dorfan2

One thing I'd try to coordinate before the trip - what times the tours of the London spots are available. For example, try to take a Verger Tour of Westminster Abbey, a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) tour of the Tower of London, St. Paul's in-house tour, as well as the British Museum's tour. You get a much, much, better appreciation of what you're seeing - all these tour guides are excellent (we did have a rather dry tour guide at the Brit. Mus. - heard the London Walks tour is great). I've toured all these places with and without the official tour guide and the difference is like night and day.

dorfan2

You also mentioned an optional visit. Have you considered visiting Hampstead? It's still in London's Zone 1 & 2 if that's the type Oyster card you purchase, and it has a great London Walks tour that is a favorite of the Fodor talk forum posters.

home_owner

what do i need to do to get 2 for 1 discount. Buy daily pass?where can i buy daily pass - maybe Victoria? Somewhere I read I could buy a train ticket with national rail logo without even making a trip? Do both me and my wife need to buy a daily pass or rail tickets to get 2 for 1?

what would be the cheapest national rail ticket we could buy if we dont buy daily pass? we will be using Oyster card for all other travel.

jamikins

You need a national rail ticket, sold at National Rail stations - Victoria is one, London Bridge, Cannon St etc. It can be any train ticket into London, and no you dont actually have to use it.

www.daysoutguide.co.uk

home_owner

thanks, just one way into London is enough or does it have to be return ticket? do both of us nees to have a ticket or just one rail ticket is required to get 2 for 1? i plan to buy from Victoria. what would be the cheapest to buy into London? any idea or should i just check that at Victoria.

jamikins

I would read the FAQ: http://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/faq.aspx#1 It does a pretty good job of explaining.

bachslunch

Definitely see St. Paul's -- it's great. Definitely don't bother with Madame Tussaud's -- it's expensive and awful.

Combining the Tower of London and St. Paul's is a good day's worth of things to see. Go to the Tower first, see the crown jewels first thing, then come back and do a Yeoman Warder tour. If it's an evening when the Tate Modern is open, you could walk across the bridge to include that.

The Westminster area things can be easily combined: start at Westminster Abbey when it opens, then go to the nearby Horse Guards for their changing of the guard (supposedly better then the one at Buckingham Palace, and even that wasn't all that big a deal). Parliament/Big Ben is just a walk-by unless you want to go inside Parliament to see Lords or Commons in session (this can only be done at certain times of the year, and is best done in the evening). Also consider seeing the Cabinet War Rooms, Banqueting House, and St. James's Park, also in this area. Except for limited times of the year, Buckingham Palace is another walk-by, and surprisingly underwhelming. The National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and Tate Britain are also not far away.

The British Museum is wonderful but huge and can take several days to see -- choose the parts that appeal most. Will second the Wallace Collection, a modest sized house museum loaded with paintings, armor, and decorative art, if you have time.

That's actually a good three-day itinerary, if you so wish it.

London Bridge is a big nothing. Tower Bridge can be satisfyingly enough seen from the Tower of London, but one can also do a tour of its works if desired.

KayF

If you have the choice of either going inside St Paul's OR Westminster Abbey I would choose St Paul's. St Paul's is quite spectacular, to me it's a lot more interesting and more beautiful than the Abbey.

Keep your entry ticket, you need to show it to do the climb up to the domes but it is worth the visit even if you don't intend to walk to the top.

Kay