1st day London planning.
 

Hello all!

We will be taking the eurostar from Paris to London for a short 3 day stay in April. I was thinking that taking the Big bus tour would make a lot of sense, and it is relatively inexpensive. But I was thinking to do that on the full 2 days that we have since it's good for 48 hours.

Now my question is what should we do on the day we arrive into London? After the travel time on the Eurostar and then checking into the hotel, I would guess we would have a good half day. What would be the best way to spend that time? British Museum, Tower of London?

Many thanks in advance.

What do you like to do ? Museums, shopping, theater, the list is endless. What works for one person won't work for another. With 48 hours you can't see everything so you need to define your interests. If you are museum people by all means head for the British Museum (or V&A). I'd do the Tower early in the a.m. as it is less crowded. If it is a warm day you might also consider a boat ride down to Greenwich on the Thames (boat rides are not alot of fun on cold days in my opinion :-)). As I said - the list is endless.

I would go to Covent Garden, check out area and street performers, walk down to Trafalgar Sq. (perhaps lunch basement of St Martin in the Fields), maybe National Gallery, walk down to Parliament Sq. (stop at Banqueting Hall, 10 Downing?), see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey (and a tour?), walk up to Buckingham Palace, see St James Park,St James Palace...throw in Horse Guards, War Rooms....a full day.
Might also look at a London Walk tour.
Hope this helps,
Mike

If you arrive at noon that two day ticket will be good until noon on the third day. I think that makes plenty of sense. I'm a big believer that the best thing you can do on arrival your first time in London is the hop on hop off bus to give you an overview. The fact that you can get on and off again whenever you want is just a bonus, but a good one.

You may factor in the 2 for 1 offers for some sites - the Tower is included. You can print a voucher online before you leave and use it for 2 for 1 admission but you have to have a tube or train ticket from that day to get the 2 for 1. So you could take the tube to the Tower on the first day (if you are not planning the bus tour that day) to save one admission price - which is quite hefty at 15 pounds.

See the "tower 2 for 1" thread from today for details on web site.

You are also permitted to hop off and on Transport for London buses. They stop at the same places as the Big Bus.

£3 for 24 hours if you don't also use the Tube, £4.40 if you do.

Or £13.50 for 168 hours with a 7-day bus pass.