some friends and I will be in the city for a few days in early december (yikes on the weather)... with the US dollar so low we're looking for suggestions on somewhat-affordable ideas for a day-trip around the city. We've considered Windsor, Oxford, Cambridge and looking for other options... given the weather I think we're mostly interested in seeing things indoors but any suggestions are welcome!

Winchester, Bath, Salisbury, Greenwich (in zone 1-2 so your travelcard is usable)

Hi ljwobker,

Looking out of the window, the weather is not too bad today; a bit chilly but fine for sightseeing outside. So although it's good to have a contingency plan if it rains, don't rule out the outdoors.

All the suggestions you've made are good; for Oxford or Cambridge the train/bus fare will be 10 to 20 GBP, and once you're there the museums are mostly free, the colleges charge a couple of pounds for entrance and you can find a cheap cafe for lunch. It is better to visit these cities when it's not pouring with rain, as the architecture is for me the main draw. I'd visit one of these two as, although Windsor is pretty, presumably you will already see a couple of royal palaces in central london.

We enjoyed a December daytrip to Winchester, which is about an hour by train from London (tickets start at about 25Pounds roundtrip). The cathedral and surrounds are terrific, the central part of town is pedestrianized, nice pubs, etc.

Winchester is sort of a "second tier" tourist attraction...more locals than tourists at most times.

Info:

http://www.visitwinchester.co.uk/

Days are pretty short now so I'd stick to places nearby, so not Oxford/Cambridge.

Oxford is a good choice because it offers indoor options as well as outdoors. Cambridge is better in good weather. I don't know Windsor. Greenwich is a possibility as is Bath, if you don't consider it too far.

on a sunny day, how about Brighton? About an hour from victoria on very frequent trains.