My husband and I will be visiting London for our first time September 14-18. We will be arriving after two weeks in the countryside of the West Midlands and North Wales, so we should be well rested upon our arrival in London. We will be staying in Bloomsbury. We have a list of our "must see" sights but I'm worried we may be trying to pack too much into our 4 days in London.
We like to walk but it may make more sense to take public transit e.g. city bus (not a hop on/hop off), the Tube, Uber Boat for part of each day's traverse. And while probably not the most affordable option, we'd really like to take a black cab (c'mon, the Knowledge!) somewhere, sometime where it makes sense during our stay. Maybe the Euston-Bloomsbury/Bloomsbury-Paddington cab rides will suffice?
After checking out our plan below, any advice you may have on when/where/how to take transit/a cab—instead of/in addition to—walking would be much appreciated. Also, could we group our sights together in ways that make more sense?
And finally, does it seem like we are eager beaver, London newbies trying to pack too much in per day of our stay?
I thank you in advance for your suggestions.
DAY 1 - MONDAY: ARRIVAL (11:00AM)
- Euston Station > cab to hotel in Bloomsbury, drop bags
- Walk to lunch somewhere on Lamb's Conduit
- Walk to/Shop at Walker Slater
- Walk back to the British Museum (we know we can't see it all; we're 2-3 hour max/per museum visit people anyway)
- Dinner at the hotel
DAY 2 - TUESDAY: SOUTH BANK DAY
START - Leake Street Arches (best way to get there from Bloomsbury?)
- Walk to Tate Modern
- Walk to Borough Market
- Walk back to and cross Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral (outside only, saving our church energy reserves for Westminster)
- Back to Bloomsbury (best way to get back?)
- Walk to dinner near the hotel
DAY 3 - WEDNESDAY: EAST SIDE DAY
START - Tower of London (best way to get there from Bloomsbury?)
- #78 Bus to Brushfield Street
- Walk to Spitalfields Market
- Walk to Dennis Severs' House
- Walk to Brick Lane
- Walk to Rivington Street
55 Bus back to Bloomsbury
- Walk to dinner near the hotel
DAY 4 - THURSDAY: WEST END DAY
START - Churchill War Rooms (Piccadilly Line to Green Park Station)
- Walk to Westminster Abbey, take tour, stay for Evensong
- Walk back to Bloomsbury, dinner along the way (Whitehall>Trafalgar Square>Seven Dials>Bloomsbury)
DAY 5 - FRIDAY: DEPARTURE DAY (Flight departs at 11:40AM)
- Cab from Bloomsbury to Paddington Station, take the Heathrow Express to terminal 2