First trip to England

A car in London would be a hindrance. You can easily fill five days just in central London.

What do you want to see?

Canterbury
Dover Castle
Windsor
Oxford
Cambridge
Bath is a longer day
Kew Gardens
Hampton Court

It’s easy to spend 5 days in London. If you wanted, there are any number of day trips you could take depending on your interests, Windsor, Bath, Cambridge, York, Hampton Court Palace, and Canterbury are some possibilities.

If I spent five days in London I would stay in London the whole time and take a self-guided walking tour each day.

London has so much to see you won't need to leave the city for the five days. Unless you are very familiar driving on the left side of the road, don't even think about renting a car. I made that mistake decades ago and will never do that again.

I’ve been visiting and enjoying London since Nixon was in office. Its always changing always the same.
Jennifers list of day trips is excellent.

The month of November is my favorite month to travel there.

Lots to see and do in the various London neighborhoods.

Do you know where you will be staying while there?
Will help us share what is nearby that might be of interest.

Be sure to get your Oyster Cards upon arrival. A card for each of you. Refundable deposit. With it you’ll be able to ride busses, the Underground ( the tube) and the Overground.

You can use the card to get to Hampton Court as well. Its a few blocks stroll from the train station to the entrance.

Most museums are free. British Museum with Egyptian artifacts, V & A Museum ( where I like to go for cream tea ) has art and focuses on design. There’s a variety of museums to enjoy. For example: The Museum of Steam and Water, Horniman Museum and Gardens, Sir John Sloane Museum, Alexander Fleming Museum, Imperial War Museum.
All different.

Various markets ( Bourough, Spitalfields, Maltby, Camden Lock, Portobello are examples ).

History abounds: Tower of London, The Royals, Churchill War Rooms, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral.

Kew Gardens and Greenwich. The Thames River Path.

The 2022 Lord Mayor’s Parade ( Show ) will be on Saturday, November 12. Its free and fun to watch. Google info.

EDIT: As you are first time visitors buying and reading The Rick Steves London guidebook would be of help. Lots of pertinent and practical information.

**Thank you all for your suggestions! We can’t wait to get there & check them out!

We aren’t sure where we’re going to stay yet. Any suggestions on that? What part of town is best for getting to all the transportations?

If you are okay walking, check out the walks both in London and trips out of London offered by London Walks:

http://www.walks.com

I have taken a number of their London and out of town walks and they were all wonderful. If you do a search of this forum you will see the company highly recommended.

Transportation in London is extensive so you can stay in many places. What most say is if you stay in Zone 1 of the transport system you will be fine. Get familiar with the tube (underground) as if can get you just about anywhere.

Get yourself a good guidebook, figure out what you want to see and do, and then come back for tips from the experienced travelers here.

We always stay in South Kensington by the Gloucester tube stop. It’s easy to get to from the airport via the Piccadilly line. The Circle and District lines also go through Gloucester tube station, so it’s easy to get to everywhere in the city. There are plenty of hotels and restaurants in that area.

Is your cruise out of Southampton? If so, I'd recommend staying in the Covent Garden/Soho area. It's easy transportation from Heathrow and to Southampton from the Leicester Square tube station.. It's a lively area in the evening with plenty of restaurants without having to walk too far after a busy day sightseeing.

My favourite daytrip from London was Hampton Court Palace-Henry VIII's house. I found Bath needed more than just a day. Lots to keep you busy in London. I also loved London Walks.

With only five days for your first trip to London, I would stay in London, but if in Southampton for your cruise, spend the last night before the cruise in Southampton.

Focus on London, but be sure to visit Windsor Castle, if it is open to the public.

For convenience I’d stay at the Premiere Inn County Hall. You’d be close to Waterloo station where you could depart from to get to Southampton for your cruise.

At Waterloo Station you’ll have the option of
4 tube lines that can get you to other parts of the city and neighborhood environs.

This Premiere Inn is near Westminster Bridge, the Thames, the London Eye and Jubilee Gardens. Easy peasy stroll across Westminster Bridge to Parliament Square, Churchill War Rooms, Westminster Abbey, Birdcage Walk, St James Park and Buckingham Palace. The Imperial War Museum is a 20 minute walk from the hotel.

Secondly, you could also stay at the Premiere Inn near Victoria Station. Can also board a train there to Southampton. If you chose to stay at this Premiere Inn you’d be closer to The Palace one way and Westminster Abbey the other.

Truman was President when i was born and on my trips to London (my favorite city on the planet) I average 5 to 6 miles a day walking. I do use the busses and Tube as well. Will depend on your stamina and willingness to meander.

Check online for opening times for The Tower of London and whichever of the many museums your are interested in seeing. If early risers have a good breakfast, head out, meander some as you wait for commuter “ traffic “ to ebb then off to your first site.
The Underground Tube trains will be jammed during commute time. If one tube train looks too crowded wait for the next.

If you don’t live in a large metropolitan area in the States London can be overwhelming at first glance. However, I find public transport easy to access and use and the fact that London is a walkable city as well. Enjoy the numerous parks and walking along the Thames Path.

If shoppers don’t miss Liberty (very unique) or the massive Selfridges. If you desire to attend Evensong try St Brides or St Martins of The Fields.

Lastly, if theatre is important look on line at what half price same day tickets might be available from the Leicester Square 1/2 price ticket booth. https://officiallondontheatre.com/tkts/.

Or day of just go to the theatre box office. Over the decades have been privileged to see Maggie Smith, Judy Dench, Ian McKellan, Helen Mirren, Brenda Blethyn, Mark Gatiss, Rupert Graves and Jim Broadbent on stage.

London is historical and vibrant. Always changing yet always the same. Before departure look online at A Lady in London, The Londonist and TimeOut London websites. Might discover something unique to explore. One year that’s how I discovered an artist’s enclave Christmas open house on Eel Pie Island!

Prior sailing the sea enjoy your time in London!

Advice on places to stay always require your desired location (probably close to what you want so see unless you are willing to spend the time and effort getting to/from), comfort level and how much you are willing to pay for them ... I haven't been to London in 40 years, and even that was just for a day on my way back home from Munich's Oktoberfest so I have no recent first-hand experience ... but I am planning a trip for April 2023 so have been looking for a reasonable place and found Hub by Premier ... they have quite a few places scattered around town and have good reviews ... I'm looking at staying in the Big Ben / Buckingham Palace / Westminster Abbey area and they have 2 places there ... using this year as my guide for 2023, for 5 nights the price ranges from around 400 (non-refundable Standard room) to 525 (fully refundable larger room) ... that's total, no extras like breakfast included ... seems like a good deal to me but YMMV.

Update: Looks like Claudia posted before I finished my reply above ... seems like we are on the same page with a place to stay ... as they say, great minds and all that stuff ...

You can find budget B&Bs near Victoria Station. I also like the Premier Inns.

*Thanks everyone for all of your awesome advice! *

Yes, we are getting on the cruise ship in Southampton, so we will be staying there the night before the cruise.