What to do & see in London for two first timers?
 

This is our first time to London and we plan to stay in central London for 3 and a half days before heading for Paris.

Any suggestions on what to do and see there? It's better if a daily itinerary can be provided.

Thanks in advance!

You need to get some guide books and/or videos and see what you are interested in. London has a great deal to see, you need to be specific in what interests you before anyone can give you an intelligent answer. Museums? History? Castles? Shopping? Theater?

Lori,

We are mostly interested in the history, museums, castles, and a sense of the city itself, no shopping or theaters.

You could try http://www.visitlondon.com/city_guide/attractions/

to give you some ideas, as well as guide books and the information on this site.

Fodor's has an excellent 5 day itinerary for London. You can see it on line here under "Destinations." The Fodor's guidebook for London has suggestions for amending the 5 day itinerary to a 3 day one.

What have you always wanted to see in London? What is in your mental picture of London? List both of your "must sees", then get a map and see where they are in proximity to each other.

Is there an era of history in which you are really interested? Roman? Elizabethan? Victorian? WWII? London has so many "layers"; if you're at a loss you could choose an era and concentrate on that.

Here is one full 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.

Do a tour with London Walks in the evening.

Keith

You may consider doing a hop on/off bus tour on 1 of the days. London is quite big, and the tour will give you an idea of the lay of the land. Most of the tours also include quick entry to some of the major sites, and a river cruise. For the others days, you should rely on the Tube for transportation. It's very quick, easy and inexpensive.

There is a lot to see so you should follow the advice already given to do some research and buy a good map. Since you only have 3.5 days, you should concentrate on specific areas each day.

Rimwall, I think the hop on/hop off bus is your best bet for an overall view of London and I'd do that the first morning. The Tower is marvelous, but to maximize your time be there when it opens so I'd plan on that for another one of your mornings. After the Tower walk back to Tower Hill (where tube & bus stop is) and take the #15 bus to St. Paul's Cathedral. It will stop right in front.

The British Museum and the Museum of London are my favorites .. they will take some time to go through tho, particularly the British Museum, it is huge. If you only have time for one I'd recommend that one.

You might want to go to the London Eye in the evening (dusk actually). It's nice to watch the city "light up" and it won't cut into your daytime sightseeing if you do that.

River cruises on the Thames are nice, but not sure if it would be worthwhile to do with only 3.5 days. You can do one-way down to Greenwich and come back on the Docklands Light Railways tho to speed things up a bit.

Basically you just need to get a good map and a good guide book and pick out the things that you are interested in, not what "we" here on Fodors might think you might like. I have friends who think 1 hr. in a museum is 1/2 hr too much :-) and others who think all day is too little .. only you can decide. Have a great time planning !!

I put this trip outline together for friends of ours and they really liked it. Maybe it can give you some ideas:

Three-Day Trip to London

Day 1 - Arrive London

Underground/Bus/Express from Heathrow (you can buy a three-day Travelcard at the airport which will cover all your tube and bus travel in London. Good investment.). Cab to Hotel. Settle in

Take underground to Trafalgar Square (Tube: Charing Cross). See Nelson's Column. You can feed the pigeons if you're brave. Walk south-west, under Admiralty Arch down Pall Mall towards Buckingham Palace. Just before you get to the Palace, on your right, is Clarence House. This used to be the home of the Queen Mother, but Charles and Camilla live there now. Turn south at the Palace, then east along Birdcage Walk (which borders St. James's Park). At Horse Guard Road go north a bit to the Cabinet War Rooms.

Cabinet War Rooms & Churchill Museum (9:30-6pm, last admission 5pm, costs 11 pounds per person, includes audio guide.) This is where Churchill ran the second world war from.

When you come out of the War Rooms go east toward the Thames River on George St. On your right (south), you'll see the north side of Westminster Abbey.

Westminster Abbey (9:30-3:45 M, T, R, F; 9:30-6 W; Sa 9:30-3:45).

Head east towards the Thames, come to the Houses of Parliament. At the north end is Big Ben. Continue north along Whitehall; pass by #10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives). Continue north on Whitehall, it will take you back to Trafalgar Square.

(The other option if you don't feel like walking is to take the Big Bus London Sightseeing Tour which basically lets you tour the city on a bus and hop on and off at different points. We've never done it but it's an option if you feel more like sitting and sightseeing after your flight. Costs about 20 pounds each.)

Back to hotel.

Have a rest. (Depending on whether you are suffering from jet lag, you may just want to make this an early night and go to the theatre on Day 2. We've found that a good walk outside, after flying 8 hours, gets our system back into gear earlier than if we go to sleep right away. The longer we can stay awake on the first day, the better we seem to recover from jet lag.)
OR
Go to the theatre (pre-book tickets on internet, or go to theatre when you first arrive to purchase or do through hotel (will be a commission). If you want to check what plays are on you can go to: http://www.londontheatre.co.uk/

Day 2 –

Tube (Tower Hill) to Tower of London (9-6pm T-Sa; 10-6 Su-Mo, 15 pounds admission). This is where you can see the Beefeaters and the Crown Jewels.

Then take tube (Covent Garden) to Covent Garden. Used to be an open-air vegetable market (remember Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady?), but has now been turned into a great shopping and eating area. Have lunch. Can do some shopping and people-watching. There are usually street entertainers doing everything from opera to mime.

After lunch, walk south towards the Strand. Then east until you get to the Courtauld Institute of Art in Somerset House. Daily 10-6, Free.
OR
Take the tube (Barbican, St. Paul's or Moorgate) to the Museum of London (10-5:50pm M-Sa, 12-5:50pm Su, Free). It's kind of a walk from whatever tube station you go to, but just follow the signs.

(Whether you go to the Courtauld or Museum of London really depends on your interests. They are both very good. The Courtauld is dedicated to Impressionistic art and has some of the most famous paintings of the period. The paintings are very accessible and the place is rarely crowded. The Museum of London presents the story of London from Roman times to the present with great displays.)

Take tube back to hotel. Have a rest.

Evening options:
Theatre
OR
At St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Sq. (Tube: Charing Cross) they have classical concerts throughout the year. (Have a great cafeteria in the basement, open from. 12-8pm.)
OR
Take the tube (Piccadilly Circus) to Piccadilly Circus. See statue of Eros. Great place to people-watch. Walk north towards Gerrard & Lisle streets. Have dinner in Chinatown.

Day 3 –

Take tube to Imperial War Museum (Lambeth North, Waterloo, Northern, Southwark, or Elephant & Castle. Whichever tube line you take, there should be street signs directing you to the Museum. Will be about a 15 min. walk.) Daily 10-6, Free.
OR
Victoria & Albert Museum (Tube: South Kensington), Free, 10-5:45 R-T, 6:30-9:30pm W.
OR
British Museum (Tube: Holborn, Tottenham Court Road, Russell Square, Goodge St.) Free, Sa-W 10-5:30, R & F 10-8:30.

(Again, which museum you visit really depends on your interests. They are all top-notch. The War Museum has amazing exhibits as well as a very realistic Blitz experience you take part in and another where you travel through First World War trenches. The Victoria & Albert is great if you like collectibles, costumes over the ages, textiles, etc. The British Museum has Egyptian mummies, the Rosetta Stone, Greek sculpture, etc. and you could easily spend a few days exploring all it offers.)

Take tube to Hyde Park (Tube: Hyde Park Corner – you may just be able to see someone on their soapbox complaining about the state of the world). (If you choose the Victoria & Albert museum in the morning, Hyde Park is just across the street). See the Albert Memorial. If you're feeling energetic, you can hire a boat and row on the Serpentine. The restaurant in the park is popular, but expensive.

At the west side of Hyde Park is Kensington Palace, once the home of Princess Diana. You can visit the Palace (we found it okay, not spectacular). Daily, 10-6pm, L11.50 admission.

Walk east on Kensington Road/Knightsbridge. (Even if you aren't shoppers, this is a great place to window-shop.) Turn south-west at Brompton Road, and about a third of the way down is Harrod's. The Food Hall's are particularly amazing.

Tube back to hotel. Rest.

Tube to Globe Theatre (Tube: Mansion House - a 10 minute walk; Blackfriars, Cannon Street, London Bridge, Southwark, St. Paul's, Bank - a 15-min. walk.) Can enjoy Shakespeare's plays as they would have originally been performed. From 15-31 pounds depending on seats.

Notes:

- Great pubs with a lot of atmosphere:
Black Friar, 174 Queen Victoria St.
Ye Olde Mitre, 1 Ely Court
Lamb, 94 Lamb's Conduit St.
Chandos, 29 St. Martin's Lane
George, 77 Borough High St.
Star Tavern, 6 Belgrave Mews West
Mayflower, 117 Rotherhithe St.
Fox & Anchor, 115 Charterhouse St. –

Here's a list of some of the best fish and chip restaurants in London from Time Out magazine: http://www.timeout.com/london/restau...ures/28/1.html

Bermondsey Market – only on Fridays and you have to go early, dealers unload their vans at 5am – best deals are often gone by 9am. Closed by noon. Take the Underground to London Bridge Station then bus No. 78, or walk southeast down Bermondsey St.

I've noted the tube stops for most of the sights; the subway is easy to figure out. But you can also take buses or taxis. I don't really know the bus system; your hotel can probably give you some info. Taxis are great, but expensive.

If you had one more day I'd suggest you take a day-trip out of London (Oxford, Cambridge, Canterbury, Bath or Greenwich). But with three days, it's probably best to enjoy as much of London as you can.

Have a great trip.

I was in London last weekend and would have to put in a big vote for the Imperial War Museum. My friend semi-reluctantly tagged along because I'd done the zoo with her the day before, but it turned out that we both loved it and thought it was one of the best museums we'd ever been to. We ended up spending over 5 hours there and still didn't see the last floor, but had to leave for the airport. It had something to do with the way they made it all seem so personal, i.e. not just showing a ration book, but telling who it belonged to and how they had to go about figuring points to clothe and feed their family. It also covered world conflicts up to present day. I'll be returning, someday.

You can feed the pigeons if you're brave

That is like "try the famous echo in the British Museum Reading Room".

You can feed the pigeons if you can afford the £50 fine.
It is illegal to feed the dirty things and Trafalgar Square is much cleaner as a result.
Also you get the tube where there is a round sign with "Underground" on it.
A subway is exactly that. If you go down a tunnel marked "Subway" it will take you under the road to the other side.

Rickmav! Do we need to pay you a commission for that OUTSTANDING trip to London? I think you need to print those and laminate them and sell them to tourist hotels! :) Thanks so much!!! Several places I didn't think we could hit on our 5 days but I think we can they way you've laid some of the days out! :)
Thanks!
Tara

Boat trip down the tThames to Hampton Court.

Take a tour and see a show at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. I have some pics posted at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...n_England.html (click on view candid traveler photos" and also if you have time see Hampton Court palace (just outside london)--- pics http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...n_England.html

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Thanks ma23peas.

Rickmav is right on! I just returned from 10 days in London and it was the best trip of my life.

If you're interested in theatre, we saw "Billy Elliott" - the hottest show on the West End. Language is a bit strong, but the talent is simply unbelievable.

Also, London is known for having some of the best and most expensive restaurants in the world.

Here are two restaurant recommendations that won't (completely) break the bank:
Alastair Little (located in Soho) - fabulous dinner. Service and food are impeccable.

Scalini (located on Walton in Knightsbridge) - go for lunch or dinner. Drop dead delicious Italian food.

You can't go wrong with either of these choices. Have a fabulous time!

Rickmav....Excellent post. I have printed that out and will be using your suggestions in two weeks when my mother and I are in London for three days. Thank you so much for a wonderfully laid out plan!

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