advice - final planning

You could come back from your day to Windsor and top it off with the HOHO buses. London in the evening is really fun to see. I would allocate the shopping time for after the Tower of London. Leadenhall Market is an easy stroll from the tower and is really amazing to see. (Part of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was filmed there). You could then walk to the Oxford Circus tube station and exit at Bank station. The Liberty store is about a 7 minute walk from there. My daughter really enjoyed exploring that store. (It’s pricey, but fun to window shop!)

The HOHO buses are really slow, as they sit in city traffic congestion. Just so you are forewarned . Have a great trip!

Hop on/hop off is a huge waste of time and money! You will spend most of your time n London traffic jams. Use the tube or a regular bus instead. You will be glad you did!

Edit: I see Pat and I were typing at the same time with the same message.

We took the advice of Carol and others and stuck to the regular buses. Sat up on the top deck and saw a lot. I don’t remember which route it was, but one went right down Oxford street with all the shops. That was fun. We never did the HOHO bus, but maybe some people like them. Have a great time!

Westminster Abbey and Churchill Rooms are very close to each other. But I still would not want to do them the same day. We ended up walking through the parks after Westminster Abbey. Tower of London is not as intense I don’t think. So I would pair with one or the other instead.

On the Tuesday after the Tower of London you could take the Heritage Routemaster bus route T15 from Tower Hill to Trafalgar Square then walk up Haymarket to Piccadilly Circus and thence Fortnum and Mason.

Then walk off your tea by walking up Regent Street to Oxford Street (if that is where you are shopping) then London Bus #8 from Tottenham Court Road down Fleet Street to St Paul's Cathedral changing to London Bus #25 to the end of Leadenhall Street (by Fenchurch Street) for your hotel.

Then on Wednesday London Bus #15 to Trafalgar Square. Walk down Whitehall or Horse Guards to the War Rooms and the Abbey. Then catch a Thames Clipper/Uber boat back from Westminster Pier to Tower Pier.

Yes, I would see the Churchill war rooms and Westminster Abbey on the same day as they are close together. We have done this (in the reverse order) and it was easy and enjoyable; I didn't feel at all rushed, or that we were doing too much. We went to the abbey early to make sure we could take a Verger tour. After, we had a leisurely lunch in the abbey cafe and then headed to the war rooms where we spent about two hours.

While on your shopping trip, perhaps you'd enjoy a visit to Selfridges, 400 Oxford St., "Voted the World's Best Department store".
https://www.oxfordstreet.co.uk/shop/selfridges/
Oxford Street has its own shopping guide to stores:
https://www.oxfordstreet.co.uk/new-shop/

There's probably no time for this, but many shoppers do a walk-through of Harrods.
87-135 Brompton Road.