I have neglected to put the V&A into my travel plans. I am told this is a must. I can't see everything so which of the following(s) should I cut short or skip? OR do the speedy abbreviated version. Thanks, this is a tough one.

British Museum
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
St. Pauls
Tate Britain
Tate Modern

OR what would you see for museums in 5 days?

My list of most skippable, from most skippable to least:

National Portrait Gallery
Tate Britain
St. Pauls (assuming you have seen other churches)
National Gallery
Tate Modern (I like the building - swap with National Gallery, if you prefer painting to architechture)
British Museum

We skipped the V&A, though I would still like to see it next time 'round. I wish we had skipped the Tate Modern and seen Tate Britain instead. I was inexplicably disappointed in St. Paul's. The National Gallery was fabulous and I would go there again in a heartbeat. Ditto for the Courtauld (my husband's favorite) and the British Museum where we didn't even scratch the surface. I was also sorry to have missed Sir John Soane's Museum. Obviously, much is a matter of personal interest.

TTTman, I hear you. I will be on my own in London (staying near Trafalgar Square) for five days in July before joining a group to tour Devon and Cornwall. I am too am having a difficult time deciding what to do with so many options. Have been to the Churchill War Rooms (loved it), Westminster Abby, and St. Paul’s before.

I have already discounted the Tower of London and British Museum this trip (I think). I definitely will go to the National Gallery (for European art to 1900), Dickens Museum (retired English teacher), and Wallace Collection. Also want to tube it up to Hampstead and cruise down to Greenwich. I want to fit in Apsley House (Wellington Museum at Hyde Park Corner), Sir John Soane Museum (mentioned by SAP), and Benjamin Franklin House off Trafalgar Square. My interests are literary/historic/artistic – not interested in fine dining, shopping, or theater. But I may catch a show if the price and the location are right.

Will I do everything I plan in London? Of course not, but it will be fun trying. Enjoy London with the thought that you can always return and experience those places you missed.

The British Museum is a Wonder with capital W. Don't skip.

I don't know what is on your list that you will see, so hard to comment much. I was not disappointed at all with St. Paul's. Have gone 3 times. Climbed to top for incredible view the last time. (If I HAD to choose between Westminster and St. Paul's, I'd chose the Abbey. But if you're not going to Westminster, then don't also skip St. Paul's. I've decided in some ways it is a metaphor/symbol for London, while Westminster Abbey represents England. Try to see both--but I'd rather see history and literature "stuff" than art--so...).

I loved the V&A but it doesn't even make my top 10 things to see in London. Would pick National Gallery over it. The Tate Modern is even further down my list (although worth a quick glance maybe if only to see the great use of the space, even if you don't see much of the art/"art." (sorry, not much into much of modern art.) Haven't been to the other 2.

In my opinion, you could skip National Portrait Gallery. We went to London for 7 days over the Christmas break and managed to visit:
British Museum
Tate Modern
St. Paul (you have to go all the way to the top to see a magnificent view of the city)
Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
Tate Britain
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
St. Martin in the Field (for a concert)

We also went to a theater on Strand. National Gallery was my personal favorite. We didn't make it into the V&A. Saved it for the next time.

Tate Britain was impressive, but somewhat unorganized when we were visiting it. They were getting ready for some huge exhibit that starts in September of 2011.

It is always a matter of personal taste.

Well thanks. Britain has got to be the most amazing vacation of a lifetime. I am going to have to go with what I get from you all.

And just think, they're almost all free.

I loathe the term "must see". But these are the things in London I think you seriously miss out by not doing

- visiting the British Library exhibition galleries (language and literature is, with church music and country footpaths, Britain's greatest current gift to the world. Painting and sculpture isn't)
- attending vespers or evensong in St Paul's, Westminster Abbey or Westminster Cathedral (unless you'd be going anyway to a sung service in a major London church with a serious choir and expertise in singing the classical small-c catholic liturgy)
- walking along the south bank of the Thames between Tate Modern (though some might say Tower Bridge) and Lambeth Bridge
- walking round one of London's extraordinary 18th/19th century residential areas

Those done, only the British Museum and the National Gallery are so utterly dominant in their collections you'd be mad to miss them.

Tate Modern is a stunning building with a mediocre collection: almost any gallery of post-1880 art in Europe or North America has better painting and sculpture. The National Portrait Gallery is almost THE definitive museum of British post-1400 history: but like Tate Britain it's a terrific museum for a subject many might find of marginal interest. The V&A is an extraordinarily eclectic museum (it started life as a museum of arts and crafts but has mushroomed into something else). But, like its neighbouring Natural History and Sciemce Museums, not everyone is going to be interested (lots of other cities have natural history and science museums: London's don't just describe the science, but record the discoveries made locally). It's pointless telling you whether I'd like any of them: you need to look at their websites and decide for yourself.

Personally, I find St Paul's sterile, boring, unEnglish and dreadful value for what it charges (St Peter's Rome does it all better, for free). And, if we're honest, London was never designed to be seen from above, so paying all that to look at not very is something I've never understood. Westminster Abbey's is by far the most interesting building in London, even without its choir

Another word in favour of The National Portrait Gallery. If you are at all interested in British history, or art, it is fascinating andf holds excellent exhibitions at times.

Personally I would skip Tate Modern, you can see the building from the outside and the contents is of little interest (to me.)

The British Museum and V&A are huge, you need to decide what you want to see and go there, not wander aimlessly, although a bit of serendipity can be good.

I too find St Paul's underwhelming, certainly compared to the Pantheon and St Peter's.

British Museum would have to be a must in my opinion.

Hub and I loved Tower of London and Westminster Abbey (a light in the tower means Parliament in session BTW-very interesting).

St. Paul's one of the largest, yes? We weren't "blown away" visually by it.

Have a great time, tttman, and please write a trip report.

travel gourmet - National Portrait Gal is the most skipable?

If short on time, I would skip the Tate Modern--see it from outside when you go see St Paul. It is just across the Millenium bridge.

Also you can skip the National Portrait Gallery if you must but it is right around the corner from the National Gallery.

However, in my opinion, do not skip the National Gallery, British Museum or the V&A. They are all fabulous. I will throw in also the Imperial War Museum and the Cabinet War Rooms (which they now call Churchill War Rooms) which are fantastic too.

Other than Museums, make time to see the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey.

While I love the Tate Britain building I don't think much of their collection. I would never skip either the NatioanlGallery or the NPG. Wego on every trip for the last 40 years! The Tate Mosern again I like the building but the vcollection leaves me cold. There are better things to see and do on Southbank. It's been so many years since I've been in St Paul's , I can't say much more than it is pleasant from the outside and the little courtyard is a good resting place.From there you can walk across the Millenium Bridge if you really want to see the Tate Britain

I don't know whether this will help or not, but the V&A is a museum of decorative arts. This means lots of small sculptures, glass, japanese lacquer, woodblock prints, and clothing.

My favourite things there are Lalique's 'Victoire', a small but exquisitely detailed figure of Christ, and a piece of artwork which looks from a distance like a world map, but is actually a diagram showing air-routes of the world (there are so many of them and they are so dense that they suggest the outlines of countries).

The museum is well-know for its many and varied exhibitions - in the Art Deco exhibition a few years back, they reconstructed a whole glass art deco hotel foyer (The Savoy?) and displayed a bed from the palace of an Indian prince who was obsessed with deco, another exhibition showed iconic photographs (milk drop corona), and a third was dedicated to the Festival of Britain, being full of pamphlets, menus and photgraphs of partying Britons.

The only thing I would say is that, though I love this museum as an adult, I'm not sure how much it would appeal to children, if any are accompanying you. They would probably prefer mummies, dinosaurs, or gadgets, at the BM, NHM and Science Museums resepctively.

It really does depend on your personal interests.

Personally I am not a huge fan of modern art - so I would skip the Tate Modern.

I love cathedrals - so I would never skip St. Paul's and if it was a choice between Westminster Abbey and St Paul's, I would skip Westminster Abbey

I also love museums - so I would never skip The British Museum

I would never skip The Tower of London.

Of the art galleries, I would NOT skip The National Gallery.

The other art galleries - it depends on interests.
If you like history - then the National Portrait Gallery should be considered.
If you like Modern art - then unlike me - you might want to see the Tate Modern.

It's a hard choice.

Looks like I will go with the:

British Museum
National Gallery
V & A
Tate Britain

Walk by St. Pauls, Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery. The NPG and TM are free and we might zip inside to catch a couple of selected sites if they are mapped well.

Of course we are seeing Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, some of the castles, and might if we have time, check out Imperial War Museum and Cabinet War Room.

Thanks for everything

I think your list now is a good one (well, I don't see or remember your time-frame, but these are good choices, including the things mentioned in your last paragraph, if you have 4-5 days?); the Tate Modern is worth a quick glance inside IF you have time just to see the building itself, even if you don't see any "art"--the building and space themselves are art anyway! (I'm not a big fan of a lot/most modern art, so that informs this comment.)