london
 

can anyone suggest an itinerary for a 4.5 day trip to london. never been. want to see the major sights, gurards, eye, jewels etc.

1st Day - hop on the Eye Over London, a huge Ferris Wheel on the Thames and this will give you a great overniew - a bird's eye view of greater London, with orientation maps in each capsule pointing out all the famous landmarks.

Take a srtoll along the South Bank promenade, one of London's most popular strolling venues - it goes along the south bank of the Thames down to the New Tate Gallery, of modern art interestingly set in an old power plant - it's free so take a look even if not into art - Shakespeare's Globe Theatre is also near here if that is on your radar - and you can go thru the museum and see the theatre if not in use - then go over the newish Millennium Bridge right to St Paul's Cathedral.

Day 2 - Houses of Parliament area with Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace - Changing of the Guard many days around 10 or 11am is popoular for its pomp and pageantry -stroll thru St James Park and Green Park towards Piccaddily Circus and the heart of London's theatre district - amble over to trafalgar Square and then to Covent Garden and see the old markethalls now hosting shops and ubiquitous street entertainers

Day 3 - Tower of London and British Museum and perhaps another museum like the National Gallery or the V & A, with its eclectic collections that everyone will love. Or hop over to Oxford Street, London's premier shopping drag - look into ornate Selfridge's deapartment store.

Day 4 - Hyde Park, Kensington Palace (Princiess Di's former home with lots of her dresses last time I visited - perhaps william and Kate will move in? Bop over to nearby Knightsbridge and experience Harrod's, London's most famous department store - also known for its food halls and tea cafe and restaurants.

Some night take in a West End London play - check out the TCTKS Half-Price ticket booth in Leicester Square for well not necessarily half off but sizeable discounts on many plays.

and perhaps take a boat cruise in early evening some night on the Thames. Could take the boat all the way to Greenwich, with its amazing architecture of the old Naval College and sweet riverside setting and also Cutty Sark boat, etc.

Day 4-

Museums or not?

Look at London Walks.

Many travelers also find the Hop on Hop Off open-air doubledecker buses that circulate constantly between main sights and let you for a whole day get on and off en route and also provide commentary as the bus moves to be a great way to orient yourselves to London and also get around between major sights. there are zillions of these buses, by various companies but all seem to be about the same - just buy ducat when boarding.

Noo one can give you useful advice or suggestions unless you tell us something more. PQ's itinerary may be just what you want --or not at all. I wouldn't do several of those sites on a first visit myself.

What things are you already considering? What sorts of things interest you? Click on 'Destinations' at the top of this page and read the overview/short itinerary Fodors suggests.

Then give us something to work w/ and we can maybe help you figure things out . . .

PalenQ's suggestions are okay. It's feasible but if you're new to the place, maybe give a little adjustment on the time and all. Since you're relatively new to the place, you might have a difficult time getting around especially if you are not good with directions.

PQ's itinerary may be just what you want --or not at all. I wouldn't do several of those sites on a first visit myself - especially the Changing of the Guard but that is a perpetual 'must' for many American tourists.

I was replying to the OP's desire to see 'major sights' and yes I would not prioritize my trip that way either - to me visiting the Camden Lock market or Pettitcoat Lane market is as nice as anything in London - but for major sights I tried to break up by areas for a day in each. OP was asking for major sights as well as the Crown Jewels - in The Tower of London.

Take the first 3 days of Pal's itinerary and spread them over your 4.5 days.
Add time in a park if the weather is good and a West End show if that appeals to you.

Allowing for jet lag and your unfamiliarity with London transport this will be more than enough and it's a reasonable introduction to London that you can tailor to your own interests with a little further research.

Have fun!

"<i>What things are you already considering? What sorts of things interest you? Click on 'Destinations' at the top of this page and read the overview/short itinerary Fodors suggests.

Then give us something to work w/ and we can maybe help you figure things out . . .</i>"

What I meant --you told you want to see jewels - assuming that means the Crown Jewels but not sure. If so, that means the Tower of London; and the Eye - OK that takes 1/2 an hour. There are a hundred other major sites so tell us what sorts of things interest you . .

when folks who have never been to London ask for major sights it is really only a handful of them that are indeed major sights for every first-time tourist and that is is what OP is asking - not about some special interests - they just want to have an outline of major sights and a time frame to do them in.

All of us who have been to London zillions of times know what the major sights are for the first-time visitor - what we consider major sights now after being jaded by being there so much may differ.

Put yourself in the shoes of a first-time London visitor who yes wants to see the top major sights and not diddle around at some lesser things at the expense of at least seeing what everyone wants to when going to London.

Not a bad itinerary Pal.

It's just that we need a bit more. for example, time of year, any children, any mobility issues, like art or hate it, like walking or not,etc..

Plus, by reading a guide, they may decide that something like Inn of Courts, or St Paul's, Portabello market, or Brick Lane may have been something they would love to see.

HOHO bus as a day 1 activity, then some fill in tourism is a good one.

I think PQ gave a great overview and gives a first-timer a lot of ideas to pick/choose/skip. Is there ever a time that the changing of the guards isn't crowded beyond belief so that you can't see anything anyway? I'd skip it until there's absolutely nothing else to do; sleeping in would be a better use of your time.

"<i>Put yourself in the shoes of a first-time London visitor</i>" I do -- since I take lots of folks to London - usually their first time

"<i>when folks who have never been to London ask for major sights it is really only a handful of them that are indeed major sights for every first-time tourist and that is is what OP is asking - not about some special interests -</i>"

A <i>few</i> of the major sites in no particular order:

Westminster Abbey
National Gallery
St Pauls cathedral
British Museum
Imperial War Museum
V&A
Tower of London
Tate Modern
Theatre
the Eye
Hampton Court Palace
Churchill Museum/Cabinet War Rooms
Greenwich
a boat ride on the Thames
Tate Britain
Madam Tussauds (not my choice but many first timers think it is a must)
a H-o-H-o bus tour
the Royal Parks
Street Markets and other shopping

You only have time for a few of these, so -- what sorts of things interest you?

(There are other 'major' sites and MANY other worthwhile ones)

or - let PQ plan your itinerary :) . . .

Get a London guidebook.

love the info.thanks. janis, with your list of highlights can you suggest and order to do in because i do not know what is near each other. thanks

or - let janis plan your itinerary - sorry can't do sad smily face!

A few of the major sites in no particular order:

janis - what no Buckingham Palace on your top list? Or Changing of the Guard or Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus or Coven Garden - those IMO are ALL Top sights any first-time tourist will want to see - much more than the likes of the Imperial War Museum or the Churchill/Cabinet War Rooms or Tate Britain - all fine sights but not major ones for first-timers on limited time.

Hampton court I agree is great and a sweet little day trip from London that is actually still in greater London - can use your Oyster Card there and back - to me one of europe's finest palaces - the English Versailles if you have it and the presentation is so so superb as well - as nice as any palace I've been in - and you also have the Thames (could take a boat at least part way from Richmond there and train back, etc) and palace has tons of Queen's art collections such as the famous Cartoons in the Orangerie and outside formal gardens and a vast park with a famous Maze (don't get lost) and the most complete Tudor kitchens anywhere, etc.

I think Wiindsor too is a great day trip - the town and the famous castle - easily done by train - two different routes, take the one via Wimbledon and Kingston - goes thru a leaft suburban area and then rolls lovingly along a tranquil lush stretch of the Thames. Eton and Eton College are a nice add-on to Windsor - just across the bridge from the castle area - the train station for this line is smack on The Thames opposite Eton.

BTW janis I have taken about 1,000 Americans to London - how many have you taken? Just curious.

>>janis - what no Buckingham Palace on your top list? Or Changing of the Guard or Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus or Coven Garden - those IMO are ALL Top sights any first-time tourist will want to see - much more than the likes of the Imperial War Museum or the Churchill/Cabinet War Rooms or Tate Britain - all fine sights but not major ones for first-timers on limited time.<<

I'm not janisj, but we weren't particularly interested in seeing any of the places you mentioned as must-sees for the first-time London tourist. We did want to visit the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum, though. :-) Everyone's tastes differ.

Lee Ann

PQ: "<i>janis - what no Buckingham Palace on your top list? Or Changing of the Guard or Trafalgar Square or Piccadilly Circus or Coven Garden - those IMO are ALL Top sights any first-time tourist will want to see</i>"

I guess you missed the >><blue>There are other 'major' sites and MANY other worthwhile ones</blue><< bit . . .

Been to London at least annually for decades and yet to visit the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum - what am I missing, seriously and why would you call it a must see for first time visitors - normal first-timers that is! Is it worth the $20 or so I figure it probably costs to ogle?

Well when we came to London the first time the Cabinet War Rooms were one of the first things we saw! I am a huge history buff and I found them fascinating. Plus you can use the 2for1 to get in.

The Churchill display shows tonnes of memorabilia about him, including letters he wrote and info about his life. Then you go through the war rooms as they were back during the war...very interesting if you love world war history.

On the other hand I have lived here 4 years and have never been, nor do I have any interest in going to the Chaning of the Guards - horrible crowds, cant see much anyways - cant think of much worse! Plus having to get there early to get a spot and then just stand there for the short event - urgh. Not my thing.

I in 4 years I have never been to the Tate, Tate Modern, National Gallery, British Library...have spent all of 2 hours in the British Museum...

When we first started travelling I felt I always had to force myself to go to museums because everyone said they were mus sees...now I dont bother - the only museum I have been to in Paris is the Louvre, and I coudlnt wait to leave because of the crowds! I am not interested and now I know its ok for me to spend my time doing what I am interested in, and not the things that are considered Must Sees.

So I am always hesitant to give a random list of the Must Sees and I recommend people look at a guide book and decide what interests them!

....So I am always hesitant to give a random list of the Must Sees and I recommend people look at a guide book and decide what interests them!....

Exactly. There are several Londons historical London, literary London , London as great shopping centre etc. etc.
BTW, I see that PQ recommends Coven Garden. Is a broomstick required?
You could have a look at http://www.visitlondon.com/attractions/

You might also like http://www.walks.com/
because you see parts of London that you might not normally visit.
The general consensus is that the Jack the Ripper tour is one to avoid, but I have heard nothing bad about any of the others.

So I am always hesitant to give a random list of the Must Sees and I recommend people look at a guide book and decide what interests them!>

OP asked:

can anyone suggest an itinerary for a 4.5 day trip to london. never been. want to see the major sights, gurards, eye, jewels etc>

OP wants to see the major sights and I think we leave our own preferences behind and outline for OP what are the consensus main sights - and that is what I did - not my favorite sights but a consensus of what most first-time tourists - not jaded FodorGarchs - would consider main sights and OP asked for a time frame so I organized it like that. And I think it is obvious to anyone who has been to London a lot what the major sights are - thus it would not be a random list but just listing what most first-time tourists would want to see.

Thats great PQ - feel free to do so. I am not comfortable doing that given how much someone's interests can vary, but fill your boots.

I also expect someone to do their own research and I am happy to help out people that come with sights they want to see and have questions about them. I dont have time to create an itinerary for someone who is not taking an active role in their vacation. If you feel like, go right ahead! Its both of our perogatives.

I was responding to the question about the Cabinet War Rooms and just pointing out that interests can vary.

And I'd hardly call myself a 'jaded FodorGarch' if its me your were referring to.

Unfortunately, some of the sights that are on first-timers lists are (in the opinion of many of us) not very worthwhile. I think it is more helpful to suggest an interesting alternative where someone is more likely to feel their time and money was well spent, than to go with the 'Top 10 most famous' just as a list-ticking exercise.

Suggestions that always make me shudder are:-

Madam Tussauds - nothing to do with London and no 'flavour' of the capital or UK.

Harrods - tacky and overpriced. Again, not as quintessentially British as say, Liberty.

Piccadily Circus - uninspiring advertisiing signs and lots of traffic and fumes.

Leicester Square - incredibly boring when compared with many of London's lesser known squares and gardens.

London Dungeons - the US do these sort of themed attractions much better than us.

I am not saying this to be nasty - I'm trying to explain why I don't think these are 'must-sees' for anyone.

I thought Janis's list was pretty much the definitive one, because there isn't one thing on there that I could imagine provoking a response of 'Wasn't as good as I was expecting'.

PS - Although the exhibitions at Buckingham Palace can be quite interesting, I think the changing of the guard is another dull and overrated 'attraction'.

If someone has limited time/money here, then they want to know what the absolute best, most interesting things to do and see are - not those that will provoke polite indifference.

Q - why is the Changing of the Guard so popular - times when I went it was hard to get a good viewing spot unless arriving early and those were not nearly all Americans or ferrniers there either but I noted a lot of British families as well.

Personally I think it a bunch of clap trap and ridiculous in this day and age but it is what many Americans want - OP says she/he wants to 'see the guards' you know.

so denigrate it all you want but it is nevertheless by any account a major and for many must London sight.

We keep hearing Brits say how the monarchy and its trappings - like the Changing of the Guard and those guards dressed like clowns and looking like mannequins in front of Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing St, etc - how this brings tourists and their dollars into Britain and if this is right on then these type activities must be major sights of expectation to many Americans and foreign tourists.

It is not what are YOUR major sights OP is asking she/he is asking what THE major sights are - the consensus major sights and that is why a listing liike janisj rolled out of many many main sights is not what the OP asked.

I thought Janis's list was pretty much the definitive one, because there isn't one thing on there that I could imagine provoking a response of 'Wasn't as good as I was expecting'.>

well one thing you missed on janis' list was Madame Tussauds -did you read her list?

also expect someone to do their own research and I am happy to help out people that come with sights they want to see and have questions about them. I dont have time to create an itinerary for someone who is not taking an active role in their vacation. If you feel like, go right ahead! Its both of our perogatives>

agreed and that's all I was doing, trying to answer the OP's question and of course FodorGarchs take umbrage at trying to do what OP asked - not that there could not be differences with what a list of consensus major sights are - there could be - but I think many miss the point of what the OP was asking - not what YOU think are major sights but what the general first-time tourist will not want to miss.

So we have a zillion ideas and a lot of bashing of what many would consider must sights - so when folks go home and friends ask 'Did you see the Changing of the Guard' or 'go to Harrods' they say no and then feel like they missed out on something, etc.

OP asks a question - try to answer it as he/she asks it IMO - in this case listing and organizing what the average tourist considers the top must see sights.

I mean I've never been awed that much by the Tower of London, which its tourist mobs, etc but I would never not include it on a must see list - ditto for the Changing of the Guards and other fluffery that have tourists' cameras constantly clicking.

You are still missing the point.

No-one is disagreeing with you that loads of these (distinctly average) attractions are on people's lists - they are. But that's only because the people in question haven't seen them and don't know how underwhelming they are. So that is why many locals or repeat visitors try to steer first time visitors away from them. That's the whole point of Fodors forums.

And, for the record, Janis has clearly indicated she wouldn't choose Madam Tussauds herself, so I hardly think it constitutes a recommendation.

Madam Tussauds (not my choice but many first timers think it is a must)>

this is what janis opined - giving OP exactly the info requested - says it is a top sight for many first timers and says not her choice - that is fine but she did include it on her list of main sights.

What is a major sight? One that more tourists go to or see than other sights. Empircal answer demanded by such a question - yeh going to the Camden Lock weekend market may be the tits for some folk but if at the expense of a top sight they may later reqgret it.

Yes we have different opinons on how to answer the OP's q

I say list what seems to be consensus top sights
You say to list what you consider top sights.

Fine each way but that is my rational - answer the question as posed.

Intereting the banner add that just flew across my screen - an add from Eurostar to paris and back for $117 had a list:

London Things to Do

#1 was Buckingham Palace checked

#2 was Big Ben checked

#3 was day trip to Paris

but this is the type of what major sights IMO means - things everyone thinks they want to visit

Big Ben was not on my list nor many others and it should have been - even though folks who ogle Big Ben mistakenly think Big Ben is the tower and not the big bell housed in the tower.

So another must London site - Bib Ben!

I think the original idea of the Hop-On Hop-Off bus might be a good one for someone who is going "un-armed".

See what the tourist board/ company has picked, visit those sites (busy day(s)), then fill in any holes.

I'm still waiting for Paleques 'anti-tour' complete with refreshment breaks at Garfunkles and Angus Steak House.....

I guess my point is why would I take the time to retype out what the OP can get from a guide book and a little search on the internet. If they arent looking for my personal opinion, as you state, then go buy or borrow a guidebook and you will get all the top tourist attractions in general without me having to do all the work for them.

If you have a bunch of stuff you want to see and need help with logistics or want our opinions then I am happy to take the time to help with that.

I just think asking 'what are the top sites to see in London in general' is a cop out and expecting me to do the leg work. Therefore my recommendation to those general questions is - get a guidebook, see the sites they recommend and come back with questions about what you want to see.

To be honest, kind of flattered I could now be considered a FodorGarch :)

I just think asking 'what are the top sites to see in London in general' is a cop out and expecting me to do the leg work>

my 'leg work' took about two minutes and anyone familiar with London should know what its consensus top sights that every tourist wants to see in less time than slower than molasses in January in the Artic on the coldest night of the year moi.

I find you response downright rude to tell you the truth - just don't answer but quit treating first-time posters or novice posters like a school marm and telling them to go stand in the corner.

If you don't want to answer find but rebuking them like 'go down your own research why should I do it for you' crap is downright rude IMO - and as Brits might say "Good Show"

Hahaha oh PalenQ - I think you'll find I dont say 'go down your own research why should I do it for you' or anything meant in a rude way - you are completely misinterpreting.

I usually say - its best to get a guide book to get an idea of what you can see and determine that based on your interests - then come back with any questions and we can help you out. Or give us more to go on and we can help you out.

And most of the time I just let you or someone else who is happy enough to provide this information respond. I spend my time helping on the posts I want to (and apparently sitting here in front of the tv having an amusing 'argument' with you hahaha)

Like I said - fill your boots and type these things out to your heart's content whenever a new poster comes on and asks them, I just dont have time to do something that is readily available with minimal effort by the OP. Give a person a fish and they have food for a day, give them a fishing rod and they eat forever :)

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

spots25 on Aug 1, 11 at 9:59am
love the info.thanks. janis, with your list of highlights can you suggest and order to do in because i do not know what is near each other. thanks


Did you guys miss this post? It was the last time the OP added to the thread LOL