How many days in London according to our preferences?
 

We like to know the cities, people, neighborhoods and walk the most central places. We are not lovers of museums, exhibitions or nothing to occupy us much time outside the home. Always use the Hip-Hop tour offered by cities. How many days we would need to be in London to enjoy it.
Thank you friends.

Wow! This is a tough one. London, of all cities that I have visited, is a place to visit historic buildings and sights, museums, churches, etc. While walking neighborhoods is a pleasure in most cities, it is hard to choose for you what to see and where to go. I would get a good guidebook and look at the walking tours of neighborhoods. Choose some that appeal and figure out how long they will take.

We have walked all over London on several trips but mostly to get to and from the many major attractions. It is hard to appreciate this wonderful city from a bus.

Hi Pamlover,

yes, this is a difficult one. What attracted you to London in the first place? What other places do you have on your itinerary? Are you heading off into the countryside? going elsewhere in Europe? What time of year are we talking about and how long is your trip overall?

I think we need a bit more information about what you are planning in order really to give you some sensible ideas.

I suppose that you could visit some of the parks or go to somewhere like Covent Garden to people watch.
If you're not interested in places like the British Museum or National Gallery, it makes it difficult to advise you.
Most Londom museums and galleries are free, although donations are welcome. You don't have to spend hours traipsing about to get your money's worth. You can pop in, say hello to the Rosetta Stone and pop out again.

WTH is a hip-hop tour? Is that narrated by Dr. Dre, Kanye West and/or Jay-Z?

What does "nothing to occupy us much time outside the home" mean?

And just because you don't "love" museums or exhibitions doesn't mean you won't love LONDON's offerings. This isn't some po-dunk town. If you have any real interest in history, then there's plenty to like in London. And that history is part of "knowing" the city.

If you just want to sit at a cafe and watch the wheels go round and round, you can do that anywhere.

My guess is you mean the hop-on-hop-off tour -- right?

Or do you really mean hip hop?

>>nothing to occupy us much time outside the home<< Also not sure if this means you like to stay at home or if you like to get out of the house and do things??

London has lots of neat neighborhoods . . . but IMO most wouldn't be of much interest unless you are already interested in London.

You can see/do a lot in London without going to museums -- but it is still mostly sightseeing. Are you interested in things like the Tower of London and big cathedrals/churches or really not interested in museums/famous buildings/places where famous people lived?

If you just want h-o-h-o tours and gardens and maybe some outdoor markets . . . 3 or 4 days would be enough.

non-museum/gallery type activities:

walking round Westminster/Houses of Parliament, ditto trafalgar Square and Leicester Square, theatres, the London Eye, boat trips on the Thames, browsing round the book shops on Charing Cross Road, climbing the Monument, touring the Cutty Sark at Greenwich, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, the gardens of the Temple, Hampton court and its gardens, Richmond Park, etc. etc.

London has a slew of walkable neighborhoods and sights; it's a big place. London Walks (www.walks.com) is the place to start. This is a highly recommended company that leads walking tours all over London as well as excursions from the city. The tour guides are professional, the price is reasonable, and you don't have to commit ahead of time, just show up at the meeting point.

Do look at some guidebooks to acquaint yourself with London's layout and many offerings. Do you like plays? London has wonderful theaters and actors. And there's a tour of the Globe Theater, the reproduction of Shakespeare's home stage. Even if you don't enjoy art museums, you might like the Imperial War Museum, with special emphasis on the materiel and experiences of WWI and WWII. Or the Cabinet War Museum, which is Churchill's underground bunker/offices, left just as it was after World War II ended.

There's so much there, so much that's part of the traditions of the English-speaking world, that I can't imagine you not finding much to entertain you.

Second the Imperial War Museum. If you're picturing a museum as some place where you walk around and stare at things behind glass you'll be pleasantly surprised at how engaging and interactive the Imperial War Museum is. I'd also suggest ducking into the British Museum at minimum even if it's just to run through and see some of the world's most important artifacts.

London Walks also sounds right up your alley. It will give you a low-cost and fun way to understand many aspects of London.

I think in general, most big cities are about the same, the amount of time you can enjoy there isn't that different, and you usually want at least 3 days minimum. One day you just don't get to see anything and it's too hectic for a big city. From there you can go up and up, of course. I don't think I've ever spent more than 4-5 days in London at a stretch myself -- I like it but it's not one of my favorite places.

Depends how much time you have, I'd say 4-5 would be good. That would also give you time to do some sidetrips you might enjoy -- like Kew Gardens, or Hampton (it's historic but not like walking around a museum per se), and you can go there on a boat (which is very very slow, I might add, I only did it one way).

For a river trip, I'd suggest the circular cruise (just circulates between Westminster and the Tower with intermediate stops, like the hop-on hop-off bus, but on the water), or the Clipper river bus to Greenwich, which might fit the bill as somewhere to walk around, even if you don't want to visit the Maritime Museum (also free), and has an arts and crafts market and a beautiful park with impressive views of London from its high spots.

Also an option for your interests might be the Sunday markets in Spitalfields and Brick Lane.

I'm still trying to figure out the hip hop tour. Like rappers? Like bunnies?

And the "nothing to occupy us much time outside the home." is also a mystery. Do you mean must be outside? Can;t be outside? Like only to be in the street and not inside any building (even a theater or movie or unique shop/store or pub)????

really, you don't understand? the OP just misspoke, I'm sure hopon/off was meant. Why are you trying to beat that mistake to death?

I thought that the explanation was that the OP's first language wasn't english, but it was quite a funny typo, whatever the reason.

It'll be nice when the OP comes back and tells us what s/he thinks about our suggestions.

Thanks Christine for clarify that I meant City Sightseeing Tours Hop on-Hop Off. The English is not my native language and often need the help of Google translate that sometimes do not translate well to the idea,but actually i want to thank all of you friends the good advice. Not that I do not like the cultural side but do not want me to spend life in museums and prefer to enjoy strolling, people watching, to feel the pulse of the city.. enjoy the sights of the city.. of course we will also will go to British Museum, The Museum of Science natural and we would like you guys to recommend us nice places. What I'm seeing is that I'll need five days instead of four. Or at least 4 nights hotel. That's for sure. The next step is Amsterdam where we intended to spend 3 nights ... Hope it's enough but this issue already belongs to another forum friends. Again...THANKS!!
Thank you very much again to all.

Well if this is your first trip to London I would not miss the Tower, Westminster Abbey and a couple of museums. There are way too many to see more than a couple but I would start with the British and the National Gallery.

As for visiting neighborhoods - allow the weather to determine what to do which days - and always have a sturdy folding umbrella and comfy walking shoes.

A good way to explore London's neighborhoods is with London Walks. Have a look at the possibilities @ www.walks.com

Thanks again friends. Latest next week will book the airline tickets. Thankfully we have earned enough miles on American Airlines so that's no problem. I was watching some prices are not cheap and seems to half of June. I had been recommended by friends two star hotel in Bloomsbury but the reviews were not good. I like the Ibis in
5 Commercial Street but for our budget was a bit high. We seek an area where we can walk everywhere. If you can recommend us something we would be grateful. '
Pamlover and wife.

>>What I'm seeing is that I'll need five days instead of four. Or at least 4 nights hotel. <<

If you want 5 days in London you will need <u>6 nights</u>, not 4.

Four nights will only give you three full days.

As I said, London is a big place. The main sights are spread out; no one area is walkable to them all. So it's important to be close to public transportation, the Tube (subway) or buses.

What is your budget per night for a room? What kind of a room do you want? A double (one big bed)? Or a twin (two smaller beds)?