Weekend theatre breaks in London are becoming a very popular way of visiting the UK capital. A weekend theatre break usually consists of two nights in a London hotel and tickets to see a West End show. Usually you arrive in London on Friday evening. You either choose to see your show straight away on the Friday evening or book your show for Saturday night. If you choose to see your show on Friday you might worry about getting a pre-theatre meal. However most of the restaurants in the West End offer pre-theatre menus which are served from 5:30 giving you lots of time to get to your show. I prefer to book the show for Saturday evening if at all possible. It gives you Friday night to relax, explore a little and have an unrushed evening meal. Then a little gentle sight-seeing and maybe shopping on the Saturday. I like to have a really English treat, afternoon tea, somewhere like Fortnum and Masons. This needs to be booked in advanced. Some of theatre break agencies will let you book when you book this when your break and even offer a discount. Afternoon tea is really a small meal not just a snack so it should see you through everything but the longest shows. After the show, most end between 10pm and 10:30pm, you can easily find somewhere to have a spot of supper. I am very fond of La Tasca which does fresh, tasty Spanish tapas until quite late on Saturdays. It is great for sharing and you can order as much or as little as you want. The it is back to your hotel for a nightcap and to relax. This is when you will be really glad you chose a central London hotel, somewhere within walking distance of the theatre is ideal. This is so much pleasanter than dealing with the tube, black cabs or rickshaws. After theatre tapas? If you are an early riser and you’ve travelled fairly light Sunday morning can be a great time for sight-seeing in London. The city is amazingly quiet on Sunday mornings and you can see busy areas like Westminster without having to deal with the crowds.

A few of the most popular things to do in London whilst you are on a theatre break It’s lovely to make the most of your theatre break and the theatre break agencies often have lots of other things to do in London that you can book at the same time. This is a great way to make sure fit everything in and also save a bit of money. Many additional attractions are offered at reduced prices when you book them with your theatre break. Popular things to do as part of an inclusive theatre break

You can see from this chart that the #1 most popular thing to do as part of a theatre break is to book the London Eye. This is offered as either a ‘fast track’ ticket (cuts your waiting time for your flight by 30 minutes) or the luxury ‘Champagne Flight’. The Original Bus Tour is another favourite. An open top bus tour through the London streets with an interesting commentary is a great way to see the sights without getting foot sore. Next up is the London Dungeon, perfect for scaring yourselves whilst soaking up a bit of history. These are closely followed in popularity by the Tower of London and Madame Tussauds. If you like history and atmosphere these are all great choices! If you’d rather do something a bit more out of the ordinary the Duck Tour is great fun. It is an exciting and novel way to see the sights of London. Personally, hitting the lovely London shops followed by Afternoon Tea at Fortnum and Masons is my favourite thing to do but each to their own.