The British Museum

The British museum is a treasure of historical artefacts and hidden gems.  It is also great for families looking at learning about their country’s heritage. From the Battle of Hastings to World War 2 artefacts, you will be spoilt for choice and go away feeling that you have learned a little bit more about the country you live in.

Chelsea

Take a walk down the cobbled Victorian streets of Chelsea and walk past a strip of quant coffee shops and luxurious boutiques. The Kings Road is famous for being one of the most visited and admired parts of London. The area is popular with many celebrities and footballers and caters for every taste.

Camden Market

Camden market is a hidden favourite for many Londoners. From the mulled wine sold in the quant market to the sweet smell of crepes cooked under your noses as you scour the clothes stalls. There is literally everything for everyone. Whether you are looking for some unique jewellery, vintage Ted Baker suit, or foam cushions  you are sure to find it in London’s most treasured market place. If you are in the mood to eat, then you will be pleased to know that there are huge food areas in the heart of the market, where individual stalls sell a selection of culinary classics from every part of the planet. If you are thinking of going, try and get there on the weekend as most of the stalls will be closed during the week.

London Eye

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be able to see the whole of the capital from a bird’s eye view? Well, before you decide to learn to fly a helicopter, save your money and head down to The London Eye. Near to the Thames, you can pay around £17 and for half an hour step inside the glass Eye, which is like a large revolving window and look out across the city as far as the eye can see. From the big Gherkin building to the famous Post Office tower, you will be amazed by the view.

Madame Tussauds

Ever wondered what it would be like to walk down the red carpet with David Beckham or stand next to Brad Pitt? Thanks to Madame Tussauds, they bring the celebrity world to life. Situated near Leicester Square, you can take a walk down China Town and sample some exotic Asian delicacies before heading towards the famous wax work museum and having your picture taken with life-like celebrities.

London is a great place to visit but many of it remains hidden unless you research the best places to visit and discover some of the capitals hidden gems. Discover a hidden city today.

Article by Hillary who works for CutFoam

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Theatre Breaks in London are combined hotel and theatre packages, and one of their key advantages is the money you will save from booking a complete package, instead of separate bookings. Some booking sites will have price guarantees, so you can be assured of the best price. The question is, what do you get for your money? Typically you’ll have a choice from many of the top West End plays, musical theatre, and comedy events, and a bed and breakfast hotel stay, often in a centrally located hotel. Online booking sites will enable you to search for shows and your chosen dates, view seating plans, and find out more about the shows, when they are booking until, and current cast details (if available). In terms of accommodation, you could choose from 3, 4, or 5 star London Hotels. As you progress you may be able to view all the hotels on offer on a map, and have the choice of ‘recommended hotels’, ‘the cheapest hotels’, or ‘hotels closest to the venue’.

Your tailored theatre break could feature a show and a hassle free overnight stay, or you could extend your trip to include shopping, or exploring some of London’s many and varied tourist attractions. Some accommodation packages will offer bed and breakfast, though there may be the option to add in dinner, or attraction tickets to your booking, depending on the agent you use.

You can book theatre breaks in London online at sites like Lastminute.com and Visit London.com. You can also buy theatre breaks from Virgin Experience Days, or check your local travel agent for a London short break or theatre break brochure. It might not be long before you’re taking the family to see The Lion King, Matilda The Musical, or Shrek The Musical, or going with friends to see Les Miserables or Phantom of the Opera. There are also plays and comedy from the likes of Mousetrap, War Horse, 39 Steps, and Driving Miss Daisy, and you could also book a theatre break with Big Night Out Comedy Clubs.

A show would not be complete without a cast, and in the past the likes of Judi Dench, Derek Jacobi, Michael Ball, Michael Crawford, and Nigel Harman, have all graced a West End stage. You could see any of them, or newcomers like Summer Strallen, Lee Mead, or Rachel Tucker.

Competitive prices, a great choice of shows, and hotels close to the West End, makes a London Theatre Break a tempting prospect.

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A colossal cheer rang out from Trafalgar Square marking the start of ecstatic, flag-waving celebrations. It was 6 July 2005 and the International Olympics Committee had just announced that the 2012 Olympic Games would be held in London.

Back then it seemed little more than a fantastic prize; an amazing opportunity to change the face of British sport.

Nearly seven years on and the dream is about to become a reality.

Next summer, all eyes will turn to London and the UK as we host the world’s biggest sporting event: the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Thousands of visitors will travel to this country and still more will travel from their homes across the UK because watching the Olympics in your home country is a once in a lifetime experience.

Official advice to ticket holders is to start planning how you will get to your event venue as soon as you can. The transport system will be busy and organisers are encouraging people to use public transport such as trains, buses and coaches to travel to the 2012 games.

Most of the venues for the London 2012 Games are being held at the Olympic Park or in other parts of the capital. But there are other venues located the length and breadth of Britain from Glasgow in the north for the preliminary rounds of the women’s football to Weymouth and Portland on the south coast where the sailing events will be held.

In addition, there will be a massive programme of cultural events taking place during the Games and, if you want to be part of the action but aren’t lucky enough to have a ticket, you can head off to one of many urban “Live Sites” which will give live information, video, news and community events on big screens.

However you plan to get involved, it’s clear that your travel arrangements must be a key part of your advance planning.

There is no spectator parking at any of the event venues, except for a small number of disabled spaces.

National Express has already set up a special timetable of coaches that will drop you right outside the Olympic Park. There are also special services running across the country to meet the demand of the Games which run from 27 July to 12 August 2012.

Coaches can also drop passengers at Victoria Coach Station, a short walk from Victoria Underground Station where you can get a tube to Stratford Regional station. Use the one day travel card that comes with your event ticket to get free travel on London’s tubes and buses.

And if you hold a Family or Young Persons Coachcard, you’ll also benefit from cheaper travel when you travel by National Express.

National Express is the largest scheduled coach service provider in Europe. In the UK the distinctive white National Express coaches travel to 1000 destinations and carry over 18 million passengers a year. Eurolines coaches operate to more than 500 destinations in Europe and Ireland.

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London is known as being one of the most popular destinations, attracting a large number of visitors every year. Finding somewhere to stay is always the main concern for anyone travelling, regardless of the destination. But in a city as large as London how can you find somewhere to stay?

Luckily, hotels in London are readily available and easily accessible. Most establishments offer a combination of comfort and elegance in order to provide the perfect haven for those visiting the capital. London hotels can be visited by families or business professionals alike, catering to all tastes and preferences. Hotels in London are available in a number of great districts, all of which are easily connected to key attractions by public transport.

Deciding which district you want to stay in is the first consideration that needs to be made when looking at London Hotels. Many of the districts will be characterised by affluence and wealth, making them great and luxurious places to stay. With a number of fantastic attractions littered across the city, almost every London hotel is within a short distance of an exciting activity or place to visit.

What districts are there?

London has a large number of districts but some of the most popular for visitors include the areas of Mayfair, Kensington and Chelsea. These areas are characterised by their wealth and elegance, making them great destinations for those interested in high-end shopping and luxurious experiences.

What types of hotel are there?

In terms of hotel, London has a whole variety of establishments on offer. A large number of London hotels offer exceptionally high standards and luxurious experiences that suit all needs and preferences. Some of the most luxurious hotels include the Millennium & Copthorne Hotel at Chelsea Football Club. This fantastic establishment offers luxury and elegance in the heart of one of London’s most upmarket districts.

Located in the heart of the area, the hotel boasts an impressively elegant dining experience as well as over 250 guest rooms which exude elegance and style. A great number of features and services, such as complimentary WI-FI and international newspapers, make this a businessman’s paradise. London attractions can be accessed using public transport and there is plenty to see and experience in the immediate area too.

What sort of service is provided?

All London hotels offer fantastically high levels of service, making sure that all guests are treated with respect and attention. Staff offer friendly, but unobtrusive, service allowing guests to have the best possible experiences without being disrupted from their daily activities. The exceptional dining experiences on offer allow a diverse range of tastes to be catered to, ensuring that all guests are comfortable and satisfied with their stay.

The service inside the restaurants and dining areas are of an exceptionally high standard as they feature prestigious, world renowned names: such as Marco Pierre White’s own chic restaurant: Marco.

With a number of extra services, such as all day tea and coffee, guests at a London hotel, such as the Millennium & Copthorne Hotel at Chelsea Football Club, benefit from excellent service and amenities.

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Low cost airlines make overseas travel affordable no matter what your budget. They offer cheap flights to many great cities worldwide. Low cost flights are available to Barcelona, Paris, Milan, Dublin, Rome and many more interesting cities worldwide; London flights are just one example of the many destinations that you can choose from.

London is a great choice for an overseas trip as it offers a superb variety of attractions to suit all tastes and ages. Accommodation wise, the city boasts a wealth of hotels to suit all pockets, from basic backpacker hostels to luxurious five star establishments that will cater to your every whim.

The Savoy, located close to the River Thames between Mayfair and the City, is one of London’s most famous and luxurious hotels. It is situated just steps away from some of the world’s finest theatres, museums and opera houses, and offers guests a stay steeped in style and luxury.

Another famous landmark London hotel is The Ritz. Famous for the delightful afternoon teas that it serves, The Ritz is a truly iconic London establishment which provides first class service and sumptuous accommodation.

Whether your budget allows you to stay in the finest hotel, or whether it is suited to more modest accommodation, you can have a great time in London no matter where you choose to rest your head at the end of a busy day. With its wealth of free museums and galleries, iconic landmarks, vast parks and amazing shopping opportunities, London has something to offer everyone.

One ‘must do’ while in London is taking in one of great theatre shows in the West End. Popular shows at the moment include Billy Elliot, The Wizard of Oz, Love Never Dies, Dirty Dancing the Musical and the ever-popular Wicked.

Featuring Danielle Hope, the winner of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC talent show Over the Rainbow, The Wizard of Oz is a great new family show on at the London Palladium.

Wicked is show that tells the story of what happened to the witches of Oz before Dorothy arrived in town. A touching and entertaining story boasting spectacular sets and an amazing soundtrack, Wicked is definitely one of the hottest tickets in town and has been playing to sold out audiences since its opening night.

If you’re travelling to London with children then Shrek the musical opens at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 6th May. Sure to be a hit with the little ones, Shrek is a modern day fairytale full of wit and humour. Featuring Amanda Holden, Richard Blackwood and Nigel Harman you’re sure to recognise some of this famous cast from your television screens.

London is a great place to travel with children as there are many attractions suitable for younger visitors. London Zoo in Regent’s Park is home to 750 species of animals including lions, elephants and even moon jellyfish!

After visiting the zoo, Regent’s Park itself is a lovely place to explore, with its beautiful rose gardens, an open-air theatre, boating lake and four children’s playgrounds. The park also has two delightful cafes so is the perfect place to spend an afternoon, particularly when the weather is fine.

Even bigger is London’s Hyde Park. This vast green space boasts a beautiful lake with boats available to hire, a tennis centre for sports lovers, stunning gardens and three children’s playgrounds.

Hyde Park is also home to several important memorials including the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial fountain and London’s holocaust memorial.

Whether visiting with the children or not, London has much to offer visitors of all ages. A typical day could include a trip to one of London’s world famous galleries in the morning, followed by a stroll around Hyde Park and an evening spent taking in one of London’s wonderful west end shows.

London offers so much variety that everyone can experience it in their own way, tailoring this great city to suit their own needs and preferences.

No matter how you choose to experience London, one thing remains constant; you will leave the city already looking forward to returning and enjoying even more of what it has to offer.

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Piccadilly is every bit as iconic as New York’s Times Square with its massive flashing neon signs and never ending hustle and bustle. Portobello Road offers classic English market day shopping for everything from fashion to great antiques. The West End is renowned as the world’s greatest theatre district where every day the very highest level of theatrical and musical performances take place.

In the evening some of the world’s greatest eateries open their doors including those run by the best-known chefs on the planet such as Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, and L’atelier De Joël Robuchon or Babylon At The Roof Gardens.

The list of major attractions spread across the city is enormous, the Tower of London is one of the world’s most visited attractions, the London Eye propels you above the city for incredible views and photo opportunities. Big Ben and Tower Bridge are perhaps the most common images when anyone pictures this historic capital city.

Perhaps unlike any other city in the world London really can claim to be an absolute Mecca for tourists regardless of their interests. Now visitlondon.com has put out a promotional video to give just a short glimpse of what visitors can expect from this magnificent and ancient city.

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London hotel prices were down by 12% to £111 per room on average in the last three months of last year, making it a great time to holiday at home in the capital.

However, the weakness of the pound meant that average prices paid by European and US travellers were down by as much as 24% in London, making the city an even more attractive destination for foreign travellers. Hotels.com saw a 49% increase in the number of searches by Eurozone travellers for London hotels in December 2008 compared to a year earlier, as travellers sought to take advantage of the struggling pound.

The Hotels.com HPI tracks the real prices paid per hotel room, rather than advertised rates, for 68,000 hotels across 12,500 locations around the world. The latest Hotel Price Index looked at prices from October to December 2008, compared to the same period the year before.

UK hotel prices were down by an average of 12% at the end of 2008, with hotels in the north-west seeing some of the biggest price drops. Prices in Blackpool fell by 22% to an average of £79 per room per night, and in Manchester by 19% to £73.

On the other hand, Bath was the only city at the top of the price league in which the prices paid for hotel rooms actually rose – by 3% in Q4 2008 to £119. It remained the most expensive city in the UK.

While UK travellers benefitted from significant price falls last year, visitors from Europe and the US enjoyed even bigger savings as the fall in hotel prices was compounded by the weak Sterling.

Cities leading the price falls alongside London (down 24%), were Manchester (down 24%) and Glasgow (down 23%). US travellers paid a similar proportion less for UK hotel rooms in Q4 2008 – average prices paid by travellers from the States to the UK fell by 25% between Q4 2007 and Q4 2008.

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Prices fell across many of the major UK cities in the third quarter of 2008 as hoteliers – particularly those in Scotland – looked to ensure that occupancy levels were maximised.

Leading the falls in Scotland was Inverness, where prices fell 15% to an average of £94. Inverness was closely followed by Aberdeen, where prices fell by 11% to £96 on average. In England, Birmingham was the city most affected by price falls, experiencing a 13% drop in prices from £75 to £66 per room per night.

However, a notable exception to the national picture was in the UK’s most expensive city, Bath. Prices here were up by some 13% in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same time in 2007, to an average of £142 per night.

Prices in London also fell by 3% year on year to average £116 per room per night in quarter three of 2008, but are still the second most expensive in the UK.

The HPI from Hotels.com also revealed that Edinburgh was the third most expensive city for hotels in the UK at £106 per room per night, despite experiencing a 5% drop in prices.

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Step into London’s Bloody Past at the London Dungeon

Descend into the depths of the London Dungeon where numerous atrocities were committed and brought to life (so to speak). History comes to life with interactive special effects, two unique rides, shows and live actors for your spine tingling pleasure. All that is on display are real events that happened in history including the Great Fire of London, madman Jack the Ripper, incidents of torture and the great plague.

The London Dungeon is one of London’s Sightseeing Tour attractions not to be missed.

What You Will Find in London Dungeon

With recreations of the tortures of the Medieval Age along with numerous macabre and gory events from history, it is an attraction that is sure to fascinate everyone in your group. Highlights include London’s All Hallows Church crypt where visitors wander a mirror maze, the 1665 depiction of the bubonic plague referred to as the Great Plague of London where thousands died in agony from the dreaded disease. Take the “boat ride to hell” after the judge sentences you to death as you travel to the Tower of London via the Traitors’ Gate.

Jack the Ripper has his own exhibit as does Sweeney Todd, the fictional barber who slit his customers’ throats and gave the bodies to Mrs. Lovett which she baked into pies. Take the “Drop Ride to Doom” the newest feature of London Dungeon opened in March of 2007. You will take your seat once you are removed from a holding cell and ascend to the Dungeon’s top. As you hear the charges the judges read against you, a noose drops in front of you and when the hangman pulls the lever for the gallows you will drop straight to the bottom in darkness.

Though other dungeons can be found in York at Knavesmire Prison, Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Hamburg, the London Dungeon is the original. It was here that real atrocities against prisoners were committed while the others are mere depictions.

The Price of Admission

There are a number of package tickets you can buy. If you want to see all three dungeons in Edinburgh, York and London you can purchase a ticket that includes a hotel stay as well. The London Multi-Pass includes tickets the London Dungeon and two of London’s most popular attractions, The London Eye and Madame Tussaud’s. At the time of writing you can see all three for one price of 49 pounds for adults and 35 pounds for children. Enjoy deep discounts when you decide to order your tickets to the London Dungeon online. There are Fast Track tickets that can save you as much as 50% on your visit.

Kids and adults alike will face their fears at the bloodcurdling London Dungeon. Step back in time when torture, pain and agony were commonplace for vicious criminals and enemies of Great Britain. Visit http://www.thedungeons.com/ for hours of operation. Groups are always welcome and if you dare, book a birthday party for your little ghoul at the London Dungeon for a party that won’t soon be forgotten by the guests. Test your mettle when you visit the infamous London Dungeon!

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