3 days in London before cruise, 2026, seeking itinerary advice

The bus is uncomplicated, cheap, and allows you to see the sights as you move between destinations. Transport for London (TfL) designates certain public bus routes as "leisure routes" for sightseeing, including routes like the 139 for iconic landmarks, the 9 for royal sites, and the 24 for a journey through central and north London. Visitors can use a standard Oyster/contactless payment to ride these routes for the price of a regular bus fare, unlike private hop-on hop-off tour buses.

Do you like shopping and fashion? Museums? Funky stuff? Historic places? Local color? Churches? Gardens? Riparian entertainments (with apologies to Hyacinth Bucket)? Royal-related things? Hip markets? Antiques and vintage? Eating/drinking? Music? Pubs?

If you tell us what you tend to like, we can help you better. I mean, I could drop a “Covent Garden, the Stables Market, Hyde Park and the Tower of London” standard blurb here, but there is soooooo darned much to see and do in London that you can pick and choose what floats your boat, and not head to where everyone else is headed.

I will drop one thing here: for the best fish and chips in London (IMHO) give the Mayfair Chippie and Poppies a swerve, and dine at The Golden Union, at 38 Poland Street. It is steps from Oxford Circus, Carnaby Street, and Liberty London. The fish is amazing. The chips are wonderful. The tartare sauce is house made and delectable.. The staff is lovely. The space is clean and super cute. The jukebox is free. And the restroom is on the ground floor (not down in the basement) and sooooo very clean.

Can you provide a nightly budget in British Pounds per room? That will help with responses.

I stayed at The Bailey's Hotel in March. It's across the street from the Gloucester Road Underground Station. So very convenient for getting to and from Heathrow on the Piccadilly Line. You're within walking distance to the Victoria and Albert Museum and a short tube ride to Westminster Abbey, West End theatres and more. My classic double would be cozy for 2, but there are larger rooms available. It was quiet and comfortable with great in room amenities. I'm not a breakfast person, so I just took advantage of the nearby bakeries and Waitrose and the Nespresso coffee maker in the room.

What to see and do? What are your interests? Are you all sticking together or splitting up? Have you been to London before?

Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, walk along the South Bank of the Thames, British Museum, National Gallery, pubs.

it doesn't sound like you've read Rick's guide yet?

As others have said, knowing your interests and whether any of you has been to London before would help. My general rule of thumb for any major city is to plan one big sight/excursion per day and then a smaller one if time allows, with a break in between.

For London, I consider "big" to mean places like Westminster Abbey, the Tower, the Churchill War Rooms/Imperial War Museum, Parliament, the British Museum, the V&A, the National Gallery, Portobello Rd and Borough Market. You can pair them with lower-key gems like the British Library, a walk through one or more of the parks, Southwark Cathedral, smaller churches like St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the Courtauld Gallery, the Wallace Collection, the Chelsea Physic Garden...or just wander and enjoying the neighborhoods. You probably don't have time to get out to Hampstead or Greenwich but those are both lovely areas.

And I second the Golden Union recommendation!

If none of you have been to London before, then I suggest getting a decent guidebook, like the RS London book, and reading it. Establish an accommodation budget, then use a booking engine, like booking.com to search, filtering for budget, location, and amenities. We have usually gone with one of the Premier Inns, though - a British chain not dissimilar to Holiday Inn. They need to be booked through their own website.

Select a hotel close to whatever is your preferred means of transport to/from Heathrow. Usually that would mean the Heathrow Express, Elizabeth line, or the Picadilly tube line. Give consideration to the amount of luggage you will need to schlep into and off of these trains.

Buses are fine for getting around central London if you aren't in a hurry, or in off hours. The tube can be faster, but you will have to manage with the crowds during busier times of the day. You can use contactless cards, apple/Google Pay on your phone, or an Oyster card for either. Learn more at tfl.gov.uk (the official London transportation website). Their Plan a Journey page is very useful. Google Maps or the CityMapper app are also good.

A guidebook will outline many of the typical tourist sites. It's up to you and your group members to agree on an itinerary, or agree to go your separate ways for some of the days. This page, especially the At a Glance section may be a starting point:
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england/london