dallison

We are two friends in our early thirties who have planned a ten day trip to England. We are spending our first 3 days in London, and picking up a rental car on the fourth. We arrive at 10:45pm Wednesday night, so I tried to make Thursday a fairly easy day. If we miss anything that we have to see, we are spending an afternoon and evening in London at the end of our trip and will probably have time for one attraction then.

I'm sure you will notice that there are some really great museums missing from our list. I love museums, but my travelling companion does not. Fortunately, I've visited London twice before (it's her first time), but it's been several years.

Thursday, January 7, 2010
In London, staying at the Millenium Baileys Kensington Hotel
1. @ 11:30am Buckingham Palace, changing of the guard (takes ~40 minutes)
Take tube on Circle or District line from Gloucester Road to Victoria station and walk to palace
Afterwards, walk through Green Park to Green Park station and take Piccadilly Line to Piccadilly Circus.
2. Visit Piccadilly Circus
Shopping
3. Walk to Trafalgar square
After looking at Trafalgar, take Piccadilly line from Leceister Square to Covent Garden.
4. Visit Covent Garden
5. Visit Royal Opera House collections (Open from 10:30am to 3:30pm)
6. Walk to Freemason’s Hall (where MI5 is filmed)
After walking to Freemason’s Hall, walk to Holborn Station and take Central Line to Oxford Circus.
7. Tea at Brown’s Hotel. Tea room serves tea until 6pm
8. Shop in the Bond street shopping district.

Friday, January 8, 2010
Take Circle Line from Gloucester Rd to High Street Kensington or walk to Kensington Palace
1. Kensington Palace/Hyde Park (Tickets to Kensington Palace are 12.5 GBP)
From Kensington Palace, walk through Kensington Gardens to Hyde Park
Take Piccadilly line from Knightsbridge to South Kensington station; @ S. Kensington, take Circle to Westminster tube station
2. London eye (open from 10am to 8pm, tickets are 18 GBP each with the miniguide)
3. Westminster Abbey (open from 9am to 4:30pm, last admission at 3:30pm, tickets are 15 GBP each)
4. Big Ben/Parliament
5. #10 Downing Street
There’s a Thames Pub Walk that meets at the Mansion House tube station, Exit 1 at 7pm. If we want to go, walk to Tank Embankment station and take Tank Embankment to Mansion House.

Saturday, January 9, 2010
From Gloucester Road Station, take the Circle line to Mansion House stop. Walk to St. Paul’s.
1. St. Paul’s Cathedral (Open from 8:30am until 4pm; tickets are 11 GBP)
Walk back to Blackfriar’s and take the Circle line to Tower Hill
2. Tower of London (Open from 10am until 5pm, tickets are 17 GBP)
Walk to the Globe Theatre (this is a long walk, ~30 min or so)
3. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (Open from 10am until 5pm, tickets are 10.5 GBP)
This is a good day to eat lunch at the Tate Modern because it’s right next to the Globe Theatre.

Things to see in London if we have more time:
National Portrait Gallery (Open until 9pm on Thursday and Friday, Free)
British Museum (Open until 8:30 on Thursday and Friday, Free) (near Covent Garden)
British Library (Open from 9:30am to 5pm, Free)
Victoria and Albert Museum (open until 10 on Fridays, Free) (very close to hotel)

Pegontheroad

Makes my feet hurt just to look at this itinerary. I think it's too ambitious, but maybe that's just me. I think I'd prioritize my sightseeing objectives, and then if I do find you've planned too much, I'd just cut out the lowest on the priority list.

yk

My 2 cents:

1) Since you're young, I think this itin is fine.

2) You need to get to Buckingham Palace early if you want to see *something*. Don't expect to show up at 11:30am and get front row view.

3) Do you have a map of London, or just the tube map??? For example, on Day 1, it's FAR EASIER to walk from Trafalgar Sq to Covent Garden (10 mins tops), than to walk to Leicester Sq and take the tube to Covent Garden.

4) On Day 2, I'd just walk to Kensington Palace in the AM. I've done it and it's not far at all.

5) Are there any specific things you want to see in Hyde Park? If yes, then your plan is okay. but if you just want to *walk* in Hyde Park, you may not want to walk as far as Knightsbridge, esp if it's not a nice day. just a thought.

6) On Day 3, consider stopping by Borough Market. You can grab a cheap lunch there. Tate Modern is nice but it's pricey and you probably will need a reservation for lunch on a Saturday.

alanRow

Green Park to Piccadilly Circus is quicker walking - plus you'll see Piccadilly itself. Don't know why you want to go to Piccadilly Circus itself as it's a dump

Leicester Square to Covent Garden by Tube is even more stupid - you can see one station from the other, the walkign time is about 3 minutes

Trafalgar Square is at the top end of Whitehall which means Number 10 & Big Ben are within 10 minutes walk

Have you actually looked at a real map?

dallison

I have two real maps (and I've even looked at them) and I've created a Google map that has all of the locations bookmarked that I can download to my iPhone. I must just be horrible with scale and used to relying on GPS. I work downtown and I'm used to walking a lot, so I'll definitely take your advice about the situations where it's easier to walk than take the tube.

Thank you!

laurie_ann

You have a lot packed into Saturday.

Consider Tower of London to do first early that day before it gets too crowded and you get too tired. (Note, I would put Tower of London at the top of the list of all things as just so interesting and so unique to find in a big city.) Then I would pick just one other thing between St. Pauls and Shakespeare Globe to do that day after (probably depending on whether I like theater more or architecture more). If you just wanted to "see" Shakespears Globe it is on South Bank and not so far down from London Eye that you could not see it then by taking a nice walk.

Frankly for the cost and the trouble I would skip the Eye and do the Southbank walk anyway. There are cool views of London from there or from the bridges or from the windows in the Tate Modern and it's just not that exciting of a city to see from the air (but just my humble opinion).

Danielle811

I think your itinerary is ambitious but doable. I agree with laurie_ann regarding moving the Tower of London to the beginning of your day. Get there when it opens and plan on taking your time. I've been twice and it's fascinating every time!

I think you can fit both the Globe and St. Paul's into the same day, but you may want to decide ahead of time where you'd prefer to spend more time.

Regarding the changing of the guard-you don't have to be the AS early during the winter (I've been in January and June); however, but plan on giving yourself at least 30-45 minutes prior to the 11:30 start if you want to have a decent view.

Have a great trip!

texasbookworm

I'd third the suggestion to start with the Tower. Then walk across the Tower Bridge--great views--and maybe to Borough Market and along the South Bank up to the Globe. Save St. Paul's til another time and not be rushed. (Also you might want to look at being at Westminster Abbey first thing, avoid lines, and then the other "stuff" that day--conflict might be getting to Kensington Palace in time, but I think there might be less line there than at the Abbey; and you can't get very near #10 Downing, you know.) Or you might go to St. Paul's after the Tower and then across the Millineum and be near the Globe. But all 3 of those deserve some time (the Tower at least 3, St. Paul's probably 2) so it's a lot in one day.) I'm in my 50's and planned about as much walking per day as you have, so I think that part is doable---it's getting to places with tours/closing hours that must be considered for you.

alihutch

Feels rather more like a route march than a holiday....

ssachida

unless you have your heart set on the changing of the guards at buckingham palace, i'd suggest the inspection of the guards at the horse guard barracks as an alternative. it's smaller than the one at the palace, but just as impressive and has no crowds and you get a better view. this is actually part of the same ceremony. these are the 'new' guards who will march on to buckingham palace to relieve the 'old' guards.

Michel_Paris

I would remove the Changing of the Guard. Unless you get there early to get a good spot (standing of course), you will hear part of it, and see less. So why take half a day?

Piccadilly Circus...hmm...not quite a tourist destination.

You can walk from Westminster to Trafalgar and then on to Covent Garden. I'd group this area in with Buck Palace (if you go, or Horses Guard), St James Park,etc..

If you are going to a site, I would time it around a tour. For example, London Walks has a Friday at 2PM tour (which I took in May). There are also Verger tours of Westminster Abbey.

I did the Old Hampstead Pub walk on Saturdays. It is really a nice area, not crowded, and the pubs were atmospheric with good warm beer.

bachslunch

I think your itinerary is full but fine.

Will echo those who suggest going to the Tower of London at the start of that particular day. Get there when it opens, and head to the crown jewels first, as lines are usually non-existent there early but can become very long as the day goes on.

bachslunch

Will also add -- the museums you suggested are great, but range anywhere from good sized (National Portrait Gallery) to gigantic (V&A, British Museum) -- would suggest seeing these when you have more time to spare. There's also the Tate Gallery, National Gallery, and Tate Modern, plus some small but nice museums such as the Courtauld Institute, Wallace Collection, and Sir John Soanes Museum to consider for future visits.

jent103

In case you weren't aware, Google Maps has an option where you can choose to get walking directions/times as well as car. Just choose "walking" from the dropdown menu instead of "by car" (the default - London also has a public transit option). That should help you a lot in figuring out when it would be worth it to take the tube or bus and when it's quicker to walk. For example, as someone above mentioned, the walk from Leicester Square station to Covent Garden is a whopping four minutes - it'd take longer than that to get on the train.

Otherwise, I agree with a lot of the suggestions above. If it were my trip, I'd choose the Portrait Gallery or V&A over Kensington Palace, but that's just a personal opinion.

dallison

Thank you all for your help. I've listed to your advice, got out my street map (google maps, while invaluable, is often wrong if you use the pin drop feature to make your own maps, you have to double-check them), and revised our itinerary.

And, although I understand why skipping the Changing of the Guard makes sense, it's just something my friend really wants to see (as well as where they film MI5).

So, here's the revised itinerary. Hopefully it looks less like a route march now. And, we do have a week in the Cotswolds to recover after London.

Thursday, January 7, 2010
In London, staying at the Millenium Baileys Kensington Hotel
1. @ 11:30am Buckingham Palace, changing of the guard (takes ~40 minutes, arrive at least 30 minutes early)
Take tube on Circle or District line from Gloucester Road to Victoria station and walk to palace.
2. Afterwards, walk down the mall to Trafalgar square.
Shopping
After looking at Trafalgar Square, walk to Covent Garden.
3. Visit Covent Garden
4. Visit Royal Opera House collections (Open from 10:30am to 3:30pm)
5. Walk to Freemason’s Hall (where MI5 is filmed)
After walking to Freemason’s Hall, walk to Covent Garden or Holborn Station and take Piccadilly to Green Park (or walk, the walk is just over a mile).
6. Tea at Brown’s Hotel. Tea reservation at 6pm. (We can cancel if we decide on tea somewhere else.)
7. Window shop in the Bond street shopping district.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Take Circle or District line from Gloucester Rd. to Westminster Abbey
1. Westminster Abbey (open from 9am to 4:30pm, last admission at 3:30pm, tickets are 15 GBP each)
2. Big Ben/Parliament
3. #10 Downing Street
Walk across Westminster Bridge to London Eye (about 1 mile)
4. London eye (open from 10am to 8pm, tickets are 18 GBP each with the miniguide)
This is a good day to have fish and chips because Master Super Fish is really near the eye.
Take Circle or District line to Notting Hill Gate or High Street Kensington
5. Kensington Palace/Hyde Park (Tickets to Kensington Palace are 12.5 GBP, open from 10am until 5pm-last entry at 4pm)
From Kensington Palace, walk through Kensington Gardens. Walk to hotel.
There’s a Thames Pub Walk that meets at the Mansion House tube station, Exit 1 at 7pm. If we want to go, walk to Tank Embankment station and take Tank Embankment to Mansion House.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
From Gloucester Road Station, take the Circle line to Tower Hill.
1. Tower of London (Open from 9am until 5pm, tickets are 17 GBP)
See Yeoman Warder’s tour, White Tower, and Crown Jewels (crown jewels first, then warder’s tour, tours are every half-hour).
Walk to the Globe Theatre (this is a long walk, ~30 min or so) or take Circle or District line from Tower Hill station to Mansion House station and walk 10 minutes
This is a good day to eat lunch at the Tate Modern because it’s right next to the Globe Theatre.
2. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre (Open from 10am until 5pm, tickets are 10.5 GBP)
Walk to St. Paul’s Cathedral (over Millenium Bridge)
3. St. Paul’s Cathedral (Open from 8:30am until 4pm; tickets are 11 GBP)
If we don’t have time to see St. Paul’s today, we can see it when we return to London on Sat, January 16. If we do have time to St. Paul’s, we can visit one of the museums below.

dallison

Sorry for the spacing. I failed to use the handy "Preview" function.

Cholmondley_Warner

topping so I can see it tomorrow.

texasbookworm

I've used walkit.com for the first time and it seems to be a bit more accurate than Google; try it for your London plans, too.

GregPCM

Well I think I've done just about all these London attractions over the years, but never in 3 days. I would love to hear how this works out. It sounds more like a Japanese game show than a vacation. I wish you well. Saturday is still the most challenging because you have 4 major sites packed into one day. I like the reference to the "wander's tour" at the Tower. There is no time for wandering on this trip. Obvisously I believe you need to reduce your planned events even more than you already have. That's the nice thing about time, sooner or later it will run out and you are done. Have fun.

emily71

As someone your age, I think the Friday itinerary is a bit packed. I don't believe you can go into Downing Street itself, so you can't see much there except the bobbies. I'd skip Kensington Palace myself, not much to see except a dress collection. I know you said you can rest in the Coswolds but quite frankly rushing around London and then driving on the "wrong side" seems like hell or something from "The Amazing Race".
But that's JMO.