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London
is a must stop on a world mummy tour, thanks to the breadth and depth of
the British Museum's Egyptian collections. What's more, depending on the
time of year, it's also cheaper to visit London (for visitors from the
United States, for example) than it is for U.S. residents to fly to New
York or Boston and visit museums.
Here's how to create an
affordable London visit:
1. Plan on traveling
January through March.
2. Plan on staying over a
weekend (the British Museum is open seven days a week).
3. Although hotels in London
can be expensive ($200 plus per room per night) and moderate hotels ($100
or so) can be downright uninhabitable, you can afford to house your
family, especially if you use one of these tips:
1. Choose the most
affordable nights, if cost is an issue. This means: Stay in London
only Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights; prices will be cheapest
then.
2. Staying in Central
London: You can book a reasonably-priced better central hotel by
visiting LateRooms. Often you can stay near or in Piccadilly Circus for less than $150
a night.
I have recently found that the Hammersmith
Novotel (called the Novotel West) is reasonable and well-located. Take
the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow Airport to the Hammersmith stop. The
hotel is a five
minute walk from the station and provides good value for the location,
especially if you are able to book a weekend rate.
I have also found that the Hilton
Metropole can offer a good value if you find the right rate. It's a
large Hilton, but it is comfortable and convenient to Paddington Station
and the Edgware Road tube stop.
3. Staying in the
suburbs: If central London prices are too expensive, stay
outside the city center and take the train into town. The trick
here is to find a nice hotel with good prices. Two eastern suburbs where I
have stayed are Bexley and Bexleyheath.
Adjacent to each other, Bexley and Bexleyheath are quiet and
situated on train lines into town. Hotel recommendations: the
Holiday Inn at Bexley (a 5-minute walk to the station) or the
Marriott in Bexleyheath (closer to a 15-minute walk to the
station, but taxis and
bus service are available). The Marriott in Bexleyheath has large
comfortable rooms (the largest I've seen in London); it has become
one of my London favorites.
(If you have a car, you are within 10 minutes of the huge
Bluewater Shopping Center and 20 minutes from Rochester, with its wonderful
castle, many antique shops, and good restaurants). By the way,
weekend rates at both hotels usually include a free breakfast
buffet.
4. Eating in Central
London: London restaurants can be expensive. Based on my own family's
experiences, I can recommend the following:
>PizzaExpress
(which you will find all over London). As far from Pizza Hut as you
can get, Pizza Express offers fairly-priced pizza cooked in a
wood-burning oven. The side salad is great; skip the desserts.
>Movenpick
Marché (near Victoria Station). A cafeteria-style restaurant
with many different stations and choices. You can order fresh
pasta, pizza, many salads, steaks, chicken & seafood, from in
the restaurant. It's bountiful and fresh, and my kids have never
complained about the food there.
>Head for
Chinatown, near Leicester Square. You can't go wrong (or spend too
much) at almost any restaurant there. Our own favorite (which costs a
little more but is worth the cost) is Joy King
Lau. It's
almost always crowded, and if you eat there, you will understand
why.
5. After your London weekend,
get out of town. Prices for hotels in the countryside are considerably
less. Travel by train or car (I've been driving on the wrong side of the
road for 26 years now and never had a problem). For other mummy museums
throughout the UK, check this
page. Oxford, Cambridge, and Manchester are within easy reach
(though in the case of Manchester, I'd recommend the train rather than the
car, if this is your first time driving; parking around the Manchester
Museum is also somewhat of a problem, since it is on a university campus).
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