London - which railway stn and where to stay - which premier inn or similar ?

[noyouhavehadawee]

of us travelling by train in October want to see the sights, Trafalgar square, buck palace, London bridge/ eye and the natural history museum ..... so do we go to kings cross and where do we stay or do we go to some other London stn direct? I am clueless when it comes to London but ids want to go and I have a fam and friends railcard I should use.

[RoLoh]

I would stay somewhere on the south bank like Waterloo area. It's dead easy to get from there to all the main attractions but also usually cheaper than anywhere north of the river

[noyouhavehadawee]

if I trained it to kings cross can you walk there or would it be a taxi/ tube job - I don't fancy the tube like with my bags and 2 dc

[WafflyVersatile]

Which station you arrive in in London depends on where you are coming from.

I would not walk from Kings Cross to Waterloo. You could walk 5 mins to Euston then get the 59 bus to Waterloo.

Try tfl.gov.uk for other travel routes.

[LoriGrimes]

We went to Waterloo stn and stayed at the Travelodge in Covent garden which was just a short walk across Waterloo bridge.

[teabagpleb]

Where are you coming from? Look up rail tickets to London and the website will tell you which station you end up at. Then get an Oyster card from a Tube station and load it with pre-pay for you, and a child one for kids over 5 (ask about this), for travel. Kids go free on buses.

Look up TfL Journey Planner for getting around. South Bank is lovely and has a Premier Inn, but you may save money by staying further out near a station.

[noyouhavehadawee]

coming from the north east - Teesside.

[ArabellaBeaumaris]

That will bring you into Kings Cross. There is a YHA opposite that is reasonable to stay at, also a Travelodge.

[pudseypie]

I used to book accommodation for colleagues coming to stay in london and best value places are the Travelodge Covent Garden, Strand Palace hotel which is next to Covent Garden. Another option I used to book were the Think Apartments which were often cheaper than a hotel and a lot nicer. Self catering apartments, I would go for Tower Bridge ones. Don't stay in King's Cross area. Once you are in London as long as you are in zone 1 it's really easy to get around on tube and buses, just get an oyster card first.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

The Kings Cross Travelodge is fine - newly refurbished and a decent continental breakfast - just a short walk from KC and then it's easy to get anywhere from there. The Waterloo one is also fine and walking distance from the South Bank, so perhaps a bit nicer area to be in during the evenings than KC.

[noyouhavehadawee]

yeah I don't want to get mugged and murdered on a night so a pub attached for tea or something would be useful.

[ArabellaBeaumaris]

KC is on the up, it's not a terrible area. There is a Pizza Express underneath the YHA.

[playftseforme]

Premier inn in London v expensive, look on Trip advisor for cheaper (and better rated) options closer to where you want to be

[noyouhavehadawee]

yeah actually ive done that today now im thinking were going to stay at kings Langley for harry potter, travel in the car there and use kings Langley as our base and travel into Euston - but is Euston near the sight seeing melarky - thinking just jumping on an open bus jobby to see the main sights and visit the natural history museum this first visit.

[DumSpiroSpero]

How old is your DS?

I've taken my 8/9 yo daughter to the theatre the last couple of years and we've stayed at Covent Garden Travelodge - which she thinks is the best hotel on earth as it had multicoloured windows and a buffet breakfast !

That aside we've always found it clean, relatively quiet and the staff were very helpful on our last stay. Breakfast is about £8 but your DS will eat free if you pre-book.

If you don't mind a bit of walking you can get to loads of places within half an hour besides CG itself - Trafalgar Square/National & Portrait Galleries, Ripley's Believe It or Not Exhibition, Oxford Street, Hamley's, M&M's World, The British Museum.

Have just made myself - have a great time!

[DumSpiroSpero]

don't want to get mugged or murdered...

Bonus of CGTL is that it's in the heart of theatreland so loads of people about. I live near Brighton and honestly was more concerned about walking back from the Brighton Centre to the station at night with DD than I was about the West End.

You can get food at the hotel itself though if you were really bothered or just CBA to go out !

[burberryqueen]

great link here for cheap accom

[noyouhavehadawee]

We have actually booked 2 nts at kings Langley premier inn now - wo train into Euston then somehow to the attractions ....