London - Itinerary
 

My daughter and I will be arriving in London from Canada in October and have put together the following itinerary. Based on the feedback from this site, we decided not to over plan our time, but Would appreciate input.

We would also like some suggestions for places to dine. We would prefer pubs, with an occasional Asian restaurant (Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese). We're not into high-end restaurants and would prefer the non-tourist places so we can meet people and absorb the culture of London.

Day 1 - Thurs
Arrive hotel (Kensington) - noon
Victoria & Albert Museum
If up to it, walk to Harrods

Day 2 ? Friday
Tower of London (morning)
St. Pauls (afternoon)
Dinner (either around St. Pauls or The Tower)
Ceremony of the Keys

Day 3 - Saturday
Leicester Square - pick-up theatre tickets
British Museum
Dinner (before evening play - either around Museum or in theatre district)
Theatre

Day 4 - Sunday
Westminster (morning)
Brass rubbings - St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Dinner (Kensington)

Day 5 ? Monday
Depart by train for Bath

We appreciate your assistance in helping us plan our time in London.

JJ and Megs

Hi Bonnie,
Looks like a nice, pleasant, flexible schedule.

looks like a good plan!
Here are my suggestions:
We conquer jet lag by being outdoors and moving. If this were my plan, and the weather is good the day I arrive, I'd pick up a sandwich, walk through Kensington Gardens and have a picnic before going to the V&A.
Daquise is a small, neighborhood, Polish restaurant that we love on Thurloe St. near the V&A.
Depending on how much time you spend doing the brass rubbings, you might have time for either the National Portrait Gallery or the National Gallery right across the street from St. Martin in the Fields. Both are open until 6 on Sunday. The National Portrait Gallery is my daughter's favorite place, and is a good way to put faces on all the people you hear about at the Tower, etc.
If you finish at St. Pauls in time, the Museum of London is close by and gives a good overview of London history. (Plus, the Lord Mayor's carriage is pretty stunning!).
Have a great trip -- London is my favorite place!
Annette

Thanks for your input. Any suggestions for places to dine?

If you don't want to spend a lot of money on food, pick up Sandra Gustafon's Cheap Eats in London. She tells it like it is.

Excellent itinerary. Unlike many people you did not try to cram in too much each day. I can suggest two restaurants near the Gloucester Road underground station - Black & Blue - excellent fish and chicken dishes with moderate prices and - La Sala Romano - a very good Italian restaurant. Both have attentive friendly service and very reasonable (and good) wine.

On Sunday, you might want to have lunch in the restaurant at the National Portrait Gallery--on the fourth floor, I think. Wonderful view over the rooftops, past Trafalgar Square, and toward the river. Or have some tea and cake there later in the afternoon.

Or, if you would rather be below ground level, for a unique setting, take lunch or tea in the crypt in St. Martin-in-the-Fields.

Neither place will be without tourists, I'm afraid.

Your itinerary sounds wonderful to me. It is not overly ambitious: with this plan, you have allowed yourselves time to enjoy the unexpected delight, the pleasant detour, as well to pursue the activities you have outlined.

If you are looking for a place to dine in the Tower area try St. Katherines Dock which is adjacent to the Bridge and has several good restaurants and a pub. You will see the Tower Thistle Hotel and keep walking round it at the front and you come to the Dock.

Thanks to you all for your wonderful suggestions. Does anybody have any advice on dinner before the theatre? Would it be better to dine near the British Museum or in the theatre district before the play or in the theatre district or in Kensington after the play? If you have any suggestions, they would be most appreciated.

Thanks all . . .

When I go to the theatre, I usually like to eat dinner before the show, at a restaurant near the theatre, but that's entirely a matter of personal preference. If you do choose to eat in the theatre district, I can recommend these restaurants:

Melati (21 Great Windmill Street): Malaysian and Indonesian food. Low prices, very extensive menu, good service

Mon Plaisir (21 Monmouth Street): French bistro with a good value pre-theatre menu

Cork & Bottle Wine Bar (44-46 Cranbourn Street; just off Leicester Square, the entrance is easy to miss because the restaurant is below street level, down a narrow flight of stairs): great selection of wines by the glass, reasonably priced wine bar-style food (see http://www.donhewitsonlondonwinebars.com/ for a sample menu)

Closer to your hotel, there's a very good Thai restaurant called Patara at 9 Beauchamp Place, in Knightsbridge, not far from Harrod's. It's a bit more expensive than the others I mentioned (maybe 40 USD per person for dinner), but worth it. I think Patara may have other locations in London, but I've only eaten at the Beauchamp Place location, so I can't vouch for the others.

.

Hi Bonnie,

Although at the moment I can't remember names of restaurants, I bought the "Cheap Eats in London" book, and it has TONS of ethic restaurants in it. We tried an Indian one and a Lebanese one, and they were both excellent and reasonable. They listed lots of Asian places, so it might be worth it for you.

Karen

Re cheap places to dine, or those which will fit w/ seeing theatre, two areas which are very close to the Leicester Square / West End theatre area are Chinatown and Soho. (I am a Chinese-American who has lived in Asia and for the last 2 years in London) Chinatown is not as good as Vancouver or Toronto, but in the context of London is not bad and is cheap, fast and convenient. I recommend Royal Dragon on the main drag of Gerrard St, if you want a regular meal as opposed to a quick bowl of noodles. The best ethnic deal in London is Indian food. With the large S Asian population, it is ubiquitous, cheap and good variety and quality. Thai is very popular too. For some reason virtually every pub in England offers Thai food. For specific pre-theatre dining ideas you may wish to look at timeout.com which is the pre-eminent "what's on around town" magazine, lastminute.com which offers both cheap theatre tix and some dinner/theatre packages, and squaremeal.co.uk which is a comprehensive dining review site.

Your plan to do the Tower and St. Paul's was the same plan I had. But it was such a lovely day (no rain!) we walked across Tower Bridge, had lunch by the Thames in one of the pubs. Then we walked along the riverwalk enjoying the views and the people, to the Globe Theater where we took the tour (very entertaining). We got by St. Paul's another day. The walk along the Thames was one of my best memories. FYI - eat lunch at St. Martins. The prices are reasonable, the atmosphere is unique and the food is good. Enjoy your trip!

Topping

Would someone help me out? What do you mean by brass rubbings?

Thanks!

Memorial brasses - sort of like brass effigies or tomb stones are in churches throughout Europe and the UK. They are mostly from the 15th, 16th, 17th centuries, but a few are Victorian era. many are really lovely - knights, ladies in fine gowns, gruesome ones like skeletons, children, merchants, coats of arms, etc. You used to be able to go into any church - even places like Westminster Abbey and rub them. You use a very hard wax crayon on large sheets of paper and a rubbing becomes an image of the plaque.

But the hobby got too popular and the stones/brasses were getting damaged so many churches have taken resin molds of their brasses and put them in brass rubbing centers where they provide the materials and charge a fee.

many people like to take them home as souviners and mount/frame them.