Overanalyzing Ceremony of Keys?
 

Hi, all - heading to London in July for 4 short days, myself/husband & 2 17 yr old girls. Arriving early Friday morning from east coast, leave via Eurostar to Paris Tuesday morning. I've been before, no one else in the group has. I'm the only real "walker" of the group, and expect whines from the others if I push them too hard BUT we will see "London"!

Itinerary as I see it: arrive Gatwick Friday 7am, get to hotel (Covent Garden). Drop bags (check in later), wander & try to wake up, early lunch to get on time zone (thinking Rock & Sole Plaice for intro to fish n chips). Hop on/hop off bus (haven't decided which one), move at whatever pace we can, early dinner - maybe Belgo Centraal, wander some more, in bed by 9 or 10 & collapse.
Okay: the dilemma is Saturday. I don't want them hating me, BUT I feel like we should tour the Tower of London with the warders *before* we attend the Ceremony of the Keys. I have tickets for Saturday night (very excited! thanks to all who raved about it here!) Also, I want us to go thru Westminster Abbey for a tour, which can't be done on a Sunday, which means that, too, would be Saturday...So, 1st full day would be: wake up early, rush to the Tower, see jewels, take Warder tour, find lunch, hustle to Westminster Abbey, take tour, back to hotel to rest, have dinner @ 7pm @ Tamarind, be at Tower by 9:15 for 9:30 admittance. This sounds awfully rushed, also exhausting, but : would you all think that I am wrong or right: Ceremony of the Keys would be more meaningful after having learned the Tower's history, rather than not knowing it.

Rest of the itinerary is easy/relaxing. Sunday: first thing on list is Noon reservation for dim sum at Yauatcha in Soho. Girls can sleep til then if they want (if not, we'll wander the area earlier, which should be fun, maybe a steet market), then head to whatever spots we want (maybe the Globe Theatre, for example, or Hyde Park.) This is meant to be the least structured day. Get tickets ahead of time to London Eye, or leave that for tomorrow. Dinner: Rules at 8pm. (My husband is convinced there's no good British food, so I'm hoping this will change his mind, if the reviews I've read are correct.)

If the Ceremony of Keys is a good intro to Tower instead of a "completion", we could do the Tower on Sunday instead of Saturday, making a much easier pace. That's where I need the help of you who have done these, please!

Monday (final day): my daughter requested a maze! caught me by surprise, but this will get us to Hampton Court (by train: no time for the boatrides). I'm really looking forward to touring Henry VIII's quarters & the Tudor kitchens, the girls do the maze & gift shop, husband holds down a spot in the nearest cafe, then back to London mid-afternoon. The girls naturally want shopping time(I've copied loads of them from this site), so this will be the time to direct them to those spots.
Haven't booked dinner or theatre or a London Walk ( non-walkers, all of them.) So that evening is still open - maybe a theater if we decide closer to the dates.
I'm regretting that St Pauls isn't in there, and I for some reason would love to see the Magna Carta. And, yes, I haven't put a single actual museum in - it's a short trip, and we'll be jet-lagged. We'll do our favorites in Paris.
You all are so good at critiquing itineraries - please help me design 4 days that will keep them all speaking to me, yet get us to the meaningful spots!

Hi Jo_ann, I have never been to the UK so no help with your vacation plans but again I always notice that is the woman of the family that plays the role of the travel agent. I always have too, so sure not being critical. But I often wonder how the travel business would fare if the husband and children had the responsibility to arrange everything. Know what I mean, LOL. ;;)

jo_ann: In a perfect world maybe you would want to go to the Tower before going to the Keys Ceremony.

But I actually think in a way, going to the Ceremony first is better - the Yeoman Warder in charge of the group will give you a tiny taste of the history of the Tower and describe the Water (Traitors') Gate, and a few other bits - and it will whet the appetite to come back and see more.

If you tour the Tower first - then some of what the Yeoman Warder explains prior to the ceremony will be like "old news".

And even IF you really wanted to see the Tower fisrt - it would be better to put it off than to risk force-marching everyone through the Tower, Westminster Abbey meals, and back to the Tower.

I would do westminster Abbey, the Eye and other things you want to do in the center of town, have a nice dinner somewhere and then head to the Tower for the Ceremony.

Then you can do the Tower itself either Sunday or Monday. if it were me I'd probably do Hampton Court on Sunday and the Tower on Monday. No big difference - but Sunday is the busiest day at the Tower and it can get very crowded.

(I HAVE been to the UK - and have been to the Tower probably 20+ times and the Keys Ceremony 8 or 10 times)

Hi. Most of my trips to London have been short, so I am used to trying to do a lot in a little time there. I actually don't think what you are planning is too much at all. You're really only talking about doing two things on Saturday and I think it is very doable, especially if you go to the Tower early and see the jewels before it gets crowded and also get on the first tour. I've been to the Tower early and the line was not long at all (later in the day it gets very long). I think you'll be done in plenty of time (without feeling too rushed) to have lunch and go to Westminster Abbey that day. I agree with you that you should see the Tower and learn about it before going to the Ceremony of the Keys. I think you will appreciate it more.

By the way, your plan for the first day looks good too, and the Rock & Sole Plaice is a perfect choice for an intro to fish n' chips!

Ah! Janis - your info helped. I was afraid the Tower would just seem big & empty (borinhw/out the earlier tour. If the warder does give some history, that may work. Jame: as Janis said "in a perfect world" - and I agree with you, if it was just me and other female friends, getting up early and going til the evening would work. But, dragging 2 lovely, nice teens as they metamorphed into sullen, tired whiners - not a great plan! And, given that it's so early in the morning, I would expect jet lag/sleep deprivation, so why not avoid the misery?
Janis, thanks for the info on Tower peak days. I'm going to play with the itinerary - with this switch, Saturday: get up a bit later (not 7:00am), bkfast, Westminster, do tour, then wander London, shop, dinner at Tamarind, Keys. Sunday: head by,say, 10am to Hampton Court, wandering & Rules, Monday: Tower, shopping, London Eye, dinner somewhere. We lose dim sum/Yuautchua, but we all stay happier, I think!
Thanks for the quick response and a good solution!

jo_ann: Just one other comment. Westminster Abbey is VERY close to the Eye. - we are talking about 600-700 yards max. So instead of going back to the very same area - I'd pop over to the Eye after (or before) you visit the Abbey. it would be the most efficient use of your limited time.

Thanks, Janis! I was going to get my map out this morning, but that helps to set me up!
This trip started out "just France" - I ended up swapping "4 days out of Paris in the countryside" for "begin with 4 days London". Now, I'm realizing just how short that time is, so prioritizing and not wasting time (yet keeping a semi-relaxed pace!) is so important!

I don't think it really matters which you do first at the tower, they are both wonderful. But I don't think your itineray for Saturday is rushed at all. You have only two major "sites". Look at some of the itineraries people post here - they want to do 5 or 6 things. Yours is a piece of cake compared to those.

Also, how sure are you that your teens will be whiners? My teenage girls do whine if pushed too hard, but they always surprise me how much they can do on vacation. You get energized by being in a new exciting place. Did they want to go on this trip or was it kind of forced on them? If they wanted to go, raise your expectations as to how much they'll be able to do. You don't have to make them get up at 6am every day, but sleeping in till noon - seems like they don't need to fly all the way to Europe to do that. Just my experience (all teens are different but I have traveled with a few).

As Janis mentioned, the yeoman warder gives you a brief history before the ceremony. In a way, I think it would be a great introduction to the Tower - make them want more. :)

Your Saturday itineray is not rushed at all. Where will you "wander" on Friday and Sunday?

Maybe I should clarify - I never said Saturday was "rushed".. Only that IMHO it makes no sense to go all the way to the Tower, back into Westminster, then to the hotel, then back out to the Tower and then back to Covent Garden/the hotel.

When one is on a short visit it is better to group things to visit that are near to each other, and to avoid crossing all of central London multiple times when you can avoid it..

Also, when you go to Hampton Court, you can buy combo tickets for the the Castle and the Tower, eliminating the need to stand in line at the Tower. Be sure to take the William and Mary guided tour as well. Very interesting.