We -- DH, two teenage boys and I -- are going to London for a week in late March, and staying in an apartment in Westminster. Before arriving in London we will be Edinburgh for 2 days. The week in London includes 2 day trips -- Bath (a must-see according to many on this board, and Paris -- for a lark). The tickets for the day trips are bought already and now I am panicking at all there is to see in London in the short time we have there. We will be getting the one-week Travel cards so that should help.

So here is what I was thinking -- much based on recommendations by many on this board and things we think would be fun. Is it too much?

Sunday noon: Arrive at hotel; afternoon: tube from Victoria to V and A, with a wander around Imperial College (my late father was a student there in the lats 50s) Dinner in South Ken.

Monday -- Buckingham Palace (outside only); Westminster Abbey (London walk tour?)/Big Ben/Houses of Parliament views. Pub lunch. Churchill Imperial War Museum. Wander about Trafalgar Square with a quick peek at the National Gallery and St Martin in the Fields. Dinner at Covent Garden/Soho. Maybe a play?

Tuesday: Bath (early morning train; return late evening)

Wednesday: Hampton Court (half day) or Windsor Castle. Afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason. See the Parliament at work. or visit Brirish Library. Pub dinner

Thursday: Paris (VERY early train

Friday: Tower of London, Borough Market for lunch and a wander, Globe Theater tour. Tube it to British Museum (open until 8 pm). Dinner with friends in Bloomsbury

Saturday: Portobello Market, A wander in the City and St Paul's. Harrods and Knightsbridge shopping. Dinner at Scott's or J. Sheekey

Sunday morning: Return to Chicago

Of course with two DS, plans can go awry and there is so much to see in London! Want to make sure we see enough without running ourselves ragged, which I think we will. Any advice on having a well-paced trip welcome Thanks

"<i>I am panicking at all there is to see in London in the short time we have there.</i>"

Don't panic -you can't see everything so just go w/ what you can manage.

I might re-think your Saturday a bit though. You are quite literally crossing London 3+ times.

Are the boys interested in Portobello Rd? It would be a very early AM jaunt, and maybe a relaxing morning might be better after all the dashing about for the previous week.

And on a Saturday Harrods will likely be very crowded. St Pauls, The National Gallery/National Portrait Gallery, St Martin in the Fields, Covent Garden and J Sheekey would be a good grouping of sites w/ only St Pauls at some distance. All the others are walking distance from each other.

"<i>Churchill Imperial War Museum.</i>"

Note -- the Churchill Museum/Cabinet War rooms and the Imperial War Museum are different things. I assume you meant the Churchill one since it is near the Abbey - and is great. But so is the Imperial War Museum

Thanks Janis -- you are right, one has to go to London several times to experience everything. Re. Portobello -- I may go there by myself and let the boys sleep in. And yes, I did mean the Churchill War Museum. Think the boys would love it.

What would you recommend -- Windsor vs Hampton Court?

I agree that on Saturday we are criss-crossing London (one way to extract full value from the Travelcard!)but I would rather see my "must sees" first and then do Harrods if there is time on Saturday. DH and I have been to the store before and not sure the boys care.

Windsor is more a fortress-castle - which your sons may enjoy more. Hampton court was a pleasure Palace - built much later - but has much more to see/do., Don;t think you can cover Hampton Court in half a day.

As for Harrod's- a big department store - and unless you are planning on specific shopping I wouldn;t bother.

I'd look at a map to determine the logistics of a lot of this. If you do decide to keep Harrod's in the itinerary (the food market is really cool) then do it on the day you go to the V&A as it is right nearby.

If this is your first time in London, I'd swap some of Monday for Sunday. I would think first-timers would want to see Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace...all of which you could walk to/through on your first afternoon. Maybe book ahed tickets on the London Eye? That itinerary right there is the big bang of London right off the bat. I wouldn't want day one to be a hop on the tube and then inside a museum, no matter how good the V&A is (and it IS fantastic!)

"See the Parliament at work. "

http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/attend/debates/

"A wait of one or two hours is common"

You won't be able to see PMQs nor will you be able to do a tour therefore the only option open to you is to watch a debate

Did you know that you can go to a play at the Globe Theatre? That might be a better option than the tour, but it depends on whether you are interested in Shakespeare enough.

Thanks all...we arrive Sunday afternoon and the Abbey is closed. Also, there are no plays at the Globe the week we are there so that option is out as well.

Agree about buying tickets for the Eye in advance. Can you do that if you are planning to get 2:1 tix? Thanks again.

Don't buy the Eye Tickets in advance as you really don't want to ride in the rain.

reddy that's a shame about no plays at the Globe.

Cathie: I agree. On the bright side it means I have to visit London again. We are missing out on the Cotswolds too so two good reasons!

"<i>here are no plays at the Globe the week we are there</i>"

The Globe is open air -- Even if there were shows, you wouldn't want to attend a play in March.

Also, definitely don't pre-book the Eye. You can phone, book on line, or stop by the ticket office in the morning once you know what the weather is. Late afternoon/dusk is a great time to ride the Eye --IF the weather cooperates.

Fair point, we were there in June when we saw the play and it was quite warm.

You may want to rethink visiting The City on a Sat - everything will be closed up tight with the exception of the area right by St Pauls. One Exchnage is a new shopping complex on Cheapside and that is open but nearly everything around Bank etc is closed as they cater to the city workers. So no pubs, no stores, few restaurants will be open and it is a bit dead.

Hi

I always, always find my trip plans are "biting off more than I can chew" - despite 30++ trips to Europe. But I continue to plan that way anyway because I like having lots of options. Once I am on the ground things change, sometimes drastically. Right now in reading this I think you took something right out of my playbook. It's not a bad thing - I do it all the time. Just be prepared to winnow things out because moving from one place to another will take time.

It's too bad you already bought the Paris day trip tickets b/c I would have urged you to reconsider. That's a long day and if you've never been there before you will wish you had waited for a longer trip. I would consider using that day to merely wander. Don't waste time on waiting in line for the Louvre/Orsay, for instance - one stint of that could mean that museum will eat up your morning because once inside you will spend a few hours. I say this as someone who just made a blitz through several museums on a long wkd there, so I'm not discouraging museums, I'm merely saying be efficient with your limited time. Or, do some research on exhibits in March and choose one SMALL museum such as, for example, the Musee Maillol. For that matter, if you just selected Musee Rodin that would be a good choice. There are plenty of small museums that won't have epic lines. The Museums and Monuments pass wouldn't be a good value b/c you are only there one day, unfortunately.

In reading your days, you really only have Monday planned for London, then you are taking off for three days in a row. Are you sure you want to do this? There is SO MUCH in London, Windsor/Hampton Court can wait. Sunday is only a half day, so I understand not wanting to fill it - ease into the week. Would you consider the Hop On Hop Off bus? You'll get a quick overview of the city and can either stay on the entire trip or do what you like. If it's the first time I'd probably consider doing one full loop and then on the second go to disembark at the place that interests you. Just a thought.

Wednesday is too full if you do plan to do a day trip as well. That might be a good time to consider dropping the day trip you planned, and take a few things you have sprinkled in the other days to Wednesday. Plan to keep them geographically logical.

I'd move your City/St Paul's to Friday. It would be in line with your South Bank plans.

Keep in mind the weather might change your plans somewhat. If it's cold and rainy you might wish to spend more time inside museums. Put another way - when it IS fine, use that time to be outside as much as you can. If I were going in March, with limited time, I'd use the not-rainy days to be outside - as much as I could, and save the museums for the possibly rainy days even if it means moving them to later in the week. I realize with day trips planned that compresses your time somewhat. Make hay while the sun shines! Here's hoping for good weather for you.

Thanks flygirl. I agree about moving the City visit to Friday and taking it slow. We can do Hampton Court Saturday if we feel we have covered major sights by then.

The Paris trip is cramming things in but the kids wanted to go to experience the Chunnel and I found great Eurostar tickets so hard to pass up. We will just see how things go and not fret too much I guess if we cannot get to everything. The must dos for the boys are W abbey, the Tower and the British and Churchill War Museums. I think we can do that in the time we have and still wander. I have been to London several times and the boys and I to Paris many years ago. And we plan to return again some day! Thanks for your input on the hop on and off bus. Is that included in the Travelcard?

"<i>hanks for your input on the hop on and off bus. Is that included in the Travelcard?</i>"

No, the H-o-H-o buses are commercial tours and relatively quite expensive. I often recommend them for folks w/ longer in London. But you really are too rushed IMO to squeeze in a H-o-H-o tour. Just to do one full loop w/o getting off to go inside any of the sites would basically eat up 1/2 a day.

They are something to consider for a first/jet lagged day. You can be in the open air and see things w/o having to walk for miles. But w/ so little free time in London, I don't think I'd take one.

Have you already bought a "Travelcard"? I think a 7-day-card is less.

<"no plays at the Globe the week we are there">

But these 'public education performances' in March should be enlightening and fun - and there are free tickets available -

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/gl...ngshakespeare/

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/gl...es/ourtheatre/

http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/gl...sconservatory/

And there's this concert at St Clement Danes on 22 March, for all of five quid -

http://www2.lse.ac.uk/publicEvents/e...t1930vSCD.aspx

(IMO there's a lot to be said for forgetting big name international acts and even exhibitions which you can catch when they rock up to your part of the world anyway and considering instead 'unique' local events - lectures, concerts, workshops - sponsored by the great public institutions, invariably at interesting venues and often for free or a token charge.)