Please critique first timers itinerary in London
 

Hey y'all!

I am pretty excited about my first time going to Europe, but it will also be my first time traveling alone. All ideas and comments welcome! Reading this forum has already been a big help.

Day 1 (september 20)
arrive to Gatwick, train to Victoria Station.
Drop bags at Hotel (Rubens at the Palace). Double decker tour of London.
Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens/Kensington Palace. Tea at the Orangery.

Day 2 Organized tour "The complete London Experience" featuring visitis to Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, river cruise on the Thames, and the London Eye.

Day 3. Organized tour. Eurostar to Paris. Guided bus tour, eiffel tower, versailles.

Day 4. Portobello Market in Notting Hill
National Gallery and Portrait Gallery.
Theater(Wicked or Billy Elliott)

Day 5 Original London Walking Tour "The London Walk" going to Buckingham Place, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.
Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason.
Shopping at Harrods and Selfridges.

Day 6. St. Paul's Cathedral.
British Museum. Covent Garden.

Day 7.....??? plane doesn't leave until 2, so I have the morning.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything...I'm not worried about traveling alone, but I don't think I would be comfortable eating in a nice restaurant.

Thanks for any tips!!

Too much crammed into day 6. I'd leave Covent Garden for your last morning in London on day 7.

Day 5, Fortnum&Mason, Selfridges and Harrods are all on different locations. I'd go shopping on Selfridges. Harrods is full of tourists buying tea, teddybears and Harrod's food hall bags (Japanese love those, for some strange reason).

Selfridges is more modern, affordable and full of stuff you'll actually want to buy. Small but great food hall.

I'm surprised V&A is not included in your plans. It is a great museum.

The London eye is expensive (about £12 if I'm not mistaken). The experience is not worth the money.
You'll get great views from St Paul's chatedral (make sure you climb to the very top!)

Personally, I'd skip the day trip to Paris on Day 3. You'll be on a train for over 5 hours, a bus for at least 2 hours in traffic jams in and around Paris, leaving very little time to actually see anything. Versailles alone is worth an entire day. Save Paris for another trip.

Peachykk:

I think your programme is far too ambitious.

First I'd get rid of the tour on day 3: You will spend at least 5 hours on the train, and probably 3 more on the bus. It won't do neither Paris nor Versailles justice. I'm afraid you will return disappointed, frustrated and extremely tired to London (with 3 1/2 days to go).

Then I suggest you postpone any planning to the evening of day two: After the double-decker bus tour on day one and "the complete London experience" on day two you will have an idea about what is interesting to you and what can be dropped.

Lastly: Try not to rush yourself: Nobody is interested in EVERYTHING a metropolis like London has to offer. Try to pick the things you really enjoy. There's no point in "doing" a city the size of London just to have it "done". This will give you the time to relax and not get overwhelmed.

Enjoy your trip.

Phil.

I liked the British Library with everything from the Magna Carta to original Beatles' manuscripts but I'm not really seeing any space to fit it in.

If your plane leaves at 2PM, you need to be there two hours before and allow time to get there which only leaves you the early morning.

It seems like you have picked out the things that appeal to you. You'll have a wonderful time.

thank you all for your help!

I see everyone thinks I should drop the Paris excursion....I'm just dying to see the Eiffel Tower, and who knows when I will get back to Europe, this trip is emptying the bank account!! But it does sound like a long day of travel.

I'm planning so much running around I will probably have to be wheeled onto the plane home.

You could still go to Paris, but why not book the Eurostar yourself (no tour) and spend the day on your own in Paris? You could do the hop on hop off bus tour and get a good overview of the city. Save Versailles for another trip - you can easily spend an entire day there.

Just be flexible with yourself. On every trip we've taken to Europe, at least one of our party has felt too ill or out of sorts the first day to do much (generally the children, but you never know). For ex, we'd planned only to do Kensington Palace and the tea at the Orangerie there the day we arrived in London (our flat was just around the corner), but our daughter felt ill so we only --barely--got the visit to the Orangerie in. The bus tour could be a good choice if you are pretty alert, but if you are very tired, you may doze off, which would be a waste of money! The bus tour tickets are good for 24 hours I think, so we used it as transportation for that day, not just a tour circuit. Thought about Paris but skipped. Too expensive, too long a day, and we probably wouldn't have wanted to leave!! We had two weeks and not enough time to see and do all that we'd hoped. I usually plan things we WILL do and other we will do IF TIME PERMITS, in case I misjudge our interest in certain museums and other attractions....

The tour to Paris is expensive for the very rushed and brief visit. But only you can deicde if it's worth the time/money. Me personally - I'd ditch it.

Ignore teddybears complaint about the Eye - the views are great and it is a LOT easier than the 500+ steps up to the top of St Paul's. It sounds like the Eye is included in your all day tour. But does the tour description say "ride" or "fly" the Eye or just "see" or "Visit"? If thelatter you don't actually get on the Eye.

That tour may be pretty rushed BTW - how much does it cost?

If you drop Paris and do days 2 and 3 on your own in London you'd be able to see all those things (and more) for probably a lot less money.

Don't necessarily "ignore Teddybear's advice." I was underwhelmed with the Eye, too. One can disagree without arrogance.

Paris *and* Versailles in one trip? I don't know....! I like the suggestion of just wandering Paris in one day on their HOHO bus. If it were me, I'd skip it. There's too much London to see! You might want to include a stroll down the Southbank, and eat a meal there. As for an activity on day 7, I don't know what you'll find time to do. On the return home, I just head to the airport, and wait till the plane departs. That'll take all morning.

I also recommend dropping the day trip to Paris - I took the Eurostar from London to Paris last year and, once I had gotten off the train, could barely find the energy to find my hotel, much less visit the Eiffel Tower and go to Versailles! But again, if it's something you feel you have to do and you don't think you'll be back to go to Paris exlusively any time soon, it's up to you.

If you do end up dropping the Paris side trip, I would add some of the smaller sites - I loved the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House (lots of Impressionists), as well as Sir John Soane's Museum. The V&A also shouldn't be missed, if you'd rather do a big museum.

One last suggestion: see Billy Elliot over Wicked =). I've seen both, Wicked both on tour and on Broadway, but I've never been as blown away by anything as I have by Billy Elliot (and I've seen over 30 stage musicals). On the other hand, if you have an aversion to swearing or didn't like the movie, you might be better off seeing Wicked. Both are absolutely fantastic, though =).

I vote for keeping the London Eye. It's a matter of personal preference. Plus, it's nice to have a break for about 45 minutes, just to take in the cityscape.

I'd say Paris in a day is ambitious, but since you might not make it back for a while, you can try it.

I agree that Day 6 is ambitious. Make sure you do St. Paul's first if you are planning on climbing to the top. The British Museum is big, and you don't want to tire yourself out before that LONG climb to the top of St. Paul's.

Harrods was over-rated, in my opinion.

Oh, I say go to Paris, but just do it on your own. Take the first train out..no, you won't see much, but if you truly are emptying the bank account and don't know when you'll be back, then GO.

To the naysayers: we travel to europe often, not everyone does.

I'll jump on Day 3 too. Versailles was a day trip for me...from Paris, not London. As the others have pointed out, Versailles is a single event, and, logistically, I don't know how it can be done from London. Please save it for a Paris trip someday and you won't regret it. Maybe a day trip to Paris, skipping Versailles if you really want to see the Eiffel Tower and France is not in your foreseeable future.

Day 6 you have the morning open? If your flight leaves it 2:00, you probably want to be at Gatwick (never been myself) by 11:30? That means you get on the Gatwick Express (I assume that's what you're taking) at 11:00? Allow time for packing and you don't have a morning.

It's commendable how you plan. Yet I would allow time for impromptus. You may see something you'd want to explore, yet have this "I'm 'supposed' to be elsewhere feeling."

As pointed out by others, sounds a bit ambitious. It seems way too rushed for me, but maybe you're the go-go-go type and I'm just not.

You will love London!

Doesn't the post sound like the London Eye is part of the orgnaized tour? Either way I'd do it!

I'm one for taking crazy day trips (they're also easier on your own because you're not spending a lot of time over longer meals) so I say go to Paris!!!

If you don't go to Pairs though, you could always do Bath, Canterbury or Salisbury...

It all sounds great. :-)