Why Theatre breaks in London
Theatre breaks in London are an excellent way of having a short holiday in the capital. You can combine a show with sight-seeing and a little shopping and turn a couple of days into a real mini-break.
When you are choosing your main show you need to decide whether you want to see a musical, a play or even an opera or ballet. There is lots of choice in the West End and you can be sure of finding something just right for you.
Choose Your Show
Many people have no clear idea of which show they want to see and are more fixed on what is available for their chosen dates. That’s a perfectly good starting point and most of the theatre breaks companies will let you search their site by date not just by show. If you are still not sure what you fancy then this is a brief guide:
If you like the classics then go for Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Oliver! or Love Never Dies, which is the sequel to Phantom.
If you prefer something lighter then try Mamma Mia, Hairspray or the unexpected hit of the moment Legally Blonde.
Those of you who like a bit more rock in your musicals might enjoy We Will Rock You, Jersey Boys or maybe Grease.
Finally if you want something a little more steamy there are Dirty Dancing and Chicago.
There are usually at least twenty big shows on offer in the West End so there should be something for everyone.
One Night or Two
Once you have chosen your show and hotel you will often see that it is easy and very reasonably priced to add an extra night. This is a great idea if your budget can run to it as it lifts your theatre break from a quick trip into a mini-holiday . It opens lots of opportunities for other things to do in London.
I’ve included a few ideas for what to do with the extra time:
See more shows
theatre breaks in London
If you have only got a limited time in London and you are a big theatre fan you might even want to see more than one show. The best way to do this is to book your main show as part of your theatre break package, see the show on your first night and then the following morning pop down to Leicester Square and look for the official discount ticket booth. You want the official one in the middle of the square.
There are others but that is where you get the best deal. They have a large digital display of all the discount tickets available for that day and if you are early enough you can often get a real bargain, especially for weekday matinees. I usually like to book a blockbuster musical as my main show and see either a comedy or a serious play on the following afternoon. Try to choose something you would happily pay full price for and then you will really feel you have got a bargain. There are often tickets for Blood Brothers or 39 Steps matinees at good prices and these are both excellent shows.
Sightseeing
You might want to cram in a little sightseeing in London and that can be quite hard work. London is a busy working city and quite spread out to get around on foot. Luckily there are several other ways of seeing the sites. My favorite way of seeing London is a river cruise but open top bus trips are good fun too. If you are feeling adventurous you can even try the Duck which is an amphibious truck that combines both a road and river trip. You can book bus trips, river trips and even the Duck at the same time as you book your theatre breaks package and usually get quite a good discount.
Other Attractions
- The Southbank including the National Theatre
- London’s famous street Markets
- Dennis Severs House
- 21 top attractions to add to theatre breaks in London
Tags: ballet, London, london theatre, London Theatre Breaks, musicals, theatre breaks, theatre breaks in london, things to do in london, west end
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 10:48 am and is filed under Theatre Breaks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
More great theatre breaks suggestions from the Theatre Breaks Magazine
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