There’s No Shortage of Things To Do in London Things to do in London - Boarding HMS Belfast Taking your family with you on theatre breaks, whether children or even grandchildren,  is not only possible but can be a delightful thing to do. However, children do get bored and it’s a great idea to have lots of things planned in advance so you never run out of things to do One of the best tips is to plan your things to do according to the age of the children. There’s nothing worse than getting the age/interest equation wrong. It leads to bored, frustrated children and grumpy, resentful adults. Read on and let’s see if I can help you avoid that, shall we? Top 5 Things to Do for Children Age 5+ Remember on theatre trips children must be over 5 to be sure of getting into the theatre.

London Aquarium – South Bank. Lots of big fish in tanks, always a winner! The Rainforest Café – Shaftesbury Avenue. Fun, themed, child friendly cafe right in the heart of theatreland. Perfect if you’re going to The Lion King! Kensington Gardens - Peter Pan statue/ Diana Memorial Playground. Park and playground, very handy if your hotel is in Kensington. Coram’s Fields -  a unique seven acre playground and park for children in London. Near  the British Museum and Great Ormond Street Hospital. No adult can enter Coram’s Fields without a child and friendly on-site staff ensure that everyone can enjoy their visit. There’s lots to do, playgrounds,  a petting zoo, it’s a great place for the kids to let off a bit of steam during their trip to London. London Duck Tours – A hybrid vehicle- drive around London and then splashdown in to the Thames for a river cruise

Top 5 Things to Do for Children Age 8+ Over 8s are a bit more sophisticated and many of them will enjoy what’s on offer at the best of the London museums. London museums have come a long way in the last few years and most are extremely child friendly. If you have a child who’s into dinosaurs, horror or mummies then the museum visit could be the highlight of their trip!

Madame Tussauds – Baker Street. Endlessly fascinating, slightly creepy and great fun. You can usually get a good discount on this if it’s booked at the same time as your theatre break. The Science Museum – free The Natural History Museum – Dinosaurs etc The British Museum – Mummies HMS Belfast - perfect for little (and larger) boys

Top 7 Things to Do for Teenagers Teenagers get 7 things to do because they are just much harder to please. It’s not easy getting things just right for teenagers. Age, gender and obsessions all matter massively. Best advice is use this list as a starting point and ask them what they’d like to do. You might be surprised what interesting ideas they come up with. Of course, if you’ve involved them at the planning stage you are much less likely to hit the sulks later when you actually get there!

Camden Market Shakespeare’s Globe – South Bank The Museum of London London Transport Museum – Covent Garden London Dungeon – London Bridge Westfield – Incredible shopping for fashionable teens South Bank – An unofficial skateboard area and generally cool place to hang out.

Top 5 Tips for Things to Do with a Mixed Age Group If there’s a teenager in your group do get them involved at the planning stage and ask them to help you plan stuff for the younger ones. Few teenagers can resist stepping back to childhood just a little, especially when they’ve got a good excuse.

Hamleys – everyone loves Hamleys. Little ones adore it, some of the older kids (and adults!) get fascinated with the techie toys, others adore the cutesy, trendy Hello Kitty stuff. Just keep an eye on your spending. It’s a hard place to say ‘no’! London Eye The Trocadero – Dodgems, bungee jumping Tower of London Tower Bridge experience

It’s London! There are Always More Things to Do Many of these attractions are either free or can be booked as extras at a good discount when you book your theatre break. If none of these appeal then try the listing in the Children’s Section of Saturday’s Guardian or even Time Out for even more ideas for things to do in London

Theatre Breaks as time travel When you are planning which show to see for your theatre break a good start can be think about what kind of music makes you feel good. Of course you don’t have to be old enough to remember it the first time around. It’s perfectly possible to be nostalgic for a time before you were even born! The music of the 60s is full of optimism and energy. It takes us back to a time when anything seemed possible and far away from doom and gloom. Theatre breaks to shows like these are a kind of time travel so sit back and enjoy visiting a very different world.

Theatre Breaks Back to the ’60s In this post I’m going to concentrate on the 60’s and if the 60’s are your choice then there’s a couple great shows on in the West End right now that are perfect for theatre breaks. Hairspray

Has to be a contender for your 1960s theatre break. The show is full of the music, colour, costumes and feel of the ‘feel good 60’s’. The plot is uplifting and there’s lots of laughs. You’ll come out singing “Good Morning Balitmore” and feeling anything is possible.

Jersey Boys Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons and their rise to fame. They wrote masses of hits in the early 60s. You’ll be singing along to songs you know and love and audience participation is positively encouraged. Just have a look at a few of the 60s classics you’ll hear.

Other 60’s Things to do on your Theatre Breaks You might want to keep to a sixties theme on your theatre break and London is just the place to do that. Check out some of these cool attractions to really get that ’60s vibe. Madame Tussauds Theatre Breaks Tussauds visit. You could spend a whole day here there’s so much to see and do but your quest is to experience the Swinging 60s. To do that you hop into a time travelling black cab and take a journey back through London’s history. The small version of London’s world famous taxis have room for just two and will drive you through the historic and cultural events that have shaped London. So sit back and enjoy the ride as you move all the way from Tudor times to Carnaby St. You can add a trip to Madame Tussauds to your theatre break when you book for only an extra £15 and there’s masses to do there. After a £1 million+ make over Tussauds is much more than a waxworks these days with several interactive exhibitions. It’s a great addition to your theatre break! If you do go you must arrive early to avoid the long queues that build up as the day goes on. Make your way there straight after breakfast and be there just around opening time (9:00am weekends, 9:30 week days). Carnaby Street Theatre Breaks - Carnaby St Carnaby Street is not quite what it once was but the spirit of the 60s is kept alive by fascinating shops like The Face. Here you can browse and explore both new reproductions and vintage 1960s items. The sixties were one of the most stylish decades of the last century and they still influence current fashions so indulge your nostalgia itch and treat yourself! Today’s Carnaby area is more than just Carnaby Street itself. The pedestrianised area just behind Regent Street has lots of new stores and a passage through to Kingly Court. Set around an open courtyard, there are three floors of one-off ‘concept’ shops and studios where it can be possible to find items not sold anywhere else in London. Original Bus Tour Theatre Breaks Routemaster bus What could be more iconic of the 60s than a red London Routemaster bus? The Routemaster still runs on a couple of routes in central London. If you want to ride one it costs the standard £2 ticket for each ride. The Routmaster runs on routes 9 and 15.

Route 9 -Royal Albert Hall — Hyde Park Corner — Piccadilly Circus — Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych. Route 15 -Trafalgar Square — Strand — Aldwych — Fleet Street — Cannon Street — Monument — Tower Hill.

The red Routemaster is the authentic 60s way to see the city but it’s definitely not the most comfortable or the best view. For that you need The Original Bus Tour. This is a comfortable modern alternative that will let you see all the sights from a comfortable, modern, open-topped bus. You can hop on and off at several points and there’s an interesting commentary. The whole Original Bus Tour takes around two hours to complete and visits: Buckingham Palace - Piccadilly Circus -National Gallery -Downing Street - Big Ben - London Bridge - St Paul’s Cathedral - Tower Bridge - Tower of London- Westminster Abbey Your tour can be booked at the same time as your theatre break and costs £18 each for adults. (To see all these sights by Routemaster could end up costing your considerably more!) Time Travel Theatre Breaks to other Eras Of course the 60s aren’t the only times you might want to visit on your theatre break. Do you like to rock out and remember the stadium rock concerts of your youth? Maybe Tamla Motown rings your bell? Or are you a Disco Diva? I’ll be writing posts about each of these eras to help you choose the show for your perfect theatre break.

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.