Ben, thank you for that list. I can see a number of things that will interest my daughter.

With so many responses with wonderful suggestions I have taken the liberty to print them out for later use when I one day return to London. May I just add one thing that I don't think I saw mentioned - seeing you are there in July a visit to Queen Mary's Rose Garden is a must! Consult you Travel Guide ( I used Eyewitness London) to get the locality in Regents Park. I always pay a visit there as the roses are simply stunning especially in the first weeks of June but carry on until Sept. Nice little Tea Garden serving lovely breakfasts, lunch or teas.
Aim to give it at leat 2 hours.

"On the definite list for this summer: Dulwich Picture Gallery (never)?

Picture gallery? Don't waste your time. The James Caird is at Dulwich. Now, that's to see. Genuine history, no some old boring painting.

ttt

here is a thread I started a while ago (let's see if I can link it correctly):

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...amp;searchText

You are not going to run out of things to do! If you are in London on Wed the V&A is open late and they also have dinner there (only Wed) and a free concert in one of the halls after dinner. We were the only tourists there. The Silver Vaults are very interesting--if that appeals to you--Tube is Chancery Lane. Also I don't think Neal's Yard or Covent Garden were mentioned. Happy travels!

darn it, let's try again...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...london+flygirl

I am going to London for the first time in April. Based on what many of you have said in a variety of posts, my list of places to see is as follows:

Changing of the guard
Changing og the keys
House of Parliament
Westminster Abbey
Convent Garden for lunch
Birtish Museum
Kensington Palace
Tea at The Orangrey
Show in West End (undecided about which one)
Tower of London
St. Paul's
Imperial War Room
Thames Boat Ride
Tate Modern
Harrod's
Walking through some neighborhoods?

______________
That's all I have, and probably all I have room for. So, am I missing anything great or is there anything on my list that I shouldn't bother with?

For ewt - I recommend walking around some of the parks, they will probably be lovely in April. I love the National Gallery and strongly recommend it, as well as the surrounding Trafalgar Square. And, in my opinion, Hampton Court is nicer than Kensington Palace, although it's about 45 minutes each way via train.

ewt - a gentle correction-
It's not the changing of the keys, it's the Ceremony of the Keys:

Every night for the last 700 years the Tower of London has been locked up in The Ceremony of the Keys. Tickets for this ancient ceremony are free but must be applied for well in advance.

Send your request, enclosing an international reply coupon from the US post office (or you won't get a response back) to The Ceremony of the Keys, Waterloo Block, HM Tower of London, London, England, EC3N 4AB. State the number of people and other alternate dates (in case they’re already booked).

((S))((*))

Thanks kamahinaohoku. Sorry about the name error. I have plans to mail the request this weekend.

I LOVE the Tate Modern and on Fridays take an early lunch break by heading along the Thames to Borough Market.

No shortage of great rec's here! Al, I am jealous that you're getting to go back this year and I'm not! You may have been to these spots, but you didn't mention them, so let me add a trip to St. Martin of the Fields (church at Trafalgar) where you can often catch noon-ish musical performances and then dash downstairs for lunch and shopping at the "Cafe in the Crypt". It's a fave after a morning at the National and Portrait Galleries!
Also, for an excursion out of town, Stratford on Avon is lovely and of course, is full of Shakespeare, thater and shopping..also, the village of Bath is a great day trip that appeals to all ages!
Of course, you must eat lots of Indian food in London and shop til you drop at Portobello market!
Cheers!