London?

[RachelM]

We are thinking of going to london at the beginning of April. No idea on where to stay though. Not looking for anything fancy (travelodge style is fine) and happy to use underground.

Also looking for ideas on things to do. This will be my daughter first time, she will be 11. Will be me hubby and daughter going. She wants to see Buckingham palace and the imperial war museum. Preferable not to expensive things (if thats possible in London)

The flight we have seen is into stanstead then looking at getting the stanstead express in.

Thank you x

[scooby99]

Have you looked at the budget chains websites, Premier Inn, Travelodge, Ibis, Easyhotel, Holiday Inn Express etc?
Most locations in London (central, inner & outer) are fine as long as they have fairly easy access to a tube.
Lots of freebies in London; a Google search of 'free things to do in London' should give lots of ideas but 100's of museums are free including the biggies (Imperial War, British, Science, Natural History, V & A etc) plus the landmarks (Buck Palace, Trafalgar Sq, Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, the Cathedrals & Abbey etc) & royal parks are all free to look at/wander through (charges to go inside some).
Covent Garden & South bank may interest to wander around/along; lots of street entertainment.

[Lisalimetree]

I go to London often and I stay at Premier inn hackney only opened 2015, it's also right across from the overground station. I also fly into Stanstead and use the express train to Liverpool Street. If you book early you can get £9 single.

Using the Tain from airport to Liverpool Street allows to to use national rail 2 4 1 on different tourist places.

daysoutguide/

[Guest]

There are plenty of Premier Inn / Travelodge places but don't expect £40 a night rooms. If you have contactless cards, they are the best way to travel around on the the buses and Underground. Look out for 2 for 1 offers on attractions - especially if they are run by Merlin (Tussauds / London Eye ). Lsalimetree also refers to the offer you can get via a train ticket. Note that Westminster Abbey is £12 each to get in and St Pauls is £18.50 (no photos).

[FSnug]

Sky Garden is free - spectacular views. Check website for how to book free tickets / time slot. Can only book a few weeks in advance

[daytonababe]

We do stop in Premier Inn's in London quite often but to get cheaper rooms you need to stop on the outskirts.

Recently we stopped at Wembley which is right next to the tube station , previous times we've stopped at Borehamwood .
Very often the Premier Inn's actually near the touristy bits are 2 or 3 times what we pay.

We have the tourist oystercards which you have to buy online and then can top up if needed at stations. I put £15 on each of ours and that lasted for 2 days with a bit left on them. You do get discounts at various places with the cards.
visitlondon/traveller...GxI8AVZLfuQ.97

Pretty sure your 11 yr old will be free on the tubes etc.

As for things to do we rarely do paid attractions , plenty of things are free to do. We did do the Tower of London recently which we really enjoyed but we used Tesco clubcard vouchers to pay for it.

I do find food expensive though unless you want the likes of McDonalds.

[Yorkie Girl]

The travelodge at Tower Hill is cheap but a good central(ish) location. We stayed at travelodge Liverpool Street a couple of weeks ago but found this to be quite noisy. Also, we found the wetherspoons near Tower Hill to be handy for breakfast.

It took us about 40 mins to walk from Liverpool Street to Trafalgar Square walking along the Thames. You get to see loads of different sites too as you walk (much better than seeing a tunnel).

[Olympiad]

Another Premier Inn option to consider is at the Stratford Westfield centre next to the Olympic park.

It's on the Central tube line and also has direct train access into Liverpool St.

[Mexy02]

Originally Posted by Yorkie Girl

The travelodge at Tower Hill is cheap but a good central(ish) location. We stayed at travelodge Liverpool Street a couple of weeks ago but found this to be quite noisy. Also, we found the wetherspoons near Tower Hill to be handy for breakfast.

It took us about 40 mins to walk from Liverpool Street to Trafalgar Square walking along the Thames. You get to see loads of different sites too as you walk (much better than seeing a tunnel).

See more...

The best tip I got of here was the weatherspoons pubs . The one in the city of London is stunning and cheap but nice food. There's also one near trafalger square . Makes a massive difference but you are well fed.
We stay on the outskirts as well at premier inn and tube it in. There are loads of free stuff. Leadenhall market is beautiful and where HP,was filmed. Take a good pair of shoes as you can walk miles ( we prefer walking to the tube tbh once in London) everything is easy to find. )

[phoebe23]

Originally Posted by Yorkie Girl

The travelodge at Tower Hill is cheap but a good central(ish) location. We stayed at travelodge Liverpool Street a couple of weeks ago but found this to be quite noisy. Also, we found the wetherspoons near Tower Hill to be handy for breakfast.

It took us about 40 mins to walk from Liverpool Street to Trafalgar Square walking along the Thames. You get to see loads of different sites too as you walk (much better than seeing a tunnel).

See more...

2nd this location - for family rooms chose Premier Inn 100m up the road. Catch No15 bus to Trafalgar Square or RV1 to London Eye, Westminster, Covent Garden via Tower Bridge and Southbank. Love historic Greenwich too - Tower Gateway Tube or DLR station on corner with trains via Canary Wharf etc London Docklands museum with fab Wetherspoons next door - Ledger Building.
The Lord Moon on the Mall WS is close to Trafalgar Square on Whitehall same side as Downing Street.