London Itinerary....What do you think?
 

Hello Everyone! Thanks for the advice so far. Below is my working family itinerary for our first trip to London. Our group consists of an active mom, a 22-year old and a 12 year-old. Please give any suggestions/changes/additions

July 10/AM Depart AMS train station
Train from AMS to Brussels
Look around Brussels

July 10/PM Depart Brussels train station
Train from Brussels to London

July 10/PM Check into hotel
Hotel possibilities
(Travel Inn County Hall)

July 11/AM Hop On/Hop Off Bus
(Buckingham Palace
Changing of the Guard
Horseguards Ceremony
Royal Mews
Cabinet War Rooms
Big Ben)

July 11/PM London Eye (evening)

July 12/AM Tower of London (Beefeater
Tour/Crown Jewels)
Tower Bridge

July 12/PM Westminster Abby

July 13/AM Boat to Greenwich

July 13/PM Trafalgar Square
Dinner at the Crypt Cafe
St. Martin-in-the-Fields

July 14/AM Train London to Paris

May I suggest for your boat trip to Greenwich, try one of the Original London Walks. We did the Greenwich walk last year and it was terrific. It made the whole excursion more meaningful because we understood what we were seeing. Website:
http://www.walks.com/index.asp?pageID=9

I would also try to get to St Paul's Cathedral if you can. It is wonderful!

Have a great trip!

I personally would not do London Eye in the evening. It's pretty, but the real view is during the day---unless you just want to see the lights.

Your plan looks fine - I'd make some changes but they would just be quibbling and you only have so much time in London. Just don't leave Westminster Abbey until too late in the afternoon. You will be there on a Tues and it closes at 3:45 p.m. You need to plan a minimum of an hour to tour the Abbey - two hours is better.

As for the London Eye -- since it will be light until well after 9 p.m., even an evening ride would be during daylight - so go for it.

That would be my only concern as well - that you wouldn't have enough time (or stamina) left for Westminster Abbey.

Thanks for the timing info about Westminster Abbey!

I hadn't realized it closed so eary and will definately try to get to that in the morning.

Also, we were interested in going to one of London's great parks. Since we are only there for a short time, we would limit it to one.

Does anyone have any opinion on Hyde Park vs. Hampstead Heath?

Hyde Park would be a lot more central to where you'll be. Getting out to Hampstead Heath and spending any amount of time there will take 1/2 a day.

On the day you are seeing Buckingham Palace, you could walk through St. James's Park to the Horseguards and Cabinet War Rooms. They have some lovely flower beds and pretty scenery - and it wouldn't throw a wrench in your already planned itinerary. :)

Although the last admission is at 3:45pm, the abbey remains open for an additional hour (4:45pm). This info is according to the abbey's web site http://www.westminster-abbey.org/. Also, if you go in the late afternoon, you can stay for Evensong at 5pm and listen to the beautiful voices of the choir (if you think you and your family would enjoy that).

kvadragon: You're correct, one can stay in the Abbey an hour after closing time/ However, they start to close off/clear out parts of the abbey so that everyone is long gone before Evensong. Same happens at St Pauls - you can remain inside but the choir and some chapels are off limits -- so it is best not to leave it too late.

And yes, Evensong is wonderful if you have a chance to attend.

I am in the minority on this, but with such a short visit to London, I wouldn't include the Eye.

Have you considered seeing a West End Show?

Keith

You've got a certain amount of backtracking in there - and overlapping with the Big Bus tour. I think a gander at a map of tourist attractions would save you some travel time. Here's my favorite:

<b>http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/pdfdocs/cen_bus.pdf</b>

As you can see, there is bus transportation connecting all the sights. An all-day bus pass is a real bargain, too - &pound;3 for you and the 22yo, and &pound;1 for the kid.