Going to London - Need help
 

I'll be going to London soon for a week and was wondering about suggestions for a non-art based itinerary, if you know what I mean. I'll be going to Paris and plan to see plenty of art there so for London what's your suggestions for history, churches, such things that's not centered around paintings. Thank you.

Make sure you have a good guidebook and read some London trip reports on this forum. Also consult the "Destinations" tab above. For history, visit the Tower of London (and don't miss the crown jewels), the Churchill war rooms, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle or Hampton Court. Churches, Westminster Abbey (take the vergers' tour)and St. Pauls. The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum are great and not art centered. If you like markets, don't miss Borough Market. When in London and night at the theatre is great.

There is an endless amount to do without seeing art/paintings although London has great art if you change your mind.

There are tonnes of things to do in London. Best thing to do is to get a good guide book - I like the Green Guide - and narrow it down to what interests you. Then we can help you organise your time.

Www.londontown.com is a good resource as well.

Get going on your own research. It's not hard to start figuring this out yourself with a few good travel sites (Fodors.com) and flipping through a good travel book (Fodor's London 2014) at a local bookstore.

To the editors: that's two plugs in one post!

There are more non-art sites/attractions than 'art attractions'.

But IMO to skip places like the National Gallery or V&A simply because the Louvre and Musee d' Orsay are in Paris - not necessary.

But for 'non-art' sites how about:
the Tower of London.
Westminster Abbey
St Paul's
British Museum
Chirchill War Rooms/museum
the parks
Covent Garden
Science Museum
Hampton Court Palace
Windsor Castle
Greenwich
A Thames boat cruise

That is a short list . . . Get yourself a guidebook . . .

Depends what you like really but apart from the list above St. Bartholomew the Great, HMS Belfast, British Library and the RAF museum in Hendon are worth a visit.

The Maritime Museum in Greenwich is great - plenty of other things to see/do there as well, and it's a great train ride on the DLR (Dockland Light Railway) from the City.

Janisj's list is great and I second Thelin's rec. for St. Bart's.

Other ideas:

Southwark Cathedral--south of the Thames

Westminster Cathedral (the Roman Catholic cathedral in London) has architecture which is quite different from what you usually see in London. You can climb the spire for an interesting view of London. (At least this was possible thirty years ago)

Sir John Soane's Museum has a diverse collection of artifacts, art, and "stuff" which he collected over a lifetime and left to the nation at his death. I recall there was a toy and doll collection which I was what initially drew me to this house.

If you like machinery, Tower Bridge lets you in to view its workings and design and pictures while it was being built. You can also walk across the walkway at the top which gives one a fine view over the Thames and London.

The Botanic Gardens at Kew--the outside will probably be well past its prime by the time you visit, but the greenhouses are wonderful all year round.

The Museum of London. It tells the history of London from early times through the ages with artifacts, sound effects, pictures, etc. It contains a lot of info but does not seem so big as to be overwhelming.