Itinerary Westminster, Kew, Iconic sights day

I highly recommend the river cruise to Kew Gardens. I have seen Little Venice but not done a boat tour there, but I don't see how it could possibly be as good as the one to Kew

I'll start with one of my favorite things to do when traveling--antiques and flea markets! I have been to Portobello several times and have struggled to find vintage goodies that appealed to me; important to note, I am more a collector of pre-1950s vintage odds and ends, not true antiques. There are numerous co-op style shops with several vendors, definitely full of old things and I always enjoy poking around--but they aren't always open even on Saturday, or not in their stall and the items aren't always marked so hard to decide if I want to hang around or come back later to find out? Outdoors are several stands and interesting stuff to be found. Prices are decent, sellers open to negotiation. After the antiques section there is food and more garage-sale type stands, and the area has a lot of charity shops and some good places for lunch, so my advice if you go, get there early as it suddenly gets very crowded after 11 am. So, whether you go or not might depend on what you're looking for.

As someone who never misses a chance to get inside the Tower of London, I'd say it's utterly fascinating and not to be missed.

I toured Westminster Abbey and St Paul's last year and loved both--repeat of the Abbey after first visit in 2011, and first time to St Paul's, very different in terms of their history and I was surprised by how much I loved St Paul's.

Kew for your last day sounds perfect, especially with Richmond added...I took the tube there so no advice about the boat.

Things we may forgo, Tour of Buckingham palace, Tower of London, and
Portobello market

Personally, I'd kick the Tower of London much further up the must-do list. Along with Westminster Abbey, it's probably the most important historical site in London. Understanding that my interests may not be yours - and that's fine! - I'd skip the market and interior of Buckingham in favor of the Tower: read upon William the Conquerer. Also be sure to take a free Yeoman Warder's tour when you first arrive.

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/#gs.l7yk23
https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/whats-on/yeoman-warder-tours/#gs.l7yibo

Yes, St. Paul's is impressive indeed but Westminster is much, much older and, as its been the coronation church of all but 2 monarchs since 1066, and the interment church of 30 Kings and Queens plus oodles of other illustrious persons, it has a long and interesting story so if you had to pick one over the other...
https://www.westminster-abbey.org/history/explore-our-history

I agree with Christa, I vote for visiting the Tower of London. It's huge and so dang interesting! Do the Yeoman Warder tour (free) because that is the only way you can get into the Church of Saint Peter ad Vincula where Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, wives of Henry VIII are buried.

I suggest taking the train out to Kew, doing the gardens and then taking the boat back when you want to have a sit down and watch the scenery pass by. I will say that I am not much for boat trips and this was longer than I wanted it to be, lol. For us Kew, including the trip out and back, took most of the day but I was with 2 avid gardeners and 1 retired forester who loved the tree species they have!

Are you familiar with the blog The Lady in London? She has a bunch of DIY walking tours. I enjoyed the one in Kensington. I did it in reverse (the route, not me!) starting at Atherstone Mews and Cromwell Rd and continued about halfway thru.

https://www.aladyinlondon.com/2017/04/self-guided-walk-kensington-london.html

Not sure when you are going, but if it between May and November this year, the Tower of London will have the added feature of 30,000 poppies. Unlike 2014, these will mostly be inside the Tower area and not in the moat. So you need would need to enter. It’s an opportunity to see something different there.

Pam, that is a good idea to take the boat back from Kew when our feet will need a break.
Although would it be too much to try to do Hampton court that day as well?

I have several of the lady in london's walks saved. I don't know if I'll have time for all. I thought I could do Nottinghill or Kensington on our first afternoon, maybe group the South Kensington and Chelsea ones together for the next day. We are doing a day north of central London so she has two for Hampstead and Hampstead Heath.

KB oh! poppies wow that would be cool.

You're only giving yourself an hour for Westminter Abbey before leaving to catch an 11am boat to Kew. Will you be OK with a quick peak? Same question with Hampton Court. I've never been to Kew Gardens and don't know how long it deserves but Hampton is huge. We spent 6 hours there.

“Westminster Abbey tour 9:30, Thames River boat to Kew at 11am, lunch? Kew few hours, explore Richmond. Add Hampton court?”

I am exhausted just thinking about this day. (smile) Definitely do NOT add Hampton Court. You need at least half a day to get there, see it properly, and get back into town.

“Should I switch these days to allow us to visit Borough market when it is open? How nuts is this place with crowds?”

If you are at all a foodie, I would say “yes, visit when it is open.” There is no “visit” when it is closed, frankly. You will see the space, but miss the experience. (Although if you do visit when it’s closed, you could pop into Southwark Cathedral, which is lovely, and often overlooked. You could budget 30 minutes for that, to get a flavor.)

As for how nuts it is? IT IS NUTS!!! If you do elect to go, get there right when it opens, before the crowds become oppressive. It is also an ideal place to have lunch, so, two birds. I recommend Padella for excellent pasta: https://www.padella.co/ - or for superb oysters at a great price, try Richard Haward’s Oysters: https://richardhawardsoysters.shop/

“Tour both Westminster and St. Pauls? They both look beautiful. Worth it?”

Both are way beyond “worth it.” If you have to choose just one, others are saying to visit Westminster Abbey, and I concur. But they are both magnificent, each in its own way.

“Our other days consist of exploring Kensington, Chelsea, Regents Park, Hampstead, Marylebone, Mayfair
Things we may forgo, Tour of Buckingham palace, Tower of London, and Portobello market. (I love antiques but not trinkets, Is this wise or am I missing out?)”

Portobello Market has real antiques, but also trinkets. It can be packed. If you love antiques and are in Kensington or Chelsea, you can just duck into any small local antique shop you pass (and there are many) to scratch that itch.

Hampstead is gorgeous but a bit of a jaunt from central “tourist” London. With only 4.5 days, you might want to give it a miss, in the interests of time. Remember what Rick always says: “Assume you will be back.” :-)

“Is the river cruise to the Kew lovely? vs maybe a boat cruise in Little Venice? or both?”

Remember to say “Kew Gardens” rather than “the Kew.” :-)

Little Venice is adorable, but more neighborhood-y and less of a “major” site. I love it there, but might be tempted to leave it out of a short visit.

Agree that you can leave out a tour of Buckingham Palace. Concur with those who have suggested that The Tower of London might move closer to the top of your list. It is MAGNIFICENT. It is OLD. It is AMAZING. Enough said.

Hope you have a blast!

Westminster Abbey at 9:30 and a boat at 11 only gives you a quick walkthrough of the Abbey, no Verger tour and no Queen's Galleries.

If you've never been before, you really should see the Tower of London. So much history and the Yeoman Warder tours are interesting.

London Bridge is nothing special, I think you want Tower Bridge.

Slow down and enjoy London and all it has to offer.

A walk from Buckingham Palace through the beautiful St. James Park and on to Horse Guards Parade for a bit of royal pomp with the Changing of the King's Lifeguards at 11 would be a lovely morning.

Thank you Volva. So no shortening of proper names. I will be sure not to do that. (trying to type fast and multi task). I would love to know any other things I can be aware of as a traveler to England.
Ok so I will take out Hampton Court and take our time at Kew Gardens. Richmond was a suggestion from another post I made as it is somewhat near Kew Gardens and has a relaxed atmosphere.
I can take out visiting Little Venice.
The theme of our trip is English Gardens as we will be traveling to the countryside to see beautiful gardens.
The appeal of Hampstead was I read the area was gorgeous and away from the crowds of London. I was hoping to wander the streets and see resident gardens and pop into shops etc on the high street that would be a bit quieter than more central. Maybe pop over to the Hill Pergola. I would like to know though if that's kinda underwhelming to fly halfway around the world for ; That would be a whole new day I could open up out of my 4.5 days.

I love Kew Gardens- at Christmas time..... I found it a little disappointing during the summer. I love gardens and visit quite a few while traveling. Kew gardens are okay, but I would never give up the Tower of London or Hampton Court Palace to go to them (except for Christmas at Kew- and that is all about lights).

Re Hampstead, I think what volva is saying is that you have only a very limited time in London, so you may wish to prioritise some of the more obvious sites.

Having said that, I love Hampstead, and quite often visit - Hampstead Heath is great (and you can visit Kenwood House) the shopping area is small but upmarket and interesting, and there's a nice historic pub on the heath with a big outdoor area - The Spaniards.

In short, it's a smart and very expensive residential area (I once saw a school kid in the back of a chauffer driven Bentley) with lovely homes and gardens, plus the heath.

what was said about shortening names is important.

In another place you said, "Tour both Westminster and St. Pauls?". Now from context I expect that refers to Westminster Abbey. But it could easily refer to Westminster Cathedral - Catholic - where the Abbey is Protestant, or it could mean a walking tour of the City of Westminster, or it could mean a visit to the seat of Parliament, the Houses of Parliament often referred to as Westminster.

Now about these gardens. I saw a question asking when the trip will be. Not knowing, I'll presume summer as you want gardens.

Maybe reconsider Hampton Court Palace in that case. Hampton Court Palace is really a place of two halves - there is the brick and mortar ancient palace which in my opinion is fabulous, and over many centuries and styles depending on the monarch of the day, and then there are the gardens. Completely surrounding the Palace, and all the way to the River. Many different styles of gardens, many flower gardens, including the ancient Vine. I could (and many times have) spend all day there just in the gardens. So much to see, of such great quality, in such a small area.

Kew Gardens is different, and very special. But of all the gardens there, only the long borders are really what you might call flower gardens. Incredible trees, and what's in the greenhouses is completely special, but if you are after beautiful flowers, it isn't a flower garden in the traditional sense.

There are no tours of the boring concrete London Bridge - you almost certainly mean Tower Bridge.

A day covering Westminster Abbey, Kew, Richmond and Hampton Court is completely impossible. To be honest just travelling between them if you're going to take the boat will itself take up most of the day without actually seeing anything.

Your day(s) walking around posh suburbs could easily be completely dropped for me in favour of more interesting sights. A day at Greenwich would be way above any of that for me, for example. Or use a day to go to Hampton Court.

Hampstead is a lovely place, it has the deepest Underground station too.

It is a very pricey, very exclusive. I am sure that a lot of the properties have beautiful gardens but you won't see most of them. With very expensive houses and the people in them, go high walls, thick hedges and other blocks to inquisitive eyes. So you can walk around, see the tops of some houses and plenty of walls and hedges rather than gardens.

Tours by Foot and a Lady in London are two YouTube channels that are excellent and both provide videos of walks in Hampstead which would give you an idea if you are interested.

Hi OP! It isn’t that you don’t shorten proper names (the Brits do it a LOT - think “South Ken” and “Buck’s House!”) it is that you need to be careful. If you say Kensington to mean Kensington High Street, for example, and ask for directions without saying the whole name, you might end up in Kensington Olympia, or South Kensington. So when in doubt, just say the whole name, to be on the safe side. :-)

Amd another quick tip: when ordering an Uber (don’t know if you will, but you might) you should be sure to enter the postcode of the address where you are going. There are a lot of very similarly named streets in London, and it is easy to get tripped up.

I would prioritise Hampton Court over Kew. Kew Gardens are just gardens. Hampton Court is so much more with all its history. It also has gardens to explore.

What Helen said -- Hampton Court has gorgeous gardens. If you have any interest in the Tudors, I'd prioritize that over Kew. (And I love Kew Gardens.)

when ordering an Uber (don’t know if you will, but you might) you should be sure to enter the postcode of the address where you are going. There are a lot of very similarly named streets in London, and it is easy to get tripped up.

Using a London Black Cab the driver will have passed The Knowledge and will know both exactly where you are going and precisely how to get there - no phone needed

If you are interested in gardens and planning to go to Hampstead, you can visit one of the nicest gardens in London at Fenton House: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/fenton-house-and-garden

Just take note of the opening times as it's not open every day.

I know others have said this, but just to reinforce- to me, Tower of London is the absolute top site to visit in London.

Nigel: so true! Black cab drivers are a freaking national treasure! My husband has NOOOOO sense of direction and relies on them when he is out and about and lost. (lol)

I still use Uber when traffic is bad enough that I want to lock in a price, and not sit in the back in traffic watching the meter tick up… and up… and up… (along with my blood pressure).

But yes. Black cabs FTW.