4 days, 3 nights in London; where to stay, what to see for First Timers?
 

We are planning a trip to Ireland and London at the end of September. We know what we want to do and where to stay in Ireland but need help with the London leg of our trip. This will be our first time in London and want to stay near the main "must sees". Not looking for a luxury hotel, just something that is clean and convenient. Like history and beautiful buildings, so Westminster Abbey, British Museum, and maybe Buckingham Palace? Would love anyone's input. Thanks!

We are going in July and have reservations at Vandon House in the Westminster are-walking distance to Buckingham Palace and Westminster. Never stayed there so I can't tell you how it is-it is reasonable cost-here is their website:
www.vandonhouse.com
As for what †o see-I checked out several guide books including Foders-they are really helpful! Good luck!

I know you will be asked your budget?

And who is we?

And probably someone will suggest you look at a map to see how far apart the "main" sites are in London so you see that it's really not possible to stay "near" all of them, not even near to the 3 you list. But the Tube (and some like buses) is wonderful and makes all the main stuff accessible. So convenience to transporation is really more important than convenience to many sites.

I recommend At Home in London if you are interested in bed&breakfast, without knowing budget and such. http://www.athomeinlondon.co.uk/

There are too many threads here to count concerning itineraries in London, but they make wonderful reading; just put in search for them and read away.

I'd second your Westminster Abbey and British Museum as things to put near the top; my favorite is the Tower of London. Note that many sites are really just walk-bys like Big Ben.

I'd urge you to get a map and read some on the forum threads so you can get a feel for what you might try to fit in and in what order. London is huge, so you must factor in travel/walking time.

Throw out a few more details to us and you'll get some more specifc feedback.

Bloomsbury has been my area of choice. Last May I stayed at a very nice hotel about 10 mins walk from British Museum.

I've also stayed at some good B&Bs in that area, keep those in mind as an option, lower cost.

Hotel was the The Academy. I got a good deal via Expedia (it's a nice hotel. One B&B I liked was the Harlingford Hotel on Cartwright Gardens. There are a few B&Bs on that little street. Note the possible confusion...there is Hotel in the name, but it is a B&B. This is not uncommon.

Access to Heathrow is excellent by Tube, to Gatwick would require transfer.

Some nice restaurants in area. Some nice parks in area. A main shopping street (Oxford) is easy walk from there.

I walked from my hotel to City, St Paul's Cathedral, Covent Garden, trafalgar Square,etc.

I prefer South Kensington and have for twice yearly trips for the last 25 years or more. Direct tube access from airport, though I prefer the train or a shuttle if landing at LHR> I always get great deals on Londontown .com. I can walk to Harrods, V&A, natural History mueums, The Army Museum, have loads of services available and lots of restaurant choices nearby. And the transportation options are excellent.Can't walk to Covent Garden or Trafalgar but the bus drops me right in front of both.London has the best transport system around!

I agree that your budget and who "we" are would be helpful, but here's another vote for Bloomsbury. You can walk to so much from there. I've stayed at the Morgan and have recommended it several times here (morganhotel.co.uk); it's right around the corner from the British Museum. There are many other small hotels/b&bs in the area, though, and some larger hotels as well if that's more your preference (there's a Radisson across the street from the Morgan, for example).

Simple fact: London is the largest city in Western Europe. Paris, Madrid, and Rome are less than 1/2 its size. There is no place in the city that is walking distance to "all" the "sites" unless you walk marathon distances. If "we" includes small kids, that won't happen.

And there are so many dang things you could see that a checklist of Abbey, Brit Museum, Tower and Palace ain't even scratching the surface.

Perhaps you wish to post a follow-up that details specific areas of interest and aspects of London you find intriguing?

Otherwise, I've heard that travel websites like Fodors.com, Fr---ers.com, Lo----pl----.com and the one run by the moppy-haired guy from Seattle who writes the travel books with the back doors on them, all can give prototype London in three days itineraries.

<B>harleenkaur3:</B> Welcome to Fodors. It really isn't necessary to top all these old threads about London. New/current threads about the city are started every day and you can post your info to those (as long as you aren't advertising - I notice one of your posts seems to have been deleted)

First i would go to The BiddingTraveler.comm to see what people are getting on Priceline. We like to stay right in the middle of things so look at the area around Covent Garden. I may be wrong but i think that area is called The Theater District and The West End and maybe even Soho (someone smart will have to help me here). There are other places close by that arent prohibitvly far away, like Kensington, Marble Arch, Nottinghill, etc.

A good way to get a drive-by of the sights is to take the Hop-on Hop-off bus. You will find out where things are and of course you can hop-off when you see something you want to check out.

Be sure to go to the Tower of London to check out the Crown Jewels and have your picture made with a Beefeater. I always recommend the theater, 1/2 price tickets at TKTS on Leichester Square. London Walks to suite your interest are also fun.

AisleSeat . . . this is an old thread. The OP traveled to London in Sept. <B>2010

Maybe Fodors could make them turn yellow as the get older. Hope the had a nice trip.

Victoria Plaza across from Victoria Station gives access to all kinds of transportation and bus tours plus inexpensive places to eat and a supermarket. There are two maybe three theaters in the area if you want something to do at night. Do the hop-on hop-off bus and check into walking tours. London Eye might require reservations.

Floridapugmom, I would suggest (as I have in the past) looking into the STRAND PALACE, only a few minutes walk from Trafalgar Square. The locale is within 1/2 mile of many major sites including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, the City, the National and Portrait Gallery, the theater district, and the river to name a few.

In my view, Bloomsbury is charming but not as convenient. The Strand Palace is a large vintage hotel with all rooms recently updated. Price reasonable and serves a hearty English breakfast.It is directly across from the toney Savoy.

Caveat - the Strand does not have AC. That was no problem when I visited last July since London was experiencing a cold wave.