It's time to visit a city that was first settled in Roman times but didn't become the capital
until the 11th century.
It's been home to kings and queens; burned to the ground; plagued with illness; and,
attacked during Wars.
That history, makes it one of the most exciting cities to visit in the world today!
Welcome to London!!!
No planes needed for this trip, we're only an hour away from our home but every time
we come, wed get really excited to visit.
Yeah, it's one of the most expensive cities in the world to come to but with our tips
we can show you how to do it all for much less than you think.
London is one of the most famous capital cities in the world - the worst part is knowing that
you won't be able to see EVERYTHING you want to!
We've got some tips that we hope will save you money and time.
We've even got ideas that a lot of English people won't know about.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Let's get started with accommodation.
As with most of our tips, you need to plan ahead if you want to save some cash.
We booked our hotel a few months ago.
London hotels are a minimum of £120 a night but we booked the Crowne Plaza for £22 - it
even had a swimming pool!
This was done by saving up supermarket loyalty points.
If you can't find a way to discount your hotel, check out Premier Inn who have some great
deals.
London's bigger than most European cities so you can't walk everywhere but that's not
a problem because you can travel by tube, train, probably not that - bus, boat, even
a cable car!
First thing to remember: all kids aged 10 and younger are free on all London buses,
tubes and trams, when travelling with a fare paying adult.
There are discounted tickets for 11 to 15 year olds too.
One of the big things that's changed in London over the past few years is that you can get
around so much easier.
Before, you had to look online and try and find out where you are going; print out maps;
memorize half of the Tube map; but, now using just one app you can actually do all this
straight away - and it's so much easier!
Not only does it tell you how to get to A to B, it tells you the best way to get to
A to B!
Some tube stations are so close it's not even worth getting on the tube, you just need to
walk from one to the other.
The app will tell you.
Other things that it does is tell you whether it's better to get the buses instead of the
tube.
For ages, we were walking 15 to 20 minutes to a tube station, which is great - and then
the tube was fast - but with the kids and with a small one, you don't want to do 15
minutes of walking.
So, get your city map out, find the way to do it by buses...and usually you're only one
or two minutes away from a bus stop - and then two or three simple bus journeys.
Bus journeys have got a whole lot easier too.
Long gone are the days where you'd be worrying if you were actually going to get off at the
right stop or miss anything.
The app lets you know how many stops you've got; when to get off; when to change; how
to find the next bus stop; and, the buses these days are so much better!
They've got big boards which say exactly what stop you are and what one's coming next.
It's actually a lot easier and quicker than the tube.
Now, it used to be only Londoners who could get travel discounts.
Do you remember the Oyster Card, where you needed to log in and try and say how much
you wanted to spend.
It wasn't really worth it if you're only here for a few days.
Well, now anyone can be a local.
All you need is your contactless card - or even your phone.
Just tap in and you get the same discounts as all of the Londoners!
You can even just use your watch, these days!
Just make sure you use the same card or device each day.
One of the coolest new attractions to the city is the Emirates Airline: a chance to
cross the Thames at up to 300 feet in the air, in your own gondola.
When you research it, you'll see there are champagne experiences and private cabin options
but a single journey is actually pretty cheap.
What most people don't know about, is that you can add it to your Travel Card for the
day by tapping in.
It means you don't have to queue up for a ticket and can walk straight on!
Save money by tagging in!!
This is one of the best things I've found in London because it's so cheap and it's just
a beautiful view.
It's easy, it's just costs next to nothing and it's a such cool experience.
So if you really fancy going on the London Eye but can't quite fork out the £20+ per
person to get on it, you can do this.
You still get a beautiful view at the top of London and this costs next to nothing.
I want to go again!
We just went one-way and got the driverless Docklands Light Railway back.
I mean, what kid doesn't love pretending they're driving a train?!
We're in a major city which means you can end up paying lots for your food.
If you're not from the UK, you might stick to coffee shops and then have an expensive
dinner.
But, how about a few of these ideas?!
If you're a good planner, why not get a Groupon for a cut-price afternoon tea or three-course
meal?
There are some great deals about.
Looking for a cheap lunch?
UK supermarkets and Boots all do great sandwich and salad meal deals, where a snack and drink
are included.
You can usually end up getting food for half price and then you can find somewhere with
a view to eat it.
Getting towards dinner?
Get the Voucher Codes app and save money without pre-booking.
Just make sure you show them the code before you sit down, so there are no surprises after
your meal.
Buckingham Palace is a must for any first-time visitor to London - it's actually the law!!
It's also fun for kids to see real soldiers and the chance that they might see the Queen.
Welcome to Buckingham Palace.
You can always tell when the Queen's here by looking at the flag.
If the Queen's not here, it's the Union Flag.
If she is in, she's got a colorful Royal Stanard.
My Great Grandad used to deliver the mail to the Queen!
Buckingham Palace is one of most famous places to visit in London but it's not very kid-friendly.
There's no changing rooms or cafes, no places for them to play - and they get bored so easily.
But, I have a secret park that will blow your mind.
It's got toilets, it's got cafes, it's got places for them to play and keep them entertained.
Shall we go to the park?
Come on, this way!
This is what I was talking about.
This is St James's Park.
They're happy, let's make Mommy happy and get her a coffee and we can watch them play.
Everybody's happy!
The Secret Park - we're renaming it that - has kids toilets and a coffee booth.
There are swinging thrones, an adventure playground, and a chance for the kids to have some fun.
There are also these magical squares which allow them to make some music for the Queen.
It's amazing that all of this is so close and so hidden from Buckingham Palace.
First up, if you didn't know, all London museums are free.
So, you can have a break from the elements to see some of the best exhibitions in the
world.
There are just too many great museums to mention here.
The big landmarks are all free to get some great pictures but you'll often have to pay
to go inside.
Our favorite is this one!
Welcome to the Tower of London!
These guys protect the Crown Jewels!
The Queen's jewels were much bigger than mine!
I can't believe they used to cut off people's heads here!
Henery VIII was a naughty king!
Not only do you get to see the Crown Jewels but you'll also get a free tour, with your
very own Beefeater!
"Our First Prisoner escaped!
For years, we had a 100% Escape Record!"
They have some brilliant stories to tell and you can always ask them questions along the
way.
I'm Billy Beefeater and these are the Reillys.
And that's whiny Reilly!
By booking ahead online you'll save 10%.
There are also 2-4-1 offers, if you do some googling.
And, you can always convert your supermarket points!
And it was those loyalty points that we paid for one of London's most expensive attractions:
the London Eye.
Booking ahead also allowed us to try out a little trick, which gave us pictures and views
like this!
We looked up the times for when the sun sets today - about seven months ago - and its setting!!
It's gorgeous!
The 440 foot tall wheel rotates at not 0.6 miles an hour.
We didn't think the kids would actually enjoy being stuck in a pod for half an hour but
they loved it!
We're still not at the top yet!
Nope!
Look at the people: they're tiny!
They're like this tiny!
Southbank, next to the London Eye, is a great place for food and to explore.
After that, we were done!!
It's getting dark and we've got to go home.
Goodnight London, goodnight everyone!!
We hope you enjoyed our tips!!
Let us know if they helped you in the comments below.
Oh, and subscribe if you haven't already, so you don't miss another video!!