Another London Itinerary, advice please
 

We are travelling to London, very first trip abroad, arriving June 13, morning. We're staying at a hotel very near the Tower of London, and we have 4 days there.

I was thinking of the following:

Friday
Find hotel, get settled
Maybe do the hop on hop off bus tour

Saturday
Tour to someplace which includes Stonehenge


Sunday
Attend church services and shop someplace

Monday
Day trip on Eurostar to Paris
Do Hop on Hop off bus tour
Louvre

Tuesday
Maybe go to Thornbury castle near Bristol overnight
High Tea while there

Wednesday
Leave Bristol
Find a hotel with a shuttle to Heathrow for am flight out Thursday

One of us is retired.

Is this too much running around?

Are there any other castles we can stay at that might be advisable that are closer to Stonehenge to make that easier to include?

Any hotels near Heathrow which provide some ability to look around Wednesday yet are close enough to the airport to make getting there easy early in the morning?

I've never been on a train, never been abroad. Never used a lot of public transportation.

Any discounts anyone knows of that we could utilize?

This trip is a celebration, very very excited to see the sights.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

< We are travelling to London >


This trip doesn't look to me like you're going to London.

You are really going to:
Stonehenge
Bristol
Paris

If that's what you want to see, that's fine.

< we have 4 days there >

??? Fri->Wed = 6 days

< Is this too much running around? >

Yes, I think it's a lot of running around. You're basically going on daytrips every day.

< Any discounts anyone knows of that we could utilize? >

Discounts for what? Transport? Sightseeing? Tours?

I would worry I would get tired out by the day trips and I'm nowhere near retirement. There is so much to see in London, but I don't see much time allotted to that.
It doesn't take that long to get to the airport from the city, I'd just stay in town.
The tube is easy and there are help desks. I bought day passes for unlimited rides because I moved around on it a lot.
Bus is easy too, and a cheap way to have a look around, but avoid riding through busy sections at rush hour like I made mistake of doing.

It's okay if you are not interested in museums or whatever. I went and did not go to a show or to see the palace, changing of the guards, etc., but many are going to be surprised you only have a bus ride and a shopping trip planned for one of the world's great cities.

OK let me clarify a couple of things. This is a rather last minute trip booked last week so I have been pointing and clicking like a madman trying to figure everything out.

The entire trip is abbreviated due to circumstances beyond our control, we'd like to stay longer but we can't. We started out wanting to see the landmarks in London and then we thought we'd like to see Stonehenge. Then the thought occurred that we'd like to sleep in a castle once. And it's hard to resist the Louvre being so close.

So that's the primary 4 thoughts that guided all of the running around. It's really hard to not feel like a kid in a candy store! I want it all! :)

I couldn't find a castle/hotel closer to London. Is there one?

The 4 days/6 day thing is just that we've got the first 4 days actually booked at a room; the last two nights are thus far open.

This is why I posted here, I'm trying to be rational but really it's a very exciting trip to contemplate. The references to "shopping" could probably be interchanged with "exploring"; I was trying to leave open time for whatever.

Is that a little clearer?

Thanks everyone for your help.

&quot;<i>Is that a little clearer?</i>&quot;

Nope :) That only makes things worse.

1) The Louvre is not &quot;so close&quot;. If you want to see a museum there are MANY (British, V&amp;A, National Gallery, etc.) right in London. If you want to see the Louvre - go to Paris, not the east end of London.

2) Stonehenge is a FULL day trip, the tour is expensive from London (cheap as can be if you were staying out near Salisbury), and you will still likely be jetlagged by Sat morning - do you really want to be out the door at 7 a.m.??

3) Thronbury castle is several counties away from London and it makes absolutely no sense to go there on such a short trip. (BTW _ the Tower of London is next door to your hotel - that is a castle)

4) someone who has been to all these places many times would have a hard time navigating this itinerary. For folks &quot;of a certain age ;) &quot; - on their first visit, having NEVER used public transport - I'd say this is nigh on impossible.

Go to London. <b>JUST</b> London. Enjoy London. Get your bearings. Get your feet wet on a much more leisurely pace. And as soon as you get home - start planning you next trip w/ more time.

&lt; It's really hard to not feel like a kid in a candy store! I want it all! &gt;

Unfortunately, you can't have it all.

Only YOU (and your travel companion) can decide how to prioritize. IMO, it's a waste of time to go all the way to London (your first trip) and spend half of your time on a train.

If your priority is London, then you should stay in London the whole time with ONE daytrip.

If your priority is Paris, then just go to Paris.

If your priority is staying in a castle, then you should stay in a castle/countryside the whole time.

I completely agree with the others. There is SO much to see, so much history in London and four days will give you just enough time to see a bit...maybe a day bus tour out to the Cotswolds. Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Churchill's War Rooms, Kensington/Buckingham Palaces, Imperial War Museum and British Museum(I'm not at all a museum person, but these are sensational) are just for starters....watching the Horseguards come down the Mall to the palace...short Thames river cruise. You've got the time, the day will be long with the sun up till really late, so use the time to squeeze in as much as possible.

This is not a trip to London! With 4 days STAY IN LONDON!!! Seriously, this is way too much and you arent going to see anything in London! I've lived here since Aug 2007 and still havent seen anything.

The Tower of London is an old castle and deserves at least half a day.

I would maybe do one trip close to London. London Walks does Explorer Days to Stonehenge www.walks.com you could also do Hampton Court or Windsor Castle.

Paris and Bristol are unreasonable. Look at the cost of travel (at least $150 for a eurostar to Paris plus transportation plus entrance to the Louvre EACH). There are tonnes of FREE museums here.

I recommend getting a guide book, or looking at the Destinations link above on Fodors and seeing whats IN London to see!

Sorry..I meant I havent seen everything...of course I have seen some things hahaha

Ok I was kind of worrying about spreading too thin and that was why I posted in the first place, so thank you, everyone.

I'll copy your responses and email to my friend and we'll have to prioritize, either Paris or Stonehenge or castle and the rest, London.

When we get that figured out, I am sure I'll have more questions; until then, thanks much for your advice.

L

I would second the advice to take a look at doing an Explorer day with London Walks. I did the Salisbury/Stonehenge day, guided by Hillary, last week and was most impressed. They offer an excellent way to see and appreciate the area without being bogged down in the mechanics. With only four days you will want to maximize use of your time.
Another idea would be to do a tea on your day of arrival. It is the ideal day since you will likely be early to bed that day.
Enjoy your visit. London is an extraordinary city.

Linda...Im so glad you are taking a second look! I remember the first time I came to Europe...I wanted to see EVERYTHING!!! But with 4 days (or 3 weeks ha) you cant possibly see everything you want. With 4 days it makes more sense to stay in one city (London or Paris) as you will waste a lot of time in transit if you try to visit too many places.

Happy Planning...keep posting your thoughts and we will give you feedback!

I agree with the other posters, although understand your enthusiasm. Hang on to that, it makes whatever you see that much more worthwhile. I do have some suggestions for some of your specific questions, however:

a) If you want to go to church on Sunday in London, consider Temple Church. Besides its connection to the Da Vinci Code, which may or may not be a good thing for you, it is a beautiful church and there are wonderful walks along the river or through the Temple Inn area before or afterwards;

b) If you do decide to go to Stonehenge, it would be worthwhile to stay overnight and see Stourhead - a beautiful, beautiful garden, and Longleat, a captivating stately home. There's a lovely little inn at Stourhead called the Spread Eagle which overlooks the gardens;

c) I can recommend the Crowne Plaza at Heathrow. Good rates and very comfortable beds - and quiet. It's on the Hoppa Bus service so easy to get to and from Heathrow.

And one last comment on London. In my opinion it's a very expensive place to use as a base for travel to other places. If you were prepared to rent a car and drive around a bit, I'd say book an assortment of B&amp;B's or little inns. If you don't want to do that, stay in London and enjoy it.

Have fun.

I live in the Western USA. When I look at the UK map, everything looks so CLOSE! When I found out the train to Paris was only a little more than 2 hours I couldn't believe it. In California in traffic, folks drive an hour one each way to work and back DAILY.

So I guess I didn't think about the standing and looking part of things.

We have actually 6 days total, we just haven't booked a room for the last two days yet because we haven't figured everything out.

It's hard to cut things out, this trip is a dream for me. Wish I could stay longer!

Linda..I totally understand how you feel. I'm from Vancouver Canada and I too thought everything was so close. What you dont take into consideration are the logistics, for example:

To get from Tower of London to St Pancras is about 30 mins on the tube. Plus you have to be there about 1 hour before your train. Plus 2.5 on the train then you are at Paris du Nord. Then you have to get on the Metro to Louvre. So thats at least 30 mins. So you are looking at 4 hours just to get to Paris.

I live 6 miles from Canary Wharf and it takes me 50 - 60 mins everyday on the tube to get to work. It just takes so much time to get anywhere!

Hope this helps!

rikmav:

Not sure I want to practice driving for the first time in a foreign country on the opposite side of the road.

I'm nervous enough about stepping off the sidewalk looking the wrong direction and becoming an integral part of a european automobile! :) This is part of the reason we wanted to stay in the thick of it, so we won't have to drive!

But It would be nice to see some of the countryside, which is part of the appeal of the tours.

jamikins:

Wow thanks for the lesson on London logistics...I think I saw that the Pancras station was less than 5 km away, in my mind that's only a few minutes! I didn't know you had to be at the train an hour early. And I guess I thought I could get out of the Paris station and right on a hop on/off bus and away we go.

:( what an education I'm getting...

I am so glad I posted on here.

Maybe you could give us an idea of what you want to see. SO far I think you want to see a lovely church service and a castle. I would suggest:

One day - Tower of London, St Pauls

One Day - Walk Buckingham Palace, through St James' Park, to Westminster Abbey. London Walks does a tour of West. Abbey on Monday afernoons.

One Day - Museums of your interst (Tate, Vic and Albert, National Gallery...all of which I think are free)

One Day - day trip to Windsor, or Hampton Court.

Just some thoughts :)

I love London, so I will do my best to help whereever I can!

Rickmav: Thanks for the crown plaza reference, I'll check it out.

As for the church, I'll keep it in mind. I read someplace that there was a chapel in the Tower that conducted services for the locals that might not be all full of lookieloos so I was considering that since we'll be so close. I just didn't want to be in the middle of 5000 other people at church!