Help from london and manchester amothers pls

Judy

Fri, Jun 24 2016, 4:35 am

going to london and manchester for a simcha soon and can use some help planning.
first of all can anyone recommend any hair and makeup artists?(not too expensive) I need in both cities.
also recommendations on best things to do there just have few short days in each place
kidzania looks really interesting-is it worth the high price? any way to get discounted tkts?

best way to work out day in london city-take hop on hop off or just go around with regular buses just to specific sights im interested in?
any tips on getting discounted tickets anywhere- ii hink im interested in ..trying to catch changing of the guards, tower of london, and not sure what else..what are the most worth/interesting-for adults and kids?
would love to do legoland but again its insanely expensive-if anyone knows how to get in cheaper-or is it worth it even or just interesting for younger kids?
was thinking of doing either hampton palace or windsor castle -are either interesting? which one more? what is there to do other than walk around and look at architecture, grounds...?how would I get there -which is easier accessible?

anything nice or worth stopping on the way from london to manchester? or best is just to take train direct?

sorry for all my questions but if anyone has any info that can help ease my planning id appreciate it.
also what to do day or two in manchester? everyone keeps telling me there's NOTHING to do there! but there MUST be some sort of nice or interestng places to go or see? even old castles? or nice countryside . is there really no fun way to spend our day there other than counting the raindrops??? or is there a nice biking trail with rentals?

hope someone can help me out here -tia

Raisin

Fri, Jun 24 2016, 5:33 am

If you can buy attraction tickets today or asap the pound is very low right now due to the Brexit vote yesterday, but it might bounce back up again soon. (who knows - it might go yet lower!)

Or maybe just buy sterling cash.

Heaton park in manchester has boats and a petting zoo. Look on tripadvisor for other ideas.

Mrs Bissli

Sun, Jun 26 2016, 6:45 pm

London attraction: I won't bother with hop-on/hop-off bus, as it's far more expensive than a daily travelcard and travelling on your own on regular buses/tubes. You can definitely get a great view of Big Ben and House of Parliament from Westminster station.

Our kids love LEGOLAND, it gets crowded so get there first thing in the morning. Haven't been to Kidzania in London but been to another one, very clever concept. If you have young-ish children (say 5-11), I usually recommend Bekonscot model village, about 30min from Marylebone station. As for public museum, I recommend Science Museum, Natural History Museum (they're next to each other) and especially British Museum (they have special packs for children like hide-and-seek sheets). Tower of London--get there first thing in the morning as queue for crown jewell gets quite long later in the day.

Personally I prefer Hampton Court Palace to Windsor, esp for families, as they often have children's activities, guides in period costumes.

I think the most straight forward way to travel is just to take the train between London and Manchester. Motorways are rather boring. Though if you decide to drive, you have several attractions off M1/M6: London Zoo branch in Whipsnade near Luton, Bletchley Park (where they broke Enigma code during WW2) off Milton Keynes, Cadbury World near Birmingham (though a bit of debour off M6).

As for how to get discount tickets, we usually convert Tesco points to LEGOLAND or Tower of London. (I redeem £5 Tesco voucher to £10 equivalent voucher). But otherwise it's usually best to book in advance via internet.