London, the UK’s capital city has much to offer for international tourist, and UK ‘short breakers’ alike.
Perhaps a trip to the London eye? Where you spend around 30mins in a glass ‘bubble’ – and get to some of the the best views of London you will ever see!
Then there is the West End. The west end is to be found just to the west of the mediaeval city of London, and has long been favoured by the elite classes as a place to live, due to its location being upwind of the smoke that used to drift from the city centre. The west end is also, of course, famous for its world class theatrical productions. Indeed, in 2005 the total attendance numbers for west end theatrical productions exceeded 13 million in 2007, which set a new West End record.
Theatre goers often lovingly refer to the West End as “Theatreland”, and, most of the theatres within the bounds of this magical realm date back to either the late Victorian or Edwardian era. Practically all the theatres have a large amount of character and splendour.
The theatres do tend, however, to offer a little less leg room and have smaller toilets, due to the fact that the buildings are usually listed, meaning expansion of the premises to make room for the larger crowds attending is difficult. In 2004 an estimate was made, stating that around £250million was needed to modernise the theatres, although theatre owners were unsuccessful in their attempts to secure tax concessions to help with this.
How to See A Show.
Tickets are, of course, usually available from the theatres booking office, but this is arguable an expensive way to see a show. Top seats at popular performances sell out fast, meaning getting a good seat can be difficult.
You can always turn to the ‘secondary ticket market’ – Or ticket touts, but this will invariably be a costly affair.
There is another option. There are a select few internet sites that offer cheap theatre tickets at reasonable prices. If you can spare the time to spend the weekend in London though, it may be worth considering another option
Weekend Theatre Breaks
Weekend theatre breaks are a great way to see a top show, and have a lovely stay in a great hotel afterwards!
Because the company providing the theatre break will have established relationships with the ticket houses, they will be able to secure you a package that will far surpass your expectations.
Most theatre breaks come with a fully English breakfast included, and are available to just about any west end show.
A word of warning though, be sure to use an established website to buy your theatre break from.
Westendtheatrebreaks.com are one of the good guys, they have been in business for over 20years, and, with the help of their expert knowledge of all things theatre, coupled with the history they have with all the theatre houses in the West End, means they are well placed indeed to provide you with the very best theatre breaks available.
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