Rough London itinerary and advice
 

Hello.

I will be traveling with my daughter next month to London to help her settle in for her year abroad. While she will have an entire academic year to discover London, I will only have a week. I last visited ages ago so it will all seem new to me. I don't want to jam pack my time with sightseeing, but would rather visit the most important historical sights and maybe walk around and get a feel for the city. I'd really like to avoid anything too touristy/gimmicky. I could also use some restaurant recommendations. I have a reservation at Hutong and I am looking into others, but if anyone can suggest a good Indian restaurant I would appreciate it! We are staying near the St. James tube stop, I believe, at St. Ermin's hotel.

Here is a rough itinerary:

Day 1

Arrive in the am from an overnight flight. Settle into hotel. Tea at the Orangery. (I saw this somewhere on this forum and that sounded lovely for Day One!)


Day 2

Hop-on/hop-off bus. Not sure about this. Would like to get an overview of the city, but if it is too touristy we don't have to do it. If I decide to get the London Pass, it might be worth it, but not sure. A walking tour near our hotel would also be nice.

Westminster Abbey

Day 3

British Museum

Day 4

Dim Sum reservation at Hutong. This cuts into our day (12:00-2:00 res) so if there is anything we can do in/around The Shard please advise!

Day 5

Tower of London

Day 6

Walk around a shopping district - maybe King's Road or Covent Garden. We'd like to see more independent shops than big chains or luxury brands. Not into vintage though! ;)

Day 7

Keep this day free to shop for her dorm, etc.


Am I forgetting anything that you feel I absolutely must see? I am still getting a feel for the layout of the city, but the sights listed above are the ones I'd like to visit on the inside. Of course I'd like to walk by any others - Buckingham Palace, London Bridge, etc. If you could make suggestions for walk-bys on the above days, I would appreciate it.

Thank you for your help!

We had four great meals in London in May:

1. Medlar, a repeat, discount dining on Monday night
2. Opera Tavern, creative tapas
3. Palomar
4. The Wolsely, also a repeat for us.

None of these were expensive for us. 50 to 100 USD for both of us, no alcohol but lots of dishes and courses.

Thank you. I'll check those out.

You almost certainly won't get enough value out of the London Pass.

In and around the Shard: walk along the South Bank for people-watching, and you also have the Tate Modern. The Shard is right by London Bridge, but if you mean you want to see Tower Bridge, that is only a short walk away, but of course you could visit it on your Tower of London day.

In general your outline allows you plenty of time to fit in other things, but I hesitate to suggest things that might not interest you.

Thank you, PatrickLondon. Is there anything else you think I absolutely must see before leaving - even if it is a little touristy? I appreciate advice from locals, but was scared off by the itineraries suggested by the London Pass people. There seemed to be so many touristy things on there. Will it be very crowded in mid-September?

The ONLY way to get value for money out of the London Pass is to dash about like crazy people and mostly going to only touristy places. It is a total rip off for most visitors.

Depending on the day of the week, definitely hot borough market and southwark cathedral on you Hutong day. Then you could walk up the south bank and ride the Eye.

I'd try to fit in the V&A one day. And forget about the H-o-H-o bus.

(Sitting in my flat in College Hall just around the corner from the British Museum, justairports dropped me off about an hour ago :) )

I also had an excellent meal at Palomar, although I wish we'd sat at the bar and watched them cook. I could eat their amazing octopus dish every day.

For Indian, Dishoom is very fun and has branches all over town. I've not been for breakfast but am told the bacon naan is amazing. I can recommend their chai, black dal, the pomegranate chicken salad thing, and the lamb biryani. Please note they can be popular so go early or late or be prepared to queue.

For a little more push-the-boat-out Indian, I highly recommend Gymkhana, but you should book. We lucked out on an available table for lunch as a walk-in, but next time I'd book. It was incredibly, amazingly good.

Neither of these will be like "standard" Indian restaurants in the States.

If you will be in town over a Sunday you might consider a Sunday Roast and don't skip the potatoes.

Now that Chowhound is moribund, I like the Hot Dinners website for information about new and upcoming restaurants and chefs.

For tapas, Barrafina, but arrive at opening time or be prepared to wait.

I've not done afternoon tea at the Orangery, so cannot comment. I can say that while expensive (and perhaps without available bookings by now), Claridge's did not disappoint, and I find Fortnum & Mason to be a solid choice. You can get a less fancy afternoon tea lots of places and also find scones and cream and tea (a cream tea) many places as well, and some of them are almost as good as the very expensive ones.

I don't think you would get enough value out of the London Pass, based on your proposed itinerary, but the only way to know is to do the maths. I would personally skip it in favor of more flexibility, but it's up to you.

I think you don't want to see London Bridge (boring and concrete), but rather Tower Bridge. You can see it from the Tower of London if you just want a view of it.

I cannot help you with the shopping, much, but am not sure Covent Garden is what you are after. Any particular sort of shops or items you are interested in?

The Tower of London is amazing and it's great you have left plenty of time for it. Afterwards, you might like to wander towards St Paul's, or across the river and along the Southbank, or not.

Westminster Abbey is also amazing. I strongly recommend both a verger tour, and returning for Evensong.

I see you're arriving in the morning after an overnight flight. When we do that, our standard strategy involves a guided walk (by London Walks) in the afternoon. This keeps us moving and outside (the things that help me fight jet lag best) but don't require navigation skills, other than to and from the starting and ending point. Then we keep moving, have an early-ish dinner, and an early-ish bedtime. We usually wake up the next day ready to go.

I am sure it all seems a bit overwhelming but you will figure it out. Also please don't be intimidated by the public transport system. It's much easier to use, than to explain how, and it is efficient and will get you where you need to go.

As far as crowds, well, there are always tourists in London and some places are always crowded, but it's very big and spread out and you can always find someplace quiet. I'd arrive at the Tower at opening time and go straight to the Crown Jewels, so you don't have to stand in a queue for that (they are worth seeing). I'd avoid places that have long queues like Madame Tussaud's, but would likely not visit there anyway, unless under duress. I'd avoid the Natural History Museum on a Saturday afternoon or during half term. But mostly, it's not a problem.

If you go to St Paul's, do climb the dome as the view is amazing, and worth all those stairs.

Although it can get annoying crowded with pedestrians, I enjoy walking along the Southbank, for the views. I especially like the views of St Paul's from 1) the terrace of the Founders Arms pub and 2) the restaurant upstairs at the Globe (the Swan). I also love the view of the Houses of Parliament, et cetera, from along the river on the far side of Westminster Bridge. And I love the view of London at night, all lit up, crossing just about any of the bridges over the river, on my way to or from the theatre (try them all and find your favourite bridge).

I hope you have a great time and get your daughter settled. Enjoy your trip.

<b>NO LONDON PASS</b>

If you are doing this touring with your daughter, get the vouchers at www.daysoutguide.co.uk and get yourself (and her) a 7-day paper travelcard (NOT an Oystercard) at a national rail station (Waterloo, London Bridge, Charing X, etc).

The London Pass is overpriced and attempts to justify its cost with admission to less notable venues and zone 1-6 travel (you just need Zone 1-2 for Central London).

Plus, these museums are all FREE:

British Library
British Museum
Tate Britain
Tate Modern
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
V&A
Imperial War Museum
National Maritime Museum

And more.

And don't hop on/off - that costs a lot for not much. There are various bus lines that will let you see dang near all of the London sights - 9, 15, 136.

The day you go to the Tower, try one of the many Indian restaurants in east London. We like Café Spice Namaste, which is a short walk east on Prescot Street

Assuming you mean St. James Park tube station, try the Cinnamon Club for Indian food. It's very good with lovely ambiance.

Don't worry too much about touristy places as almost every place you'll visit will have plenty of tourists. London is a city for tourists. Now if you mean gimmicky that's different.

I' d recommend one of London's walks. I think the website is www.walks.com Have a look at their offerings Just avoid Jack the Ripper. Also, some of the bigger department stores can be interesting. Don't know what kind of shops you're looking for, but I like Neal's Yard and the stalls at Covent Garden are a lot of fun too.

This is perfect! Thank you all so much for the Tube advice, and the walking tour and restaurant recommendations. I will pass on the London Pass! And no hoho bus either! Thank you, kyras for the specific sightseeing information. Maybe we don't need to run out to the Orangery for tea either. A walking tour and then tea somewhere nearby would be nice for the first day. As far as the shops go, I guess I was looking for something like Nolita in NYC or the West Village or Tribeca before too many chain stores moved in. Is the East India Company gimmicky or is it worth it for the history?

Again, thank you all for such thoughtful and thorough advice.

Is the East India Company gimmicky or is it worth it for the history?

It's gimmicky, the EIC was wound-up by act of parliament many years ago, this is just a very new company that bought the name.