What's the best itinerary for London?
Feb 7th, 2009, 09:11 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2009
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What's the best itinerary for London?
Hi,
My wife and I are traveling to London next week and would really appreciate some tips for our itinerary...
Day of arrival:
- We'll arrive at hotel (Gloucoster Rd.) at 1:30pm and we have a play (at London Palladium at 19:30pm. What do you recommend to do in the middle?
Day 1:
- Bukkingham Palace
- House of Parliament / Big Ben
- Westminster-abbey
- St. Pauls Cathedral
- Trafalgar Sq.
- London Eye
Day 2:
- Windsor (Be there 9:45am -Change of guards 11am)
- Doll House & Eton (After change of guards)
Walk the Thame
- Go back to London (Any suggestions for a pub and then restaurant with good ambiance for dinner/bar?)
Day 3:
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
Day 4:
- British Museum
- Kensington Palace
- 4pm Leave to airport
Thank you very very much!
Ari
My wife and I are traveling to London next week and would really appreciate some tips for our itinerary...
Day of arrival:
- We'll arrive at hotel (Gloucoster Rd.) at 1:30pm and we have a play (at London Palladium at 19:30pm. What do you recommend to do in the middle?
Day 1:
- Bukkingham Palace
- House of Parliament / Big Ben
- Westminster-abbey
- St. Pauls Cathedral
- Trafalgar Sq.
- London Eye
Day 2:
- Windsor (Be there 9:45am -Change of guards 11am)
- Doll House & Eton (After change of guards)
Walk the Thame
- Go back to London (Any suggestions for a pub and then restaurant with good ambiance for dinner/bar?)
Day 3:
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
Day 4:
- British Museum
- Kensington Palace
- 4pm Leave to airport
Thank you very very much!
Ari
Feb 7th, 2009, 09:17 AM
#2
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It seems a very busy itinery. I would try and pare it back a little. On the day of arrival you'll probably be tired but you could go and check out harrods which is relatively near your hotel and just get a 'feel' for being in London.
Feb 7th, 2009, 09:26 AM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,877
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi Mandel
<i>Day of arrival:
- We'll arrive at hotel (Gloucoster Rd.) at 1:30pm and we have a play (at London Palladium at 19:30pm. What do you recommend to do in the middle?</i>
Are you flying in from the US? If yes, I assume you'll have jetlag. What I suggest is check-in, then go for a walk (if weather is nice) in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park, then go back to your hotel for a nice long nap before the play.
If weather is poor, just walk over to the V&A Museum and browse for a few hours (I hightly recommend their docent-guide tour, which is free), then back to hotel for your nap.
<i>Day 1:
- Bukkingham Palace
- House of Parliament / Big Ben
- Westminster-abbey
- St. Pauls Cathedral
- Trafalgar Sq.
- London Eye</i>
This will be a long day - You'll need to do
Buckingham Palace, Big Ben & Westminster Abbey in the AM (Westminster Abbey can easily take an hour or two)
Then St Paul's in the afternoon
The London Eye in the evening
<i>Day 2:
- Windsor (Be there 9:45am -Change of guards 11am)
- Doll House & Eton (After change of guards)
Walk the Thame
- Go back to London (Any suggestions for a pub and then restaurant with good ambiance for dinner/bar?)</i>
A word of advice regarding Windsor - it's best if you arrive at the Castle gate 10 minutes before 9:45am. I was there last Nov and I was early. By 9:45am sharp, there were at least 70 people waiting at the gate for it to open. If you show up at 9:45am, you'll have to wait until all these people ahead of you to buy their tickets before your turn. By getting there a little early, you can be the first few people getting through the gate.
The changing of the guards gets boring after a while. Your best bet is to LEAVE before the whole ceremony is over and head straight to the Doll's House. That line is LONG, but shortest during changing of the guards. All the people watching the changing of the guards rush over to the Doll's House afterwards, so if you leave before the ceremony is over, you won't end up standing in line with the rest of everybody.
<i>Day 3:
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
Day 4:
- British Museum
- Kensington Palace
- 4pm Leave to airport</i>
You probably can fit in another activity on Day 3 in the late afternoon.
Any particular reason why you want to go to Kensington Palace? I just think there are many more better options (eg, British Library treasures room, National Gallery etc).
<i>Day of arrival:
- We'll arrive at hotel (Gloucoster Rd.) at 1:30pm and we have a play (at London Palladium at 19:30pm. What do you recommend to do in the middle?</i>
Are you flying in from the US? If yes, I assume you'll have jetlag. What I suggest is check-in, then go for a walk (if weather is nice) in Kensington Gardens/Hyde Park, then go back to your hotel for a nice long nap before the play.
If weather is poor, just walk over to the V&A Museum and browse for a few hours (I hightly recommend their docent-guide tour, which is free), then back to hotel for your nap.
<i>Day 1:
- Bukkingham Palace
- House of Parliament / Big Ben
- Westminster-abbey
- St. Pauls Cathedral
- Trafalgar Sq.
- London Eye</i>
This will be a long day - You'll need to do
Buckingham Palace, Big Ben & Westminster Abbey in the AM (Westminster Abbey can easily take an hour or two)
Then St Paul's in the afternoon
The London Eye in the evening
<i>Day 2:
- Windsor (Be there 9:45am -Change of guards 11am)
- Doll House & Eton (After change of guards)
Walk the Thame
- Go back to London (Any suggestions for a pub and then restaurant with good ambiance for dinner/bar?)</i>
A word of advice regarding Windsor - it's best if you arrive at the Castle gate 10 minutes before 9:45am. I was there last Nov and I was early. By 9:45am sharp, there were at least 70 people waiting at the gate for it to open. If you show up at 9:45am, you'll have to wait until all these people ahead of you to buy their tickets before your turn. By getting there a little early, you can be the first few people getting through the gate.
The changing of the guards gets boring after a while. Your best bet is to LEAVE before the whole ceremony is over and head straight to the Doll's House. That line is LONG, but shortest during changing of the guards. All the people watching the changing of the guards rush over to the Doll's House afterwards, so if you leave before the ceremony is over, you won't end up standing in line with the rest of everybody.
<i>Day 3:
- Tower of London
- Tower Bridge
Day 4:
- British Museum
- Kensington Palace
- 4pm Leave to airport</i>
You probably can fit in another activity on Day 3 in the late afternoon.
Any particular reason why you want to go to Kensington Palace? I just think there are many more better options (eg, British Library treasures room, National Gallery etc).
Feb 7th, 2009, 10:20 AM
#4
just a quick question/comment:
1) Are you flying in long haul? 2) And if so, Have you already booked your theatre tickets?
If the fist answer is "no", not to worry. But if you are flying in Transatlantic or from Asia/Australia etc -- I WOULD NOT plan on attending the theatre your first night. You will be very tired and probably not make it to/through act II.
I have gone to the theatre a time or two on my arrival days - but NEVER if I had any other options. Once it was the last performance of the Lady in the Van w/ Maggie Smith. It was go the first night or miss it altogether. Otherwise I'd never have booked that. It was a brilliant play but I was totally miserable the whole time. . . . . .
1) Are you flying in long haul? 2) And if so, Have you already booked your theatre tickets?
If the fist answer is "no", not to worry. But if you are flying in Transatlantic or from Asia/Australia etc -- I WOULD NOT plan on attending the theatre your first night. You will be very tired and probably not make it to/through act II.
I have gone to the theatre a time or two on my arrival days - but NEVER if I had any other options. Once it was the last performance of the Lady in the Van w/ Maggie Smith. It was go the first night or miss it altogether. Otherwise I'd never have booked that. It was a brilliant play but I was totally miserable the whole time. . . . . .
Feb 7th, 2009, 10:25 AM
#5
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,877
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh, I just noticed you won't arrive until 1:30pm on your arrival day. If I were you, I'd just go straight to bed for at least 3-4 hours, then take a shower and head out for the play. Forget what I wrote about walking in the park or museum.
But janis' suggestion is better, if you can change your tickets to a different night.
Of course, if you are arriving London from another European/UK city and won't be tired, then it's fine to go for a walk or V&A Museum for a few hours before your play.
But janis' suggestion is better, if you can change your tickets to a different night.
Of course, if you are arriving London from another European/UK city and won't be tired, then it's fine to go for a walk or V&A Museum for a few hours before your play.
Feb 7th, 2009, 10:35 AM
#7
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 25,877
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looks like the guided tours at Eton don't start until mid-March.
http://www.etoncollege.com/VisitsToEton.aspx
http://www.etoncollege.com/VisitsToEton.aspx
