Hello all,

My fiance and I will be headed to London for an 8 day honeymoon on Oct. 7 (wedding Oct 7th). Since we are newbies at the whole international travel situation, we were wondering if we could reley on some of you more experienced travelers to help us out.

First of all, we have planned a one day trip to Bath and Windsor, but the other 7 days we are having a hard time organizing. The only other concrete detail is a big bus tour on the first day of our trip. What things/places are the best to see and do on the same days? We are both young people (24 yrs old), but at the same time we do not want to overdue ourselves. So we'd like if you could provide some sample day plans that we could look over?

Secondly, what tips on international travel could be useful for us? We're really excited about getting to London, but with all the wedding plans a bit overwhelmed with the planning. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

Others will chime in with their thoughts, but here are mine:

First of all, you are being EXTREMELY WISE not to try to do too much. (Are you really 24? ;-) )

Secondly, the weather in London is very unpredictable -- I mean REALLY unpredictable, so my advice is to make a list of what you MOST want to see, take note of which places are close to each other, and then realize that it's best to do the indoor things on rainy days and the outdoor things on sunny days.

I think you are also VERY WISE to begin your trip with bus tour of some sort. That will not only give you some sense of the relationship of places to one another, it will help you sort out, in reality instead of just theoretically, what you truly want to see. Many people are very keen to tour Buckingham Palace or ride the London Eye until they actually see it. Conversely, some people never realize how much they want to walk through St. James Park or tour the Globe theater until they see it for real instead of just reading about it.

Lastly, weddings can be exhausting affairs. London weather can produce colds. Take it easy. Bring the right clothing. Enjoy each other's company in a cozy pub instead of doing madcap sightseeing.

I lived in London for close to a year and have friends who were born there. Nobody ever feels they really "know" London. It is vast. Instead of trying to "see the sights", take time to look closely at whatever you are seeing. London is an incredible mix of the modern and historic city. It's fascinating wherever you look.

Have a great honeymoon!

First of all, congratulations!

The first day I arrived in London, I came out of the Tube at Westminster at dusk, and saw Big Ben, and it was so beautiful I actually teared up -- it was so neat to FINALLY be seeing one of the world's great landmarks, and it became my very first impression of London.

London is a BIG city -- it's the biggest in Europe I think, so there is plenty to do and see. You can watch a play at Picadilly, go for a flight on the London Eye (still a favorite of mine), go to mass at St. Paul's, and walk Whitehall, see some great art at the great (and mostly free) museums. There's a million things to see and do, depending on your interests.

I think you're wise not to try to do TOO much. Give yourselves time to just enjoy each other, and soak in the beautiful city.

I would suggest going to your local library and checking out travel videos about London. I'd also get a couple of guidebooks to help you plan. A couple of $20 books are excellent investments in a very expensive vacation. The best thing to do is to spend time at your local bookstore and find one that fits your personal reading/budget/travel style. I like Rick Steves a lot for the first-time trip...he has good travel advice, and his walking tours are really great, including Westminster Abbey.

Happy travels,

Jules

Congratulations!!

Before hitting the library or buying a guide book -- click on DESTINATIONS above. Then follow the links to London. There is a <b>lot</b> of info to get you started including a sample 5 day itinerary.

If the wedding in on the 7th and you are immediately jumping on the plane - you probably will be totally zonked your first day in London. I would take it really, <u>really</u> easy that first day. At most take the bus tour - which I usually recommend for the first day. But in your case w/ the excitement/exhaustion of all the festivities I'd probably just take a nice long walk through St James/Green/Hyde parks, or maybe walk along the river and take one of the river boats, and leave the tour bus for day 2.

Congratulations! What a wonderful honeymoon you will have. I very much agree with the above posts - take it easy and enjoy. It really depends on what you like. When my husband and I went several years ago our favorites were: boat rides on the Thames, Tower of London (fantastic!), walking around in the Picadilly Circus area and really just walking around absorbing the all the sights and sounds.

If you are not into tombs, you might want to skip Westminister Abbey. The tour of Buckingham Palace was interesting but after that Windsor Palace was repetitive so I would have skipped that. The town of Windsor is darling - be sure to have tea there.

One last highlight and you do this at dusk into night is the Jack the Ripper tour - it is great fun and you get to see wonderful London neighborhoods - not just the tourist sites.

Take your time and enjoy the city - you will love it.

Deb

What a fun trip! I couldn't quite tell from your post, are you planning to do Bath and Windsor on the same day? Is it with a tour group? I will admit that I've not seen either, but I think that would be a very rushed and packed day. Windsor is close to London, and you could get there on your own and spend 1/2 to a full day. From what I've read, Bath would be a nice day trip on its own.

Over the weekend, I'd be sure to take in one or two of London's famous markets. My favorite is Borough Market, a fabulous food market on the South Bank. We went on a Saturday morning, bought our breakfast there AND food for a picnic lunch. http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

I would spend a day also at Hampton Court . We took the train from Waterloo Station, arrived at 10AM and didn't leave til 4! The costumed guides plus the audio guides make the place come alive....The Churchill War Museum in London is very interesting...

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Yes we're doing Bath and Windor on a tour. Probably not the best way to do things...but as an introduction to the area we thought it would work fine for this trip.

The markets are a very fine idea, we are both people that like those kind of things. The hardest part about planning a trip like this and balancing a wedding plan at the same time, has to be not getting to far ahead of ourselves. We've learned that you can read book after book, but you can still really have no idea about how to group things together. Kind of frustrating to say the least...the city has an extrodinary amount of things to do but fitting the on a schedule (or should i say plan) can be challenging.

As well, we are thinking about going to a play/musical one or two nights. Since we have never been to broadway to see a show, which show in london would give us the best experience?

Finally, we see all of these beautiful pictures of the london sights at nighttime. Where can we go at night to be able to see the true beauty of the city at night, and still be safe??

Thank again for all your help.

What days are you in London? I assume you land on October 8? When do you fly home? The days of the week will matter to some things, like markets. Borough Market is open noon to 6pm on Fridays and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays. Portobello is best seen very early Sat. morning. Camden woud be Sunday. etc.

For a cool nighttime view of the city, I'd do a 'flight' on the London Eye, which is a really big observation wheel on the South Bank of the Thames. Right on the Thames. It will give you nice views of the river and especially of Big Ben/Houses of Parliament. We did it at sunset, but I think right after dark would be great since you are interested in night views. You could probably wait for a clear evening and just go then.

In 8 days, I'd probably go to at least 2 shows. The West End is fun before and after the shows - you can eat either time. One of my favorites is the musical Les Miserables, which most likely has tickets at the half price TKTS booth in Leicester Square. There's a current London theatre thread which has good suggestions:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34854235

Paris is three hours away by train (about the same time enroute - within an hour - as a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge). Taking the first train out and last train back gives you almost 12 hours on the ground.

Skip the Big Bus tour - you can jump on and off city buses all day for &pound;3. Here's the map: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf

If you like Indian food, don't miss an evening in Brick Lane. That is a street that has dozens of good Indian and Bangladeshi restaurants, mostly reasonably priced (quite an important consideration in London if you're not really wealthy) &amp; the whole atmosphere of the street is wonderful.

&quot;what tips on international travel could be useful for us.&quot;

I think your plan to spend most of your trip in one city is a great start. My biggest tip is to allow time to wander, to explore neighborhoods other than tourist or business areas, and, if it's a reasonably nice day, sit in a park for an hour or so.

In other words, spend time where Londoners spend time.

As far as which neighborhoods, I'm afraid I don't know London well enough to give you a list, but if you're 24, you might want to head up to Camden Town. One of the younger areas, lots of shops, and a great flea market on Saturdays.

Best wishes for a long and happy life together. My husband and I went to London for the beginning of our honeymoon and it was our first trip to Europe. Great idea!! Now we go to London to visit our daughter and family who live there. I go 3/4 times a year. I always take London Walks tours, both 2/3 hour walking ones and full day train/bus excursions. Excellent guides, well planned tours. Look at their website...http://www.walks.com/
Borough Market is another favorite of mine. BUT...between a wedding and a transatlantic flight you will be tired and jetted. PLUS London is very, very expensive. Not especially all the restaurants but shopping. The US dollar is so weak that I buy NOTHING in London. There is almost nothing there that you can't get in any large city in the US. So, you will want to get some stuff, but just remember the pound is almost TWO US dollars.

Rereading the posts here I think the one day to Paris near the end of your trip might be a very good idea. The Eurostar is fast, fun, and convenient. Look at the website and see if they still have advance tickets at a very good price. There are ATMs all over London and Paris so money (if you have enough in the bank!) is no problem. I always use the ATM at the airport first thing.

RE: Eurostar fares.

I haven't checked lately, but the very cheapest fare used to be an overnight valid from (IIRC) 16:00 to 12:00 the next day.

Since Paris is open all night on New Year's Eve-Day (even the M&eacute;tro runs in the wee hours), you might want to consider spending the night there just walking around. If your London hotel allowed you to stash your gear with the concierge, you might even save a night's lodging and remain footloose.

Robespierre, I think you might have meant to post this on the thread of the couple that is going to be in England for New Year's:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34871482
The couple on this thread is going in October.

Oh. Never mind.

(How did <i>that</i> happen?)

One thing you might enjoy doing during your honeymoon is attending a taping of a BBC program. For example, you could attend a taping of The Bigger Picture, a funny current events show hosted by Graham Norton. They will doing a taping on the late afternoon of October 9. Tell them it's your honeymoon, you'll be sure to get in! Tickets are free, fyi.
www.bbc.co.uk/biggerpicture

duker3100,
Firstly congratulations!
Other places for catching good views/skylines not mentioned include Tate Modern, Greenwich, Primrose Hill. You can take nice strolls in all these areas.
I also recommend Hever Castle--I personally enjoyed as much as if not more than Hampton Court.
Given the prices, weak $ etc, I never considered London as a shopping destination, though you can pick up nice things--Whittard makes various flavour teas, and there are some antique (not bric-brac) markets as well.

I must say Brick Lane is interesting for strolling, though I would try other places for Indian food. Many stalls just sell lots of cheapwares with little characters.
Paris by Eurostar is a good idea, though I think you can easily find thihgs to keep you occupied in London. You can do a day-trip if you don't mind a long day. Just avoid travelling over the weekend, and note museums are closed Mon or Tue.

Oh, and if you can sleep during the flights, you can always use the time for writing thank-you cards (and post them from London)! ;-)

I am sure you are feeling very overwhelmed after reading all the great suggestions in these posts. Just remember that you will not be able to see it all (you won't even come close) and the important thing, on this trip, is to spend time with each other. I tried to figure out a good itinerary for our London trip but then gave up. I knew ahead of time what were the priorities and then just visited places based on the weather and what we all felt like doing. I read Rick Steves before hand and then carried a spiral-bound AAA guide book with me that had great maps and destinations grouped by neighborhoods. I do recommend getting a tube pass because it will really free up your planning. I loved the Big Bus tour and thought it was worth the money. We took it the day we arrived and just sat on it for the whole tour. We didn't get off of it until the end. Les Mis would be a perfect first show. We got great seats at a discount (Les Mis aren't half price) at TKTS in Leicster square. Make sure you go to the large booth marked TKTS. If you click on my name, my London trip report will come up. It is not in itinerary form, though. Have fun!