Harrods Afternoon Tea and St Paul’s Cathedral London Tour

Take a guide tour of St Paul’s Cathedral with a special visit to the Whispering Gallery. Next, take off to Harrods for a delicious cream tea and shopping.
The first part of your afternoon tour begins with a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral designed in 1673 by Sir Christopher Wren. Your professional guide will lead you to the Whispering Gallery (experience the enchanting acoustics!) and the tombs of Nelson and Wellington. On Sundays, viewing will be restricted but you’ll get the chance to enter and witness one of the services.
Next, you will head through Knightsbridge to one of the world’s most famous stores, Harrods. Indulge in an afternoon tea at the Terrace Bar and Restaurant, with tea, scones, jam and clotted cream. Then why not finish your day with some shopping in this amazing store?

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AFTERNOON TEA SPECIAL OFFERS

Afternoon Tea at Grosvenor House

Grosvenor House was one of the largest private houses situated on Park Lane in Mayfair. The house was the home of the Grosvenor family for more than a century. Afternoon tea will be held in the Park room, that offers great views over to Hyde Park and features a resident pianist to complement the traditional atmosphere. You will be treated to a complete afternoon tea experience that is Anna’s legacy, which includes a selection of finger sandwiches, plain and raisin buttermilk scones with Devonshire clotted cream and Cornish strawberry jam, a selection of cream puffs and pastries, and a choice of tea. Opt for a touch of luxury with a glass of premium French Champagne on arrival – perfect for special occasions!

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Enjoy London to the max by complimenting your theatre visit with a London tour or attraction.

Get the most out of London by complimenting your westendtheatre.com theatre trip with a tour or attraction. From cruises on the river Thames to afternoon tea, a world-class museum, sightseeing tours or spectacular views from the London Eye. Plus enjoy some great discounts and special offers on many of our London Things To Do.

Great tours and attractions in London include:

• Historic Palaces and houses such as Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace
• The London Eye
• River Cruises and tours of the Thames
• Afternoon tea at Harrods and Grosvenor House Hotel
• Attractions including London Dungeon, Madame Tussaud’s and London Zoo
• Bus, Taxi and Duck Tours
• Walking tours and private tours of the Capital

PLUS enjoy a host of special offers and discounts to ensure that your trip to London is a great day out.

Westminster City Council Car Park’s Theatreland Parking Scheme

Driving into the West End to see a show? Then take advantage of Westminster City Council car park’s Theatreland Parking Scheme, saving 50% off your car parking charge, up to 72 hours.

HOW TO OBTAIN YOUR DISCOUNT

1. Drive to a participating car park (see below) and take a paper ticket upon entry

2. At the West End theatre, ask the kiosk staff to validate your paper ticket (they will use a validation machine)

3. Return to the car park and insert your paper ticket in the payment machine

4. A 50% discount will be automatically applied to the standard casual tariff

Tariffs vary between car parks and this promotion cannot be used with any other discount shcemes, including our advanced booking service.

PARTICIPATING CAR PARKS

This scheme operates in Westminster Council’s central West End theatreland car parks:
Chinatown
Pimlico
Soho
Marble Arch / Park Lane
Trafalgar Square
Oxford Street

PARTICIPATING THEATRES

The Theatreland Parking Scheme is endorsed by The Society of London Theatre.

For further information visit the Westminster City Council Car Park’s website.

Tips and advice on getting from London’s airports to the centre of town, and using public transport to get around London.

Getting to and from London airports

When you fly into London you will arrive at one of the capital’s five airports – all of which are an hour or less from central London: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton or City Airport.

BY TRAIN:

Train travel from London’s major airports can be expensive but it’s often the quickest option. At Heathrow and Gatwick airports you also need to decide between fast but expensive services such as Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express and the mainline train companies, who offer cheaper but slightly slower alternatives.

Heathrow airport

Heathrow Express to Paddington station in approx 15 minutes.

Heathrow Connect (which is cheaper) to Paddington station in approx 25 minutes.

Gatwick airport

Gatwick Express to Victoria station in approx 30 minutes.

Southern trains to Victoria station in approx 40 minutes.

First Capital Connect trains to London Bridge station in approx 30 minutes.

Luton airport

A shuttle bus (5 minutes) to Luton Airport Parkway station, then First Capital Connect trains to St Pancras station in approx 30 – 40 minutes.

Stansted airport

Stansted Express to London Liverpool Street station in approx 45 minutes. See NationalExpress for money-off deals on the Stansted Express.

London City:

Dockland’s Light Railway from London City Airport to Bank station in approx 25 minutes.

BY BUS:

By far the cheapest way of getting from the airport to central London is by bus – but only if you have the time. The bus companies run fares from as low as £2.

National Express: travel between central London and Luton, Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

Also:

Heathrow:  Number 9 night bus to Trafalgar Square: Transport For London

BY LONDON UNDERGROUND:

Travelling by tube is only really an option from Heathrow to central London, although at only £4 full fare (and as low as £2.20 with an Oyster Card off-peak) it’s a good budget choice.

London Heathrow airport to central London on the Piccadilly line (blue) in approx 50 minutes to 1 hour (to Piccadilly Circus): Transport For London

TAXI:

London black cabs are expensive by most world city standards but make sense if there are a few of you (up to 5) travelling. See approximate taxi fares here.

Private hire and mini cab companies run airport transfers to all the major London airports. Companies include Addison Lee.

HIRE CAR:

Unless you plan to combine a trip to London with other places in the UK, then hiring a car is an expensive option in London given hire car costs, the congestion charge in central London and parking fees.

Parking: If you are staying out of London but driving in for the theatre then make use of Westminster City Council Car Park’s Theatreland Parking Scheme. You can save 50% on your car parking charge by driving to a participating car park and taking a paper ticket upon entry. Then at the West End theatre you are attending ask the box-office staff to validate your paper ticket using their special validation machine. When you return to the car park and insert your paper ticket in the payment machine you’ll enjoy a 50% discount off the standard casual tariff. The participating car parks are: Chinatown; Pimlico; Leicester Square; Soho; Marble Arch / Park Lane; Trafalgar Square; Oxford Street. See more details of theatres and corresponding car parks here.

When hiring a car it’s worth getting Car Hire Excess insurance to protect yourself against the excess charges you are expected to pay if the car is damaged. You can insure yourself rather than the car and choose between annual policies for unlimited car hire or day rates. Taking out independent excess insurance is cheaper than taking out a car hire company’s excess insurance policy. Read more about Car Hire Excess Insurance at CarHireInsure.

Car Hire companies:

Ebookers Car Hire

Carrentals.co.uk

Hertz

Holiday Autos

Sixt

EasyCar

Parking at the airport:

It’s usually cheaper and easier to pre-book if you intend on parking at one of London’s airports. See Purple Parking for details.

Getting around London

London has an extensive (and expensive) public transport system to whisk you around London. Run by Transport for London (TfL) you will find a wealth of maps and resources online at Transport For London

LONDON UNDERGROUND

London’s eleven tube routes provide the fastest way of getting around town – but are not great for sightseeing! All you have to work out is which coloured line you need to travel on and in which direction (northbound, eastbound, southbound or westbound).

Get a Travelcard if you plan to be nipping about on tubes and buses a lot. Or buy an Oyster Card for Visitors.

See more on London Underground here.

BUSES

Ken Livingstone may have had his faults but there have never been so many buses on London roads. The days of waiting days for a bus are gone – and with electronic timetable signage at many bus stops and helpful automated signage and announcements on the bus it’s easy to get around.

On many buses you now need to buy a ticket BEFORE boarding – from one of the machines at the bus stop or from an Underground station. Bus passes, Travelcards and Oyster Cards are all a good idea to make life easier and cheaper.

See more on London buses here.

TRAINS

There is an extensive London Overground train network in London – particularly useful if you are travelling to South London: see Transport For London or National Rail.

TAXIS

London’s metered black cabs are expensive for single travellers, but if there’s a few of you (up to 5) then it often makes sense. Plus every black cab driver has to take the ‘Knowledge’ test so knows London like the back of his hand.

Minicabs and private hire taxis must now be licensed in London – and you should only take a mini cab that features one of the blue Transport for London “Private Hire” stickers in their car window. The CabWise service provided by TfL will text you the numbers of one taxi and two licensed minicab firms in the area you are texting from. Text HOME to 60835 (only within the UK) to get the numbers or see more on hiring mini-cabs here.

If you fancy some thrills and spills on the streets of London then bicycle taxis and rickshaws are everywhere – particularly outside West End theatres after the show.

DRIVING

It’s not as scary as you might think, but driving in London requires a bit of planning. The Congestion Charge zone is an area of central London that you have to pay £8 per day to enter on Mondays to Fridays 7am to 6pm. There are no toll booths or barriers – but rather cameras patrol the zone and you need to pay the charge online or call 0845 900 1234 or pay at selected service stations or newsagents.

Parking can be expensive – although if you are going to the theatre you can save up to 50% (see Parking above).

BOATS

The ambition is for a whole network of Thames river boats to become an important means of transport in London. The current reality is rather different with a limited service of Thames River Boats – and quite expensive fares. However, it does make for a fun way to travel.

Westendtheatre.com is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Please check all information before you book or travel.

The global economic crisis has seen hotel rates fall by up to 10% in London. That means there are some great deals out there – you just need to find them. The type of deal you get depends on your preferences, so we’ve broken down some of the options:

Theatre and Hotel packages

Westendtheatre.com has negotiated rates with a range of hotels across London to combine with our great value theatre tickets. These packages make it easier than ever for you to see a show in London and stay in a comfortable hotel. See more information on booking our hotel and theatre packages here. Superbreaks also offers a range of hotel and theatre packages in London for all the major London shows.

Book a flight and hotel package

There are savings to be made by booking a flight AND Hotel together. Flight agents have direct relationships with the airlines and hotels and often provide good value packages. Top flight and hotel agents include Expedia and Ebookers.

The right hotel

The star system in the UK is a useful and trusted guide to gauging the venue’s facilities but doesn’t always help to find something of quality within your price range. Turn to sites such as Tripadvisor to read about people’s experiences in specific hotels in London. Also Hotelchatter features everything related to hotels and lodging around the world including hotel deals and reviews, which celebrities are staying where and hotel industry news.

Discount rooms

Big international sites like Hotels.com, Expedia and Laterooms have big buying power so do a good job negotiating discount room rates. However, it’s always worth double-checking with the hotel’s own website in case they are running a deal or promotion running. Big chains include Accor Hotels (which include the Ibis, Sofitel, Novotel and Mecure chains) , Best Western, Choice Hotels,  InterContinental Hotels, Hilton, Hyatt, Radisson Edwardian, Starwood and Travelodge.

Hotel comparison websites are also handy as they aggregate prices across a number of sites. Check out Travelsupermarket or Kayak.

Be careful when booking rooms that are ‘On Request’ – which means that the website checks availability manually with the hotel and comes back to you. This can be irritating if you have to wait to hear from them whilst missing out on cheap deals elsewhere. Try and always go for ‘instant confirmation’ bookings.

Top Secret Deals

Discounts can also be found through Top Secret Hotel deals from sites such as Lastminute.com or Laterooms. They will give you the star rating of the hotel and a general guide to the facilities but you won’t know the hotel name or where it is. This can sometimes be a big gamble in London – which is a city spread out over quite a large area. That said, most of the swankiest hotels in London are very central – so it can be a great way of saving money at the top end of the market. Also, to minimise the mystery and practice your best Sherlock Holmes impersonation, google the hotel description before you book to try and work out which hotel it might be, or look up the amenities on Betterbidding. Also try Hotwire for a number of Secret Hotels at keen prices.

You can also bid for hotel rooms with websites such as Priceline, using its Name Your Own Price tool. Like Top Secret Hotels, you don’t get to know which specific hotel you are booking but do get to choose the area and star rating. You  have to agree to pay immediately if your bid is successful.

Overseas websites

It’s sometimes worth checking out websites designed for visitors travelling to other countries to check out London hotel deals. For example Agoda, Wotif and Asiarooms all provide London hotels – occasionally at great rates.

Cheap and Cheerful

If hotels are out of your league in London then try some cheaper alternatives:

Camping – yes London does have campsites, although it’s a brave person who attempts this in winter. UKcampsite lists a range of sites – some only a short journey to central London.

Stay on a friendly couch: why not crash on someone’s sofa – and return the favour – all for free with Couchsurfing and their worldwide network of hosts. Also Airbnb lists people who will let you stay in their spare room for money.

Rent a flat: Sometimes it’s more civilised – and cheaper – to have your own space, and be able to cook your own food. London is notoriously expensive for eating out, so renting a holiday flat could be a good option. Try Homeaway or Holidaylettings for hundreds of options.

Hostels: there are some great YHA hostels in London – check them out at the YHA website. Or see Hostelbookers.

Travelodge is a UK wide chain that offers some great deals on its London hotels (especially if you book in advance) – and they are expanding fast. Current locations include Tower Bridge, Covent Garden and Euston.

Easyhotel: the EasyJet company has five hotels in London: Earl’s Court, Heathrow, Paddington, South Kensington and Victoria.

Student accommodation and Bed & Breakfasts: many of the capital’s universities let out student rooms in holiday periods. Plus there are a number of B&Bs across the capital. Check out Travelstay.

By Paul Raven.

Westendtheatre.com is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Please check all information before you book or travel.