3 Days in London - Help Me Plan!
 

My husband and I will be in London for 3 days (well, almost 3 days) in mid May. Neither of us have ever traveled to Europe and are unsure what should be at the top of our list for sightseeing/shopping/etc. We are both 25 years old and don't mind walking, we also aren't "touristy" (i.e. waiting in lines for hours to see something from 500 feet away that looks exactly like what you can see on Google for free).. But we would like to see/do things that are really worth seeing/doing in person. We both love shopping, parks, history and food.. not necessarily in that order. ;) We are both foodies, so restaurant suggestions would be great too!

We know 2.75 days isn't a very long time (from there we are traveling to Paris and then to Barcelona), and we don't want to try and pack our schedule so full that we exhaust ourselves on the first leg of the trip. So, having said all of that, what are the Must-See-In-Person stops we should definitely make during our stay in London?

*Also, one last note, we'll be staying 2 nights/3 days near Regent's Park. However, at the end of our trip we will be staying one night (our last night) near the Heathrow airport. Our plan is to wake up early in the morning and visit Windsor Castle for a few hours and then back to the airport for our departure in the late afternoon. So Windsor Castle can be marked off the list... Unless of course there is something more worth seeing than the Castle in the Heathrow area? :)

Here's what my itinerary looks like so far (A very rough draft)..


Tuesday –
• 7:30am – Arrive in London
• 8:30am – Take the tube to Regent’s Park Hotel
• 9:30am – Check in to Regent’s Park and leave luggage
• 10:15am – Breakfast @ _________
• 11:00am – Walking off jet lag around Regents Park
• 12:00pm – Check into hotel/rest for an hour
• 2:00pm – Lunch @ Nando’s
• 3:00pm – Sightseeing hop on/hop off tour/tea time @ _________?
• 6:00pm – Back to hotel, get ready for dinner
• 7:30pm – Dinner @ _____________
• 10:00pm – Stop by convenience store to pick up any necessities
• 10:45pm – Back to hotel

Wed, May 16 – London
• 10:00am – Wake up/Breakfast
• 11:00am – Sightseeing @ Hyde Park?
• 12:30pm – Lunch @ ____________
• 2:00pm – Shopping @ Oxford St., Piccadilly Circus, Harrods
• 4:00pm – Museum: Tate Modern or British Museum?
• 5:30pm – Back to hotel, get ready for dinner? (or skip this and head straight to dinner if museum takes too long.)
• 6:45pm – Dinner @ _______________
• 8:00pm – Sightseeing? Something to do at night?

Thurs, May 17 – London
• 9:00am – Wake up and get ready
• 10:00am – Leave hotel, visit Buckingham Palace to see changing of guards? (worth it?)
• 12:00pm – Matinee theatre show (sometime in the afternoon)
• 2:00pm – Lunch @ _______________
• 3:30pm – Last thing to do?
• 4:00pm – Back to hotel, check out and pick up bags
• 5:35pm – Arrive at airport
• 7:00pm – Flight to Paris @ 7:00pm arrive 9:20pm
• 9:45pm – check into hotel

Just one quick note right now- will come back later to read through the full itinerary . . . But your arrival morning is not at ALL realistic.

W/a 7:30 landing you can't expect to be to your hotel until at least 10:30. Heck you might still be in the immigration queue at 9:30. Plus to get to Regents Park is a fairly convoluted tube journey from LHR. Where exactly is the hotel? Do you mean a hotel <i>near</i> the park - Or - do you mean THE Regents Park Hotel in Gloucester Place (near Baker St tube station)?

@janisj - I see, we'll be staying at The Marriott Regent's Park hotel. I posted a week or so ago about our trip, and now I'm working on getting a definitive itinerary in place since the trip is in about 2 weeks. So nothing is really set in stone and we're pretty flexible people, so if anything goes amiss we'll just go with the flow :) I do however, want to have 2-4 things that we make priority so we make the most of our short time in London. Thanks for your help!

I think you desperately need a couple of maps - one a street map of London and another of the tube. London is a large, spread out city and you have not allowed yourself time to get from one place to another, nor really to see anything. For instance, you allow yourelf 2 hours for shopping Oxford St, Picadilly and Harrods. You can certainly walk past the stores in that time - but if you plan on going into any of them and buying anything - you need to allow the whole afternoon (and that will still be a huge rush). Several of these are large stores - as in 7 or 8 stories high with a huge number of departments. If you are looking for one item on the ground floor you can race in and get it - but if you want to look around - you just don;t have any time.

Also, not sure of the emphasis on shopping - since almost everything will cost more in the UK than it will in the US. If you are looking for specific items that are not available here - that's fine but do be prepared for much higher price tags.

Also - above you say you will stay at the ariport and see Windsor Caste before leaving for Paris - but in the itinerary you mention seeing Buckingham Palace and then seeing some mystery very short matinee at noon and having lunch later. It works the other way - you eat an early lunch and THEN see the matinee. And after a matinee you're going to have rouble geting to the airport to fly to Paris. (And why fly to Paris - when taking the train from central London wold be so much faster and easier?)

With an itinerary like this, the question is why are you even going to London?

First, let's deal with the shopping. He should be on Jermyn Street and maybe Saville Row, if only to see what's available. There's plenty for you there. Go to the Food Court at Fortnum & Mason too. Harrod's food halls are good, expensive, and the rest of the store is just an enormous department store with supra-Nordstrom pricing and hordes of tourists. That said, Harrod's shortbread biscuits (that's British for "cookie"), especially the ones made with clotted cream, range from excellent to fantastic. You can also pick some up at Heathrow on the way out of the UK if your flight leaves from Terminal 3 or (I think) 5.

For any show, go at night, not during the day. You have three afternoons to wander about, so use them. You also have no concept of when the matinees are - they're not at noon. Check here for shows and times: http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/index.html. Don't see the ponderous pseudo-operatic stuff like Les Mis or Phantom, see something more fun - there are a lot of options. Get tickets the same day at the Leicester Sq. TKTS booth.

Cannot understand why you would use the hop on/hop off bus - it's hideously expensive and you can get the same ride on the cheap with the No. 9, 15 and/or 136 lines. Do get a travelcard and visit www.daysoutguide.co.uk and figure out what 2for1 offers you want to use.

The British Museum is one of the world's best and iconic. The Imperial War Museum is excellent. The National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery are too. The Tate Modern has modern art. If you like the dots-on-canvas and sculptures that look like dung piles, fine; if not, don't waste your time.

Where is Westminster Abbey or the Tower or the Cabinet War Rooms on your itinerary? Thinking there's plenty of history in all three.

What sightseeing would you do at Hyde Park? There's parkland, which is nice for what it is, but no particularly do-not-miss-it sites. Plus you won't be there on a Sunday so you won't see the whack jobs at Speakers' Corner. If you want to go to a park during your trip, go to Parc Guell in Barcelona.

Janis is right - no chance you get from landing at the airport to your hotel via Tube in two hours. And small chance you get into the hotel room by noon. Check-in is usually around 3.

The changing of the guards is one of the last things I'd put on my 'to do' list especially with your limited schedule. Time would be much better spent doing/seeing something else.

Other posters have offered some excellent advice including no hop on/hop off bus,as well as listing several of London's best sights. As for shopping, I've been going to London for years and can only reiterate the point that nearly everything is much more expensive in London than nearly anywhere else. I suggest you take a quick tour through Harrods ground floor or do the same at Fortnum and Mason and let that suffice.

Wow... maybe I didn't put enough emphasis on VERY ROUGH draft.. As I said before, neither of us have traveled to Europe (let alone many other places outside of the US), so the "I don't understand why...", "what the heck would you do there" and "how in the world would you..." statements are yes, correct (albeit a tad condescending), however this is why I need advice from people who have been there several times (aka You). I'm a bit of a travel noob, if you will, and am still learning about London.

-The Matinee I just threw in there are something I would like to do that day, once I find a show I'd arrange the schedule around that. After reading BigRuss' post I think we may opt for an evening show.
-We are flying to Paris because of the cheap airfare from easyjet.com and thought it would be quicker. Most of the train tickets I found were pretty expensive and (I thought) would be longer than the flight (obviously not calculating possible flight delays)
-I'm aware that Harrod's is expensive... Just wanted to see it and walk through one or 2 sections..
- The hop on/hop off bus was recommended by past travelers but obviously isn't worth doing, I'll change that to the train.
- Will probably trade out Hyde Park for Westminster Abbey, etc.. Thanks for that tip!

Anyway, thank you nytraveler and BigRus for making me feel a little inadequate but at the same time very informed. It's a very rough draft which needs help.. I'll make some adjustments to allow myself some more time. And thanks @historytraveler for the tip about the changing of the guards.. I'm not quite that interested and only added it as a recommendation from another traveler.

Your draft itinerary really doesn't include most of the sights and experiences that make London worth visiting in the first place. Get a good guide book and use the "Desstinations" feature of this site. If you are going, you ought to visit those things that are worth visiting such as the Tower, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum, St. Paul's, etc. Don't spend a lot of time shoping or, if you do, visit places you can't see at home such as Harrods and Fortnum and Mason.

Go check out useful websites like . . . Fodors.com and see what the publishers themselves have to say. Don't use Rick Steves for London but he could be useful for Paris or Barcelona.

Do not underestimate the size of these cities. London is slightly less populous than New York and its attractions are more spread out; Paris is slightly more populous than Houston (and more crowded because Houston is physically large); Barcelona is slightly more populous than Philadelphia. So you're effectively dealing with the equivalent of three of the five largest cities in the US.

Learn your discounts. Barcelona's metro offers 10-ride discounts and the Articketbcn (http://www.articketbcn.org/en/) covers various museums and attractions (if you like modern art, you will get your fill in Barcelona). Paris has the carnet for its metro system and the Carte L'Orange (or similar name) as a pass for attractions. London has the 2for1 offers through the Days Out Guide (NOT the London Pass - that's crap) and you need single day Travelcards for riding the public transportation.

Learn your tourist traps - Paris is rife with them, Barcelona's are along Las Ramblas and close to the Sagrada Familia. Also, learn the tricks that will be used to try to pick your pockets - there are TONS of resources on the net for this (Barcelona has a terrible reputation but no one messed with me; Paris's prime spots are near the Eiffel Tower and outside Notre Dame).

Consider a Fat Tire Bike Tour. Each of the three cities has this - it's a company that has English language tours by English speakers (I'm counting Australians in this category even though their English is not what we would call English). You're both 25-ish so you can handle. Don't wimp out and do a Segway tour.

@BigRuss... lots of good advice/info. Thank you... I've heard of the pickpockets, that should be interesting! :/ I think our plan is to either bring a small backpack with a lock on it and carry all of our items in there, or get a jacket with an inside pocket. My husband is Turkish... It would be interesting.. slightly amusing, but hopefully wouldn't happen.

I've heard of the Fat Tire Bike Tours, definitely sounds like something we'd be interested in. Segways are for wussies. :) Thanks again!

Hi there, figured I'd add a few thoughts:

re: Tuesday: I wouldn't worry too much about allotting specific times for everything, since you can't be sure how long it take you get out of the airport and to your hotel. I would simply plan on a walk, a causal meal or two, and the Hop On Bus without worrying too much about timing or anything else.

Are you wanting to do a formal afternoon tea with all the little sandwiches and pastries? Because that might be best left to the next day, when you aren't as jetlagged.

Nandos is fine for a casual bite but don't expect anything special- it's just roast chicken and chips, one or two notches above fast food (a lot like Swiss Chalet, if you're familiar with that). I'm only pointing this out because you mentioned you were foodies.

re: Wednesday: I don't know if it would interest you but you might want to check out Camden Town/Camden Lock, it's got a mishmash of shops and market stalls and is a bit of a spectacle, and a lot of places for coffee or a meal.

If you're going to Harrods and you wanted to do an afternoon tea, that's as good a place as any to do it. Or any of the iconic department stores.

The Tate Modern and the British Museum are very different animals, I love them both but I'd probably recommend the BM if you can only visit one, just because there is such a variety of artifacts and ancient art. The British Library is a short tube ride away. On the other hand, the Tate Modern includes a beautiful walk across the Thames to get there, and has a nice affordable cafe. You can't lose whichever you choose.

re: Thursday: I would just plan on an early lunch and matinee and leave the rest of the time open, depending on how you feel and how the time goes.

Don't forget to factor in the time and expense involved in getting to and from the airports, and the 2 hour check in time, etc. Although it may be cheaper, in the long run the extra paid for the Eurostar train might be more than worth it. Timewise it is much more efficient, and it's a much easier and less stressful way to travel. If it were me I would definitely take the train, and try to cut back on an expense somewhere else in the trip if necessary.

Do take a look at some guide books, or Fodors.com, to see descriptions of the various attractions in London. While I happen to think the Tower, Westminster Abbey, the British Museum and St. Paul's are worth seeing, I also love art, so I would put the National Gallery way up on my list - but not everyone would.

We've visited the Imperial War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms on previous trips, and while I liked them, they're not enough interest to me to re-visit (though the Cabinet War Rooms, in particular, were very interesting).

Anyway, determine what's most interesting TO YOU - and you said you love shopping, so if that's how you want to spend your time, do that.

Another suggestion are the excellent LondonWalks. DH and I are not big into guided tours, but we've enjoyed those.

If you're foodies, spend some time on the Chowhound website to get ideas.

in such a short amount of time you can actually see a lot of stuff. whether you want to is up to you as you control the pace. there are lots of good suggestions on here but i'll throw out these two tube stops:

Westminster: Big Ben, View of River Thames and London Eye, Westerminster Abbey, the Cenotaph, Horse Guards, and St James Park.

Piccadilly Circus: Piccadilly Circus obviously, Leicester Square (where the west end shows are) Chinatown, and Trafalgar Square + (National Gallery = FREE)

all of the above are free to explore from outside and within close walking distance

Kudos to you for not getting too offended with some tones. People here are often pretty opinionated--did you notice!?

And I'm one of them--but I will try to not be condescending.

POUR OVER, STUDY, READ, ABSORB a good map. And get a bit of understanding of the Tube. It's NOT hard to figure out, and you won't really "get" it until you ride it, but having some concept of the concept helps (e.g., there are many lines, some intersect some don't, the iconic map is brilliant but not reflective of real distances above ground, etc.)

1. All the advice above is good, I think. It is Your trip and so your preferences aren't ours, but you admit being pretty much open to suggestions, so I don't really see anything on your list that you seem to think you must keep.

2.Yes, the first day you might not be in your rooms until later. And you say "check in"--into room? or just have ability to check luggage with desk?

3.I'd call justairports and get a car pickup. The Tube is a great way to get to rooms IF the hotel is near a PICADILLY line Tube stop--which it doesn't seem yours is. Navigating Tube changes as a newbie and with jet-lag isn't fun. A car service won't save you much time and costs a good bit more but definitley worth it. PRE-BOOKING required. NOT a taxi, but a car service. http://www.justairports.com/

4. Your first day don't waste time and money on hopon/hopoff. You need to use your feet. And a map. And get to know city on your own. Go to Trafalgar Square via Tube (maybe glance in National Gallery) then walk down Whitehall to Westminster Abbey/Parliament/Big Ben/Thames/Westminster Bridge for lots of photo ops. And/or go to PIcadilly Circus and Covent Garden. And/or Hyde Park--

5.You have way more time than you should in your schedule in parks and eating and sleeping and shopping, in my opinion. You're in LONDON--there are thousands of things to see that are no where else. You can sleep later! Shopping is way way expensive. See some parks as you walk by/to someplace else, not as major destinations. My first trip to London I made it a priority to see/touch all 5 royal parks, all the major lungs of London, and I did in my 4.5 days there, but not as destinations but as passages to other places. And of course you have to eat, and if you want to spend your time and money there doing that, then of course do so. We just always had lots more to do and to spend our money on that long meals.

6. And my top 4 things to do, 2 each day:
The Tower of London--must do. and be there AT OPENING TIME!!--allow at LEAST 3 hours
The British Museum--overwhelming but a wonder of the world--allow at LEAST 2 hours in there
Westminter Abbey--audio tour is 90 minutues plus a bit on own=2+ hours
St. Paul's--and a climb to the dome for a look over the city!

At night--a walk along the Thames is lovely. A play.

Danielle: Look at tailsock's trip report. He used public transportation and saw a LOT of territory. What do you think about when you think of London? Pick a few must-see places for yourselves and then the rest is kismet. Remember, you can't see it all and you will have to give up something to see something else.

Posters on boards such as this often come across as gruff or condescending or worse. Just ignore and gather the information you need!!;-)

Thank you all for taking the time to post and give me advice!! I'm reading through all of it now... We're so excited for our trip but a little overwhelmed as we have never organized and planned a trip like this before. :) I'm taking it all in! Thanks again!

@Apres_Londee & @texasbookworm - Thoroughly informative.. I will be taking a lot of your advice. Thank you!

PS. Nando's is a must see for my husband, he grew up in South Africa where he ate it regularly and wants to introduce me to it. :)

You will have a great time.

It's good to strike a balance between having no plan and overplanning. In London, which is HUGE (much bigger than Paris or Barcelona) it will take a good bit of time between sites and the major places are pretty far apart. And not many really in walking distance from hotel. That's why public transport is necessary, and why it's good to only plan 2-3 major things and GROUP PLACES BY NEIGHBORHOOD. That's why maps are good to get familiar with NOW. Okay, I've capitalized enouugh words. Go plan and enjoy!

Even though several of us dismissed the idea of shopping or at least any serious shopping, I always take a quick tour through Harrods whenever I go to London. I'd recommend you do the same. The Food Courts are especially interesting.

If you do an afternoon tea, and the Orangery is a good place if you don't want to spend a lot of money, you really won't need an evening meal.