Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

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Planner01
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Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by Planner01 »

We often travel with a group of friends and relatives. At each city where we travel to I usually plan a welcome activity (pasta making in Rome, lei making in Hawaii, dinner and tango show in Buenos Aires, samba class in Rio de Janeiro, etc). What would be a good group activity to welcome the group in London?

Note that they are not tea kind of people and we are going in July.
Last edited by Planner01 on Mon Sep 20, 2021 11:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
forgeblast
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by forgeblast »

pub trivia night?
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ResearchMed
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by ResearchMed »

After hours tour of the Tower of London, including the Ceremony of the Keys?

When we did this, we ended the evening having drinks in the pub used by the Beefeaters after work (with some of the Beefeaters), before we were let out.
It was surprise highlight of our trip for us.
(I do not know if the part in the pub is part of the regular ofter hours tour.)

It did not include the crown jewels. Those had already been locked up.

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/ ... #gs.b8vue1
Note: We did *not* do this through the above vendor, so I am only including that link as an example.

RM
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livesoft
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by livesoft »

A classic is to have people pair up, take 5 minutes at most to learn about the each other, and then introduce each other to the group. Have 3 preset questions that the introducer has to answer about their partner. And of course, the partner is a stranger and not a spouse.
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cbs2002
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by cbs2002 »

I don't know what's allowed with COVID-19 restrictions, but here a few London-y things for a general audience.

Not as participatory as your other examples, but St. Martin in the Fields is an Anglican church on Trafalgar Square that runs classical chamber or piano concerts in the evenings by candle light. Repertoire tends to be popular Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi, etc. It's an intimate atmosphere in a highly recognizable part of London, and makes you feel special even though it's accessible to anyone who buys a ticket.

On another end of things you could buy out an entire pod on the London Eye for the group.

Honestly just walking the east/south side of the Thames from south of Big Ben to Tower Bridge at night is stunning. You could have a tour or see a play at Shakespeare's Globe theater on the south bank of the Thames, which is an accurate reproduction of the original.

I'm sure you can retain a private tour guide in the city of London or Westminster for this type of thing, though I never have.

If pubs appeal, there are many in the central city area that have unique character and are worth checking out. Places like Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese and Ye Olde Mitre are about as stereotypically 17th century London as the names suggest. You're there for beer and conversation, not food just FYI.

The Tower of London night tour sounds like a great suggestion too.
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NewMexicoLinnet
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by NewMexicoLinnet »

If a personal guided tour tailored to your group's specific interests is something that appeals to you, check to see if "Joolz" (Julian McDonnell) is taking bookings (https://joolzguides.com/).

His YouTube channel is very entertaining (https://www.youtube.com/c/Joolzguides) and I imagine that his tours would be memorable.
Cruise
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by Cruise »

This is the kind of thing that I'd outsource to a concierge. Are you staying in a 5-star hotel? (If not, and if you have an AMEX Plat, you can try their concierge service). Don't hold your breath about a good outcome with AMEX.

Another option is find a private tour guide and ask him/her.

Or, https://www.zafferano.co.uk/
Topic Author
Planner01
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by Planner01 »

I also found a jazz dinner cruise along the Thames River. I think that would be nice after enjoying a ride on the London Eye.

Thank you for all the suggestions.
ctfish
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Re: Welcome/ice break activity in London ideas

Post by ctfish »

Life drawing in Whitechapel or other places.
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