A Thursday in London-Final Tweaks to Itinerary

Why not go inside St Paul's to Evensong, or are you doing that on a different day?

Also have you ever been to the Barbican? It is a somewhat brutalist housing estate in the City but the City of London have gone to a lot of pains over the years to soften the brutalism with gardens (including the wildlife garden) and the fountains in the lakes operate after school time from 4pm to 6pm.
I've always tended to go there for the events at the Barbican Centre- but there is also an art gallery there open to 6pm.
Not somewhere on the usual tourist trail I will grant you, but the estate is quite an interesting place to visit. It was built as part of the post WW2 reconstruction of the city.

I’m not sure what you’re expecting from Leadenhall Market, but just wanted to make sure you know that it’s not a market with stalls in the sense of Borough Market. It’s a beautiful series of buildings that you walk through, and sure, there are some nice cafes and pubs, but I just wanted to make sure you weren’t expecting to find food stalls or similar.

While you're walking from the Tower to Sky Garden, it's worth a quick stop in St. Dunstan in the East garden, it's pretty (but a short visit). Your bridge walk plans have you back tracking quite a bit, why not head to Tower of London early and walk across the bridge for morning views, visit the tower, then move along with your other plans. I also suggest going in St. Paul's, it is quite lovely inside and you can climb to the top of it for another view.

As for filling time until dinner - that is a pretty packed morning IMHO. Since you have multiple days in London, there's nothing wrong with returning to your hotel for a rest, then heading to dinner ahead of your show. But if you're wanting to keep going, there are two different London Walks that start at 2 and 2:15 p.m. at the St. Pauls tube station.

Why not go inside St Paul's to Evensong, or are you doing that on a different day?

That is something I'm considering to fill the time before we eat dinner.

Also have you ever been to the Barbican?

I have not heard of it, but will look it up. Thanks!

I’m not sure what you’re expecting from Leadenhall Market, but just wanted to make sure you know that it’s not a market with stalls in the sense of Borough Market. It’s a beautiful series of buildings that you walk through, and sure, there are some nice cafes and pubs, but I just wanted to make sure you weren’t expecting to find food stalls or similar.

Thank you, I haven't ever been to London, so I'm not sure what to expect the markets to be! But I had thought there might be food stalls, so good to know.

Your bridge walk plans have you back tracking quite a bit, why not head to Tower of London early and walk across the bridge for morning views, visit the tower, then move along with your other plans. I also suggest going in St. Paul's, it is quite lovely inside and you can climb to the top of it for another view.

In an earlier post it had been suggested that it is a nice walk, with a lot to see (particularly Shakespeare's Globe) before crossing back over to St. Paul's.

I'm afraid I might not make it up those stairs and live to tell the tale!

As for filling time until dinner - that is a pretty packed morning IMHO. Since you have multiple days in London, there's nothing wrong with returning to your hotel for a rest, then heading to dinner ahead of your show.

Yes, we are keeping open the idea that we could just head back to the hotel if we are tired before heading back to the theatre.

Thank you, I haven't ever been to London, so I'm not sure what to expect the markets to be! But I had thought there might be food stalls, so good to know.

Leadenhall Market is different to other markets that get recommended, in that the “market” part of the name just refers to the building - it’s an old market hall, not an active market with stalls.

Normally absolutely you’d be right to expect market stalls at a market - that’s why I mentioned it! Borough Market, Spitalfields Market etc - beautiful market buildings plus active market stalls. Leadenhall, just a lovely building that once in the olden days held an active market but does have a bunch of cafes and restaurants.

I fully second the idea of crossing Tower Bridge then walking the South Bank down to the Millenium Bridge or, a bit further on, Blackfriars Railway Bridge (you can cross the bridge to the north bank). The South Bank Walk can be continued on almost as far as you want to- to Waterloo, the South Bank (the Royal Festival Hall etc), The London Eye, Westminster, Lambeth, Battersea Power Station and Chelsea- far further then you would actually want to walk- but a myriad of possibilities. And with the number of Thames Clipper Piers in central London you can walk as far as you want, then take a Clipper back to somewhere else.
This isn't time filling- it is seeing things from a different perspective, soaking things in, linking places and how they relate to each other. Enjoying the built landscape of London.

Beyond Putney the path continues on as the Thames Path (which it technically is, even in Central London), ultimately taking you out of London into Surrey and Berkshire, and all the way up the Thames to it's source.

Or if you've crossed back over at the Millenium Bridge just take the Clipper from Blackfriars Pier on a sightseeing trip up river to Chelsea or Putney (non landing at Putney if you want) or boats back from Putney every half an hour or so. It's not something you will regret doing, and a nice way to relax after a busy day. Sure it's a commuter boat but no reason why you can't use it as a sightseeing boat as well. If it's nice weather get out on the open stern (rear) deck for the best experience.

Also in the Pool of London does HMS Belfast interest you/is it on your itinerary another day? Everyone gets to the CWR or the main IWM museum, but for whatever reason far fewer to HMS Belfast- which is another in the set of IWM museums.

When in London I like to keep in mind the possibility of wet weather that would make a lot of walking unpleasant. There are many museum options not too far from the Theatre District. I don't know which are already on your itinerary, but perhaps some are not: Sir John Soane's Museum, Courtauld Institute (good impressionists), National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, British Museum and Transport Museum. There are quite a few others, but those are ones I've been to or (the Transport Museum) seen recommended here more than once. The ground floor of the British Museum is usually packed at least until mid- to late-afternoon, but the upper floor is usually not as bad.

The Courtauld Institute and the Transportation Museum have entry fees. The others are free/donation requested, though there can be a substantial entry charge for a special exhibition. You'd probably want to buy the small guidebook for the Soane Museum, because things are not labeled there. You might also want or need to book the Soane Museum in advance, which I'm think is possible. The quarters there are very tight, and I imagine they do something these days to control visitor levels.

It might be worth considering Borough Market for lunch instead of Leadenhall Market. If you're going to cross Tower Bridge and head west, it's sort of on the way anyway. Your choice of tasty food is much greater there, if you can stand the lunchtime crowds. I like to find a spot in Southwark Cathedral's churchyard to eat if I buy something at Borough Market, dependent on the weather.

The Sky Garden is worth a visit though. I was lucky with the weather the time I visited, but the chances of it being overcast and cloudy in October are quite high.

Leadenhall Market is a pretty old building. There's a Harry Potter connection of some sort, but those in the the know about such things will probably be able to make the reference off the top of their heads. My impression of it is it's where bankers go to drink after work. The pubs will have large crowds outside at lunchtime too. The chatter of several hundred tipsy hedge fund managers can be deafening as it reverberates around the market building in the evening.

Leadenhall Market for Harry Potter fans is where the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron is located.

The dichotomy of architecture between St Marys Axe ( The Gherkin) and the Lloyds of London bldg next to Leadenhall is fascinating.

It might also be worth mentioning that walking out into the middle of London Bridge is where you're going to get a great photo of Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast.

The churchyard at St Pauls is somewhere I've stopped to eat several times. There's a very active squirrel population.

This is indeed a good day to have dinner in Chinatown. A short walk to the theatre.

Thanks everyone, it looks like we now have a lot of options to choose from that day depending on how we are feeling. Everyone thinks Evensong at St. Paul's would be a nice choice. We will be looking up some of those museums as well.
Our reason for Leadenhall Market was the HP connection, so we will still stop by but probably go elsewhere to grab something for a picnic in one of your recommended spots.
We live just outside Seattle, so grey and rainy won't bother us.

On to planning the next day!