We will be in London for 2 nights and 1 full day in September. I know it's sacrilege to be there for such a short time however it's an air deviation we asked for from our cruise line in order to at least to see a little bit of such a wonderful city. What to see and how in just one day! I know I'm asking for the impossible and beg everyone's indulgence. If you have any suggestions at all, I would love to hear them. We fly into Heathrow and out of Gatwick so was thinking of staying at Rubens at the Palace which is fairly central to Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace. Any ideas?

If i were in your situation, my personal choice would be to tour the state rooms of Buckingham Palace (open only in August & September, order tickets in advance), but that's just me. Another good choice would be one of the hop-on-off bus tours, you can make an entire circuit, then pick one place that interests you to stop and visit - one of the "biggies" like Westminster Abbey or the Tower of London. Hope you get to return for a longer visit some day!

The Rubens or any other hotel near Victoria woul dbe your best bet.

Assuming you have some time the first evening after arriving at LHR, you could use that time to simple walk around the central area (B'ham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Bridge, the London Eye, the southbank, across one of the pedestrian bridges, etc.). All of these buildings are illuminated at night and it would be a really beautiful walk along and across the river.

Then the next (full) day you could take one of the hop-on-hop-off buses around the city and just hop off where ever looks interesting to you, then catch another bus to continue your tour. These buses pass every major tourist attraction in London so you can see a LOT and still have time to vist a special museum, shop at Harrods, walk through one of the parks, or whatever else strikes your fancy.

That night you could go to a play -- no need to book ahead of time.Just buy tix at the Leicester Sq. 1/2 priced TKTS kiosk.

One day?

Visit and tour the Tower of London in the morning. Take a ferry ride to Westminster.

See the outside of Parliament, tour Westminster Abbey, visit the nearby Cabinet War Rooms, and watch the Dismount of the Horse Guards.

See a show in the evening.

Keith

Thanks so much to all of you for the suggestions. What a relief to have someone to turn to with a question like this. I'm glad our choice of hotel is practical, I'll finalize arrangements now.

I would definitely take, at it's earliest departure, the hop on/off bus tour (Big Bus is very good with live commentary). There are 3 routes so you could take one or all (I think) and still hop off somewhere that appeals to you (the ticket is good for 24 hrs). It's the best way to get an overall view of London especially if you sit on the top of the bus.

Your hotel location is excellent. Very easy to take the Gatwick Express from Victoria to the airport and they leave every 15-20 min. My favorite tours in London are the Westminster Abbey guided tour and the Tower of London. If you decide to do the Abbey make sure you take the "guided" tour and not the audio tour. The guides are excellent and it gives you the opportunity to ask questions. You would be wise in trying to do the Buckingham Palace tour because you never know when you get there again. I have been to London in Dec., Jan., and March. It just always worked out that way. I will be going next spring b/c my daughter will be studying over there,again missing when the palace is open. See what i mean? If the Palace is open do it this trip. You can also visit the Queens Gallery and the Queens Mews. Enjoy your trip, it is a great city!!

Take the Big Bus Tour that stops at the Tower of London and get off there and do the tour. Check the other sites on that route and you'll probably have time for one other stop. The commentary is excellent and it's a good way to see not only the main sights of London but to learn some unusual and fascinating facts.
Personally I would not spend my one day in London in Buckingham Palace looking at royal furnishings. I'd rather be outdoors seeing what the city is all about.

I think Keith's suggested itinerary is the best idea for one day in London.

We have been to London many times and still have not seen everything. It very much depends on what your tastes are. My favourites would include the Bitish Museum, Westminster, St. Pauls, Tower,Parliament. If it's a nice day-take a short trip down the Thames from Westminster to Grenich (?). Don't forget the Eye. Take a tour on the hop on hop off busses. Makes me want to go back!

Where to begin, could your hotel budget be stretched a little perhaps?

I'd do the bus tour too, I'm trying to think of what to cut out in your day. The British Museum is so large, a day alone wouldn't do it any justice, so is really a waste. I have never been that impressed with the Buckingham Palace state rooms. If you can afford it, get the concerige to organise a taxi tour all over London, just to give you a little flavour of the place.

If you do fancy a museum, I like the V&A, perhaps followed by a walk around Kensington Palace Gardens and the surrounding area. Then, for the afternoon, Bond St. for some Mayfair shopping. Have an early dinner, or perhaps a high tea, then catch a film at the Curzon Cinema, Curzon St. - a delightfully old fashioned place. For a nightcap head to the bar at Claridge's.

Any more questions? please feel free to contact me.

M KINGDOM: glad to hear you're fine and just enjoying a quiet, relaxing time. if we could stretch our budget a bit on hotel, where would be a central place to stay? There will be 3 adults, my husband, myself and our 19 year old son so would like a room that altho might be on the small side would still fit us and our luggage.
the taxi tour sounds like a good idea in order to see more comfortably, we're using a private one also in st. petersburg, russia.
The nightcap at Claridge's sounds heavenly. Would this hotel by any chance be one you would suggest? I tried to map it and it looks like it's fairly close to where we were thinking of staying. Is the High Tea at Claridge's recommended also? Thanks for your help!

First of all, GET OVER this absurd notion that it is "sacrilege to be there for such a short time" since there are millions of people who have never been to London and millions more who have no desire to go there.
How to do it justice? Since YOU are the one who will decide IF you did it "justice" or not, then pick one or two things that you feel you MUST do and then DO them...you'll come away feeling it was worthwhile and that you spent your time wisely.

jon jon;

thanks for the uninformative info that was of no help at all with my specific questions.

I am late to this thread, but...

...while the answer from JonJon was rude sounding, I have to agree - - the people of London are not going to judge whether you "did" their city "justly or unjustly".

Isn't it really all about what interests you? I have spent a single day in London on a couple of occasions. Harrod's can easily consume a whole day. Others would consider it unbearable to shop all day. Others would find one museum and stay there all day. To dash about and get the obligatory photos - - "me at the Tower Bridge", "me at Westminster Abbey", "me in front of Big Ben" - - would certainly be a mainstream answer.

Is it the answer for you?

Best wishes,

Rex

Rex;
Thank you for your kind suggestions. We appreciate being able to rely on both londoner's opinions and fodorites who have traveled there on their suggestions on what to not miss, especially with the time constraints we're under. What I'm trying to do is listen to as many opinions as possible and then obviously take into serious consideration the ones that are of most interest to us personally.

I'd say that Claridge's is the finest hotel in Mayfair. It is more casual, and in my opinion, far better placed than The Connaught, and more stylish than the Dorchester.

However, I believe the standard doubles are on the small side. If your budget can stretch, by all means stay here, you definitely won't regret it.