Royal Opera House

[CanWeGoYet?]

What would be the best way to get to the Royal Opera House from our hotel - Park Plaza Victoria? How much time should I allow on a saturday late afternoon? Ideally I'd like to be at the opera house around 6, to pick up tickets, find seats & not feel rushed. If the tube is the best way, I have no idea where it lets us off in relation to the opera house. I know I need to stop first at the box office.

 

First trip to London, I just don't want to get lost. :o

[English Jane]

Hi,

 

My daughter - who is at University in London - lives in the next street to your hotel. Nice area!

 

Option 1 - Walk - I love walking across London, you see so much.

Google says 38mins

Here are the directions

 

. Head north on Wilton Rd toward A202/Neathouse Pl

0.2 mi

2. Continue on Allington St

295 ft

3. Turn left to stay on Allington St

397 ft

4. Turn right at A3214/Buckingham Palace Rd

Continue to follow A3214

0.3 mi

5. Slight left at B323/Buckingham Gate

0.1 mi

6. Turn right at The Mall

0.6 mi

7. Slight left to stay on The Mall

194 ft

8. At King Charles I Island, take the 3rd exit onto A4/Trafalgar Square

289 ft

9. Turn left at A400/Trafalgar Square

Continue to follow A400

472 ft

10. Turn right at St Martin's Pl

187 ft

11. Slight left at B404/St Martin's Ln

62 ft

12. Turn right at Brydges Pl

351 ft

13. Turn left at Bedfordbury

436 ft

14. Turn right at New Row

194 ft

15. Continue on King St

0.1 mi

 

 

Option 2 - Tube

You would need to change once so you would need to allow maybe a half hour. I have posted a link below to the underground journey planner.

 

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en&sessionID=JP12_3801140968&requestID=1&tripSelector1=1&itdLPxx_view=detail&tripSelection=on&command=nop&calculateDistance=1

[lord of the seas]

And the best option is to take a cab which will take 15-20 minutes.walking is great if you have an idea where you are going but to get lost on your way the the venue will be stressful and you might arrive late,hot,and bothered.There are a lot of Restaurants in the area of the Royal Opera House should you be looking to eat after the performance.

[PhilbeachTraveller]

or if you want to take the tube, take Victoria Line (light blue) one stop to Green Park and change to Piccadilly Line (dark blue) to Covent Garden (3 stops). I take the tube here every day (I can look out of my office at the Opera House) and at most it takes 20 minutes from Earls Court, which is 5 stops away from Green Park, so it won't take very long. The Opera House is ahead and to the right (Floral Street) as you come out of the station (there is actually an announcement in two of the lifts on how to get there). The main (front) entrance is in Bow Street but there is another entrance at the back just off the piazza, next to Paperchase (turn right down James Street and then first left).

 

Enjoy!

[Stevesan]

Hi,

 

You would need to change once so you would need to allow maybe a half hour. I have posted a link below to the underground journey planner.

 

http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en&sessionID=JP12_3801140968&requestID=1&tripSelector1=1&itdLPxx_view=detail&tripSelection=on&command=nop&calculateDistance=1

 

Excellent web site. Thank you!! :)

[Globaliser]

Ideally I'd like to be at the opera house around 6, to pick up tickets, find seats & not feel rushed.

What time is your show? I think that the Opera House foyers don't open until 90 minutes before the show starts, so there's no point arriving any earlier than this if you simply want to get inside once you've got your tickets.

 

The auditorium itself doesn't open until about 30 minutes before curtain up. But it doesn't take long to find your seats. Most people don't start going into the auditorium until the 10 minute call, which is the first of the announcements made. That is plenty of time. There really isn't any need to rush in.

 

However, if you go early, you can avail yourself of the bars in the House, including the splendid architectural joke at the top of the big glass wall in the Floral Hall. The bars do snacky food (sandwiches and the like), if you are hungry before the show.

 

You could also splurge by arranging to have dinner in one of the restaurants there - for example, on the galleries in the Floral Hall. Full details on the House's website.

 

One other hint: If you want a drink in the interval(s), order in advance before the show starts. Otherwise, you can spend almost the entire interval waiting to be served.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Thanks to all for their ideas. I love the idea of walking & getting to see more, wonderful detailed directions! It might be a little complicated for someone finding it all their first time though.

The link was very helpful, I'm just not experienced at using this sort of transportation (tube).

Any guesses on cost of a taxi?

[CanWeGoYet?]

What time is your show?

 

 

The show starts at 7pm. Just wanted to allow some time for a mistake on the route there - in case I missed the right stop on the tube or had trouble finding the box office to pick up tickets.

[Globaliser]

The show starts at 7pm. Just wanted to allow some time for a mistake on the route there - in case I missed the right stop on the tube or had trouble finding the box office to pick up tickets.

Then aiming to arrive at 6 pm will give you lots of margin, and the chance to have a good look around the foyers. If you have the time, do have an explore: have a look not only at the Floral Hall, but also the Crush Room and the Conservatory - these are in the lower part of the House - and also go up to the Amphitheatre Bar. While up there, it's also worth going out onto the Terrace and getting a look out over the Covent Garden piazza and central London.

 

If you are going by Tube, I would suggest this (now that I've had a chance to look up where the Park Plaza Victoria is): Take the District Line or Circle Line eastbound from Victoria station - they use the same platforms, but when entering Victoria Tube station make sure you go through the barriers in the correct part, as you do not want the Victoria Line to do this. Go three stops to Embankment and get off there. Turn left out of the station (away from the river) and walk up the hill to the Strand. Cross over to the other side of the Strand then turn right. Go along the Strand as far as the big/complex junction at the top of Waterloo Bridge, by the Lyceum Theatre where the Lion King is showing. Turn left here (Wellington Street), walk past the front of the Lyceum and continue straight on until you get to the ROH. This will be much surer and probably faster than fiddling about changing between two Tube lines. The walk from Embankment Tube is probably about 10 minutes.

 

A taxi from your hotel to the ROH would probably cost betwene £10 and £15.

 

When you get to the front of the ROH, you'll probably notice the columned portico which stands over the main entrance. But to get to the Box Office, don't go as far as the main entrance. About 20 yards before it, there's a revolving door in the modern part of the building, which takes you into the Link where the box office is situated. You'll see plenty of people streaming in through this door anyway because sometimes it seems that more people entire the building here than through the doors in the main entrance.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Thank you so much for those directions.

 

What is the Strand? A street, a bridge, or?

[Twickenham]

Thank you so much for those directions.

 

What is the Strand? A street, a bridge, or?

 

A street: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Strand+London&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.682067,56.25&ie=UTF8&ll=51.510772,-0.120764&spn=0.011752,0.027466&z=15

[CanWeGoYet?]

A street: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Strand+London&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=30.682067,56.25&ie=UTF8&ll=51.510772,-0.120764&spn=0.011752,0.027466&z=15

 

thanks Twickenham! That's a great map. I bet DS and I will be able to find our way there now, thank you all for being so helpful! I can't wait to see the ballet, still a mite crushed that Giselle isn't on the program for us, but I'm sure the program we are seeing won't disappoint.