If you had 3 days in London-what are the must do's?

You can look up on line The top ten attractions in London. Read them and then decide which appeal to you most. My favorite is The Tower, then St. Paul's, then maybe Parliament, Palace, Big Ben and either British Museum or the V and A sort of in that order. Did not like the Eye as I do not,like heights, even walking across a bridge, that is just me. When you go to Tower, go first thing to avoid most of crowds, St. Paul's walk up to the Whispering Gallery. With three days, organize trip in a group so whatever you want to see is in the same area for day one, another area day two etc. so you are not crisscrossing back and forth all day. Enjoy.

My top 2 are: The Tower and Hampton Court Palace.

welcom poole_ta,

Since you plan on coming back, i would make a "to do" list and just work on them once you get there. who cares about "must dos" since you will be back to finish up what you dont get to on the first trip.

Happy trails.

There are no "must dos". I happened to look at a "Top 10" list put out by Transport for London in their visitors guide. I believe it was ranked by "most number of visitors". I only went to one of them. And that was #10. (Tower of London). Still, I saw a ton of other great stuff including Big Ben, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Churchill War Rooms, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Borough Market, Covent Hyde Park, and several other things. We had afternoon tea. We saw a show (Book of Mormon). It was great. But only one "Top Ten". I don't think my trip was lacking.

Well, everyone is going to have different "must dos" - so maybe if you let us know what YOU like to do?

Are you a museum person? If so, the V&A is amazing and outstanding, and I'd make it a "must" for a short trip. The collections are VAST and amazing, and they have really neat educational displays and audio guides. Or go to the Tate Modern, see a glorious display of the moderns, then take the five quid boat ride to the Tate Britain and see portraits of all of the Tudors in all their resplendent glory! The two museums plus the short trip on the Thames is a cool way to get in your art and your river views in one go.

Are you a shopper? Then I'd suggest either taking a stroll up the King's Road from Fulham Broadway to Sloane Square to wallow in boutiques, or visiting (1) Harvey Nick's and then (2) Harrod's. And if you do that, a great place for a refresher afterwards is The Bunch of Grapes at 207 Brompton Rd - a 5 minute walk or less from Harrod's. It's a wonderfully preserved Victorian pub - and they do a nice lunch.

Are you a pub lover? RS enjoys Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese - it really is excellent, and if you check it out, that means you're on Fleet Street, where there are LOTS of pubs to crawl! I like The Punch, The George, and The Old Bell - it's frequented by actual newspaper workers and feels "real" and "local." I do NOT like Ye Olde Cock. The building is extremely charming, but the pub isn't up to snuff at all. But there are many many more pubs on Fleet Street than that, and you'll find a favorite.

Are you a history buff? Early modern, Tudor, Medieval? Churchill's War Rooms might be on your "must" list. The Tower of London is wonderful! And I adore Hampton Court Palace. (For your after-palace pint, check out the King's Arms Hotel lounge bar - get there by exiting the palace grounds via the maze exit and crossing the street. This is a classic small town English hotel pub - so cozy and charming!)

Are you a lover of markets? The Stables Market in Camden is a chockablock warren of cool stalls - some schlock, some cutesy, some cutting edge, and some awesome purveyors of vintage delights - plus food stalls galore and the Camden Locks to see. Or try the Borough Market - if you're a wine person, you should check out Vinopolis at 1 Bank End - and be sure to penetrate far enough inside to visit the Whisky Exchange, which has a huge selection of excellent whiskies and spirits - many of which I had never heard of.

Anyway, I could go on and on. I know that whatever you do, heck - you'll be in London! And it's great!

British Museum, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards, Greenwich complex, Hyde Park, and the exteriors of Downing Street and Buckingham Palace.

Those are the iconic things that set the city apart from all others. Anything else is gravy and personal preference.

Smithfield Market and Covent Garden for something different.,

You can do a lot of sightseeing in three days, poole_ta. My list would be: 1.Tower Of London ( first thing in the morning, before the crowds arrive.) 2. Westminster Abbey, 3. British Museum, 4. St. Paul's, 5.Hampton Court Palace 6. Windsor Castle. My top ones are heavy on history of England. I would do The Tower on the first day, then St. Paul's, then Westminster Abbey. On day two, I would head out of town to see either Hampton Court or Windsor Castle, whichever one suits you. Come back in to London after lunch, go to the British Museum. You have the third day to walk around London, take a Hop On Hop Off bus tour, or go see the other castle, whichever one you didn't see the day before.

The things that I would consider "must do" in three days are the Tower of London, Shakespeare's Globe and Hampton Court Palace. My interests lean toward history and literature, particularly the Tudor/Elizabethan era though. For me Hampton Court Palace is a most of the day kind of place, so if there are things that are of more interest to you, you might not want to go there. There is so much to see at the Tower of London, I don't see how you could see it all in a few hours. Definitely get there first thing in the morning though. Shakespeare's globe has a great tour that can take a couple of hours. It is a good destination for days when you are trying to fit several things in. I don't know if I would worry about trying to see a play there, unless that is a priority for you. We saw The Tempest and it was fantastic, but it did take a while and if I only had 3 days, I'd opt for the tour over a show. Like several people have said, you really need to decide what you are most interested in. You can also see that lots of people like the Tower of London. It really is a top destination.

Oh, also, I'd take a walking tour with London Walks. Choose one that sounds interesting to you. All of them I have been on point out other bits of London than what the tour is strictly about, so you get a lot of good information. You get to see a variety of places from the outside and get good general info about the place without taking a long time at each location.

I am getting excited just reading everyones posts.. haven't been to London in 5 years and will be back this summer. I have been 4 times now.. so have obviously seen some of the listed sites here.. but will be with my partner who has never been, so will do some repeat visits. The repeat visits I am thrilled to do again are the Tower of London, The V@A and Royal British Museums, and the sites I am looking forward to visiting this time for the first time are Windsor Court and The Churchhill War Rooms. I have enjoyed Hampton Court, St Pauls, Tate Modern and the Portrait Gallery Hyde Park, Kensington
Palace , Buckingham Palace ( both just the exteriors) , as well. Of those will likely try and get back to Hampton Court this time and suppose must show my mate the palace.. ( but really I could go without seeing it agian)

I find sites like Big Ben or Trafalgar Square a bit underwhelming but its such a personal thing.. others love those places.

My faves. Early morn to Tower of London, then Westminster Abbey and Evensong at Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, St. Paul's, Big Ben, Parliament, British Museum (Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, Assyrian statues, and more), British Library (Ritblat Gallery and more), ride a double decker and the Tube, have tea, fish and chips, enjoy an evening of theater, a pub, see Trafalgar Square, the Mall, and Buckingham Palace.
With more time, train to Windsor Castle, London Eye for the glorious view of the city, Imperial War Museum, wander through Harrod's Food Court. Oh, my.
Adore London.

I'm surprised no one mentioned the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London each evening. You must request tickets well in advance and be PROMPT at the time on the ticket. Look it up to see if this is something you would enjoy. Hampton Court, Westminster Abbey, stroll along the Embankment, get a takeaway lunch and eat it in Hyde Park or St James Park, wander food halls at Harrod's just to see the displays and tile work on the walls, people watch in Piccadilly or Victoria Station or Trafalgar Sq for a half hour or so, Churchill War Rooms, British Museum (fabulous Chinese porcelain display; new QEII Hall)...........................the hop on/hop off bus will give you a good overview.

What dates are your trip? Weather may help you decide if you're inside or outside more.

Thornton's toffee is one our favorites---lots of shops with several varieties of toffee in various size pkgs.

Oh - Cary's comment on Thornton toffees - I am addicted to the fudge - the butter tablet and the chocolate smothered...ohhh myyyyyy! Every trip over, we come back with a half dozen packs...and when my mom goes to visit my sister in UK every year, she is tasked with bringing home a half dozen. A few Christmases ago, I had her mail some as a surprise gift for my hubby...sooooo good!

I've enjoyed the British Museum as well. It was our third trip before we hit Westminster Abby. The Museum of London was actually quite interesting, but maybe for another trip. We enjoyed the London Eye (but only once - very $$). The V&A, the walk from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Sq...wandering is just fun as well, but for a first visit, you want to see it all!

I would see a show first off. I'd go to the Tate Modern, National Gallery, and wander around by parliament or see Westminster Abbey during the day. I'd go for Indian food or Sushi or Wagamama Noodles or all three over the span of three days-I might go to a pub, but probably not-although I did like Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese because its food was good and the pub itself was cool. Then, I'd probably go see another show. (Can you tell what I like?) If you haven't been to London before, I'd go see the Churchill War Rooms and/or The Tower and/or The British Library. Also, even though not in London (just a short train ride away), I really did enjoy Harry Potter Studios-it was just amazing to see all the props and sets from the films.

Like others mentioned, there's the touristy stuff and then there's the special things that might appeal on a more personal level. For me, I needed to spend Saturday morning at the Portobello Road market (I've wanted to see it since I first read the Paddington books over 40 years ago), see the hand-written draft of Jane Eyre at the British Library and find the blue plaque at the home of PG Wodehouse.

Other than that, my highlights included the Tower of London, Churchill War Rooms, the V&A and Westminster Abbey. I planned my 5 days by sites near each other at the Underground stops, guided by my Rick Steves book.

If music is an interest, check the website for St-Martin-in-the Fields because their concerts are reasonably priced. There are noon concerts sev days per week featuring local music students and only ask a free will donation. Have lunch in the Crypt (tasty hot & cold offerings at reasonable prices) and check out the brasses where you can do a rubbing if you'd like.

The Book of Morman is hilarious! If you want to be assured of a ticket, go to the concierge in the basement @ Harrods. Their fee is only a couple of pounds and they can get you good seats for any show in town; same day.

Call me a nerd, but I LOVE the British Library. If you are a lover of books, it's a must-see: Jane Austen manuscripts, an original Beuwulf manuscript, Beatles writings, part of the Magna Carta, illuminated Bibles, and much more. While in London last June I spent time meandering through Notting Hill, Cambden markets, and just sitting in Trafalgar Square. And it was perfect!

London is a an amazing city with SOO much to do and see...you really can't go wrong.

We went to London in May, and we LOVED the London Walks tour we took. You get a real flavor of London and sometimes you are off the beaten path that other tourists don't see. We also loved the Tower, but you do need to go right when it opens as it is always a tourist favorite. Our strategy was to go directly to see the Crown Jewels first then visit the rest of buildings and grounds. Be sure to get with a tour guided by the Beefeaters. They are great!

Three days. I love The Tower of London and my granddaughter thinks the fish and chips at the cafeteria are "the best" . If I had 3 days in London to do anything I want I would have tea at a cab stand, do a spot of mudlarking, visit the Temple Church and the Imperial War Museum. I'd get up early and take one of those iconic photos of Parliament from Lambeth Bridge, go to the needlework department at Liberty and maybe have a cream tea while I'm there. There is a tea shop I want to go to too . I think it's in Fullham. I'd have bangers and mash at The Sherlock Holmes on Northumberland street. I'd go back to Kew Gardens, Evensong at either Westmister or Southwark Cathedral, visit a cemetery ( been to Highgate), the V&A and the Borough Market. I need more that 3 days. Lotta dumb stuff yeah? I'll do some of them when I'm there this fall. Does Hampton Court Palace count as part of London? I want to go there too.