3 Day London Itinerary - please help!
 

I leave for London in 2 days and would love to hear any feedback on the following tenative schedule:<BR><BR>Arrive Tue am. Take the Bus Tour around town. Changing of the Guard and Westminster Abbey from 11-4. Shopping at Harrods, and possibly try an afternoon tea ( is formal attire required?) <BR><BR>Wed - Tower of London, Tower Bridge 9-1<BR>Tate Modern after lunch. Tour Covent Gdns. Check for tix at Leicester. Theater and dinner. <BR><BR>Thu - British Museum 10-2, Madam Tussauds and then to Oxford St. Possible River cruise and dinner. <BR><BR>Can anyone recommend a river cruise company? I cannot seem much info on them. <BR><BR>Thank you in advance.

A lot in a little bit of time. <BR><BR>1. Tuesday...I would skip the changing of the guard...it is boring! Try Horse Guards on Whitehall instead.<BR><BR>2. Wednesday...Ok, but allow adequate time in the Tate<BR><BR>3. British Museum is good, but I would personally skip Madame's and go to Museum of London or perhaps the Globe instead...or just go to a pub and enjoy what makes London so great.<BR><BR>US

Just make sure that you're in Leicester Square at the 1/2 price booth before 11am to queue up for tickets -- that's when theatre tickets go on sale.

Well Uncle Sam....<BR>Thank you for your feedback. I have heard that the other changing of the guards are better... but I didn't think we would have time to go elsewhere and still see West. Abbey before it closes (at 3:45 I think?) <BR><BR>And I would love to see the Globe -- unfortunately nothing seems to be playing at the time we are there (7/30-8/1) <BR><BR>We are also doing a 3 day tour of Paris and will be seeing the "big" museums so I am trying to find a happy medium so as to not burn out museuming.

Leslie -<BR>Do you happen to know what time they start selling tickets? And can you only buy them the day of?

You might want to re-think the British Museum. A really great place to visit is the Imperial War Museum. Check out the "Trench Experience" and also "The Blitz Experience." Sort of fills in any gaps your history education may have left regarding WW I and II. You could then go to the Globe Theater and take a tour (even if there is no play, you can take an interesting tour of the place). Or you could combine the Globe with the Tate (if you like Modern art) as they are practically next door to each other. You can then cross the Thames via the Millenium Bridge and end up at St Paul's. My favorite experience in London was a concert at St Martin in the Fields. (Tube stop, Charing Cross). We enjoyed shopping at Fortnum and Masons one afternoon (fantastic gifts for the folks back home -- tea and honey in cunning little packages) A good spot for lunch or a late afternoon snack (hey, call it tea if you want to!) Oh, oh! The Tower of London! Really wonderful. Go on one of the tours with a Beefeater. Totally entertaining and wonderful.<BR>

You can only buy the tickets on the same day that the performance is scheduled (e.g. buying tickets on Tuesday is for a performance for that afternoon or evening). There are 2 separate lines for the purchase of tickets, one for matinees and one for evening performances. Available plays are posted about a 1/2 hour before the window opens at 11am. People start lining up about 10am, but the lines move quickly.<BR><BR>Shows that have available tickets for sale at the 1/2 price booth are usually 1/2 of the face value, plus a service charge per ticket of approximately 2.5 pounds. However, some tickets are only 25% off.<BR><BR>If you're looking for tickets to Mamma Mia, you won't find them for 1/2 price. I bought a ticket through Ticketmaster's UK site, and the service charge was only 2.5 pounds over face. I bought a ticket last week for a November evening performance, 3rd row center of the stalls, and it cost me about $65.<BR><BR>If this is your first trip to London, it might be worthwhile for you to see the Changing of the Guard, but its worthwhile to go to the Royal Mews to see the gorgeous carriages and horses. Also, consider going to St. Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery. Skip Madame Tussauds and skip the cruise on the Thames.

I have to agree that the Changing of the Guard, Madame Tussaud's and the river cruise might not be the best use of your very limited time. But we enjoyed the Catamaran Cruisers, so you might check them.<BR><BR>Get to the Tower before 9; once you're in, go see the jewels, then go back to the entrance and pick up a Beefeater tour. If you find yourself short of time, personally I'd recommend more time at the Tower and skip the Bridge.<BR><BR>The tour of the Globe Theater, and the very extensive attached museum, are worth the trip even if you don't attend a play.

Seeing the Horse Guards instead of the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace would probably be MORE convenient, not less, if you're trying to see Westminster Abbey on the same day. <BR><BR>The horse guards are quite close to the abbey.<BR><BR>BTW, I'd skip Madame Tussauds. Everything looks good — I'm jealous.

Meghan, some of our best pictures are of the Changing of the Royal Horseguards. It starts at 11 AM and is over around 11:30, but I wouldn't worry if you are a little late, cause the best part is toward the end anyway. It's very colorful and well worth your time. That should leave you plenty of time to visit the Abbey. They also have a great gift shop. We found several lovely gifts there. <BR><BR>To save time, you might try to purchase your Tower of London tickets the day before at one of the larger underground stations. Also agree that you should skip Madam Toussads. I would definitely try to find time to at least walk thru one of London's lovely parks. I really enjoy St. James with its abundance of ducks, geese. pelicans, squirrels, etc.<BR><BR>Have a great trip.

Thanks for the wonderful advice.<BR>Sounds like Changing of the horse guards is the better way to go.<BR><BR>It also sounds like the river cruise is not as exciting as I would have hoped!?<BR><BR>I am still researching (with less than a day before take-off) Anything else would be great!!<BR>

You forgot the London Eye - amazing views