SIGHTS IN LONDON - London 2015 - page 98

Pricey...but Worth It? Big-ticket sights worth their hefty admission fees
(£14-18) are Kew Gardens, Shakespeare's Globe, the Churchill War Rooms, and
Kensington Palace.
The London Eye has become a London must-see—though if you're on a tight
budget, it's difficult to justify its very high cost (£20). While Hampton Court Palace
(£18.20) is expensive, it is well presented and a reasonable value if you have an
interest in royal history. The Queen charges royally for a peek inside Buckingham
Palace (£19.75, open Aug-Sept only), and her art gallery and carriage museum (ad-
jacent to the palace, about £9 each) are expensive but interesting. Madame Tus-
sauds Waxworks is pricey but still hard for many to resist (£30, see here for info
on discounts). Harry Potter fans gladly pay the Hagrid-sized £30 fee to see the sets
and props at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour (but those who wouldn't know a wizard
from a Muggle shouldn't waste the time or money).
Many smaller museums charge relatively low admission (under £8). My favor-
ites include the Courtauld Gallery and the Wellington Museum at Apsley House.
Totally Pants (Brit-speak for Not Worth It): The London Dungeon, at
£25.20, is gimmicky, overpriced, and a terrible value...despite the long line at the
door.
Theater: Compared with Broadway's prices, London's theater is a bargain.
Seek out the freestanding TKTS booth at Leicester Square to get discounts from 25
to 50 percent on good seats (and full-price tickets to the hottest shows with no ser-
vice charges; see here ) . Buying direct at the theater box office can score you a great
deal on same-day tickets, and even the most popular shows generally have some
seats under £20 (possibly with obstructed views)—ask. A £5 “groundling” ticket
for a play at Shakespeare's Globe is the best theater deal in town (see here ) . Tickets
to the Open Air Theatre at north London's Regent's Park start at £15 (see here ) .
London doesn't come cheap. But with its many free museums and affordable
plays, this cosmopolitan, cultured city offers days of sightseeing thrills without re-
quiring you to pinch your pennies (or your pounds).
For a photo op, go to Abbey Road and walk the famous crosswalk pictured on the Ab-
bey Road album cover (Tube: St. John's Wood, get information and buy Beatles memor-
abilia at the small kiosk in the station). From the Tube station, it's a five-minute walk west
down Grove End Road to the intersection with Abbey Road. The Abbey Road recording
studio is the low-key, white building to the right of Abbey House (it's still a working stu-
dio, so you can't go inside). Ponder the graffiti on the low wall outside, and...imagine. To