Lisa2464

I am going on a last minute trip to London/Paris for 1st time on 9/29. This will be our first trip to both cities and I like an active and full day. We (husband and I, late 30's) will be in London for 3 straight days and then another 1/2 day before going back home. I usually spend months researching my trips so this is killing me! Today I have spent all day!!! working on the following itinerary. We want to see the 'must see' sights. I have yet to figure out Paris but will post when I do. Thank you in advance for any and all opinions. I also need pubs/resturant and tube advice, if you have any however I figured I needed this done first!

9/29 Arrive London 9;00 pm from JFK - get to hotel - Chesterfield Mayfair( OK or should we stay elsewhere?)

Day 1 - Tuesday:
AM - Bus tour to get general overview
Buckingham palace - is driving by enough or do we need to walk by - not open for tours.
PM Cabinet War Rooms
Trafalgar Square
National gallery - if time permits

Day 2 - Weds:
AM Tower of London/beefeater tour
PM Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Parliament - 3-3:30 - if possible, Whitehall
Sunset - London Eye - weather permitting

Day 3 - Thurs -
AM Walk around Mayfair
11:00 London walks-Beatles-Husband's non- negotiable request
PM - British Musuem
St Pauls Cathedral
Theater at night

Day 4- its a Tues- 1/2 day in London after Chunnel back from Paris - have a room at 5 Sumner place

PM - Harrods
(London eye -provisional)
V&A museum
Dinner & walk around S. Kensington

I also want to be able to explore some on our own and fit in tea somewhere. Am I crazy to think this itineray is feasible???

ira

Hi Lisa,

Have a great trip. Your itinerary looks OK. However, I think that you are overplanned and will not fit it all in, but that is what I do.

nfkura

The feasibility of your itinerary depends on your energy! Go for it!!!!
My favority sight to send people to in London is Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms in Whitehall; it is the actual area from which the British government directed the war during the Blitz. It, more that any other sightseeing spot I have encountered, evokes London during WWII--and it's impossible to understand London without understanding that event. It won't take a long time to see this, but I highly recommend it. As for tea--I recommend either Brown's in Mayfair or the Goring Hotel in Victoria. Both are lovely--but very expensive; so be prepared. Harrod's also serve a delightful tea, but be prepared for a lot of chocolate!!
Enjoy.

rickmav

I agree with others - ambitious but is a good 'wish' list.

Personally, I think Buckingham Palace is ok to drive by. You can't get close to, anyway, the Palace is behind tall fences and you can't see gardens. The only advantage to walking is that you might drop by the Queen's Mews, attached to the Palace, which has rotating exhibits on Queen's possessions. But you are already seeing a lot of museums.

I agree with nfkura re: the Cabinet War Rooms, I found them really interesting as well. Make sure to get the headphones. If you find you don't have enough time to do the National Gallery justice you might nip next door and wander through a few floors of the National Portrait Gallery instead. If you focus on the Royalty floor and the portraits of modern 'famous' figures on the bottom floor (the oldest portraits are on the top floor, so normally you would work your way down) you'll enjoy yourself. There's also a great gift shop. And entry is free.

Day 3 - British Museum - again, this is a huge place and worth, probably, of a week's visit. But perhaps you can check their website ahead of time and agree on things you really want to see.

It if it were me, on my last 1/2 day I'd have a great dinner someplace special and go to the theatre again instead of the V&A - save that for your next visit.

I'm sure you're going to have a great time.

desertduds

If you can squeeze it in, we found the Imperial War Museum wonderful.

janis

Mostly doable - just a couple of minor points:

There is no need to go to Whitehall on Wed - since you will have already been there on Tuesday when you go to the War Rooms.

Also it is highly unlikely you will get to St Pauls on Thursday in time to get inside. By the time you do the Walk, have lunch and go to the British Museum it will be after 4PM and they will have already begun closing up for Evensong. If you cannot get to St Pauls before about 3PM you should probably skip it because you could only step inside and not get to really see anything. Or you could go to the Evensong service before going to the theatre.

jsmith

Lisa2464, a last minute trip is tomorrow not 3 weeks. It is all very well as some say to save it for the next visit. Bull. If you can work it in now, do it. Remember that great advice from Shirley Conran, "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom".

Bree

Your itinerary looks feasible, if you've got a lot of stamina. But if it were me, I'd skip the London Eye, which just isn't my cup of tea. (If you've got your heart set on going there, then skip the rest of this post.) Then I'd re-arrange the rest of the schedule to take advantage of the days on which the museums you want to go to are open late.

Skipping the London Eye would free up the later part of Wednesday afternon, which is when I'd plan to go to the National Gallery. The National Gallery stays open until 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, so even if you didn't get there until late in the afternoon, you'd still have a few hours to spend there.

Moving the National Gallery to Wednesday would free up the later half of Tuesday afternoon, which is when I'd plan to go to St. Paul's. I agree with everyone who has said that the Cabinet War Rooms are worth a visit, but I seem to recall that they didn't take very long -- no more than an hour or so -- so you should be able to get to St. Paul's at a reasonable hour if you go there after visiting the Cabinet War Rooms.

Moving St. Paul's to Tuesday would give you more time at the British Museum after the Beatles walk on Thursday. Although the British Museum closes at 5:30 on most days, some of the galleries stay open until 8:30 on Thursdays (see http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/visit/lateviews.html for a list). So if you saved the "late view" galleries for the end of your visit to the museum, you could stay at the museum until 6 p.m. or so before leaving for dinner and the theatre.

Jayne11159

I didn't read all the threads so please pardon me if I repeat. The V&A and British Museum are huge--look them up on the web before you go and decide which galleries you most want to see. I thought the costume/dress gallery at the V&A was fascinating.

Personally, I'd skip the London Eye, esp. if the lines are as long as they were when we were there. Get to the tower of London early in the a.m., otherwise the line will eat up a lot of your time. A drive by Buckingham is sufficient. If you want to see the changing of the Guard don't waste time getting there early. We got there 10 minutes before and were able to work our way right up to the curb.

If any of your evenings are free, I'd highly recommend looking for last minute tickets in the theater district.

Look up the Tube map online. It's efficient and very easy to figure out You may want to re-work some of your agenda if you find you're criss-crossing the city. Get three day passes in both cities to save a lot of time.

Have a great trip. It's a wonderful city.

caroltheanglophile

Lisa2464 - there's a man who sells Beatles memorabilia at Camden Passage antique market on Wednesday mornings. If that at all interests you, let me know and I will get you details.
Also, I would recommend you get a good map of London when you get there - I have the London Visitor's Map by Benson's Map Guides which I bought at a Bureaux de Change in London and also bought it at the London Transport Museum near Covent Garden. It has a very handy tube map on the back, and also all locations of the main tourist attractions are listed plus theaters.
I'd also recommend that you do a Thames boat trip instead of the bus trip for a great relaxing general overview. If you have a tube pass, you can get a discount on the boat trip.
Finally, I would highly recommend the Museum of London instead of the British Museum, unless there's something at the BM that you must see.
Have a great time!

rickmav

Message: Lisa2464, a last minute trip is tomorrow not 3 weeks. It is all very well as some say to save it for the next visit. Bull. If you can work it in now, do it. Remember that great advice from Shirley Conran, "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom".

jsmith, helpful as always.

carolyn

I disagree with taking the Thames boat trip instead of a hop-on hop-off bus tour. The river cruise is pleasant but not nearly as all-encompassing as the bus, and the bus trip also will help orient you to the city.

Do as much as you can cope with. You can rest when you get home, and you will know what you want more of when you go back. I love London.

one2travel

Hi Lisa,

Yes this is ambitious but you should be able to do it.

First, I highly recommend the Cabinet War Rooms as so many have. It made the history come alive and of course, I am a BIG Churchhill fan. And it is right on Whitehall. Walk down the street to come upon Trafalgar and the Natl Gallery (easy walk)

Second, Trafalgar is right in front of the National Gallery - you should be able to fit both in.

Third, get your tickets for the Tower beforehand (check on their website for details) and make sure you get there before opening. Go thru the jewels first thing and then tour everything else.

Fourth, imho, the British Museum is an absolute must-see. It is wonderful and as one person advised you, it is open late at least one night a week - check that out.

Good luck. I have been to London in the neighborhood of 25 times and have yet to see everything. It is a wonderful city!

Equihands

Lisa, if you are going to be near Harrods, a dinner suggestion for you, walk a few blocks down and turn left onto Beauchamp Pl (they pronounce it Beecham) (or it could be road or St) I forget which and have dinner at Patara. It is a wonderful Thai restaurant. I ate there twice. I was traveling on my own and as a single diner I was treated like royalty. The food and the service are excellent. All the servers were very attentive and cheerful. I never felt rushed through the dinner. There was an extensive menu to choose from it took me about 10 minutes to look through it as I couldn't decided what to have. From start to finish the best meal I had in London was at this restaurant. Enjoy! The tube is very easy to get around on. Every line is color coded. Grab a tube map at any station and you may want to get a London street map, which many of the tourist bureaus will give you for free or you can buy an A-Z street map book. The maps give you all the tube stops so you just have to look for where you want to go and see which tube stop is closest. Sometimes you have to switch trains, but it really is so easy and there are always people working by the turnstile exits that you can ask for directions to your next location. Always keep your tube ticket handy as you have to also use it to exit the tube at each station. Have a wonderful trip.

four2travel

Lisa2464, just got back two weeks ago.

Couple of things.
1) we did the Eye at sunset. It was a clear warm day. We had no lineup save 10 mins for both the tickets and the acctual getting on. Fantastic views and by the end the lights were coming on covering Big Ben and the Parliment Buildings with a warm glow.

2) St Pauls is undergoing a face lift. The front is completely covered in plastic and the nave is also undergoing work. Although you can climb to the whispering galery it also has scaffolding going clear across it. You can still climb to the top, but the Eye gives a much more impressive view, how be it a different part of the city. Evensong still makes it worthwhile.

We did not encounter any lineups of any significance. To give an example we walked throught the Crown Jewel display at Tower of London twice.

St Paul's was the only place we noticed major restoration work.

Buy your tube pass after 9:30 for about half price what it costs at 9:29. You can then ride the tube, buses and rail for the zones covered on your ticket all day. Probably don't need more than zone 1 and 2 most days.

The PM Cabinet War Rooms are not to be missed.

We did the Tower Bridge tour and would recommend that if you find you are ahead of schedule after the tower tour.

All said, we spent 3 days in London also. Saw lots, but only scratched the surface. You can do everything you are planning, and you'll sleep well at night. Recomment you buy and good travel guide book and keep it handy. Partial to DK books - Top Ten in London.

Anyways have fun.

bbkay

Just came back from a week in London and your itinerary looks good. We did the inside of Buckingham Palace. If it is not closed when you get there, you must do it!!! It was a favorite of the week.

If the Chesterfield/Mayfair is near the Green Park tube you will have it made in the shade. We stayed in Mayfair a block from the Green Park tube and it was an IDEAL location. The tube station has 3 lines that run through it so you can get most places from that one station. It is also within walking distance to Buckingham, just through Green Park and all of the night life. Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Sq. are only a few blocks away and also on the tube line from Green Park station.

Shopping: I didn't spend much time in Harrods but travelled from Oxford St., to South Kensington to Covent Garden through the week on shopping jaunts. IMHO the best one stop shopping location was Covent Garden area. Many, many shops and lots of major stores have put branches in Covent Garden Market area since it is such a destination point for so many. As an added bonus it had lots of sidewalk cafe's and street performers. There was a band playing every day for the weekend when we were there. IF you are short on time. Start there first.

Tammi

I actually think your itinerary is very feasible. I had a similiar itinerary planned for June (4 days), which I thought would be impossible to accomplish. We accomplished it and got to add in things as well! You sound like you have energy and will be able to handle such a rushed plan.

Have fun!!

Post your Paris itinerary when you finish it... I'm impressed with how fast you planned this London one

Lisa2464

Wow! Thanks for all the helpful feedback _ I greatly appreciate it -- I am off to make my changes!