KyraS

Rather than a HOHO bus tour, consider a London Walks guided walk for the afternoon of your arrival day. This gets you outside and moving but if you're very jet-lagged, you don't have to navigate or think, just follow along. They have lots of walks so you are sure to find something interesting. You don't have to book in advance, just turn up.

Hampton Court Palace is amazing, but with your short time, I would save it for a return trip.

Instead, I'd consider the Tower of London, the British Library, Westminster Abbey, and a play at the Globe (groundling [standing] tickets are only five pounds apiece). That covers literature and history, plus music, if you attend Evensong. Don't do the play on arrival night.

I realise all those suggestions are quite "touristy" and you asked for other suggestions; however, there is a reason they are so popular.

I agree with janis that I would just eat when I'm hungry and find something close by. Adding restaurant destinations/reservations will cramp your sight-seeing and add more travel time to your schedule. Having said that, London is full of really good food so you won't starve.

bilboburgler

Stoke, sorry I get the point about Frenchy now. My bad.

Nero makes no profit in the UK at all, any profits it does make is in the Isle of Man, which is a tax shelter like Delaware. Still it is not as if the President of European Commission was Prime minister of Luxembourg (yet another tax shelter) who claims to know nothing.

Star Backs doesn't pay a tax but has decided to make a contribution (yeah right)

I believe both companies write you name on the cup so when it is ready they call out your name. I'd favour "@@@@@ are tax dodgers" and see how long you have to wait.

Still we are all walking around the elephant in the room, which is IKEA, a charity that gives charitably to only the members of one family......

bilboburgler

sorry to all, I just get a bit frustrated sometimes

Mimar

suec1 is referring to the Borough Market, near Southwark Cathedral. The market is open Saturday til 5, so you might just make it on your first day. But better to save it for your next visit.

For priorities what eastenderusvi said: << Literature and history- The British Library and the British Museum...>> in that order. The Treasures Room at the Library is amazing: http://www.bl.uk/events/treasures-of...ritish-library.

For somebody with your interests, such a short visit will be very frustrating. Ah well, next time.

Tulips

'Still we are all walking around the elephant in the room, which is IKEA, a charity that gives charitably to only the members of one family......'

IKEA is actually a major benefactor of Unicef.

As for coffee, try to go with the local cafes; Coffee Plant on Portobello Road, for example.
So there's your coffee shop recommendation Enjay!

If you are interested in History; the Museum of London is good. Ideally everyone visiting London should start there

ChgoGal

If, by any chance, you're in London for the Open House weekend (19-20 Sept.), you may want to take a look at some offerings.
http://www.openhouselondon.org.uk/

Surfergirl

If you go to Tower of London (highly recommend), a good lunch spot nearby is The Minories, a pub that serves decent food about a minute from Tower Hill station under the railway. Used to meet a friend there who worked down the road.

welltraveledbrit

As you know you don't have much time but I don't think that's a problem because you have the right attitude and everyone has given you lots of great advice already. This is just a brief introduction and you've already said you don't need to see anything in particular, I totally get this because we went to Rome lots of times before we made it to the Vatican.

So here's my two cents for a full day out...You are staying in a good location and the British Museum is right around the corner so you should drop in. I think your best bet is to get a sense for the center of London by spending your time walking around. I think the idea of a London walks tour could be good if you see they are running something you like.

Otherwise I'd set out on foot, head down through Bloomsbury and the Inns of Court to St Pauls check out the cathedral and afterwards head to the roof of One New Change for a nice view. http://www.onenewchange.com/roof-terrace There's a bar up there but there's also a free terrace too.

Afterwards I'd head across the Millennium foot bridge and walk towards Tower Bridge to look across at the Tower and then head back along the Southbank past the Globe, the National Theatre and the West until you're looking right at the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben across the river. If you still have engr. cross over have a look around and then take a bus back. It will take you along the Mall and then up to Trafalgar Sq where you could stop for a drink and a view at the Vista. (FYI they will charge 5 quid pp after 4pm).
http://www.thetrafalgar.com/vista-homepage/

Of course you could mix up this itinerary by adding in museums (Soane, Coutauld, Tata Modern, National Gallery) markets (Borough) or attractions tour of Globe or London Eye. It's always worth going into the Tate Modern to see the building and the view over the river. There's another nice view from the outdoor cafe on the roof at the National Theatre.

On Sunday you could do this or something completely different, a street art walking tour in the East End , the market in Brick Land and the Columbia Rd flower market followed by hipster spotting in Shoreditch.

In the evening do take a walk through the lovely squares near your hotel, I particularly like Red Lion Square where you can see Bertram Russel's bust but there are lots of lovely ones. Including places where Virginia Woolf lived. I'd also consider going out to eat in a lively area like Shoreditch, there are lots of places to eat, we like Dishoom. It's an easy bus ride on the 55.

Another nighttime option would be to get on a bus and see the sights, I like the Number 11 but you could pick a number of others, it's a cheap option as the buses max out at 4:40 per day!
https://www.visitbritainshop.com/wor...-3-bus-routes/

I like Hampton Court but with only two days I would skip it.

TRANSPORT:
Oyster Card into town on the Tube is cheap and cheerful. You get the deposit on the card back when you return it at Heathrow on the way out. Download the free CityMapper app it will help you negotiate the buses, tube etc. Incidentally you'll need the Oyster card for the buses as you can't buy a ticket on them anymore. However, you are staying so centrally that you may find find you walk everywhere.

stokebailey

(I like it when companies give money to charity after, not instead of, paying fair share of taxes.)

East of Russell Sq:

I like Tutti's coffeehouse/café at Great Ormond and Lamb's Conduit Streets for an informal break.

Also The Lamb pub on Lamb's Conduit serves good food, including Sunday roasts, has a good atmosphere.

bilboburgler

Ah Tulips, if you don't pay taxes you too could give money to Unicef.