London Itinerary for Four Days
 

Hello All,

Since everyone has been so helpful in helping us decide how to spend our time in London, I thought maybe you could assist with putting together a basic itinerary for the things we'd like to see. I'm not sure what is close in proximity to each other, so could you please have a look at the list of things below and let me know how we could group them?

We will be in London starting Thursday morning August 30th, leaving Monday morning September 3rd. We haven't booked our hotel yet but are looking at the 41.

Here's our list of things we'd like to see - keep in mind we aren't overly ambitious as we like to have some downtime to have a nice long lunch, stroll the neighborhoods, etc. Thanks!

Apsley House
Buckingham Palace
London Zoo
St. Paul's Cathedral
Tower Bridge
Westminster Abbey
British Museum
Covent Garden
Hyde Park
Kew Gardens
Tower of London
Maybe a trip to Windsor?

don't forget the Churchill's War room... unforgettable

If you are flying from Heathrow then consider staying at Windsor the evening before and taking a taxi to the airport, otherwise don't even think of it as you don't have the time.

Forget about the zoo as it's not that great, Kew Gardens as you don't have the time and Hyde Park is a big piece of grassland.

Save Covent Garden for the evening and choose between Westminster Abbey and St Pauls. Tower Bridge - just look at it, don't take the tour.

So that leaves

Apsley House
Buckingham Palace
St. Paul's Cathedral / Westminster Abbey
British Museum
Tower of London

Also, ideas on a good spot for Afternoon Tea?

csitju,

First my disclaimer: I have not been to London in over 40 years; however, I am planning a 4 day trip for May 2013 and I am working the itinerary and "what to lump into which day" question you outlined.
Here is what i am thinking so far:

One day of Wesminster Abbey, Churchill War Romm & Museum (mentioned above) and perhaps a walk from there to Traflger Square including Banqueting House.

One day will be The British Library & British Museum a short bus ride apart and another bus ride to Convent Garden.

I am toying with the idea of one day The Tower of London and St Pauls. I have one more day to plan and am considering just exploring and maybe the National Gallery, Temple Church, teh Eye, or a side trip to Greenwich by boat on the Thames

I hope that helps. I am confident you will get additional ideas from the Fodorite Family

Oh, I don't know about Alan's comment about the London Zoo. I was there with my mates even before I got married and had kids, and I thought it was unique in its own special way. Lots of people don't even know it exists.

If it's a nice day, I'd combine that with a one way trip on the canal boat that runs right along the zoo and has its own canal entry (and exit) to the zoo.

http://www.londonwaterbus.com/

I don't know where you are located Csitju, but as far as the London Zoo, it is not in the league of the big North American Zoos in San Diego or the Bronx Zoo in NY. It is more comparable to a small city zoo like Lincoln Park in Chicago if that is any sort of reference for you. We went because it had a nice insect exhibit which son was interested in seeing. Cute little zoo but I would focus on more big ticket items with only four days.

As far as grouping, we went on one day to the Tower of London first thing upon opening, exited out and saw the Tower Bridge, took the boat ride right at the base of the Tower of London to Westminster where you can see Parliament and Big Ben from the water and went to the Churchill War Rooms which stays open until 6PM. After that we walked across the bridge and went over to the London Eye for an evening ride. Covered quite a lot in one really full day. By the way we stayed from 9-2 at the Tower of London which is fabulous.

Alternatively Westminster Abbey is right near the Churchill War rooms which I highly recommend. We went to the Abbey with the London Walks tour done on Friday's which combines the Abbey with the changing of the guard by Buckingham Palace without the wait and offers a good viewing spot.

St Pauls can be combined with the Museum of London which is great. Climb to the top of St Paul--great view.

National Gallery is at Trafalgar Square and should not be missed. Open late on Fridays. This is not too far from Covent Garden if I recall correctly.

Buckingham Palace may not be open for visitors at the time of your visit so it will be a walk by.

If you get a map you will be able to locate all of these places very easily and see which go together. You will also need the street map to chart your walks from one place to another. And your map of the tube will help you plan routes between places and your hotel. (If in doubt every site has info on which tube stops are nearby.)

i would second the Thames river tour possibly doing Greenwich.

I loved the walks and plan to do one every day. I did the Chelsea pub crawl and the Beatles tour last time which introduced me to Marylebone which I found lovely.

We were just there in January (2nd trip), and I'd rate as my top choices Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, the Victoria and Albert museum, and the Tower of London. Westminster and St Paul's are quite different in style, and I thought they were both magnificent.

We took London Walks tours of each and discovered we got a lot more out of our visits than the first trip. With LW you not only get a 2 hour tour, you save on the admission fee - and most importantly, the time. Even in January we circumvented what had to be a half hour line, and I can't imagine waiting in August. The LWalks tour of the Tower was interesting, but it focuses more on the exterior of the complex, and I'd skip it if short on time and just go into the Tower area and hear the Beefeaters tour.

Depending on where you're staying, you'll see Hyde Park in transit. Didn't get to Apsley House, though we wanted to - it's on the fringes of Hyde Park and not far from Buckingham Palace.

The V & A was amazing. I liked it more than the British Museum.

-i would also skip the zoo unless you just absolutely have to go. There are far more British things to see

- St Paul's and Westminster are both excellent but make sure you do them on different days. (Churchill War rooms are literally a next door neighbor)

- There's a nice little walk after you're done at Westminster Abbey. Basically you can walk along Parliament Square and take Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square. It's a pleasant stroll (about half a mile). You'll see the Cenotaph, King Charles Street arch, and have good views of Big Ben.

- The British Museum and Tower of London can easily gobble up a half day. Plan accordingly! I recommend the Tower of London to begin a day of tourism and British Museum to finish one up. The reason being there is SO MUCH to see in that place you might wear yourself out.

i almost forgot......on Sunday have the Sunday Roast! ;-)

A good site for afternoon tea is http://www.afternoontea.co.uk/

Thanks for all the suggestions - we're all booked! Flight has been scheduled and hotel reserved. We're really excited!

"<i>Buckingham Palace may not be open for visitors at the time of your visit so it will be a walk by.</i>"

Yes - it is open while you are there. You'll want to pre-book. They issue timed tickets.

Thanks Janisj for the clarification. I wasn't sure if Buckingham Palace would be open during the time of their visit or not.

Csitju,

We went to Claridges for afternoon tea and loved it. It was pricey but they kept coming back with more trays of food until we asked them to stop. Plus they made a special tray for my son who couldn't eat certain things due to his allergies and they replenished his very own tray too.