Advice for 6-day London itinerary for a 1st-time visit

Give a thought to traveling to Paris for a day trip via Eurostar. It's way too late for cheap tickets, probably, but check out www.eurostar.com for details.

You could also add a day trip to Bath. It's a beautiful and very interesting place and it sounds like your daughter, especially, would love it.

~C

You can get the Oyster cards at any Tube station; the paper travelcard at a national rail ticket office - both at Victoria but separate counters

"Taxi to the rental apt" hope that's a (cheaper) pre-booked taxi and not one from the (much more expensive) rank outside Heathrow.

You've enough to do as it is without looking at day trips to France (or even Bath)

The Young Visitor discount can only be set at:

Tube stations in Zone 1 and Heathrow Terminals
Visitor or Travel Information Centres
Victoria National Rail station ticket office

The last fits in with your arrangements above.

Churchill War Rooms could be added to your arrival day itinerary. Nice stroll down the Mall from the Palace to the War Rooms. Could then dine in the cafeteria at the Central Hall Westminster. Large meeting space across from the Abbey. Lower level cafeteria open to the public. The Sunday Walks Cotswold tour is an ALL day event. Are you will to give a day of London exploration? If yes, go for it! If not re evaluate your must sees and hope to see.

I agree with Ramblin on. Paris will be silly prices at such short notice and is worth a trip in its own right.

Getting the train into London will be much quicker than a taxi. You are arriving early - ensure that you can check in so early. Get Oyster cards anywhere. A day trip to the Cotswolds proper will be quite a long time on a coach especially for an 11 year old relative to the time spent there, unless you are just touching the south eastern corner.

Note that Harrods and all shops will have limited opening hours on a Sunday. This doesn't apply to restaurants.

Your Monday is a very full day. On Friday, I would consider going to the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden, which is really interesting with old trams and tube trains etc.

West End show - go to the ticket booth in Leicester Square late morning for cheaper tickets for that night's performance, but being a Friday, the theatres will be busier. Friday night means that Soho and Covent Garden will both be heaving with people heading out after work. You have grouped the attractions well.

Wow! Thank you all for your thoughtful comments and suggestions. Given that we only have such a short time, we'll wait for another trip to see Paris.

rambling'on & Marco, great info on where to get the oyster cards for my kids. I did pre-book a taxi because I wanted to make the trip to our rental apt easier after a very long journey (our first leg of flight start on west coast at 6:30 am). Since our flight gets in pretty early, would we run into much traffic getting into the area where we would be staying?

Claudia, will try to go to Churchill War Room on arrival day as you suggested. Thanks for the tip on dining option. I've seen some pictures/short video clips of Coltwold, such a beautiful and, in my mind, very "English" countryside scene. At least I don't have to pre-book this one, which woud allow me to make a last minute decision.

Jennifer, many thanks for all your comments. There is no reason that we have to see a show on Friday night. If I drop some sights from Monday's schedule, I could probably try to see a show on Monday. Tuesday is an option too, or Sunday if I give up Coltswold.

The Cotswolds are indeed lovely and I'm sure the London Walks tour is well done. Their walks are always excellent. As noted if it is absolute must see then by all means take the tour. In a comment in your other post you mentioned the rationale about touring the city was the dichotomy between old and new architecture. In all honesty you'll view that through out London. Walk across The Tower Bridge to Butlers Wharf and then over to City Hall known affectionally as the Beehive. OR after your visit to the Tower of London, walk up to Leadenhall Market and see the Adjacent Lloyds Building. the pop over to see The Gherkin. Honestly you can see that glass spire office building from the Tower of London grounds. OR my personal favorite is the stellar Art Deco Blackfriar pub right across the road from the large glass encased Blackfriars Tube station. It's especially lovely at night. Always along the London skyline you'll find construction cranes. Old and new is throughout London. Have fun.

Claudia, many thanks for the examples you mentioned in your post. I will make a point to see them. Yes, I do like the dichotomy of old and new next to each other, sort of a symbol of continued growth with consideration and respect for cultural heritage.

Consider the short trip to Hampton Court Palace. We went when my daughter was 12, and she loved it (we did too). So much history, and Henry VIII and his wives are so interesting! The kitchen tour is especially good. You could do it in 1/2 to 3/4 day.

One last bit of advice. It's a noisy, constantly moving city that will be inundated with tourists. Be prepared for that, expect queues, have patience and most of all be flexible. London is not going anywhere. There's a lot to enjoy on your first visit but don't stress if you can't see all that you want. You'll be back. Oh and few last thoughts. while enjoying the glass covered Leaden Hall Market space have the children find the entrance to The Leaky Cauldron from Harry Potter fame. For the fashionista you might consider some window shopping in Carnaby Street. Bon voyage!

Ruth, thank you for the suggestion. I'll talk to my daughter and have her do some research so she could tell me if that's a place she would like to go. I told both my kids the same thing, selecting what they want to see and where they want to go so I could try to fit in the must-sees for everyone. They are also supposed to be my tour guide for one place they choose. So far, my daughter's tourguide duty falls on Tower of London. My son is slacking off, probably knowing that I would be happy if he just doesn't ask "are we done here ?" too often. :)

Claudia, thank you for your words of wisdom. So true, sometimes we rush through things just so that we could cross them off of our lists, forgetting why they were on our lists in the first place. We will enjoy London during this trip, and many future trips to come.

Hello Mei. Would you please tell me about the 2-4-1 you mention in your initial post? I plan to buy 7-day travel cards for both my daughter and I and wonder if that is something we can get in on. thank you

Hi Alicia, there is a very detailed post on tripadvisor (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g186338-c133479/London:United-Kingdom:Paper.And.Oyster.Travelcards.2.4.1.Offers.html) about 2-4-1 offer. Although a bit redundant in certain sections, it is really helpful for me to figure out whether this is something I want to do (for you, it would depend on what sites you want to visit, how much time you have, the age of your daughters, etc). Good luck!

I travelled to London with my 9 yr old boy . We ended up spending most of the day at the Tower of London as they had a number of events scheduled that day and we went with the flow. He also loved the London Eye, London Transport museum and just riding the tube and the double decker bus.. Nera the Shakespeare Globe was a prison museum or torture museum- which turned out to be a lot of fun.
We did a trip to York -which you could do in a day - great train museum, Cathedal and the walls. Just a tought.
I found my son at 9 (also a reader) did well when I tried to relax and let some room in for 'side trips' that caught our eye.
Best day: riding the double decker and spending time in Kensington Park (nice playground) and then catching a show.

Enjoy!

London is amazing! I went in 2013 and am returning in Dec. Pace yourselves, the city is a lot of walking. The tube system is a breeze to get the hang of. You can get oyster cards at any station and if you plan on returning, keep them. They are always good. The British Museum is huge, amazing, and a full day in itself so look at the map good. If it's doable and you have the interest, consider the warner bros. Studio tour as well. It is the stage they filmed the Harry Potter films turned into a museum. Quick train ride from Euston station and the studio has a shuttle from there. Enjoy!!! You will love it!!!

Diane, Kristin,

Thank you for your suggestions. Now I just need to remind myself to relax and go with the flow. The most fun and the best memories I've had in traveling often happened at the unexpected times/places. I am sure we will have a fabulous trip and fall in love with London. Keeping the oyster cards is a good idea, which would save a bit waiting in line time when we leave and gives us a bit more incentive to come back, not that it is necessary. :)

Hi Mei,
How did your trip go? We plan to visit in July and wondering how the plan worked.
-Sam

Hi Sam,

We just got back yesterday. The trip was a blast for everyone, including my 11-yr-old, video game obsessed son. :) Our actual itinerary was a bit different from the original plan, based on people's comments and restrictions placed by some tours.

June 18 - arrival at Heathrow (2.5 hr late) and pre-arranged taxi to apt. There was traffic even though it was not considered "rush hours" (10 am). Victoria station to get travel cards and oyster cards with young visitors discount set. I am not sure the discount applied to the amount we added to the cards 4 days later so it may be a good idea to load enough money for the entire duration when buying the cards. Walked by Buckingham Palace, had a picnic lunch at St. James park, and spent 2 hr at CWR. Walked up Whitehall, spent about 1 hr at Courtauld Gallery (highly recommend it if you have art lovers in your group).

June 19 - Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar square and London walk Tour of National Gallery. Had afternoon tea at Wolsley and went back to National Gallery until closing.

June 20 - Stuck to the original plan, but didn't have time to go to Sir John Soane's museum (very crowded at British Museum, but I learned a lot from the guide of London Walks). There was a line (~30 min wait) to get pictures taken at king's Cross station. So if you can, try to get there early (we got there ~9:30)

June 21 - South bank walk, Tate modern, walked by Borough market (closed on Sunday), Shakespeare's Globe (didn't do the tour since it was a nice day and people wanted to stay outside), crossed the river at London Bridge, and walked around in the City. Went to the Evensong service at St. Paul's (amazing experience, and I am not catholic), and then went to Sky Garden for a great view of London.

June 22 - Tower of London (great fun and we were there for almost 4 hr), St. Paul's (climbed the dome for a breath taking view), walked back to see Leadenhall market, then river cruise to Westminster (fun and relaxing), partly because we had a dinner reservation in Piccadilly Circus.

June 23 - we split up into two groups for the morning (V&A's and Natural History museum), Harrods food hall, Kensington Palace and Hyde park.

Hope this is helpful for your planning. Have a wonderful trip in July!

Mei

Hi Mei,
Thanks for the detailed response. We will tailor our trip based on your experience. Only question is whether the Travelcard is worth it? Or did you end up mostly walking to the attractions?

-Sam

Interesting breakdown, thanks :o)

Sounds like you had a good time.

Mei, maybe hard to say, if you haven't been on the London Eye... But do you think the Sky Garden was a good alternative? Or do you wish you had done the Eye?

Excellent trip report, thanks for sharing. Pleased to hear everyone enjoyed the trip. Just an FYI, St Paul's isn't a Catholic Church. It's Church of England. Again, love knowing the family enjoyed your first visit to London!

Sam,

The question of whether the travelcard is worth it really depends on the attractions you visit (the 2-4-1 discount). Many places have discounted tickets for a family of four, which brings down the cost of ticket prices significantly. For us, we used the 2-4-1 discount at The Tower of London, CWR, Courtauld Gallery, London Walks tour, and St. Paul's. You could also use the discount on London Eye, if you end up doing that. I think it was worth the hassle for us to get the travelcards. If it were just the transportation cost you are considering, I would say oyster cards may end up being a better choice for a visit shorter than 6 days (the first day we ended up walking everywhere because we wanted to see things and because we wanted to walk after a long flight).

Mke,
I really enjoyed the Sky Garden (I'm surprised they haven't started charging people yet). You are right in that I cannot say if it were better than London Eye since we didn't get on that. But to me, the time we saved NOT waiting in line is worth a lot. :) One thing I noticed is that although the view was pretty spectacular from Sky Garden, it was somewhat difficult to take nice pictures because the slight tint of the glass and the reflections. Perhaps this would be the same on London Eye since it is essentially a glass capsule. My absolute favorite place for a great view is the Golden Gallery at St. Paul, worth every single step of the climb!

Claudia,
We had a great time. I am very appreciative of all the help and advice I got from the form. Thanks for the correction on St. Paul. I really meant to say that one does not have to be a religious person to appreciate the spiritual uplifting by listening to the beautiful singing in such a splendid setting. I loved visiting all the sites in London, but am a little bit surprised to find out that the two churches (Westminster Abbey and St. Paul) we visited are my favorite spots in London. I know for sure I will go back next time I visit London, hopefully not too long in the future.

Mei