Hi All-I am very excited that I am finally going to London for a first visit. We have bought our air and rented a flat in Egerton Gardens for the week of 3/19/11 -3/26/11. The question is, are these activities reasonable for a 50+ couple who can walk for 3 to 4 hours at a time. I don't want to put a day on anything, rather make a list and pick something for the day we have been given. We can either take Knightsbridge or South Kennsington Tube Stations to any of these places.

Our list is, British Museum (most of a day) National Gallery, 1/2 day, St. Paul's Cathedral tour and Evensong service, Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, Westminster Abbey, a matinee and an evening at the theatre, and a ride on the Thames to Greenwich to tour the town and anything we may find interesting. We will buy an oyster card for transportation, and eat out once a day, either lunch or a few dinners. I realize I will be jet lagged on the first day and will be happy to stock the flat, get my bearings, take a walk and maybe just take a double decker bus around the town. Opinions? Thank you in advance for your knowledge and interest.

Looks good to me. The only thing is setting the amount of time for a visit. You well might find that a couple of hours at the British museum will cause "museum burn out". I found it best to return than try to absorb it all in one visit.

Sounds fine to me, the only thing I would add is a trip to the Tower. It takes about 3-4 hours, and its best to get there first thing in the morning - head to the crown jewels, then go back to the entrance to take the free beefeater tour. I think its the best tourist site in London!
http://www.hrp.org.uk/toweroflondon/

And I also think your plan is good. What I would add is a guided walking tour through www.walks.com. Look at their list and see what appeals to you. They do tours of the British Museum and Westminster Abbey among many others. (The tours shouldn't be too crowded in March.)

I would add Victoria and Albert art museum. It is one of the fines museums in the world. 1/2 day. Also the exterior of it and of the buildings near it are beautiful.

ditto to all the above. You can easily fit in everything on your list - and have time for more as well.

"<i>I would add Victoria and Albert art museum. It is one of the fines museums in the world.</i>" . . . And is practically across the street from your flat.

I agree that you might want to split the British museum into smaller bites instead of trying to do it alll in one visit.

And don't forget that the museums have very nice cafes. The V&A in particular is gorgeous. Plan on having lunch or at least a tea break there on your V&A day.

Great advice above, and like everyone else, I'll say your itinerary looks fine.

It's wise to check the days and open hours for the attractions you choose ahead of time, though. You may find it useful to know that Westminster Abbey closes early on Saturdays (last admission at 1:30 pm, with a 2:30 pm closing), that St. Paul's sells tickets only until 4 pm, and neither church is open to tourists Sundays, only for worship. Also, the British Museum is open into the evening on Thursdays and Fridays, and the Victoria and Albert and National Gallery are open Friday evenings.

Thank you all for your input. When I am on vacation I want to be relaxed and well rested, which means I am at a slower pace than the other 358 days a year. Working in the US means we are at 120% every day. Vacation is for our external clocks to be unplugged. Plus I like the thought of being able to change my mind where and when I go or stay. You have helped put my mind at ease. I will probably continue to ask occasional question before we leave, and write a trip report when we return. Thank you gracious travelers!

I think you'll find you can add a lot more to your list. We are in our 70's and covered more than that in 4 days. Of course we have been to London 35 or 40 times.BTW Egerton Garden area is lovely and great shopping along King's Rd. One of our favorites is the Wallace Collection and they have a lovely restaurant.You will want to add the National Portait Gallery the day you go to the NAtional Gallery . It's right behind it.

I must get astart on my latest London trip report!

You also might look into buses. The 11 and 22 run along KIng's Road and will take yo almost any place you want to go.

St. Martin-in-the-Fields has lovely concerts in the evening, some lunchtime concerts, and some music events in the crypt. It's a nice way to combine a meal (in the Crypt cafe), a chance to sit down and rest your weary feet while listening to music, and a visit to the National Gallery or Portrait Gallery which are right across the road.

Here's the website: http://www2.stmartin-in-the-fields.o...home/home.html

Bookmarking for our first time visit in September.

Could I ask for a link to your flat rental?

rncheryl, do you mean my flat rental? If so, it's www.sabbaticalhomes.com. Our particular flat is #16433, if you'd like to see it. We've been quite happy with it.

My husband and I visited London for a week in the summer of 2009. We are in our mid-50s and were able to easily do all those things. I would definitely add the Beefeater tour at the Tower of London. We found a few hours in the British Museum was enough. The museum is free (donations accepted) so I wouldn't hesitate to do a few shorter visits. Also you may want to add a few shows. We booked one through theatremonkey and ended up adding two more. We also spent lots of time walking (soho, covent garden, Hyde Park, Oxford St., south of the Thames, Portobello antique market). I am returning to London this summer and plan to add more walks and explore some lesser known sites and of course see some shows.

You're planning well and getting good advice here. We were in our early 60s for our first London visit in 2000 and in our early 70s for our visit last year. Choosing a flat over a hotel may well be the best and most rewarding part of your planning. We've now made three trips and stayed at two flats in Knightbridge/South Kensington and one in Mayfair. The flat will give you much more control over your environment. With any luck at all, you'll have a washington machine in the flat and that will save you hunting for, and wasting good touring time at, laundromats. On each of our trips we had the seemingly decadent, but inexpensive pleasure of eating a breakfast of real English muffins, real orange marmalade and coffee at our own pace and even having a leisurely read of The London Times with our breakfasts in our flats. Flats are also a good place at which to end a touring day at 5 or 6 o'clock, get a shoeless two-hour rest, and go out to a local restaurant for a leisurely dinner.

My opinion...

Do NOT miss the Tower. Probably more interesting than a second theatre visit...one should be enough. (...and I strongly recommend The 39 Steps if you like British comedy.)

Also, rather than all that time in the British Museum, save an hour or two for the British Library. It has a not-too-big room with the best "treasures" dsiplayed, and you will be amazed.

Also, an opinion about jet lag: My wife and I (60's and great walkers) have found that hitting the ground running the first day (with only a late afternoon short nap before dinner) works best for changing your internal clocks. I have no scientific evidence for this - only the experience of a dozen or so trips (from the US east coast).

SS

We have a slight variation on ssander's jet lag (we were in our early 60s on our first trip to Europe in 2000 and in our early 70s for last year's trip. Because we fly from the west coast, we always arrive around noon, give or a couple of hours. We travel from the arrival airport by shuttle or taxi (we departed but never arrived at Heathrow but at Heathrow, based on our experience to date, we'd probably take the tube directly into London where we've always chosen flats close to the Picadilly Line) to our flat or hotel (in other than London)m deposit our bags in the room or with the hotel clerk if we're a bit early, wander not far from the hotel for a sweet roll and some coffee, having been deprived of really pleasureful food and eating atmosphere on the aircraft, suck up our strength and stroll around until 5:30 or 6:00, find an interesting informal restaurant for dinner close to our lodgings, spend an hour or so on dinner, return to the lodgings for about an hour of shower and a good book and aim for an 8 pm bedtime. By that time, we've always been able to sleep 10 to 12 hours straight and awake bright, thoroughly rested and ready to breakfast and tour the next day.

Another vote for the V. and A. It is a fantastic place. There are apparently 7 miles of corridors and 450 rooms, so you can only see a fraction of what is there. My wife and I spent three hours there twice and only really saw 7 rooms, but they were amazing. The jewellery and the snuff box collection are unbelievable. Someone mentioned the restaurant and it is certainly pleasant but quite expensive. Mohun's letter above is exactly right and that is what we do (also in our 70's)except that a pint of real ale or as good malt whisky has to be there to assist the night's sleep.

I was about to say basically what ssander said: Try to add the Tower of London (it and Westminster Abbey and the British Museum are my top 3 "gotta go in these" for a first trip to London)--get there early and go to Crown Jewels first, allow a whole morning, and enjoy the area around the Tower Bridge afterwards; don't skip the British Library when near the Museum; and walking outside and staying up as long as you can until a normal bedtime in London is a good help against the lag.