I will be in London in mid-January with my college girl, before she goes off to Paris for a semester. I haven’t been there in decades and before that spent at most three weeks there in toto. I would love to hear people’s best suggestions and travel tips for midwinter London, especially discounts and money savers and practical ideas. My daughter’s priorities, as far as I can get out of her, are theater, Parliament, food and pubs, art, and observing people. She would like to learn more about British history and loves walking tours. She would also like to take a day trip "to see the countryside, " but I am discouraging this impulse - it’s January, after all, and we only have five days, anyway. Five cold, dark, rainy days LOL. How can we make the most of them (at the lowest cost!)? BTW, accommodations have already been arranged, no help needed in that direction. Many thank for any help you can provide!
On our last trip, we bought the London Pass with travelcard. It was a great use of money and came with great ideas like how to take the train out to Windsor Castle. Went there for Changing of the Guard because it was better and more visible than Buckingham, plus the Queen was there so we got more of a show.
The other thing that is unusual is The Ceremony of the Keys, at night, in the dark, on the grounds of The Tower of London, in a very small group (maybe 20 people). You have to book in advance, free with a small service charge. It sells out pretty far in advance so look NOW. It was amazing and I highly recommend!
The British Museum. It’s great. And it’s either free all time or one day a week is free.
We spent 1/2 day at Harrods, but we were there during Christmas season. It’s a pretty grand old department store. I would think fun for people watching.
I had high tea someplace in Kensington Park, and loved it. Well worth doing someplace.
If you are going to be there on a Saturday you can tour the Houses of Parliament. You will need to book in advance, provide passport details, etc. for security clearance. The tour takes about two hours and is quite thorough. It’s about $32 for adults, less for students. It’s quite the treat for the British political afficiando and you won’t see many Americans.
For art, all the major museums are free: the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, both Tates, the British Museum and the V&A. There are charges for special exhibitions only.
You can do a city walking tour for free and take in the outer parks like Hampstead Heath, Regent Park and Primrose Hill. A day trip to Greenwich is nice…you can get there on the Tube. Other day options would be train trips to Bath, Oxford or Cambridge. All are compact cities that are easy to navigate in inclement weather.
We like to go to the National Theatre complex on the South Bank of the Thames. Theatre tickets are much lower than in NY. We paid about $75 for great seats last month. You can also often get good prices by going to the theatre booking office the day of the show.
We were there two weeks ago visiting our daughter and the exchange rate is quite good. When you factor in US sales tax prices are just a little higher than US cities.
Other money saving tips: Buy an Oystercard intead of a day pass for transport. Take the Tube in from Heathrow instead of a cab. If you can get a little out from central London the restaurant prices will be better and more accessible. We especially like Primrose Hill, lots of great restaurants and gastropubs, shops and a wonderful small bookshop. It’s close to Camden Town which is a little wild, but has a lot of inexpensive restaurants and is a place the kids enjoy.
Have fun!
Following - heading to London later this month, to visit family pre-bereavement.
Looked into the Ceremony of the Keys, not available through May 2020! 
Thank you. Has anyone out successfully bought a transport pass at a rail station and thus been able to use it for the 2-for-1 deal? Does anyone know of particular discounts that apply in midwinter? There is a theater ticket one coming up, for which I intend to get up before 5am to fight it out online. 
Does anyone know if Parliament is in session in January? We would like to observe the debates, but the online calendar doesn’t go that far.
@twinsmama - there is a TKTS booth in London - my friend buys all his theater tickets there - it’s similar to the NYC one, tickets go on sale for that day’s show, at a substantial discount. Go with an open mind.
Sorry @JustaMom! I knew they sold out really quickly. I didn’t think we bought ours 6 months out but we must have.
@helpingmom40 - that kind of thing is right up my alley. I’ll keep it on my list for “next time” ?
You could have a crisp clear winter day or dreary rain at that time of the year. Thinking about places to get a day walk in the countryside within a reasonable distance of London that’s accessible by train, if the weather is good, in increasing order of distance from central London here are a few suggestions:
- Richmond Park (tube to Richmond, head up the hill then come back along the river)
- Bushy Park/Home Park (train to Hampton Court Palace), walk across the river. The palace itself is really worth a visit too.
- Windsor Great Park (train to Eton and Windsor), take the Long Walk to Snow Hill.
Can’t confirm but I’ve heard that it’s much easier to get tickets and cheaper to see Hamilton in London. If that’s something you haven’t seen.
Definitely visit the British Library, it is free. You can see their treasures (pretty great stuff like an original magna carta or Shakespeare folio) and they have a few rotating exhibit spaces that typically have good stuff also.
Regarding a session of Parliament - we went there in May (thought there might be fireworks with Theresa May resigning). It was as dull as watching a session of our own Congress. Pre-planned canned speeches on boring topics. Interesting to see the chamber for a few minutes though.
Re #5, I’ve used a number of 2-fers with National Rail. Works as stated, never a problem. I actually like London in Jan and Feb. Far fewer crowds, no lines for anlot of spots normally packed. Adult son and I used the 2-for1’s and spent an entire Jan day at Bletchley Park last year.
Do you have Apple Pay or something similar or contactless credit card? If so, no need for an Oyster. Use the same contactless card or Apple Pay thru the day and the system keeps track just like an Oyster. You get the Oyster rate and daily cap same as Oyster without having to purchase and load an Oyster.
Where is your accommodation - general area? I have ideas for tube or discounted Heathrow Express train depending on where you are headed.
I’ve been to London many times, but the trip we took last year was the first time I visited the War Rooms (H had been before) and we took the train to Greenwich. We normally stay in Kensington near the Gloucester Road tube station, but last year we stayed near Covent Garden which was also a great location.
Love the British Museum. If you go, try to get to the clock room at noon. All of the chiming clocks used to go off at that time. Wonderful.
Definitely have high tea. Last time we were there, we had it at St. Paul’s Cathedral’s restaurant. It was one of the least expensive. The Duke’s Hotel has wonderful martinis. They are pricy, but supposedly the best in the world. The Duke’s also has a lovely tea.
@momofadult Thanks for the notes. I’m a fairly obsessive planner, so I already knew about using contactless credit cards, but supposedly if you jump through a couple of hoops (bring photo, buy ticket at rail station) and get a 7-day transit pass that has the National Rail logo on it, you can use it for 2-for-1 deals that are really intended for Brits coming into London by rail. That could save us much more than the extra cost of the 7-day pass. We will be in an AirBnb in Pimlico.
We haven’t been there in January, but for a day in the country you can find bus tours to the Cotswalds offered online. I don’t know how far in advance you need to book, perhaps you can wait until you are there and then pick a day with good weather if one comes along.
If you want to go on a train ride but then visit a smaller city then either Bath or York would be within a 2 hour ride from London.
When we were there in summer 2018 we went to see Hamilton - tickets were easier to get and the performers were amazing.
I could spend days in the British Museum, the British Library, National Gallery.
Days are short and weather could be miserable, so sticking close to London might be the best thing. Windsor, Hampton Court, and Greenwich are close , good for a day out.
My sis and nieces loved the Harry Potter tour. Has to be booked in advance, though.
One of my favorite souvenirs was the Rosetta Stone umbrella I picked up at the British Museum when a thunderstorm caught us off guard.
Agree about Hamilton…I’ve seen it three times and London was the best (saw this August, so you should get the same performers) and cheaper than it was in Chicago and Cleveland at home. I bought ahead of time using Ticketmaster. You could also chance it with the lottery.
The hop on /hop off bus could be an option if it is rainy, to see highlights /historic places of the city. High tea is great and a special experience, do your research to find a good option…it can get REALLY expensive! Harrods is a fun place just to see (again if the weather is keeping you indoors). Even if you’re not a shopper, its a pretty special place to walk around for a while.