Hello,
My family of 4 (husband and 2 teenagers) will be in London in June. We land on Wednesday at 11:30am and leave Saturday at 9:30am. We are staying by Green Park tube. We want to visit Temple Church, St. Paul, Tower of London, Greenwich Observatory, Imperial War Museum, Churchill's War Room, and Westminster Abby. Any suggestions on an itinerary?
Thank you!
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
882 posts
National Gallery, New and Old Tate, 221B Baker Street, Hyde Park, my old neighborhood in Notting Hill Gate.
Posted by
Land of La
8701 posts
Do a google maps satellite view search and group the sites together.
For instance all within walking distance are:
Big Ben ( Elizabeth Tower under scaffolding)
Parliament
Westminster Bridge
River Thames
London Eye
Westminster Abbey
Churchill War Rooms
St James Park
Buckingham Palace
Get Oyster cards and u can see all the sites you’ve listed.
Great city.
Posted by
Washington DC
27198 posts
If Wednesday is your first day in Europe after a (semi-)sleepless overnight transatlantic flight, you probably will not be very productive that day, aside from the fact that it will be mid-afternoon by the time you've gotten settled in your room and are ready to head out. So that's really just two days' sightseeing time, and I think your target list is very aggressive for that amount of time. However, I usually spend more time than average in museums, so perhaps I'm unduly pessimistic.
Folks on this forum have mentioned the Tower of London and the Churchill War Rooms as places with long lines. Consult your guidebook to find out whether you can and should buy tickets in advance. I didn't have time for either of those places when I was in London last year, so I have no personal experience to share.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14010 posts
I think you're going to have to prioritize with just the 2 full days. If you land at an airport at 11:30, it may be 2:30 before you get to your hotel. On that day I would walk around outside.
That leave the 2 full days. Unless Greenwich is a top priority, it's a fair distance to get there and will blow most of a day, so I'd cut it but it's up to you. To me the War Rooms are more interesting than the Imperial War Museum - after all these are the actual rooms where the war was run from. Just amazing to me. The oral history material that is woven in to the audio guide may also appeal to the teens more than the more static displays at the IWM. Just my view - you may decide differently!
Group Churchill War Rooms (timed tickets, do first thing), lunch and Westminster Abbey one day and Tower of London (first thing), St Pauls and Temple Church on your other day.
I've been to Temple Church several times and it is neat but their hours are slightly restricted so it might not work out to get there. It's possible you might be able to get there on your first afternoon but I would see how you feel with jet lag that day.