Thanks all - I think this is my revised itinerary based on your suggestions:

Day 1 FRIDAY
- Arrive at Heathrow - 8:25am
- Check-in at hotel and get settled
- Lunch (ANY SUGGESTIONS in this area?)
- Royal Observatory Greenwich (mainly just to see the park and the time line)
- Greenwich Market
- (free time – maybe walk around Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus or Trafalgar Square)

Day 2 SATURDAY
- Westminster tour (opens at (9:30am for a 90 min. tour)
- Parliament/Big Ben (walk by and take pictures)
- Lunch Cruise – Board from Waterloo Pier at 12:35 and return at 14:15.
- London Eye
- (free time – maybe walk around Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus or Trafalgar Square if not seen already or do whatever!)

Day 3 SUNDAY
- Tower of London (arrive before opening at 10am – go straight to jewels and then tour)
- British Museum

Day 4 MONDAY
- St. Paul's Cathedral
- Millennium Bridge
- Lunch with co-workers (over by Lloyd’s)
- Lloyd’s Tour (couple hours at most)
- Leadenhall Market (next to Lloyd’s)…won’t take long
- Tower Bridge Experience
- WICKED MUSICAL (if we get tickets for this date!)

Day 5 TUESDAY
- Maybe changing of the guards...not sure
- Hampton Court
- Harrods ?? (maybe just for the fun of it)
- (free time – maybe walk around Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus or Trafalgar Square if not seen already or do whatever!)

and on Day 4 I will do this as suggested:
From your hotel, take the RV1 bus which stops half a block from Tate Modern. Cross Millenium Bridge to St Pauls, then go to Lloyds from there.

OK - you probably get 6 answers all at the same time :D

This is much, MUCH better.

The only slight thing - if you do decide to do the Changing of the Guard, you won't get to HCP until mid afternoon. The train to HCP leaves from Waterloo which is quite close to your hotel. If you walk over to B'ham Palace, see the guard change, walk back across the river and then catch the train you have used up several hours.

Here's the website you can check the RV1 bus schedule:
http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/lond...home/index.php

BTW, the RV1 bus stop should be near the Eye. Ask the people at your hotel and they should be able to direct you to the correct stop. [I like taking the bus in London and I do it often, but it can be confusing to the first time visitor. There are so many bus routes that they have many bus stops within a block or 2. Each stop is good for a handful of specific routes. So you don't want to stand at the wrong stop.]

After you get on the bus, just let the driver know you want to get off at Tate Modern. It's not that obvious from the bus (as the museum is kind of obscured behind other buildings from the road) and you can easily miss the stop.

After you get off, it'll be obvious to you how to get to the Modern, then you just swing around the corner to get to Millenium bridge.

Of course, if you're feeling up to it, you can always just walk from your hotel to Millenium Bridge, and skip the whole bus thing. It's about a 1-mile walk. Depends on how much time you have and how bad your feet ache that morning.

thanks for the info YK. Greatly appreciated.

If you're going to be in London on June 14, then it makes no sense to go see changing of the guard during your stay when you can go watch the parade to and from Trooping the Colour at Horse Guards Parade. You can see all the household units (foot, cavalry, artillery, and bands) marching up and down the Mall. You should really not miss this.

http://tinyurl.com/5hgch5

Would I have time to watch Trooping the Colour and still make it to Embankment Pier for a prompt 12:30 departure time for my lunch cruise?

That might be pushing it???

There will be pretty large crowds - the area around there will be very congested and some street will be closed. It is a major event and well worth trying to see - but unfortunately, not w/ your schedule IMO. (that darned lunch cruise again ;) )

Just a guess ~

If you stand somewhere near the E end of The Mall, there should be time for you to see the Queen's Carriage and other stuff before heading for your cruise. It should be a fairly short walk, though may take longer depending on the crowds.

Sounds like a wonerful event, I wouldn't miss that personally.

janis - you don't think Jon will be able to see some of it???

From the website:

<< The Queen leaves Buckingham Palace in a carriage at 10.40am and arrives at Horse Guards at 11am precisely. >>

If he sticks around until 11:30am, I'm sure he can still make it to the cruise by 12:30pm despite the crowds, NO?

yeah - he'll actually be able to see some along the Mall. None of the Trooping but the carriages for sure.

But it is not an event one can just walk up and see. Take the crowds at a normal changing of the Guard and multiply by 300 or 400. So go really early to get a place to stand.

We did the ceremony last year (actually, the dress rehearsal on the preceeding Saturday, but it's ticketed just like the real thing) so I can't comment definitively on ease of getting a spot on the Mall (we were in the stands at Horse Guards Parade). But, you could definitely see the procession to the ceremony (you'd want to get a place around 10 a.m. or earlier) then leave after that (the ceremony at Horse Guards, which you won't be able to see, starts with the Queen's arrival at 11 and lasts a little less than an hour). It probably would be pushing it to stick around for the parade on the way back (at the end of which is when they do the flyover and such) unless you had a position just outside Admiralty Arch, on the north side of the Mall. Even then, I would be afraid that the congestion would be such that you couldn't fight your way through to Trafalgar Square so as to head on for the Waterloo Pier). The entire area will be very congested.

Still, the procession to the ceremony would be much better than seeing changing of the Guards. I believe that each unit will march up the Mall with their band (there are 4 or 5 foot bands and 2 mounted bands that combine for the ceremony), so that would be worth seeing in it's own right. I would also think that you would not want to attempt Westminster that day as there will undoubtedly be folks who want to tour that first, then watch the parade.

One more thought: Even to just watch the procession to the ceremony, you'd probably want to get over there well before 10 to get a good spot. You'd not only want a good vantage point, but somewhere that would leave you with a good exit. If you find yourself in the wrong spot, you could have a long walk to get to where you want to go afterwards.

I might try to catch at least part of the procession and will try to position ourselves to where we can easily make the walk to the Embankment Pier for a prompt 12:30 departure time for my lunch cruise. Thanks for your help and your comments on my itinerary.

You dont say where in the USA you're flying from, but landing in morning in LHR will be "night" for you. So it's good you revised the first day and are taking it easy. I totally agree wtih janisJ about this.

Suggestin: Stroll through Greenwich town. It's a side of London you dont see much anymore. Nothing chic, just a neighborhood feel which is like the London neighborhood lived in almos 40 yrs ago. So aside from the boat ride along the Thames, and the Observatory, you'll get a very good intro to non-touristy feel of London. If you want some REAL typical old style English food, go to Goddard's Pie Shop on Greenwich Church Street for a meat pie (but skip the dessert pies, IMHO).That'll keep you full 'til dinner time.

I lived in London and visited since many times, and you'll never see it all. You know the saying, "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life" (-:
You NEVER tire of London. What you dont see this time, you'll see the next!

Have a great trip!

We are getting closer!!! Sorry, I didn't answer your question. We are flying from Birmingham, AL to Dallas, TX and then from Dallas to London.

OMG--I'm from Birmingham too. It is an easy walk from the County Hall over to the Mall and BP. My daughter and I stayed there last year and found it very convenient--of course, we were staying on "points" last year. We are returning this July, but have rented an apartment this time since we are paying for it this time! :-) I hope you have a wonderful time. Enjoy the entire experience and don't get upset with yourself if you find that you can't do it all...that just gives you another reason to return!

we will see Wicked on Saturday night at 7:30. Got those tickets purchased!

Just wanted to mention that we also had tickets to see Wicked on the day following our arrival in London (from Vancouver BC). Earlier we'd had a very busy day, as I see you are planning as well, and despite the fact that Wicked was a great show with superb performances, we had a hard time staying awake! I recommend a nap before going to the theatre, or turning in early the night before, to ensure you have the stamina to make it through a day of touring followed by a longish musical.