barb

I'm planning to fly from Dublin to LHR. arrival 630am; tube to Victoria. Meeting friends at B&amp;B near Victoria tube station - is 10am reasonable?<BR>Then tube to Tower of London (quick visit to the jewels - been there before!)<BR>then tube to Kensington gardens and walk to Buckingham Palace gardens, Green Park, to tea at Fortnum and Mason. (long walk - how long would this realistically take if one wanted to enjoy the gardens?)then tube to St Pauls evening song- nearest tube stops?<BR>then...thinking about the Ceremony of the Keys.<BR>Its a busy day but is it possible???<BR>next day Hampton Court and Kew gardens.<BR>Does anyone know if the Visitors Travelcard lets one ride the Southcentral and Southwest trains - I think that's how one gets from Victoria to Hampton Court!?<BR>

hmmm

A bit of a busy day, but I'd think doable minus one thing. The walk from Kensington Gardens (which turn into Hyde Park) to Buckingham Palace would be very long- better to walk through the Gardens and then tube to the Palace. Travelcards will get you a discount on SouthWest trains to get to Hampton Court Palace- you can even get your admission and train tix together at Waterloo. I'd do Hampton early in the day, and then maybe the tea when you get back into London. Have a wonderful time.

janis

Actually the visit to the Tower may mess up your plans. You say you arrive in London at approx 10AM (a reasonable guess with a 6:30 arrival).<BR><BR>After meeting w/ your friends it is unlikely you will get to the Tower before about 11AM or later. At that time there is usually no way to do a &quot;quick visit to the jewels&quot;. Even if you already have your ticket to teh Tower and can jump the entrance line, the queue for the Jewel House after about 10:30AM gets very long so I do not see any way you can be to Kens Gardens before about 2PM or later, and that is w/o stopping for lunch. That gives you 3 hours to walk through the park and get to F&amp;M, have tea and get to St Pauls. Certainly doable but you will be running the whole way. If you have been to the Tower before you have likely already seen the jewels. I'd suggest you drop that long round trip across all of central London to Tower Hill and back. there is a LOT you could enjoy closer in.

Christy

I've not been there myself, but I've been told not to miss the Kews Gardens in London...

leeta

Barb - I have been to the all of the sights you've listed and enjoyed them, but unless you have no alternative (no time) I would urge you to aim for a less hectic day. I'm sure you know that part of the charm of London is to stroll and gawk and windowshop, admiring this and that, even detouring when something strikes your fancy. I think Hampton and Kew can be reasonably done in one day, hitting the highlights, but the first day sounds like a killer and I am a walker/runner.