixture of sources. Some online searches. Some they got through a London-based contact who went round all the box offices and TKTS in the clocktower booth in Leicester square. These things tend to go in waves, so maybe there's fewer available now people have heard about the big discounts. ?

In case you haven't used them before, TKTS (aka the half-price ticket booth) are always worth a visit, right up to the day of performance. They deal with a lot of returned or unsold tickets, as well as blocks which they buy in advance at a discount. Many box offices also have returns/unsolds available. It's always worth asking to see the seating plan and ask if you're buying a seat with restricted visibility. In some of the older theatres, there are seats from which parts of the stage are obscured. Naturally, these are often the last seats to go.

Some theatres also sell 'standing seats' which a lot of people don't know about. You can buy admission which allows you to stand at the back. Holders of such tickets can sometimes be heard sidling into vacant seats during the first break in a performance - and sometimes sheepishly moving on when those seats are claimed by late arrivals - though usually everyone has found somewhere to sit by the interval. It's a strange concept that comes about because some theatres find their licence (for fire safety, etc.) allows in more people than they can seat.

[littletreasures]

Thanks for the info.

They've decided to take a trip up to London tomorrow or Saturday.
Sam works at the Aquarium, so they are going to do that, followed by the London Eye.

[louise]

Thank you everyone, I thought I had repiled, sorry. We have changed it all now! I showed them the vide of The Lion, The Witch and the wardrobe and they love it. We have decided to leave the HMS Belfast for another time (we're of to Portsmouth harbour soon anyway) and see it. We may just have a walk around after, as due to hospital being at 3 we would like to get to the Tower of London when it opens at 9 so we get the most of it. We couldn't find any £12 tickets but got top seats half price.

My friend has used theatre monkey lots of times and had no problems so it's worth a look.

Thank you everyone for your help x

[louise]

Twinkles, thank you so much for the suggestion. We all loved the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. When at the cinema we do thumbs up if we like a trailer ds during it turned his thumb turned out that was as it was amazing, which it surely was. I want to see what ever they show next year. We walked up to the princess Diana park after. Ds loved it. The staff were helpful when I needed a plaster for him. Lovely to see them watching to makesure kids behaved etc. We had a lovely time but I hate steps now!