Advance/Skip the Line tickets

We are planning for London in July and have found that although the tickets are free for most of those, you still need to reserve a time in advance.

I just wanted to mention that the vergers’ tour at Westminster Abbey is very worthwhile and gives access to an additional area. Those verger tour tickets are bought on arrival.

The British Museum and National Gallery are free/donation requested unless there's a special exhibition you're interested in that has a fee; those often (usually? always?) require a timed ticket, and some of them do have days that sell out somewhat ahead of time. There's no ticket required for basic museum entry. You should check those museum websites now to see whether there's anything special going on that you'd be interested in. Also check hours of operation; I believe you'll find they are both open late one night a week, which can help you stretch your sightseeing time a bit.

If you're not heading to a popular special exhibition, you'll probably be able to walk right into the National Gallery. A few rooms may be crowded at times--it's a popular museum--but I've never seen it severely crowded.

The British Museum (especially the ground floor) tends to be mobbed, especially on bad-weather days and Friday-Sunday. I went often in September of last year, arriving between 10 and 11 AM, and typically had about a 20- to 30-minute wait to get inside (there's a brief security checkpoint). I never managed to get there before opening time; perhaps that would have helped. I had the feeling the wait wouldn't have been as long somewhat later in the day, but I can give no guarantees. It would probably take every minute of your six days to really see that entire museum, so it's very important to spend some time on the website and figure out your top priorities. There's a casual, grab-and-go lunch spot on the ground floor and a somewhat fancier/better/more expensive place upstairs; the latter takes reservations, which are sometimes necessary to get seated. There's a place selling pizza, too. None of them will be open late in the afternoon, even on the days when the museum stays open until 8 PM.

I know nothing about the other four sights except that the Tower is very popular, and people suggest going first thing in the morning and making the Crown Jewels the first stop. Folks seem to like the Beefeater tour, too.

You didn't mention the Churchill War Rooms, but I know that's a place for which you should buy a ticket in advance, if you're interested in seeing it. It does sell out sometimes, and the ticket-purchase line tends to be really long.

I visited the British Museum in the afternoon over the Christmas holiday and although it was crowded, there wasn't a wait to get in. You're supposed to have advanced tickets but they weren't even checking them that day. One thing to note that I wish I knew beforehand - the Rosetta Stone is part of a special exhibit right now that does require a separate ticket/reservation. I was pretty sad to miss that.

I'd echo the previous comment about the Tower of London. Get there early and go right to the crown jewels. We did that and didn't wait at all. An hour or so later the line wound all around the courtyard.

We attended service at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. Long line to get in but no advance reservations needed. You could probably get your tickets there or at St. Paul's on the day of.

We bought the fast lane pass for the London Eye, which seemed like it saved a ton of time. Walked right up and got on.

the Rosetta Stone is part of a special exhibit right now

Looks like that special exhibit ends Feb 19th so hopefully the stone will be back in the free part of the museum.

Been a Whovian since Hartnell was the Doctor.

Hopefully, the Dr Who Tardis remains outside the entrance to the Earl’s Court Underground station.

Also worth researching if the Dr Who shop
remains open. I have no clue.

The Who Shop
39-41 Barking Road,
Upton Park,
London E6 1PY
Telephone: +44 (0)20 8471 2356
Nearest Underground Station:
Upton Park (District Line)

I hate standing in lines, especially if the wait is more than 15 minutes. I tend to get 2 to 3 timed entrance tickets per day. The number depends on ease of transportation between them and how much time I plan on visiting each one.