Wednesday March 19

AM:
Arrive London Gatwick 7:45am
Afternoon:
Explore Chelsea
Victoria and Albert: open until 5:45pm
PM:
Harrod’s

Thursday March 20

AM:
National Portrait Gallery
Afternoon:
2pm Westminster Walk
PM:
Open

Friday March 21 (Good Friday)

AM:
Madame Tussaud’s (I know! Dad's choice and it's his retirement trip afterall )
Afternoon:
Sherlock Holmes Museum
Daunt’s book shop on Marylebone High Street (open on good Friday?)
PM: Open

Saturday March 22

AM:
Tower of London
**Then walk across Tower Bridge and see HMS Belfast and Southwark Cathedral before hitting Borough Market (I know everyone says go early, but we'll just tough out the crowds)
Afternoon:
Globe Theatre
Then walk across Millennium Bridge to St Paul’s Cathedral
PM:
Open

Sunday March 23 (Easter)

AM: Greenwich
PM: London Eye night flight?


Monday March 24

Bath

Tuesday March 25

AM:
British Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum
Jarndyce books
Afternoon:
Dickens House
PM:
Open

Looks like fun, and well varied. That should be enough culture for anyone.

I know you've worked on this a lot - and I'll only make comment about one day right now.

I'm afraid your Sat is really, REALLY hectic and probably impossible.

Morning - Tower of London, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast, Southwark Cathedral, Borough Market. This is pretty much a full day right there. 3 hours minimum for the Tower, an hour or more for the HMS Belfast, 45 mins minimum for Southwark Cathedral. Plus as much time as you need at the Market plus lunch - you will be mid-afternoon at the VERY earliest before you could get to the Globe.

THEN -- Afternoon: Globe Theatre - touring the Globe takes about an hour; Millennium Bridge to St Paul’s Cathedral. St Paul's stops visits approx 3:30 to prepare for evensong so a long shot you'd get there in time. And if you do - you will have been sprinting since early morning.

Janis -- I appreciate your input and you're right. Borough market has made planning a bit difficult, but dad really wants to see it. He saw a thing about it on a travel show and had been adamant about including it. I think I keep hoping we'll show up and it'll be so crowded that he won't want to deal with it Anyway, I think if we don't make it to St. Paul's we'll be okay. Thanks so much for your input on everything! All of your help and advice is very very appreciated!

You could save a lot of time by taking the tube from Tower hill, changing at Bank , to get to Borough market and Southwark Cath.

Your Monday: we combined Bath and Stonehenge on a Blue Badge-guided tour, and enjoyed the combination very much.

Hi laustic - IIRC, in your other post you had hoped to go into the Abbey with the Westminster walk. If it's the same 2 pm Westminster walk we took earlier this year, it does not go into the Abbey. It was well worthwhile on it's own, though.

Evensong at the Abbey is beautiful. You may not linger afterwards, though.

Thanks everyone!

IMHO, trying to see both John Sloane museum and British Museum in a morning is too ambitious. We spent 3 hours in the BM just doing the highlights tour and we still didn't see everything. The idea of seeing another museum right afterwards seems like overkill. Perhaps you can cut one museum from your list.

Normally I would agree - but Sir John Soane's Museum is a totally different kettle of fish and is a short walk from the British Museum. It is a fascinating place but is not a traditional museum. It makes a good "two-fer" w/ the British.

I know it seems like a lot of museums, but this is kind of "our thing". My dad and I would wander museums for hours when I was a little girl. This is partly why this trip is so special to me -- it's a chance for us to share our common interests.

I wonder if it'd work for you to do Borough Mkt first on the Saturday, then Southwark, then the Globe Theatre (short and nice walk along the Thames), then St. Paul's if you're doing well on time, and finish up at the Tower. I think the crowds thin out in the mid-afternoon, and you can stay until closing.

On the Thursday, I'd include the National Gallery along with the Portrait Gallery, especially since you are "museum people". The collection is amazing, and you can just pick your favorite era/type of art if you need to make it a short visit. The first time I went, I was limited in time and just popped into the Sainsbury wing (medieval/renaissance).

Laustic-
I was so excited to see that you are leasing the same flat we are considering in Chelsea through London Guest Suites. I am going with my friend to visit my college daughter next month. Any background info on your choice would be so appreciated! We are looking at a few more in Kensington area as well. Thanks!

Hi Tamryn!

Is this your first visit to London? This will be my second. We (me and 2 girlfriends) stayed in Notting Hill our first time and loooooved it. We rented through Farnum and Christ then. This time I'm going with my dad and the Notting Hill flat was unavailable and I wasn't thrilled with the other F&C options. March has been a tricky time to rent. Many people that rent their flats haven't vacated them yet for the summer. So, based on some tips I found here I looked into London Guest Suites. So far they've been great to deal with.

I decided based on my experience in London last time that this would be an ideal neighborhood for me and my father. Last visit we took a pub walk (with London walks) in Chelsea last time and it was our favorite pub walk (they were all really great though - we took 3). My dad and I are doing a sort of literary tour and Chelsea turns out to be a pretty literary neighborhood. Oscar Wilde lived there and Mark Twain made his home there for a while when visiting London. And supposedly the fictional character James Bond lived in Chelsea.

It's also just a fun area and very well located IMO. This flat is very close to the Sloane Sq tube stop. It's also fairly close to Victoria station which is important since we're arriving at Gatwick and will be taking the Gatwick Express to Victoria station. Kings Road is nearby with a lot of shopping. And on our last visit while we were exploring before the pub walk we found a cute gourmet grocer (Partridges) that will be nice to have access to.

If you have any other questions I'd love to try and answer