My husband and I have officially booked a 10-day trip starting in London, then Paris and then Barcelona to celebrate our 5th anniversary. Neither of us have been to Europe and want to see as much of it as possible.. I found easyjet.com and booked some really cheap flights to all the stops we are wanting to make.

So, with most of the flights, I picked times where we could immediately check into our hotels and not have to worry about dragging our luggage with us... But the actual arrival into London (from the US) is around 10am. I've requested early check-in at our hotel (near Regent's Park) but wanted to have a back up plan in case we can't check in until 3pm.

Is there anything worth doing/visiting with our luggage (we will be sharing one semi-large rolling suitcase and both of us will carry backpacks)? We're only there for 3 days and I don't want to waste a whole day waiting to check into our hotel.

Any other travel tips for London, Paris or Barcelona would be much appreciated!! Thanks!

I would check with the hotel. Most hotels have a secure storage room for luggage in such cases. We've used that many times in early arrival or later departures in other cities. Try to get in touch with the hotel desk.

Sounds like a really fun trip.
I would say go straight to your hotel, check in, leave your luggage and then walk around to get adjusted/acclimated. That's what I plan to do and my flight is scheduled to arrive at noon.
Are there things you plan to do near your hotel? I don't think getting rid of your suitcase would be a waste of time but that's just my opinion.
Good luck!

Sunseeqr & lantana - Thank you both, I think I may check into that and see if there's somewhere they will let me store my luggage. We are staying at the Regent's Park Marriott, so I am assuming there will probably be some kind of storage there.

Anything interesting to do near Regent's Park?

Any hotel that won't take care of your luggage for a couple of hours probably is not worth staying at. As to Regent's Park, Londoners use it for sports, garden strolls, the zoo and plenty more, plus it is surrounded by elegant residences. A perfect place to walk off jet fatigue. Look here http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/the-regents-park

Southam, thanks for the link! Definitely looks like a nice relaxing place to stroll and not think about how tired we are.

DanielleJane - if it's a Marriott, I imagine you'll be fine as far as your luggage goes

On your hotel's website it says:
Highlights
Wembley Stadium
London Zoo/Regent's Park
Lord's Cricket Ground
Madame Tussauds
Buckingham Palace
Financial District
Oxford Street/Bond Street
The Roundhouse
British Airways London Eye

Are you interested in any of these?
I've never been to London (going in July for the first time!) but I've read it's good to walk around in the sunlight (hopefully) to help you adjust/combat jet lag. I'd walk around Regent's Park for sure: http://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/the-regents-park/

They're slightly stretching a point to call it Regent's Park. It's a little further north - the nearest tube station is Swiss Cottage, and the nearest green space for a stroll on arrival is Primrose Hill (all the better for that, if anything, since you will get a great view over London and, who knows, a chance to spot one of the media celebrities who live in the area).
http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/map...-regents-park/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primrose_Hill

You'll probably find the number 13 bus useful, as well as the tube:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloa...itor-guide.pdf

You don't say when your trip is, but for most of the late spring and summer, don't forget to take a look at Queen Mary's Rose Garden in Regent's Park. In October, they usually have the Frieze Art Fair, with a free show of sculpture/installations surrounding it.

Lantana - That's exciting Hope both of our trips are fantastic! I was just looking at the London Zoo and it looks like something we might visit.

PatrickLondon - Thanks for the insight, we will be traveling in late May.. I hope the Rose Garden will be there then, sounds lovely!

You simply go to the hotel and drop your luggage. They may already have a room for you, they may offer you a free breakfast (if the price of your room includes it) but at a minimum they will hold your luggage (for a small tip).

If your arrival is at LHR at 10, it will take you a couple hours probably to actually get to your hotel. (By the way, how are you doing this? I'd recommend justairports car service.)

Not much is fun dragging a suitcase. But if you drop luggage and want to stay around hotel, then Primrose Hill is a terrific suggestion if the weather is ok. Then maybe walk along Regents Canal and into Regents Park if so inclined. However, if you can really leave luggage, which you probaby can, then don't stay around hotel; head on into the city immediately for sites probably more on your "top things to see" list. Primrose Hill and Regents Park and Canal are nice, but not top of my list if I had only 3 (you probably mean 2.5 and one of those is jet-laggy) days. And there are lots and lots of better, more London-esque things to see than the zoo in your short time, too.

As Patrick says -- the hotel is not in Regents Park. And unfortunately, the list lantana quoted from the hotel website is useless. Not lantana's fault --the hotel is to blame. It is just a list of sites/sections of London - some of which are <i>miles</i> away.

I'd definitely contact justairports.com - there is no short/easy public transport route from LHR to your hotel.

<i>On your hotel's website it says:
Highlights
Wembley Stadium...

...British Airways London Eye</i>

Any hotel that claims that these are near to it must be about 6 miles long so getting to your room could be problematical - in any case it isn't the BA London Eye, it's the EDF Energy London Eye.

Do speilwriters for hotels ever visit the country they are writing about?

Alan: why parrot the website quote - Lantana's never been to London either so s/he doesn't have a frame of reference. Of course, anyone who cared could easily find a map on the Internet that would give some frame of reference (londontown.com) but neither Lantana nor the OP care. After all, the "Financial District" is on the other side of the city.

And to the OP: First, of course the hotel will store your bags. This is standard service that any decent hotel would provide and you're using an international chain. Second, you need to realize that London is the largest city in Western Europe (it's not close - Paris has less than 1/2 the population) and far larger than any US city other than New York. You will NOT be able to walk everywhere, you will NOT be able to see everything (so don't waste time or money on Madame Tussaud's or the Zoo - seriously, you'll go to London to see a Zoo that's not even in the same league as San Diego's or Columbus's?), and you WILL need to prioritize especially because you do not have much time in London. Use the Londontown.com website to help - especially the feature on recommended walks because that groups sites together well.

"<i>Lantana's never been to London either so s/he doesn't have a frame of reference. Of course, anyone who cared could easily find a map on the Internet that would give some frame of reference but neither Lantana nor the OP care. After all, the "Financial District" is on the other side of the city.</i>"

Which is why it's important. Lantana thought she was helping w/ a list of sites near the hotel. They aren't.

Another vote for londontown.com. My last trip to London (Nov. 2011) I booked my hotel for the night before I arrived and let the hotel know. That way I could get into my room immediately have a shower and change.

BigRuss - actually, I do care. I just wanted to try and help DanielleJane, and assumed Marriott's website would be reliable.

Thank you janisj for what you said.

DanielleJane - I hope you have a wonderful trip!

Wrong assumption. More harm comes from not doing your homework than anything else. Hotel websites are shills for the hotels, period.

DanielleJane: Don't worry about the luggage. Your hotel will EXPECT you to check your luggage with them while you wait for your room.

I was thinking about your jetlag problem, and it occured to me that you are darn close to something that will keep you awake AND for which you will not need a brain...

MADAME TUSSAUD's WAX MUSEUM

I'm not kidding. Ignore the scoffing of above posters. We are "high falutin" museum rats, entered the MT as a joke (think I had a coupon), and we were totally embarrassed by how much we enjoyed it. In fact, I've been secretly thinking about how much I'd like to see the latest Will and Kate exhibit .

Anyway, here are the directions via Tube from your hotel. As you can see, rather easy...
http://tinyurl.com/8a6uqse

And if the hotel says, "Oh, the room won't be available until 4 pm (which happened to us in London), then from the wax museum, you are right in the action and can poke around. The Big Bus website links to a good sightseeing map so you can get an idea of your bearings:

http://www.bigbustours.com/eng/londo...e.aspx?id=maps

The worst that can happen is that you will get oriented so that you can hit the ground running the next day.

Happy 5th!!!!

AlessandraZoe: Sorry, I'm no 'anti-Mme Tussaud's' snob, but I personally think going there on arrival day is just a really REALLY terrible idea. It is hot, and very crowded. Not a place to get fresh air and recover from jetlag.

If one wants to go there - go on a day when they are rested.