London Trip Info Please?

If you are really keen on the Planetarium (Baker St) as a planetarium I would phone Mme Tussauds and check, as they have apparently turned it into some show rather than the thing with stars that you would expect of a planetarium. I haven't been so don't know if it is any good.

As for getting around, try the bus or on foot. You often walk as far through the tunnels to get to the tube as you do over the top to get to your destination. I have to reiterate www.tfl.gov.uk is a really useful way to work out your routes.

Have a good weekend!

Everywhere you need in central London is in walking distance, but you should get a decent map. The Planetarium is in Marylebone not Oxford Street. It's about half an hour's walk from Marble Arch, which is at the Hyde Park end of Oxford Street. You go north up Edgeware Road then turn left towards Paddington.

If you have a Travelcard you can use the busses. There are frequent services from Oxford Street and Marble Arch which pass the Planetarium. Look for routes which go via Paddington Station. The Planetarium & Madame Toussauds are only a few stops from Padington.

From Marble Arch you can walk along Oxford Street to Cambridge Circus (about 1 mile) then down Regents Street to Piccadilly Circus and on to Leicester Square. A decent afternoon's shopping trip if you're interested.

If you really are a 'simple northern lad' then you should be careful in London. It really is a city full of sharks who will prey upon the unwary (whatever the 'locals' might say). Never buy anything from a street vendor. It's always cheaper in a nearby shop.

Pick-pockets are rife in the tourist streets (i.e. the ones you'll be travelling in) and on the tubes. Keep your money, tickets etc in an inside pocket and your daughter should carry her handbag to her front.

Eat in cafes just off of Neal Street (runs north from Covent Garden tube station) instead of in the restaurants in the main 'drags'.

From your hotel , the Palladium is not so far, you just have to walk down Oxford street heading east, turn right into Regents street & the theatre is around the corner on the left of Regent street. I suppose about 1 mile max.

When you go to the Planetarium you should head North from Marble Arch & you will come to Marylebone Road where you turn left & the Planetarium is up on your right. I would estimate 1.5 miles.

You could get a bus but I would imagine the underground will be working on a Saturday & Sunday, strikes generally happen on a weekday to cause stress & disruption to ordinary working people who try to earn a living by doing a days work.

Have a good time, London is great & there are so many things to do. You could purchase a Rover ticket which allows you to travel on buses & the underground & you could visit The Eye at Westminster & a walk around the Tower at Tower Hill.

My mum said I could go if I was old enough, I have a lovely smile & I am only 163, my grandad is 210 I think..

Nobody has told you the bad news that the Planetarium has closed. In a magnificent gesture of dumbing-down, Madame Tussaud's converted the dome into a 'Temple of Celebrity', the Stardome, as though society doesn't hear too much about celebrities already. There is a benefactor planning to build a new one in Greenwich.

Depending on how old your daughter is, you could drop into the British Library, right next to St Pancras, on Sunday morning from 11. There are lockers in the basement which could store your bags (if they're not too big), a free exhibit of priceless rare books and manuscripts and a listening room where you can hear songs from all the UK's number one albums since the '50s (first right when you enter).

Sunday AM near Marble Arch you could also enjoy the spectacle of walking through Speakers' Corner and seeing the give and take of public debate. It's entertaining but more dominated by oddballs than it used to be.

St Pancras to your hotel in George St is only about one mile in a SW direction and sunday will be a warm day so it will be a nice walk. From your hotel walk south for about 300 yards where you will hit Oxford Street. Turn left and keep walking and the Palladium is about 1/2 a mile. when the show is over the stage door is round the back in Great Malborough St. You can catch the stars coming out and grab a few autographs.

London cab driver.

There is a tube strike currently planned to start at 6pm on sunday (see link below), although it's a maintenance staff strike, so it's unclear what kind of impact it will have on services. Strikes are often called off at the last minute too, so it could well not happen at all.

That said though, all the places you mentioned are within walking distance of each other, although you might find St Pancras to your hotel a bit of a hike, so use the tube/bus/cab. Buses in central London run one every couple of minutes from major areas like those you've mentioned - check the TFL buses site for maps.

Dear,

All the places you are going to visit are in Central London, so apart from your travel from station to the hotel you won't much need to use the tube. Both the Palladium, which is close to Oxford Street and Planetarium, which is in Baker Street, are within walking distance from your hotel. If you are not a fan of walking, the buses are a great way to experience London. But not during rush hour, though. You can ask your hotel consierge for a map of central London, as it is very easy to get lost in the labyrinth of streets of the city.

I hope you and your daughter will enjoy your stay in London.

A 'must see' on a Sunday morning is the Changing of the Guard at Whitehall. Girls especially love the horses and the soldiers in their shiny cuirasses! Check the time, it used to be 11.00am on Sundays but don't know if it has changed, and GET THERE EARLY as mountains of foreign tourists go. If you're reasonably fit you can then walk through Horseguards, the Approach Road and the Mall to Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard there. Have lunch in St James Park, loll about in the sun watching the world go by and the pelicans on the lake eating sandwiches given by the people there!

Give my love to London!

I used to think that Central London was huge, and that you needed a tube to get anywhere. On a particualrly bored day in the capital, I decided to do without the tube, and take a walking tour, to my amazement, you can easily get to most places in London within 20-30mins by foot if you have a good London A-Z, at the same time seeing all the fabulous sites it has to offer.

By all means use the tube for parts of your journey, it is also an experience, though to get to the tube platform, take your ride, then get back up to ground level witll take about 20mins (the same as walking depending on where you are going.) But dont neglect the foot option, the sites and sounds of this amazing city are an experience in themselves that shouldnt be missed.

You should have no problem walking if you are reasonably fit. I do not think there will be a tube strike over any weekend. You should in any case consider travelling by bus which is more interesting for visitors to London. Have a nice stay and "Happy Birthday" to your daughter. (Do not be tempted to give to any Beggars during the visit, the money is generally used to buy drugs - which is of no real help to the poor souls)