Changing of the guard worth the hassle, any other place we need to see?

Horse Guards might be easier to see.

I would add Westminster Abby...but that is just me. Have you looked at the walking tour schedule for "London Walks"? (www.walks.com). They have walks that will hit a few major sights. We did the Westminster Abby walk which included the changing of the guards, a walk through green park and some great stories, we really enjoyed all the walks we did with this company.

While I was in Windsor able to watch The Guard come down the street and pass the Queen Victoria Statue to enter into the castle. If you want to see the ceremony you have to have a ticket to get inside of the castle. I liked it, my 15 year old niece loved it. But, I agree, you will not be able to see anything at Buckingham Palace unless you're over 6' 4". Enjoy, Cathy

I think it is more interesting to stand along the fence on Birdcage Walk at Wellington Barracks and watch the inspection and hear the band as the new guard forms up (or whatever it is called) before they march across the street to the Palace. They march out of the barracks area onto what is shown as Spur Road as they march to the Palace Gates. You could do that then continue down Birdcage Walk to the Churchill War Rooms, then Westminster Abbey if you are interested.

https://goo.gl/maps/CzcGK7o9Gu52

I also like the change at the Horse Guards that someone else mentioned.

If you do decide on Westminster Abbey and if you have smartphones, download the Westminster Abbey audio guide before you leave home (or in the hotel the night before you go). It is much easier to listen with your own earbuds than to carry the heavy audio guide that is provided.

There is an audio guide at the War Rooms (included in price of admission) but they do not have an audio download.

The British Museum is huge and you may feel jet lagged when you are there. Spend some time on their website now to see if there are particular things you want to see and then head for those rooms. Get the museum map (small fee) at the info desk. This way you are not having to make a lot of decisions when your brain may not be 100%! My favorite thing is the Lewis Chessmen. Oh my word...they are just so cute! I love their little faces. I also love the Rosetta stone and the Elgin Marbles. And the mummies!

I got to see a bit of the changing of the guard one morning last month when my taxi was stuck a few cars back from where they'd stopped traffic for it. Nice martial music, bunch of big guys in red coats and big furry hats. I couldn't appreciate because the meter was running and I was fuming -- this pageantry is hitting me in the pocketbook! ;-) Later the driver gave me a break on the fare, so the damage wasn't too bad.

Not worth it IMHO, even if the meter's not running. Go to Westminster Abbey instead, as soon as it opens (9:30 I think). Then the War Rooms.

We went to the Changing of the Guard at the insistence of our adult son. What a snoozefest! Lots of waiting, standing on hard pavement, and a few minutes of ceremony we could barely see!

I suggest, as mentioned above, you cut back the Friday schedule. The Tower and Greenwich are plenty for Friday. We also enjoyed the boat trip down the Thames to Greenwich. Great views of the skyline.

Move St. Paul's to Saturday in place of the changing. We thought the Cabinet War Rooms were fabulously interesting. You'll want to allow a couple of hours if you are WWII buffs.

Personally I thought the British Museum overwhelming and a bit of a bore. It is no doubt fabulous, but we have done SO MANY museums with ancient artifacts that I found it hard to focus. Sacrilege, no doubt, to some. We loved Westminster Abbey, though. The audio guide at both Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's are excellent by the way. Better than a guided tour.

If you have the time and energy to squeeze one in, consider London Walks. If you can get on one with fewer than 30 people, they are pretty fun. When the group gets too large, it's less enjoyable.

Westminster Abbey, Portobello Road, Museum of London, Leadenhall Mark, Brick Lane, the Treasure Room at The British Library, and theatre, to name a few.

Two free museums I enjoyed not mentioned already are the Victoria and Albert (decorative arts) and the Natural History, where I'm all about the pretty rocks, though there are other exhibits as well. The V&A is open until 10 PM on Fridays. Both are quite large.

Definitely skip the changing of the guard. Westminster Abbey would be a good substitute. I also loved the British Library, V&A, and Regents Park. Can't imagine calling the British Museum a bore, but to each his own.

Hi,

Whenever I am in London, I see the Changing of the Guard at least once on that visit, if not more. If you have never seen it, see it. Your time is well spent. .

We chose not to see the Changing of the Guard, due to the time involved, the crowds etc. We enjoyed walking by the Palace later and just enjoying the entire area, practically by ourselves. We saw some Guards up close posted somewhere along the way and that was just fine with us.

My family and I went to Evensong at Westminster Abbey. There is no charge and it was a beautiful ceremony with the boys choir, responsive chants and of course the historic church. Line up early near the gift shop. We did the British museum but first created a priority list: must-sees, like to sees and not really bothered one way or another. Plus we also put a time limit so we covered the ground we wanted to and did not get so overwhelmed. The grounds of Kensington are also nice to walk through and see the families out enjoying the greens. We love London!

A museum we enjoyed, should you have an hour free for it, is the Museum of London. While it was filled with Roman artifacts, it also covered some more recent history. The section on The Great Fire was excellent. Very close to St. Paul's.

It was a cold day in early June when I got to the palace and stood at the fence right next to the gate. People came in behind me many deep and many tried to get my spot! We were a group of four women and we held our ground. The people behind us really thought they deserved our spots for some reason! I enjoyed the parade more than the actually changing of the guard. It took too long and I was freezing. I wouldn't do it again but I might want to watch the pageantry getting to the gate!