Hello,
We will be traveling into Luton airport from Belfast on Sept. 22nd and flying out Sept. 25th back to Belfast. We will be traveling with 4 people and so as to avoid arguments we have decided to let each person pick the thing that they want to see most and then fill in the "gaps" This will be our first trip to London and we would like to see as much as we can (considering this is such a short trip we know it isnt possible to even scratch the surface). The four things each of our party wants to see are....Tower of London (myself).. London Eye..Hampton Court Palace....and madame Tussauds (please dont tell me what a waste it is I know..=)I just cant talk him out of it.. lol.
My itinerary looks like this
22nd...fly in at 11 am...get settled in (thistle victoria) maybe walk down to see Parliament and Big Ben...and London Eye.
23rd Hampton Court Palace and West End show that evening
24th Tower of London...changing of the guard??...Buckingham Palace...evening tickets to Ceremony of the Keys(already sent for tickets)
25th Madame Tussauds before we flight out at 4 pm
Does this look feasable? I would also like to stop in to the National Gallery for a peak if time permits. Will there be time to add in other places? We dont mind a whirlwind day but want to leave enough time to see each.
Thanks for any help or suggestions you might have!

Sounds like a nice plan. I would drop the changing of the guard, overrated and a waste of time plus it's harder to have stuff in your schedule that is so time specific. Have a good time and don't forget to drop in the great pubs between each stop.

I too advise dropping the changing of the guard - especially on the 24th. You can't see the Tower and get to the palace in time for the guard change. And you can't really do the Tower after thee guard change because tha would get you there right at the busiest/most crowded time at the Tower.

Since you won't have the Transatlantic jet lag to contend with, you can do a LOT more on the 22nd. The National Gallery would be a good fit since you can walk from Trafalgar Square down whitehall and across the river to the Eye. Or - if Madame Tussauds is a "must", you could go there on the 1st afternoon - be sure to buy your tickets in advance so you don't have to queue up.

Your first day actually looks a bit light, especially as you won't be dealing with the usual tourist jet lag and long-trip exhaustion. You might be able to fit in your outing to the National Gallery!

Yes, there will be time to fit in other things. I suggest that you get a map that shows the favorite tourist spots, so you can target places that are handy to your must-sees (i.e., either nearby or a direct tube ride).

Do remember that unless you are the ONLY adult on this outing, that another possibility is to split up; why make everyone go to Tussaud's if only one or two really want to go there?!

Buckingham Palace is open only seasonally, in Aug and Sept, so do make sure its dates are not done before you arrive.

I agree wth Annie that the Changing of the Guard is not a good use of your precious time; it's very symbolic and picturesque but only if you're up close. One poster pointed out that to see it properly, you must either be very early or very tall. And another has pointed out that after all, it's just two guys getting off work.

If at all possible try to convince the Madame Tussaud fan that the British Museum is a lot more fun.. and has a LOT of things you can't see anywhere else in the world.. like a complete Viking burial ship and the Rosetta Stone - Harry Potter cryptology?? The Elgin marbles (when we were in Athens the Greeks are still "miffed" that the Museum has the Caryatids).. We thought them better treated in London than Athens.. You can even get a decent lunch there. Have fun..

I like your plan. As Anonymous asks, could you bear to leave your friends to enjoy Mme Tussaud?s, while you have a look at a part of the National Gallery ?

You could indeed drop the changing of the guard, but if friends insist try the horse guard, more visible and more comfortable.

Welcome to London

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What may help also is your location and your degree of familiarity with the tube. We went in 2001 with our 12 yr old and we used Zagat's London restaurant guide-and she led us to places. Also we got a train pass and those A-Z maps-really good easy to follow. We stayed in S. Kensington - Gallery Hotel - but there are many for proximity to So. Kens. tube (easy to do Heathrow to/from there)and 3 major museums- V&A plus others and cd walk Harrod's, etc. I didn't choose to do tourist stuff bec. I did not want o look at the backs of tourists, and had done it some 30 yrs before. Tip-there is a Tussaud's in NY if that is more convenient. Always great to be at the opening time of a museum- often least crowded. We ar enot fancy/pricy eaters-we loved a chain called WagaMama and another called Yo Sushi. In So. Kens, we loved watching children in all their different school uniforms head to school. Also believe it or not-Tesco's supermarket and a fish & chips (out cromwell road make a turn as though back to Heathrow) were two of our favorite hits. Also boxes of tea- typically English, unavailable in US, reasonable and light make great gifts for others and reminders of a trip for yourself. I liked the old Twining's shop on the Strand...or back to the supermarket. Internet cafes are everywhere. We liked the Tate Modern building. My family liked the Cabinet War Rooms. My daughter and I did a long tube ride to the museum of childhood. We had about 6 days-for us just fine-didn't leave London at all this trip-3rd probably of my life. I only wish I had done a London Walks walking tour-world famous.

Hi pan,

If your friend can't be convinced that Madame Tussauds is not a hi priority, can he at least reduce the amount of time spent there?

You seem to have the whole of the 25th devoted to that place.

I also suggest looking at the fodors.com miniguide to London.

Suggest you also try to fit in the Cabinet War Rooms. Definitely a first rate exhibit and it's near Westminster Abbey and Parliament.

Here's the website for the CWR's:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/cabinet/.

That looks very feasable! i was in London for the same amount of time as you in june and you should have seen my itinerary! It was jam packed but we managed it all and it didn't seem too rushed at all. The only thing I could have used more time on was shopping, but oh well, it's too expensive there for me anyway to really shop.

a few comments for you

1. Madame Tussauds was neat! I know you aren't into that though, but we loved it. We got there when it first opened though and prepurchased our tickets. Otherwise the line is huge, and it gets so crowded.

2. It's quite easy to get from Luton to London, I was pleasently surprised at how quick it was Also on the way back we got a discount on our 10 pound train ticket when we showed the ticket seller our all day tube pass. I think we got 2 pounds off each.

3. No Westminster Abbey? You could maybe do that your first day (unless it's a Sunday, and check their times they have weird hours during the week). I really liked touring it.

4. London Eye was really nice. Make sure it's a nice day though. It's about a half an hour wait.

5. Make sure you check out Picidilly Circus area of town, and find some shops around there. I particularly liked Regent STreet (Hamleys 5 story toy store is there) and also Oxford street.

6. What about a trip to the famous Harrods Department store??? That is something to see, even if you don't buy much (we didn't).