London Itinerary - Need Help! (Solo Trip - Creative/Vegan)

Have you tickets for Warner Brothers Studio?

@Camborne2018 Yes! The tickets are for 4pm - Just the general studio tour.

Rather than head back to your hotel for lunch on Saturday, why not use the cafe at the V&A?

@wasleys - That's great info! Didn't know there was one. I'll do that! Thank you.

All the big museums have cafes and veganism is very well catered for, so while obviously you may want to eat at specific vegan restaurants and cafes, you won’t have to.

It’s a packed schedule but assume you’ll be back and this is just a taster.

How committed are you to Acai Girls in Belgravia? Because that seems quite a commitment just for breakfast and it might make space for more sightseeing.

@goldengirl - Thanks so much for the response!

Yeah... I saw it more as a taster... but am I missing out on alot by just taking 1 or 2 of those things an actually doing a tour like the Tower of London.. or think it's okay to try to see all the spots?

As for Acai Girls... not sold, I just tried to pick a highly rated Acai place that was different from the others I was trying.. that near Buckingham Palace - 15min walk away - and it looked like it had great reviews.

am I missing out on alot by just taking 1 or 2 of those things an actually doing a tour like the Tower of London.. or think it's okay to try to see all the spots?

Given the length of your visit, seeing things from the outside is a great idea. But try to build in time for odd things that suddenly take your fancy.

Obviously food is a priority for you but I just wanted to reassure you that you’ll always find vegan food without having to make too much of a special effort.

A good source for all things current in London is the online magazine TimeOut. www.timeout.com/london.

@goldengirls - That is really great to know... it's usually opposite when I'm traveling. Glad to hear! Thank you!

Thank you @lauriann!! I'll take a look.

I suggest checking out the walks offered by London Walks (walks.com). They have daytime and evening options. If the weather is iffy I would skip the Eye and replace it with the National Gallery - you'll be near there anyway on your walk. I'd also forgo the bus ride to an out of the way restaurant - you can find plenty of vegan food options closer to the places you're walking. The St. Martins in the Field crypt cafe has good food (and likely something vegan).

Also your first day is probably going to be a slog with jet lag, unless you're an experienced long haul traveler, give yourself some grace (and a lot of coffee).

@CL Thanks for the suggestion on walks.com - I'll take a look & the switch idea with the London Eye/National Gallery!

For jet lag... I am not an experienced traveler, but I download an app "time shifter"... basically you log your trip and it tells you when to sleep leading up to the trip to avoid that...

BUT, any other advice?

For evening activities, you might consider a London Walks tour. These are wonderful and have been going on for decades. A lot of them are during the day but they have quite a few in the evenings. If you're a beer drinker, you might enjoy their Hidden Pubs of Olde London Town walk, which I loved! But there are others. You can search by date to see what's available. You should book ahead (no need to prepay). You can pay when you get there. I believe it's £20 for an adult although discounts are available. Their leaders are really really good, and I highly recommend these walks.

The St. Martins in the Field crypt cafe has good food (and likely something vegan).

I agree with this rec. I love the Cafe in the Crypt; not only for the wonderful and healthy food, but also because of the atmosphere. There aren't too many places where you can sit amongst the tombstones while you eat. :-) It's very central, too, right off Trafalgar Square.

ETA: Another possible evening event would be to see Evensong at Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's. It would give you an opportunity to see the inside of both places (I would vote for WA if you only have time for one, but your choice might be determined by location). During the week, both Evensongs begin at 5 pm, except on Sunday when they begin at 3 pm. Admission is free.

Just remembered that the National Gallery is open till 9pm on Fridays so you could do that after dinner since you’re eating so early. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/events/friday-lates

Also: when in Britain, try our Indian food! Sagar’s is a good small chain of mostly vegan with some vegetarian food. https://www.sagarrestaurant.co.uk/menu

I love the Timeshifter app and it has worked well for me on 2 international trips. I had terrible jet lag in April 2023 so started using Time shifter for a trip in August 2023 and again October 2024. You do need to start ahead on it so make sure you've got yourself in gear. I also recommend a sleep mask for the plane. I put it on as soon as I've finished dinner even if I'm not sleepy as it's a signal to others that you are "sleeping". I do some breathing patterns for relaxation and boom, I'm asleep!

I'm also vegan. The last time I ate at a specific vegan restaurant near V&A it was before Covid and unfortunately that branch of the small chain did not make it thru. Depending on exactly where your hotel is in Soho, their main place might be convenient for a quick meal. It's called Koshari Street and is Egyptian fast food. A local Farmers Market here in Idaho used to have a guy fixing Koshari which is where I first heard of it. He was Egyptian and used his grandmothers recipe (he was also a PhD who taught at the local university, hahaha!).

Do you use the Happy Cow website/app? That is usually pretty reliable for pointing out some interesting options.

it seems that your trip is right away? If so there a couple of things to be aware of ,versus next spring or summer.

I don't see any discussion of how (other than the bus to one special restaurant) you will get around. Do the times you give for places include transportation time?

Are you young and adventourous and maybe will use hire bikes (Boris or Lime Bikes) or hire e-scooters, or are you more for buses and tubes?

What's your plan for getting to and from the airport (which one?)? Are you expecting a 3 hour check in time?

If this is your first trip, do you have your passport?

Is the venue for your professional shows close to your hotel in Soho?

you have Sunday 9am to look around the outside of St Pauls for 15 minutes.

It is a shame that you'll be just missing the local colour. The two main services are at 10:00 and 11:15, and the fabulous bells are rung by the award winning band for 45 minutes prior, so you'll just miss that. If you are a bit later, the best sound is in Paternoster Square or at the Paul.

@goldengirl - Thanks for the heads up on National Gallery - thats huge!

@pam - About to download the Timeshifter app, thank you!! As for the vegan recs, I will look into that - appreciate you! I love Happy Cow, I will take a look at whats highly rated on there as well!

@nigel - All very helpful things to think about - thank you!
- Getting around will mostly be walking, tube, or bus. However…. I didnt even think about bikes/scooters, I’d love to test those out - thanks for the heads up!
- Getting from Heathrow I was thinking the tube… about 45min to central London? Was told it’s the cheapest vs taking over faster options?
- Yes my first trip! Wont forget the passport!
- And yes the venue is 4min walk from my hotel in Soho!
- AWESOME insight on St. Pauls!! I’ll adjust my times for that!

Saturday: 4 PM - 7:30 PM: Harry Potter Studio Tour (self-guided). + Dinner there?

No, I would return to Soho where you have plenty of choices for dinner.

Friday:
- Piccadilly Circus (15 min – Quick look)
- Buckingham Palace (15 min – View from outside)
- Westminster Abbey (15 min – View from outside)
- Palace of Westminster/Big Ben (15 min – View from outside)
Sunday:
- St. Paul’s Cathedral (15 min – View from outside).
- Tower Bridge (15 min – Quick visit)
- Tower of London (15 min – View from outside)
- London Wall (15 min – Quick visit)

You have a whole list of things you want to view quickly from outside.
Normally I wouldn't suggest this but you do not have long to stay in London, and you want "a glimpse" of certain landmarks.
So I suggest one of the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus rides around the city which will give you the "glimpse" you want.
This one is listed in Rick Steves' London guidebook:
https://www.bigbustours.com/en/london/london-routes-and-tour-maps

This way, you can get it over with quickly and move on to things you wish to devote more time to. I suggest staying on the bus for the entire route to get the full experience. You can get off at any stop you wish, look around, get back on the bus and continue. You can also bring a sandwich with you and eat while riding atop one of the open top tour buses.

Look around at the different bus tours; there are several companies which provide them.
Usually a boat ride on the Thames River is included in the price.
I believe this will be an efficient way of getting just a quick look at multiple sights.
For any destinations not covered, you can still walk to them or take the tube or a London city bus to see them.

This bus ride price covers a 24-hour period, which means you can do the complete ride all day long if you wish. Or use it for transportation--I would not normally suggest buying the ticket just for transportation. You might want to do the ride again after dark, to see the city lights. The bridges are especially lovely after dark with their lights on, reflecting in the water of the river.
Actually with Big Bus Tours, there are 3 routes; see the map on the link I have given you.
The Blue Route, the Red Route, and the Green link. More information here:
https://www.bigbustours.com/en/london/london-bus-tours