Must Sees in London
 

My husband has business in England and we will have 4 days in London. I have never been there and am overwhelmed by the choices.

So what sights are the "must sees"?

Where should we stay? We want to keep the hotel costs under $250/night but we also do not want to stay in a bad neighborhood.

Thanks,

Mushroom Mom

There is much to chose from and we don't know your likes/dislikes. First, get a guidebook -- I like Frommer's and Rick Steves -- and narrow down what you like.Here would be my choices -- actually what I did on my first trip to London:
(1)tour on the open air red bus (weather permitting) -- gives you an overview and you can sit back and enjoy on your first jet lagged day
(2)Westminster Abbey
(3) boat to Tower of London -- tour Tower
(4) St. Paul's Cathedral
(5) British Museum -- might be good to take a tour since this can be overwhelming and very time consuming on your own
(6) Victoria and Albert Museum
(7) Tate Gallery
(8) Changing of the Guard -- well actually it's time consuming to get there way ahead so you can actually see it -- we opted instead to go to Whitehall and see the Horseguards leave enroute to Buckingham.
(9) take any one or more of London Walks -- www.walks.com -- for an upclose look at London areas -- you might especially enjoy an evening pub walk (the Thames one is my favorite)
(10) Churchill's war rooms
(11) Imperial War Museum
(12) Globe Theater
(13) at least one park -- I personally like St. James park
(14) see at least one show in the evening
---this just scratches the surface --
You'll have to do the choosing because 4 days isn't long enough to really see it all. BTW, I didn't list the Eye, which is a tourist favorite, because personally I thought it was overrated.
You'll get lots of suggestions on this forum. In the end, you'll have to choose.

Start by clicking on <i>Destinations</i> at the top of this page and read about London. Then search the forums -- you really don't even have to 'search' as such -- just click on United Kingdom and scroll down . . .

One person's "musts" might not be yours. But reading some of those threads will tell you what some of us consider the must-see's

Most every neighborhood in central London (or at least the ones you'll find yourselves) is safe. What sort of property/ambiance do you want?

4 days isn't a whole lot of time and it seems to me that people get so caught up in seeing all these things that they don't spend enough time just walking around enjoying the vibe of a city. The double decker bus is great for an overview. Make use of the hop on/hop off option and start early so that you can maybe see the changing of the guards. Not sure when you are going but if you like this kind of thing, THE DRESS at Buckingham Palace might be nice to see while you are there. Tower of London and the crown jewels, and The London Eye. Also Westminister Abbey. I really like going to some of the shops and eating in a real Victorian Pub. Lots of those around, the double decker bus ( pick yellow ) will point those out if you ask and you can hop off at lunchtime. A trip to London isn't complete for me without visiting Liberty's and walking around Covent Garden. Especially towards evening. Go to see Theatre in the evening and watch the street entertainers afterwards. Relax and have fun!

Can you give us an idea of your interests?

Click on my name, scroll down, and you'll find my UK trip report. We spent 2 1/2 days in London at the start of our trip.

Lee Ann

"<i>THE DRESS at Buckingham Palace might be nice to see while you are there</i>"

Probably not. First of all we don't know when the trip is. If after Oct 3, the palace isn't open. But more importantly -- almost every day of the opening is sold out.

thats not true...
last week while in london i called and they offered me tickets for the this week; however i am already home .... you can also arrive at ticket booth every day at 10 am they start to sell tickets for that day...if available....
buckingham palace...the faberge eggs are supposed to be wonderful...wish we had reserved that in advance ....only thing we couldnt do by just walking up .....
try to arrange a place to stay in central london.... it is a great walking city or easy tube rides.

For that budget and with just two people I would use Priceline - 4* only since UK standards are different than the US - in the most central area. Your best shot to get a pleasant place for a fairly modest budget.

Hi MushroomMon, I recently spent five days in London. I stayed at the STRAND PALACE, a large vintage 3 star where the rooms have recently been renovated. Loved the location – 3 minutes to Trafalgar Square, then walking down beautiful Whitehall within a ½ mile of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, the Eye. Also a short walk to theaters at Covent Garden and not far from THE CITY and ST. PAUL’S. I thought the price was reasonable. I did not take the Tube and used the bus once. See my trip report if you are interested in where I roamed from this hotel. Enjoy London….

I've stayed in the Bloomsbury area many times and like it. British Museum is there, some parks, some good pubs and restos. I walked from there to St Paul's, Covent Grden, Trafalgar Sq,etc..

I stayed at The Academy, which as a very nice hotel built in old buildings. I've also stayed at B&Bs, the Harlingford Hotel is a nice one.

I like the idea of doing one day of the Hop-on Hop-Off bus, followed by some relaxing days doing a neighbourhood. London Walks could be something to add to the blend.

You really must look at a city guide in order to see what potential sites you might want to see. If you don't like museums, that would be good to know. If you love royalty...
And, seeing where things are on a map, you can group things sensibly.

"<i>thats not true...
last week while in london i called and they offered me tickets for the this week; however i am already home .... you can also arrive at ticket booth every day at 10 am they start to sell tickets for that day...if available....</i>"

>>If available<<. Sure, not every ticket for every time slot is sold out. But more than 80% of the tickets were snapped up before the Palace even opened for the season and since then most days have been sold out. Interest has been sky high because of the wedding. Obviously last week was booked up since you couldn't get in. There is the odd ticket/day available.

MushroomMom: I'm a huge priceline-in-London fan, but your budget is high enough that I would not bid PL unless it was for a 5 star in the Mayfair/Soho or Westminster zones. (Definitely don't bid 4 star in Westminster, or you'll likely end up in Vauxhall).

PL is fantastic for the $100-$125-ish range for a 4-ish star hotel. But for $200+ you can usually get very upscale place in the very center, saving $200 or $300 per night

If you don't want to use PL --the Strand Palace and Academy mentioned above are both good.

Thank you all. We have made arrangements to stay at a B & B. I was in a panic when I posted on Sunday because my husband would not look at hotels until I narrowed down what I wanted to do. Then just about every place that was listed in Rick Steve's guide was already booked up.

As for interests, we are scientists by training (actually I am a scientist and DH is engineer). I like the Impressionist painters but DH was finished in about 3 hr at the Louvres and less than that at other musuems in Paris last Spring.

I had to push to convince him that we should really go to the top of the Eiffel tower but then he spent almost 3 hours taking in the sights from there and taking photos. He is a student of WWII, so I know the Churchill museum and War room will thrill him. I want to go to the British Museum but I don't know how long he'll be willing to stay. Art Museums will be more difficult.

I love poking around and getting a feel for a place. When in Paris we stayed in a smaller hotel with a strong neighborhood feel. We ate at smaller cafes and I did lots of people watching. In Normandy, we stayed in a B & B. I loved talking to the family to know how life was with them.


Again, thank you for all your help.

Go to the British Museum by yourself and send him to the Imperial War Museum.

Take the London Walks tour of the BM: www.walks.com. In fact, check out several walks -- you might save time and see the things you want. You can't go wrong with their tours, IMO.

Take time to enjoy a pub, too!

If your hubby liked the top of the Eiffel Tower so much for photo opportunities he'll probably like the London Eye, although he can't stay at the top for three hours as it is constantly and slowly moving, but still has great views.

Thanks again

Must see's in London,

Tate modern
a Riverside pub
the wobbly bridge
and the Tower of London, best viewed going north over Tower Bridge

"<i>the wobbly bridge</i>"

It doesn't wobble much any more :) (doesn't wobble at all actually)

If you're a scientist and he's an engineer who likes views and military stuff, then you could do worse than spend a day in Greenwich. Take a boat trip from Westminster Bridge (by Big Ben) to Greenwich pier, visit the Maritime Museum (based in the old Royal Naval College, the traditional home of the British Navy) then walk up through the beautiful Greenwich Park for a spectacular view across London from the top of the hill where you will find the Royal Observatory with its fascinating museum focussing on navigation and, of course, the Greenwich Meridian Line, so you can tick GMT off your list. Greenwich is also a picturesque London village (a World Heritage site) with a nice indoor market. http://www.nmm.ac.uk/

Oh, and he will LOVE the Imperial War Museum.