3 Day London Itinerary - too much?
 

Hello all!
I have been meticulously researching our trip to Europe and this board has been a terrific source of info! We have three days in London before our 10 day tour starts, and then a further two weeks at the end of the tour in various parts of Europe. We are leaving on June 18.
This is my 3 day London itinerary so far. I'm very interested to hear some feedback on it - especially with regard to places to eat or good pubs close to some of the locations we are visiting. Also with the transportation - so of the places where I've indicated tube it may be easier and closer just to walk to the next destination and vice versa. Those sorts of insights would be fantastic.

Here goes:
DAY ONE
Day
Take underground from Heathrow (buy our three day travel passes at the airport). Piccadilly line to Hammersmith station – change there for District line to Victoria station. Walk to hotel (Luna and Simone), leave luggage.

Walk up to Houses of Parliament and view Big Ben and Downing Street.
Tour Westminster Abbey (allow 2 hours) (GBP 8 *May be eligible for 2 for 1 offer.) Take the 90 minute guided tour which includes entrance to the Confessor’s Tomb.
Take Birdcage Walk down to Buckingham Palace and walk back up the Mall through Admiralty Arch to Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column. Have lunch. (any ideas of places around Trafalgar Square that would be good for lunch??)

Visit National Portrait Gallery after lunch. Free. Then take Leicester Square Tube to Green Park. Walk up to Fortnum and Mason via Jermyn Street and visit the food hall. Continue back up to Piccadilly tube.
Take tube back to hotel – check in, have showers, have a rest.

Evening
Take tube up to Covent Garden, have dinner and a walk around. Any good dinner suggestions in and around Covent Garden?

DAY TWO
Salisbury Day (I have a friend who lives there and I have always wanted to see Stonehenge! - That's why it is on the London Itinerary)
Take train to Salisbury from Waterloo station. Then a local bus from outside the Salisbury station up to Stonehenge.
Bus back to Salisbury.
Visit the Salisbury Cathedral, view the copy of Magna Carta.
Walk around town until time to meet friends for dinner. (Are there any other good things to see in Salisbury?)
Back to London early next day.

DAY THREE
Day
Take tube to Tower Hill and tour the Tower of London. *Pre-buy tickets at tube and use 2 for 1 offer if available. Take a free guided beefeater tour.
Walk back towards Monument. Stop at Prince Henry’s Rooms to view the Samuel Pepys display. Free.
Climb Monument. GBP 2
Lunch at The Lamb Pub– Leadenhall Market
Take Monument tube to St Pauls
Walk to the Old Bailey site of former Newgate Prison, and visit Viaduct Tavern opposite. 126 Newgate Street – ask to see the old cells downstairs (Must dos given my colonial Australian ancestry)
Walk back to St Paul’s Cathedral (not sure if we will enter, depends on time)
Walk over Millennium Bridge to Shakespeare’s Globe. GBP 9.
I would like to spend any left over time at Tate Modern but am aware that this day is already pretty full on - especially as I don't know how early we can get back to London from Salisbury.
Tube back to Victoria.

Evening
Tube to Covent Garden to see gig at Astoria. (Concession to partner who loves his live music!)Other dinner suggestions?

I am also light-on for food suggestions in and around Westminster where we are staying. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Our tour starts the next morning.

Thanks in advance to any readers who are able to provide comments on the itinerary or who have any other suggestions.
Vanessa

I think you are underestimating how long it takes to get from place to place and see/do things.

What time do you arrive at LHR?

Westminster Abbey opens at 0930 - but unless you pre-book a verger's tour, you can't usually just walk in and hook up w/ a tour. They fill up so you might not get a tour until much later in the day (or not at all).

My favorite place for lunch around Trafalgar Sq is the Portrait restaurant on the top floor of the National Portrait Gallery - but again you often can't just walk in. They book up most days.

On day 3 - if you are traveling in from Salisbury you probably won't be at the Tower until well after opening time. You will jump the entrance queue w/ your advance tix, but by then the crowds will be pretty bad. You likely will still be at the Tower until after lunch. So that pushes everything you want to do that day back - it is quite likely you won't make it to all of those sites.

Thanks Janis!
Our flight arrives at Heathrow at 5:50am, so I was less worried about that day. I'd prefer to spend the time walking around rather than sleeping, so tried to factor in quite a bit of walking on that day.

You're quite right about the third day. I think we may have to try and get back to London the night before to give us the extra time we need for the Tower of London. There is just so much to see in London it is hard to choose!

I'll definitely look into advance bookings for Westminster and the Tower. I'd like to do both of them when they open for the day and then whatever else we get done, we get done!

Thanks again. It is difficult being first time travellers!

Skip the guided tour of Westminster Abbey. If you can get inside close enough to the opening time, you'll find the Abbey fairly quiet as the crowds haven't appeared. You'll have the opportunity to wander at your leisure. Any later, and you'll find yourself trying to stay in a group, trying to listen to the guide, and envying the people who can wander freely. It isn't necessary to use a quide. Best bet? Read up on the Abbey on your flight over and you'll be well prepared for your visit.

The Tower...allow yourself at least four hours. IMO, skip seeing the crown jewels. Truly, looking at pictures of these beautiful objects will allow you to see more details than allowed on the gliding walk-way past them.

Do you need a sit-down lunch? PRET Sandwich Shops are all over London. The one at Trafalgar Square is quick, serves wonderful fresh sandwiches and soup. Take your meal outside to the square itself and indulge in good food and the fun of watching other tourists.

It's certainly an ambitious agenda for the city. Take your walking shoes!!

If you are at the Tower near opening time there is absolutely NO reason to skip the crown jewels. When you enter there will be a Yeoman Warder (beefeater) standing on the bridge assembling the next gorup. Hard as it will be - ignore him and head stratght to the jewel house. There will quite literally be no one else in the place. No queues for sure. See the crown jewels at your leisure and then when the masses start arriving - head back to the entrance and hook up w/ the next beefeater tour if you wish.

As for the Verger tours in the Abbey - they are not anything like the usual massive group tour. The numbers are limited and the Vergers are amazing. They know everything about the Abbey. So if you can get one - great. If not you can still have a wonderful visit.

There are queues to get inside the Abbey - even at opening time. Especially in the summer

Some good suggestions there. I think the secret will be getting to those two places (Westminster Abbey and the Tower) at opening times. We are definitely on a budget with four weeks of travel ahead of us so we may end up taking less of the guided tours than planned.
I like the idea of sandwiches on the run and a nice spot in a square or park as opposed to sitting down for lunch, as long as we get to see a few pubs and sample a few ales along the way.

I can agree with janisj as far as seeing the Crown Jewels. Getting in early is always good for any touristy attraction. My main gripe, however, is the gliding walk-way. There is no chance to just stop the forward-motion and stare.

A tour of the Abbey, as a tour of any place, can be quite interesting. However, the Abbey has several docents and other knowledgeable people constantly wandering. If you have a question, just approach one of them. In my case, I was looking for a specific tomb, and had a docent take me from one end of the Abbey to the other.

My answers are coming from the fact that you only have three days in London. Guess it comes down to...do you want a lot of information about a specific place, or would you rather see as much of the city as possible?

Either way, you won't be disappointed with London.

saguarorose: If that was your issue w/ the crown jewels - you missed a great opprotunity.

Yes you have to ride the moving walkway and can't stop. But as soon as you step off it you just take four steps up to the stationary viewing platform behind the moving walkway. There you can linger as long as you want.

Oh, no!!!!! (cries of pain). I didn't know that. Well...seems that there is now an iron-clad excuse to go back to The Tower at the earliest opportunity! Thanks for the info, janisj :)

You are certainly trying to pack a lot in. Just make sure you don't get too stressed about getting to the next point on your itinerary and be prepared to go with the flo if need be.

Personally, I'd drop the Fortnum and Masons on day one unless you have some overwhelming desire to go. IT's a lot of faffing about just to visit and expensive food shop. I'd rather go straight back to the hotel for a rest and head to covent garden earlier, to look round the brilliant shops/market there while they are still open and see the buskers (who won't be around later).

saguarorose - i think I'd like to see a wide variety of things in london. I've tried to mix things up with history, art, shopping, roya stuff, pubs and monuments - oh and live music as well. I'm less big on the shopping aspects which is why I was happy to visit London during the week as the markets weren't a great interest to me. It turns out that I have almost an extra day in London before I catch the flight home in July which I wasn't factoring in. This means I can take Tate Modern out of the before mentioned itinerary and have a chance to do it at a more leisurely pace then.
nona1 if anything gets dropped off the itinerary on day 1 it would be F&M although I was curious to at least see one big Department store seeing as we won't be going over near Harrods.

You WILL have jet lag and you have not factored that into your itinerary. You may want to start straightaway but your body will say something else!
You will have to check in before you leave your luggage at the hotel.

Is there a regular bus between Stonehenge and Salisbury? Stonehenge is in the middle of nowhere, you should check before you leave if there is a bus. If you can go on from Stonehenge to Avebury, a village surrounded by standing stones, which is much more interesting. Note you cannot touch the stones at Stonehenge but you can at Avebury! Another place to visit is Old Sarum, just outside of Salisbury. If you travel early then expect to pay through the nose for your tickets, as it will be the rush hour. You may find travelling very comfortable, as the trains will be packed to the gunnels.

There is not a lot to see at the old bailey unless you enter a courtroom. Tour to the cellar of the pub is only done with prior arrangement. So you need to book up.


for more info. you should do some Googling to find out if your timetable is do-able.

&quot;<i>You will have to check in before you leave your luggage at the hotel.</i>&quot; Not usually true at all. Most hotels will gladly hold your luggage.

&quot;<i>Is there a regular bus between Stonehenge and Salisbury? Stonehenge is in the middle of nowhere, you should check before you leave if there is a bus.</i>&quot; Yes there are regular buses from Salisbury to Stonethenge.

Hi, Ness. Your Highness! :)

Anyway...

IMO, Day One looks exhausting, especially with potential jet lag. I'd skip the special tour of Westminster, like others have said, and just go in when you can.

I'd try to stay outside that day to keep you awake as much as possible. The Nat'l Portrait Gallery would lull me to sleep if I had just arrived that morning (and I'm an art historian). I'd be prepared to sacrifice it, if I were you. You may be just too pooped.

My other advice: Don't just walk by St. Paul's, you'll regret not going in. It's just spectacular. Climb through the dome to the top for a great view of London.

You will love London. Have fun.

More great advice!
ribeirasacra - I think the Avebury add on sounds good. It will be nice to experience more while we are out that way. I've checked the timetables for Salisbury-Stonehenge and this all looks good. Having a friend living up there means we may score a lift back in to London as well which would make life easier.
I wasn't planning on going into the Old Bailey - more just walking past. Still want to see the old prison cells though so I'll make a note to book that when we get to London.
NanBug - I think the jet lag factor is the great unknown. I'm presenting best case scenario and we can always alter to suit. I'd like to be optimistic and try to do and see as much as we can Day one - London is such a great place for history and art and amazing sights.
St Paul's is another I can't decide on. Perhaps better to see inside considering we're spending 6 days in Rome later in the trip and I've been told that the Basilica makes most other churches pale in comparison... We might be all churched out after Rome! I like the idea of climbing the dome for a nice view as we won't be doing the London Eye. Also willing to just ahve a walk by Shakespeare's Globe is we're short on time/and or exhausted!
Have any posters visited the Globe? And if so how much time did you allow for it and did you feel it was a good experience?

I've visited the Globe 8 or 10 times - including attending performances, not counting the many, many times I've walked along the south bank and passed by. Walking past doesn't do much (but more IMHO than just walking past the Old Bailey)

The theatre is a good photo op for sure, but if that is all you plan - I'd skip it. (much the same as walking past St Paul's). Their &quot;wow&quot;/interest comes inside and since your time is so short - if not going inside I'd consider dropping St Paul's, the Globe, and the Old Bailey from your list.

Touring the Globe is definitely worth it IF you are interested in theatre history/Shakespeare/Elizabethean age etc. But if not - you could use the time better somewhere else.

The tour, exhibits, wandering around - maybe 90 mins or a bit more. Adding lunch in one of the Globe's two restaurants (good views of the Thames) - another hour.

The Old Bailey isn't really worth a detour to see. The Viaduct Tavern is full of criminals - you can always tell when someone's got off!

You mention a gig at he Astoria - do you know that there is a gig on that night? The Astoria doesn't have gigs every night and you could end up taking your husband to G-A-Y! which could give you a new insight into the English.

There are places that have gigs every night (more or less). The Shepherds Bush Empire is probably the best.

For a wonderful high view of London, you could also take a minute to go to the top of Tower Bridge. Although climbing the dome in St. Paul's is, to me, the ultimate experience for a panarama scene, Tower Bridge won't take that much time. It would be fast, too...you'll be at The Tower anyway.

A word about jet-lag...trust me, you'll be SO excited at having your trip finally begin that you will probably be walking on air :) By the late afternoon of your first day you will be lagging a bit, so make it an early evening. By your second day, you'll probably be up with the sun and wondering why the rest of the city is still sleepin!

As far as the National Portrait Gallery goes for lunch you may be able to just walk in and sit at the bar. That's what we've done on two occassions as the tables were crowded.
Also, while on the south bank try OXO brasserie, great views of St.Pauls and less expensive than the restaurant.
I was disappointed with the inside of St.Pauls as compared to Westminster Abbey, much more impressive to me from the outside, especially looking at it from across the river or from over a bridge.
The Globe was worth going inside to me as I'm a great fan of Shakespeare.
Let us know how your trip turned out. Have a great time.

&quot;<i>you could also take a minute to go to the top of Tower Bridge</i>&quot;

That will take more than a minute. You'd need to buy tix to the Tower Bridge Experience and go through the animatronics galleries and displays on the way up. (But you can skip the show if you tell the lift operator that you only want to go to the top - then they may let you take different route that bypasses the exhibits. But still have to pay the full admission price)

For a free viewpoint - consider either the observation deck at the OXO Tower (the restaurants are expensive but the deck is free), or the upstairs galleries at Tate Modern.