jamikins

Hi there,
yes, its me again, but this is the last one, I swear

My hubby and i will be in London for 6 days of our honeymoon. We have purchased the 7 day metro pass for central zones. Is this itinerary doable?

Here it goes:

Day 1 (Saturday):
Meet up with friends
Go out on town with friends

Day 2 (Sunday)
Portobello Market and Notting Hill
Kensington Palace
Afternoon Tea

Day 3 (Monday)
Bath and Stonehenge Tour

Day 4 (Tuesday):
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
London Dungeons
Ghost Walk in the evening

Day 5 (Wednesday):
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
Trafalgar Square
House of Parliament
West End show

Day 6 (Thursday):
Any suggestions???

Day 7 (Friday): Leave London for Paris

Thank you sooo much!

Jamie

Patrick

Am I wrong? I was thinking nothing much happens on Sunday at Portobella Road market. It's all about Saturday!

On Tuesday, I'd probably do a hop on hop off bus tour that will let you do all the places you've planned, plus get a good overview of the entire city with some narration and explanation.

For Thursday, I'd probably go to Windsor and see the castle in the morning. Back in the city, just walk yourself silly.

Julie

I don't know if you're a museum fan, but you might want to consider adding some museum visits, maybe on your open day. I enjoyed the British Museum and the National Gallery. You might also consider a boat ride on the Thames out to Greenwich and back.

LeslieC

First, I'd do the Round London or the Big Bus tour your first day in. This is a great orientation to the city.

Second, I'd skip the London Dungeons alltogether.

Definitely add a museum or two, the British Museum, the National Gallery and/or the National Portrait Gallery are fun. If you like decorative arts and costumes the Victoria and Albert are fun.

For Thursday, consider the London Eye and St. Patrick's Cathedral. You might also take a stroll from Trafalgar over to Leichester Square and Covent Garden.

Also, I like doing a late afternoon tea the same day as the night at the theatre since you'll be dressed nicely and so full you won't need to squeeze in dinner before the play.

I like to vist Harrods food halls and Fortnum and Mason's as well.

Even though you're going to use the tube, do take one or two of the wonderful London taxi rides!

janis

Actually (and this is about a first) you have too little, rather than too much.

For instance on day 5 you will tour through Westminster Abbey - which is wonderful. But none of the other things you list take more than a few minutes to walk past (Buck House, Parliament/Big Ben/Trafalgar Square). None are things you will tour through - only walk past (unless you reserve a personal tour of Parliament)

definitely skip the London Dungeon - the only people who might enjoy it are pre-pubescent boys with a goulish streak.

There is no reason to go to Portabello Road on a Sunday. If Saturday is your first day in London you will not be there early enough to be able to go to the market. So skip Portobello Rd altogether.

After Tower Bridge on Tuesday you could go to the Design Museum at Butlers Wharf or walk along the south bank to the Globe, tate Modern, OXO Tower, London eye, etc.

Sunday is not the best day to do an afternoon tea - Sunday Lunch is the big meal of the day so not many places do an afternoon tea. You could do that just about any other day.

_Julie_

When I was in London last summer I enjoyed a tour of Young's Brewery in Wandsworth - just a thought and something a little different

http://www.youngs.co.uk

I would second Leslie on visiting Harrods food halls - It makes me hungry just to think of it!

I'm not big into museums either but enjoyed the British Museum - and if all else fails there is a nice gift shop and cafe. And if you are really bored you can wander around the area, there are some interesting little streets in that area.

Gave a great trip, and don't forget to be a little spontaneous! (something I forget some of the time...)

ben_haines_london

A group of three neighbouring markets are open on Sunday mornings: Petticoat Lane (Middlesex Street), Spitalfields, and the northern end of Brick Lane. Then you finish with lager and lunch in one of the Bengali curry houses of Brick Lane.

Ben Haines

kaudrey

Hi!

I was in London last month, so here are my 2 cents worth:

Janis is right that day 5 is light. Besides Westminster Abbey, you don't go into any of those places, just walk around and take pictures. I'd walk around Covent Garden that day - it's relaxing and you can do a little shopping.

For Thursday - I really enjoyed the tour of Shakespeare's Globe theatre, but that depends on if you like him at all. St. Paul's Cathedral is beautiful and definitely worth a visit.

Or, if you want a nice day or 1/2 day trip, Hampton Court Palace was wonderful. It's an easy 1/2 hour train ride from Waterloo Station.

Have fun!

Anonymous

All the comments above are excellent. Especially, skip the London Dungeon, add a museum, and take the Verger's Tour at Westminster Abbey.

If you do decide to have afternoon tea on Sunday, there's no place better than the Orangery right at Kensington Palace, though when I was there (pre-renovations, 2001) it was not a traditional "tea," more like a cafe, but very charming.

Barb_in_Ga

I agree with several others that you could add a museum, but if you are not fond of large museums, the Courtauld Galleries at Somerset House would be a good choice. They have a couple of collections, but my favorite was a display of Impressionist works that included most of the well-known names.
Not overwhelming, and very interesting.

You haven't said when your trip is, but if weather is pleasant, I would include a boat ride on the Thames. A couple of other ideas include a visit to Kew Gardens and a ride in the London Eye.

adlmllr

I agree about the verger's tour at Westminster Abbey. I'd switch that to Thursday, take the last tour of the day (3:00) and stay for Evensong. One of the highlights of our trip -- and we're not even Christian. The choir is amazing and to hear their voices in that setting is positively awe inspiring.

I also agree that you should add a couple of museums. The National Portrait Gallery is a wonderful place to visit, especially the first floor contemporary exhibits, and it's right around the corner from the National Gallery. Both museums are free so you won't have to feel that you need to spend a long time if you don't feel like it. The audio guide at the National Gallery is well worth getting as a majority of the works are included.

We were in London last week on a family trip and had a nice visit to the Tower of London in the morning, followed by lunch at the Tate Modern cafe (we took the tube a couple of stops to Blackfriars and crossed the Thames via the Millenium Bridge) and a visit to the Globe theater. Two of us took the tour while my husband and the other two girls participated in "Dressing Ophelia", in which our 14 year old was dressed in the fifteen articles of clothing Ophelia would wear. Can't wait to see the pictures!

One last suggestion for walking is to stroll down Sloane Street to Sloane Square and follow King's Road. There are lots of lovely little streets and mews to explore as well as many historic homes. Walk by Royal Hospital and onto Cheyne Walk by the river. There's a lot of fun shops on the King's Road also.

Have a great time!

KT_Tomlinson

I agree that you may want to try to fit in a museum or two. I would do the British Museum first, and maybe then the National Gallery or Tate. For a first trip, I would probably skip the Tate Modern. Another thing to consider when you are in the Westminster Abbey area is the Cabinet War Rooms. These are the underground bunkers where the Prime Minister and his staff stayed during much of WWII, and they have been left just as they were at the end of the war. There is a good audio tour. I also would recommend Kew Gardens for a morning or afternoon, and there is a lovely restaurant for lunch in Kew, the Glasshouse.
Have a great trip. London is one of my favorite cities, right after Paris!

Kristina

Hi-
Sounds good to me. You're not over-booking yourself. It's very much like a trip I took a few years ago, including the bath and Stonehenge tour. Who are you using for the tour? We used Astral Travels.
If you want to see my trip, go to
http://www.wired2theworld.com and click on the London 2001 trip.