London in winter is pitch dark by 4PM, all the better to show off the Christmas lights, which are spectacular. We are four friends who sing together and time December trips to fit our concert schedule. This year we sang our last concert the afternoon of December 14, drove straight to the airport, ate dinner in Delta’s Crown Room at ATL, and were winging our way to LHR at 10:30 PM.
Found a new hotel to try, the Sanctuary House, connected to the Fuller’s Pub with the same name, and it was perfect for us. https://www.sanctuaryhousehotel.co.uk We were about a block from Westminster Abbey and down the street from the St. James tube station. Rooms are pretty, with friendly touches like fluffy robes, a mini-frig, a Nespresso, and shortbread and sparkling water replenished every day. Breakfast in the pub is included, and the menu covers about anything you could want. It’s not a budget property, but was good value for central London. Being so close to the center and having four people to split the fare made taking taxis an easy option. (There was a Premier Inn next door, if you want to take advantage of this location at a lower price point.)
We were in our rooms by 2 PM, collapsed for an hour, then boarded an open top, vintage London bus at 4:45 for a Christmas lights tour, an easy way to see some of the best lights in a short amount of time, and the cold air got us wide awake for that night’s concert. The bus stop was a block off Trafalgar Square, a short walk to St.Martin-in-the-Fields, where we had a quick dinner in the Crypt before our concert - Ex Cathedra: Christmas Music by Candlelight. My London trips are planned around music and theatre, and this was an amazing way to start. St. Martin is a fine venue - great acoustics and top quality performers. Ticket prices are very reasonable, but the space is not large, and tickets sell out. My favorite place to hear music. https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org
Tuesday morning we were at the Natural History Museum when it opened, to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition. Popped upstairs to see the life-size animated T-Rex in his Christmas sweater before heading to the National Gallery, my favorite museum, with the best museum shops. We covered some of both - focused stops to see some of the best art, and plenty of time in the shops, working through our Christmas lists. Totally forgot we had Sky Garden reservations for the view at 1:45, but the cloud cover was so low I don’t think we would have seen much.
Afternoon tea at Fortnum’s Bar at the Royal Exchange was festive. This is a great way to get the Fortnum’s food experience with a price that won’t choke you on the scones. And there’s a Fortnum & Mason shop where you get a small discount afterward. https://afternoontea.co.uk/uk/london/the-city/the-fortnums-bar-restaurant-at-the-royal-exchange
From the Royal Exchange it’s only a few minutes walk to Leadenhall Market, beautiful, and packed with the after work drinks crowd. We finished our day at the Sondheim Theatre with front row Dress Circle seats for Les Mis. Among the four of us, we’ve probably seen this play 25 times, and it’s still a favorite.
Wednesday was nice enough for a morning walk in St. James Park to see the birds and the palace before our afternoon tickets to the Harry Potter tour at Warner Bros. Studio. I’ve done this twice before with grandsons and took the tube/train/bus to get there. This time we hired a driver, both ways, saving a lot of time, and costing not too much. I booked tour tickets in September, and the earliest available weekday slots were at 2PM, so plan ahead! I think booking your own tickets and hiring a driver is probably much less expensive than going with a Viator arranged tour from London, and you’ll be free to stay as long as you like. Late dinner that night was at Ave Mario in Covent Garden - Neapolitan food in a party atmosphere!