London Itinerary suggestions

A lot depends on how much time you plan to stay at each place, but doing the Tower of London, then getting the boat to Greenwich and going to the National Maritime Museum could be a bit too much for one day. I would probably allot a single day to Greenwich.

You might want to think about moving the Tower of London to another day, maybe the day you see Buckingham Palace? That doesn't look like a long day, since you're not touring anything. I know you are seeing a show, but that's not till evening, I'm assuming.

This looks like a nice itinerary and mixing busy days with more relaxed ones. Just a note, The National Gallery is right on Trafalgar Square so it could easily be included on day 1, though the walk from the Palace up the Mall to the square via St James’s Park is pleasant. If you stick with that plan you could also stop by Horse Guards parade and explore Whitehall with the Cenotaph and impressive government buildings on day 7. On day one a nice break from the Gallery is to have lunch in the Crypt of St. Martin’s in the Fields, a classic Wren church.

I agree with Mardee's suggestion. Other than that, I think this is a nice slow pace that leaves plenty of time for walking around. My only (very personal) reservation would be those two bus trip days- they are cramming in a lot each day! If it were me I might think about just doing a day trip to e.g. Canterbury and Oxford on my own instead of those tours. But that is totally a personal decision and as someone who likes to fit a lot into a day I understand why you might choose it.

In terms of things you could add- depending on the time of year, I'd recommend spending some time walking around our lovely parks (Regents Park, Hyde Park, St James Park) or along the Thames. You don't have anything south of the river (other than a maybe for the Globe), but I'd suggest a walk along Southbank. And if you wanted to get out of town a bit, head up to Hampstead Heath and/or Highgate. Or head west to Kew Gardens/Richmond.

I agree with Mardee on that combination day of the Tower and getting out to Greenwich. If you're going up to the Observatory in Greenwich, also be aware that it is at the top of a very steep hill; it took us nearly 30 minutes to walk up there (but there are a few benches along the way)! The museums at Greenwich didn't do much for me, not being a science/math type, but my husband enjoyed them. I enjoyed the wonderful views of London from the Observatory. I like that you've allowed a full day for the V&A, Imperial War Museum (don't forget the Churchill War Rooms, too, but buy an advance ticket), and the British Museum. You could spend a lot of time in each, and probably days in the V&A and British Museum if you were so inclined. Unless you're a fan of driving-on-the-the-other-side-of-the-road adventures and/or planning to make stops en route to York, I'd circle back to Bath, drop off your car, and take the train to York. I'm not sure it would be cheaper, but there are a number of railcards that offer discounts; you might be eligible for one. Check out the Two Together card and the Senior Card. Even after paying for the card, we saved a lot of money, and bonus, if your train(s) are late or cancelled, you get a refund and are booked on another journey. The card would be valid for a year, I believe, so you could use it for all your public transportation travel. If you decide to go that way, bring a passport size photo with you to purchase the pass at the train station. Check with forum contributors Nigel and isn31c; they know a lot about British trains.

Tower of London, Boat to Greenwhich, National Maritime Musuem

I agree that's quite a bit for one day. I just visited the Maritime Museum and found it underwhelming. The Painted Hall is amazing - as long as the obnoxious art installation has left. I found the Observatory to be worthwhile, and the sidewalk along the road to the right has a more gradual incline, although the direct path up isn't really steep. The view is worth the climb. To extend the day you could walk to Canary Wharf using the pedestrian tunnel under the Thames and explore the area, have dinner at Dishoom, etc.

As for day-of tickets at TKTS - now that they are available online, you could start looking now and see which shows offer discounted tix [you'll have to look during London time business hours]. I bought full-price tix in advance and got a front-row seat to Witness for the Prosecution and a very good seat for Cabaret. So it may depend on how picky you are.

If for your tour of Westminster Abbey you haven't gotten anything booked, I'd highly recommend taking a verger tour (you can't book ahead but only pickup tickets upon entering on the day). I visited the Abbey once on a self-guided visit and on my second visit did a verger tour and it was fantastic. The guides are incredibly knowledgeable and you get to see the tomb of Edward the Confessor that is usually off-limits to the public.

I agree with Cat, if the weather cooperates you need to visit the parks.

St. James Park from Buckingham Palace to Royal Horse Guards Parade is a lovely short walk. Time it right and you can watch a bit of colorful pomp with the Changing of the King's Life Guard.

South Bank is another nice stroll passing the Globe Theater, Winchester Palace ruins, Southwark Cathedral, a handful of historic pubs, bridges and more with fantastic views across the river. Just beware of the severe overcrowding at Borough Market.

Wow, thanks everyone for the great advice / suggestions.
Sounds like I will need to rethink the Tower of London day. The Buckingham Palace day I wanted to be close to Leicester square at midday to get discount tickets at the booth, either for a matinee or evening play that day. That won't work if I bump the Tower to that day. So I'll have to think about buying theatre tickets ahead of time instead, or maybe dropping the Maritime Museum from the original Tower day.
Thanks Lesley for the suggestion of lunch at the Crypt of St. Martins. That sounds lovely.
I had not planned for time in the parks, but you have convinced me! I'm hoping that the less busy days will allow for that kind of wandering and it's nice to have a list of recommended parks, as well as the Southbank. Hopefully the weather cooperates!

Wanderlust58, thanks for the train info. I am a bit uneasy about renting a car, but my husband doesn't think it will be a problem, and has been reading up on traffic rules that are different in the UK vs Canada. Circling back to Bath to drop the car wouldn't work, as from the Cotswolds the plan is to drive up to the Peak District for a night and spend the day at Chatsworth House before continuing on to York. I neglected to include that in my original post. But I will check out the Two Together pass for the train from London to Bath, and from York back to London.

I had not heard of the Verger tours at Westminster so thanks Victoria.k97 for that tip.

Any suggestions for our last day? I listed the 3 options I'm considering but am open to other suggestions; or of those 3 options is there one that's a clear winner? Thanks

For your last day you could easily do both Tate Modern and the Globe as they are next to each other. Or you could look at seeing a show at the Globe rather than the West End one night and get to experience it that way! But I'm not sure what the current schedule is. It is fun to see something there.

I should have mentioned earlier- the weekend of 2-4 May is a bank holiday weekend here (most people will have 4 May off work). So the trains etc will be particularly crowded- I suggest getting your ticket to Bath in advance, and show up early to ensure you get a seat (if I remember correctly there aren't seat reservations on that route- tho I am sure someone will correct me if that's wrong). Tickets normally go on sale 12 weeks ahead.

Regarding the railcards, the Two Together card costs £35 and saves you 1/3 off the fare. So basically if your total spend on train tickets is more than £105 it will work out in your favour to get the railcard. You can even get them online: https://www.twotogether-railcard.co.uk/

Also- anyone is eligible for a partial/full refund if your train is delayed/cancelled- not just those with railcards. More info here: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/help-and-assistance/compensation-and-refunds/

Good luck with your planning!

If you are planning on going to the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio, I suggest booking right away. I went in 2024 and spent most of the day there. It was incredible, and I am a fan of the books and movies. It's a very easy train journey from London.

If you aren't interested in the Warner Brothers Studio tour, London Walks does a tour in London of some of the film sites and inspirations for the story.

Check out London Walks. They have great guided tours of different neighborhoods and interests. I try to take one on my visits to London.

Happy Travels and enjoy London!!

Argh. I planned our travel day to Bath on Monday May 4th thinking it would be less busy than a Sunday; didn't think to check the holiday calendar! So thanks for the heads up Cat VH. I'll definitely be getting those tickets in advance and arrive early to hopefully get a seat - although really as a visitor the locals should get first dibs LOL

Thanks Stacie for the thumbs up for the Harry Potter Studios. We enjoyed the books and movies and it sounded like a fun day. Didn't think I'd have to get tickets this far in advance but being a holiday weekend I can see why. Tough having to choose between that and the Tate / globe theatre though. Man 12 days in London just isn't enough!

I wanted to be close to Leicester square at midday to get discount tickets at the booth, either for a matinee or evening play that day.

Again, you can now buy discounted day-of tix online. No need to go to the booth. Easy to research from home to get an idea of which shows might be available. But buying in advance has its advantages...

That makes things a lot easier. We can then go to the Tower first thing on the 27th, and see Buckingham Palace / Trafalger Square in the afternoon, west end show in the evening. That makes May 1st much more relaxed and my husband (who is an engineer) will be happy to have more time to nerd out at Greenwhich LOL. Thanks for the tip!

Definitely no need to wait in line for same day tickets, several ways to purchase them online without that hassle. Pay attention to the timeframes though, I believe we got same day rush tickets at exactly 10:00 a.m. and you had to be right on it (sold out within 10 minutes). Research ahead will pay off.

But as noted, you can get tickets ahead of time, and they aren't that expensive buying ahead. I loved Hadestown and there are tickets as low as 26 pounds available for your dates now. Rush tickets would only be a few pounds less at best (but possibly nicer seats of course). I'd rather buy for a show I want to see rather than hope one I want to see has rush tickets.

PS pay attention to run times - e.g. Les Mis is 3 hours long. That was a big long slog to sit through while still being a bit jet lagged on day 2.

I think the Maritime Museum is well worth seeing when in Greenwich, especially the material on the age of Nelson, Captain Cook and Polar exploration. Another thing in that general area (just across the river near Canary Wharf) that I think is a bit underrated that it sounds like your husband would especially like is the Museum of London Docklands. I would go to Tate Britain rather than Tate Modern, but that's based on my personal taste in art, and the last thing I would do with a day in London is Harry Potter, but again, that's just my personal preference. Sounds like one or both of you has an interest in military history and aviation, so in addition to IWM and RAF Museum, you might want to check out online the Battle of Britain Bunker in Uxbridge, which is the real deal, something a lot of visitors have never heard of, and makes a very interesting half day out in suburban London.

Thanks CL and Slate for the suggestions. We are history buffs and the Battle of Britain Bunker looks fascinating. But we'd have to cut something to fit that in unfortunately. I'll give my husband the choice of that or the RAF museum but he's a plane guy so I think the RAF will win out.

Sorry I am chiming in late. One other thought on your day at Buckingham Palace. There is a special exhibition going on at Buckingham Palace while you are there. It is titled, "Queen Elizabeth II: Her life in Style" and it is in the King's Gallery. It will showcase the clothing, jewelry, hat, shoes, wedding and coronation dresses, etc. worn by the Queen over her life. Not sure if your husband would enjoy this but I plan to go and thought it was worth mentioning.

I'm always significantly affected by jetlag and would not plan to see an evening play on my first full day in Europe. If by some miracle I was functioning normally that day, I'd look at ticket availability in the late afternoon.

I struggle to imagine a tour from London that covers Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick Castle in a single day. Oxford alone has a lot to see and can occupy more than one full day, and it's easy to reach by train from London. (With a car, it could be sort of on your way to Bath.) ViaMichelin estimates the driving time for that tour at about 5 hours, which leaves precious little time for stepping off the bus and sightseeing.

I haven't been to Warwick Castle, but from what I've read it seems to have been massively gimmicked up in order to appeal to children. As an adult, it wouldn't be my choice of a castle to visit; Windsor and Hampton Court sound a lot more appealing to me.

Thanks Tu Vas ou? for the BP info. Might be tough to talk hubbie into that one, but good to know about the exhibit, thanks!

*I'm always significantly affected by jetlag and would not plan to see an evening play on my first full day in Europe". acraven, yeah you're probably right. I was hoping that by not doing anything the day we arrive we would be good to go the next day. But end of day, low lights, comfy seats..... LOL. Might have to move that to a different evening.

I struggle to imagine a tour from London that covers Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon and Warwick Castle in a single day. It is a long day. I think the tour website says 10 hours. My sister has done that tour - as well as the other long day to Dover, Leeds etc. - and really enjoyed it. I wouldn't want to do a whole vacation that way, and in an ideal world I'd have several days to explore Oxford alone. Sadly we don't have endless time so this is a way to at least get a snapshot of these places. For someone like me that has never been in England before, I also see the hours on the bus not just as time wasted, but a way to see the countryside around London. At least for the occasional day.

Perhaps I missed where you are flying from...how long is your flight? Are you east or west coast of N. America?
Even from the west coast, I would do a show on the second night, particularly if it is a lively musical. (fwiw, I'm in my late 60s)

We're flying out of Calgary, Alberta, about an 8 1/2 hour overnight flight. A show on the second night might be doable, but we would also be at the National Gallery all day, which is tiring in itself. Since we can move the show to a different night (and with it the National Gallery to a different day), probably not a bad idea. I'm very thankful that we are able to have 12 days in London and don't have to pack every day and evening. Hope I have the energy in my late 60's that you do!

Keep in mind that admission to the National Gallery is free. Rather than spend a full day, consider breaking your visit into a couple shorter trips.

We (also in our 60s!) are doing a similar (reverse!) trip in May. 4 days in York, train to Liverpool (for all things Beatles!) for 4 days, train to Cheltenham to pick up rental car (Hertz offered the best rates for us) and drive to Chipping Campden for 10 days exploring the Cotswolds with several day trips (including Bath), drop car off back in Cheltenham and catch train to London for 10 days. I'd consider adding the Churchill War Rooms to your itinerary...we saw that 16 years ago and it was so interesting - I can't wait to return. We have purchased our 2together rail pass online already (super easy). We have booked theater tickets in York which your might consider as it sounds like you are a theater lover. Have a great trip!

Have a great (reverse) trip kathyhunt3! Thanks for the suggestion of theatre tickets in York. It had not occured to me but I will definitely check out tickets for the days we are there :)

If your husband is an interested in military history, a possible addition is the Churchill War Rooms. Neither of us are particularly interested in military history and we wound up spending six hours there. Fascinating.

We usually stay on the Kensington Palace end of Hyde Park in Bayswater and a nice day is a wander past KP, through Hyde Park, over past Royal Albert Hall then on to the V&A and Natural History Museum.

You'll definitely need to go back!

Hello klcemom,

This is the first I’m seeing your post, and it started several days ago. I wonder, as of today, Tues., 1/27, whether you’ve altered sone of your original itinerary in your original posting? As of now, April 23 thru 27 shows as follows:

April 23 – National Gallery
- West end show (hopefully same day tickets from the TKTS booth in Leicester Square)
April 24 - British Museum
April 25 - Golden Tours day trip – Leeds Castle, canterbury, Dover, Greenwhich River boat ride
April 26- RAF Aircraft Museum
April 27- Buckinham Palace (just outside, not inside), Trafalgar square, West end show

But based on some of the responses you and others have posted since the original, it seemed that you were looking at getting same-day TKTS deals the same day you were going to see the exterior of Buckingham Palace. Based on the calendar appearing above, are you now planning on attending a play (musical?) on April 27, so you ned to get to the Leicester Square TKTS on 4/27, not 4/23? Just to keep everything clear, does that need to be rewritten?

Some other observations and suggestions:

The National Gallery on April 23 will be fantastic for your first full day in London - it is, arguably, the best art museum in the country, and it’s free! But it sits right on Trafalgar Square, so you could move the square from April 27 to April 23, assuming you weren’t planning on spending hours and hours on the Square. Then, Leicester Square (and TKTS) is just a 5-minute walk behind the National Gallery, so you could get to both Squares that day, if you actually planned to see a show on April 23.

If your desired show date is truly April 27, again, then you’d want to get to TKTS on the 27th, but I’d still group Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery together on a single day, and not on separate dates.

It appears that you’ve got Greenwich-related activities on 2 separate days, right? The boat ride that is part of an organized day trip to other parts of England, and then a separate visit to Greenwich for the Maritime Museum? Any plans for the Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory, Queen’s House, Old Royal Naval College (Painted Hall)?That could all definitely fill an entire day.

Yes I've completely redone my itinerary, based on some wonderful suggestions in this forum. I've moved the first west end show to the 27 so we're not fighting jetlag trying to stay awake. Also trying to keep the days on either side of our long Golden Tour days a bit lighter and avoiding a late night before an early tour departure. And keeping an entire day for Greenwich and all the things to see in that area. We'll get a bit of a look at Greenwich on the April 25 tour but won't have time for much. I'm hoping to fit the Churchill rooms in somewhere too, but we'll see. Here's the new version:

April 22 – Arrive 12:05 pm. Check into Airbnb, explore neighborhood, Buckingham palace 15 -20 minute walk. St. James park beside BP
April 23 – - British Museum
April 24 - RAF Aircraft Museum
April 25 - Golden Tours day trip – Leeds Castle, canterbury, Dover, Greenwhich River boat ride
April 26- Tower of London , cross Tower bridge for South Bank Walk
April 27- National Gallery, Trafalgar square , lunch in the crypt of st martin
- West end show
April 28 – Westminster Abbey tour, walk through St James Park, Horse Guards Parade, Thames Clipper from Westminster Peir to Blackfriars pier; St Paul’s cathedral (5 pm choral service)
April 29 – Victoria and Albert Museum
April 30 – Golden Tours day trip – Oxford, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwick Castle
May 1 –Thames Clipper from Westminster Pier to Greenwhich , National Maritime Musuem, back to flat, west end show?
May 2 – Imperial War Museum , west end show?
May 3 – Harry Potter tour
May 4 – travel to Bath

It’s great that you’re getting your London itinerary more fine-tuned. I had a couple more things to add, but couldn’t gosh that last night. With what you’re looking at now, maybe these won’t be of any help, although I’ll throw these out, so you’ll know.

Performance on April 23: Looks like you’re considering possibly seeing more than one show while in London. Whether jet-lag might be any factor on the first couple of days of your trip, I wanted to let you know about a venue we discovered while in London last month, just before Christmas. Wilton’s Music Hall is on the ast side (not West) of London, and it’s an old-time, relatively intimate place. Apparently there were music halls all over London back in the 1800’s, and while this one fell on some hard times at one point, it’s being lovingly restored, and we went to a Christmas Pantomime performance there that was enjoyable and relatively inexpensive. They aren’t having anything in early May, but they do happen to have something on April 23. It’s only 70 minutes, not 2 or 3 hours, which might be easier after your day at the National Gallery, with the British museum coming up the following day. The Over 60 price is £27.50, which is less than the £30 regular price (hey, it’s £2.50 off!), and at the moment, seats M8 and M9, the exact seats we had last month, are available. The seats in front of them aren’t directly in front, so you won’t have somebody’s head right in front of your view of the stage. It’s 13 rows from the front, but that’s close enough for a good view, and close to the rear entrance/exit door, and access to the restrooms. Plus, a very interesting performance hall. The show, if you’re interested, is a twist on the Back to the Future movies (and there’s currently a Back to the Future musical in London, longer and pricier), focusing on Biff, the antagonist in the movies. Biff to the Future is wrapping up on April 25, but there’s a show at 7pm on April 23. It was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe festival last year, and has a notable director. Just a thought.

And second, if Greenwich on May 1 is just about the Maritime Museum, then this might not be useful, but I wanted to share what we did in 2024. That year, in April/May (nice time of year, but be prepared for some potential downpour rainstorms), we had several weeks in the London area. With that much time, we got a 10-day London Pass. The Go City company has passes for several big cities around the world, and you can get passes for one to 10 days. The longer the pass, the cheaper they are per day, but it takes some looking into to see if a Pass is right for a trip. We got more than our money’s worth, for what we wanted to see, and for the time we had.

Where a London Pass might make sense for you is on your Greenwich day. A pass includes Thames Clipper to/from Greenwich, and entry to several of the sights at Greenwich. If you’re only interested in the Maritime Museum, again, the London Pass won’t save you money. If, however, you’re also interested in some or all of the Cutty Sark, Royal Observatory, Painted Hall, Queen’s House museum, and the Fan Museum, along with the boat rides, you could save a lot, although not spending too long in each attraction to fit them all in. If you get an Explorer Pass, with a maximum of 7 attractions and 30 days to see them, you could see some Greenwich sights and also some other London attractions all on the Explorer Pass, including the RAF Aircraft Museum, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, or even the musical Wicked. The Go City Website offers a bunch of discounts for buying passes Online, so check the Website and do the math, and you might save quite a bit. Note: for Westminster Abbey, our entry was covered on the pass, but we had to stand in the regular line to get in, which was slow. It took quite some time, in a light rainstorm, while people who’d paid for a reserved tine (unrelated to the London Pass) got right in, through a separate door. At the Tower of London and on the Thames Clipper boats, London Pass holders got a separate express entry line. Every attraction has different procedures.

Have a good trip, and even better if you can save a few pounds!