re: London Rec's Needed

Theatre:
My career is in performing arts management and production, so I feel obligated to send info about London’s theatre scene, but if you and your family aren’t into that then feel free to skip this section. You can often find cheap tickets online or at the Leicester Square booth.
- There’s tons of amazing theatre in London, both in the West End (essentially London’s broadway), and off. If you can, I highly recommend seeing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime from the National Theatre. It’s truly amazing. When I’m in full-swing I see a new production about once a week, and THIS is one of my favorite plays that I have ever seen. There’s a reason it won big at the Tony’s.
- The Rolling Stone is wonderful, but very emotionally and politically charged. The last I knew it was playing at the Orange Tree in Richmond.
- Matilda & The Lion King are worth the hype they receive. They’re excellent musicals! Tickets to the Lion King are not cheap.
- Nell Gwynn is a fun play/musical, if you’re looking for something lighthearted. It’s not spectacular, but it’s easy to watch and relatively humorous.
- If the National Theatre of Scotland has anything in London right now, it will undoubtedly be great (particularly The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, The James Plays, and the ever-amazing Black Watch).
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child really will be fantastic. The cast, director, and crew are phenomenal. I will also be jealous of you forever if you land tickets to this.

General tips:
- London shuts down pretty early by many people’s standards. The tube stops running around midnight, and most pubs shut down around 11pm or midnight, except on Thursdays when everything is open “late” (1am, and only pubs). Restaurants may close earlier than you think they will, so just check the hours.
- Take out cash & use it when possible for buying smaller things. Using a card is a surprising hassle in many places (grocery stores, some restaurants, the tube, cabs). They often won’t accept your American bank card, or they have to call a company to approve it, or it requires jumping through more hoops than you thought necessary just to buy some blueberries.
- You have to pay 5p for grocery bags if you don’t bring your own. So re-use the ones you get on the first trip if you don’t have something you can already use with you.
- I recommend going on the London Eye towards the end of your stay. This way you’ll recognize what you’re looking at which I found to make it a more meaningful experience.
- If you want to see the view from the Shard ( the giant tower sticking up our of nowhere like a shard of glass in the financial district) then go to the bar and get a drink instead of paying to go to the observatory. It’s less expensive, the view is just as great, and you get a drink.
- All museum and national galleries are free! Make use of that!
- The Tube is significantly easier to navigate compared to the buses, but the buses are considerably less expensive (it always costs £1.80, no matter when or for how far you ride the bus), whereas the tube can easily be £6.40 for one journey within central London. If you have a smartphone data plan where you can have it tell you exactly how to take the bus to wherever you need to go then I highly recommend it. Also, sitting on the top of a double decker can basically be like a free tour.
- On Tube escalators you must only stand on the right side. If you stand on the left you will be angrily and forcefully shoved out of the way by some irate London community. Londoners are very serious about this.
- London is flat, and actually quite walkable once you’re in the neighborhood you want to be exploring. Walk around and you’ll find lovely places and surprises.
- Respect the queue. Queuing and not skipping anyone in line in the queue is taken seriously everywhere in the UK. This includes getting on a bus, no skipping or forming a mob at the door will happen.
- If you want to see a great sunrise or sunset go to Primrose Hill, just past Camden Town. It has a panoramic view of the entire city! You can’t find that anywhere else for free! Friends and I would picnic with wine and a snack (Go to Tesco or Sainsbury).