London - Need Help with Specific Attractions for Itinerary

You can put Westminster Abbey and the Churchill War rooms together easily on one day. Start at Westminster Abbey where I highly recommend signing up for the Verger’s tour upon arrival. Plan to spend at least 2-3 hours there. Take a lunch break. Take time to walk through the park and surrounding area. 2:30 timed entry for Churchill War rooms.

Tower of London. Avoid White Tower if stairs are an issue. Beefeater tours are ok, but it is also well signed in exhibits.
Tower pier next to it makes it easy to do a short ride on the Thames afterwards.

St Paul's- not sure what people were disappointed by - I love it (albeit when pressed I prefer Westminster Abbey as it's much older). But if you have an interest in Wren's redesign of London post-Great Fire, it's unmissable. "Si monumentum requiris, circumspice" (if you seek my monument, look around)..

Tours- I'm not a tour person, so probably not the right person to ask. I've never seen the point, particularly in museums where everything labeled. Surely you'd prefer to explore at your own pace?

Portobello Road is worth seeing, but London had a lot of good markets - is there something you're interested in particular? Camden and Spitalfields are favourites of mine.

I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and loved it. Really loved it.

I have no memory of how long I stayed but I walk slowly and with some difficulty due to an arthritic knee. I also have to sit a lot for the same reason. I could not see as much as I would have liked to and it probably took me more time than a younger person with no mobility issues.

There was a visiting show that was sold out. I can not remember who or what but it had to do with fashion.

Wonderful courtyard that I also loved.

Well, I should state that I typically don't like tours and would forego one for the V&A and the British Museum. Both of them are easy to walk around in and if you have a list ahead of time of things you would like to see, you can head for those first.

Westminster Abbey is very doable on your own, but many people here like the verger's tours. One tour I would recommend is the Hidden Highlights tour, which explores some areas you cannot see on your own. It also includes the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Gallery, which is usually an extra fee to enter.

I agree with Simon about St. Paul's. If you're on the fence about both cathedrals, definitely spend more time at WA, as it is a wonder. But you could always head over to St. Paul's in the early evening for Evensong, which is just lovely. That would give you a chance to see the cathedral but save you some time.

I went to Portobello Market many years ago and enjoyed it, but haven't felt the need to go back. I would choose Camden Market. I missed it this time, but plan on going next year.

Another "not a tour" person. I have taken the Beefeater Tour. Others have disagreed with me, but I found it a bit too "off with the head" for myself. Excellent raconteurs and guides, however. Tour is free and you can walk away. I saw the Crown Jewels then joined a tour in process.

I prefer studying the websites of museums and planning my own routes of interest to a guided tour.

Portobello Raod Market - I have gone on Saturdays for the antiques. The arcades have good quality items and I have made purchases. The outside vendors are lesser quality, but prices are lower. I arrived soon after opening, no crowds. Left around 11:30 as it was becoming "full". My last visit was a few years ago 2019 or 2022, don't remember which trip...

Are you aware of the times for vendor sales and the items available on different days? I wouldn't go on a "mostly food" day, but that's me. I can go to farmer's markets at home. This website is helpful: https://visitportobello.com/where

I did not do any tours as I prefer to visit at my own pace.

Westminster Abbey- I spent about 3 hours here, including the Jubilee Gallery. It was a bit crowded, but manageable. Loved it!

V & A museum - spent about 5 hours here, including a lunch of tea and cake in their cafeteria. Really liked this one, a nice change from all the paintings in the National Gallery.

British Museum - Quite crowded, but really enjoyed it. The ancient sculptures and artifacts are worth the crowds. Rosetta Stone always had a big crowd; I was satisfied to just get a glimpse. Spent about 4-5 hours, including lunch.

Tower of London - about 4 hours. It was quite crowded, but manageable. See the Crown Jewels first. They’re ok, glad I saw them, don’t need to see them again. The White Tower and its museum do have a lot of stairs, but go if you can, it’s amazing. I can’t do a lot of stairs at once, but managed ok since I could space it out and rest a bit.

I didn’t visit the other places on your list. Have fun!

Cathedrals you’re probably not spending more than 90 minutes in. Are tours within them worthwhile? Some of that depends on how versed you are in British history, and if you’re the type to guidebook-prep for a sight like this. We did a highlight tour of St. Paul’s and I thought it was good but perhaps a bit unnecessary if you know anything about the high-profile figures in the crypt. That is, you don’t need a tour to appreciate them, but it’s not without value. Idk who’s disappointed in St. Paul’s, that’s some jaded travelers there.

Churchill War Rooms, actually spent several hours there. The Churchill museum inside is fascinating and hard to pass through. British Museum is also a few hours, basically as much as a person can handle before burnout. British Museum is the one you really, really need to be in the best shape for. It’s overwhelming and will absolutely take it out of you. A highlight tour of the British Museum could be worth it, it’s intriguing.

I enjoyed the Tower much more than I anticipated. We spent about three hours here, as it’s a big attraction. Go on the Beefeater tour. It’s really part of the attraction, is fun and goes by pretty quick. The Crown Jewels are incredible. The White Tower has some amazing artifacts, but can be a backbreaker. Lots of unavoidable stairs, and often the part you’re visiting last.

All in all, for all of these I would plan one for morning and one for afternoon, giving yourself a nice break in between. I’d prioritize V&A and St. Paul’s last. They’re also the ones you need to plan around the least, so pencil them into your itinerary with a “maybe” and see how you’re feeling.

I definitely recommend the British Museum out of hours tour. I took the intro to ancient Egypt tour on a Sunday morning this past June. The guide was very knowledgeable, and only around 20 people on the tour. We had the Rosetta all to ourselves. After the tour, our guide took us up to see Ginger the mummy before the crowds hit. I stayed for several hours and barely scratched the surface. It was very crowded, so being able to walk in and enjoy the beauty of the museum before it got busy was great.

We were there last fall, so I will give my take. (family of 4 adults, first time in London)

We did the Churchill War Rooms and Westminster Abbey on the same day. We do not care for tours, we go at our own pace, using the provided audio tours as desired. We started at the War Rooms when it opened (pre-purchased entry) and spent several hours there. We all enjoyed it very much. We had lunch at the cafe at Westminster Abbey, and our entry time (pre-booked) was 1:30. We were there probably about 2 or 3 hours.
The Abbey was VERY crowded. (This was the first week in October) It might be worth it to take the tour, as I felt very overwhelmed by the size, the crowds, and the abundance of things to see. (do I look down?up?at the walls? There is stuff everywhere!) I really feel like I did not get to enjoy it as I had hoped, and that I missed a great deal. For the money it costs, I do wish they would limit the numbers.

V&A : We went at opening time, and had reservations for tea at Kensington Palace at 2:30. We focused on the Casts Rooms and Fashion. That's pretty much all we did there, you could visit every day for a week and probably not see it all. We then walked back to Kensington Gardens and wandered through the palace gardens until our reservation time.

Tower of London: We are in the minority here, as this was not our favorite thing we did. Everyone on the forum seems to rave about it. I thought I would really enjoy it, but I was disappointed that it was made up mostly of weaponry exhibits. The actual historical events that took place there seemed to be skimmed over. We went at opening and did the Crown Jewels first (that was the main thing we enjoyed most there). There was no line, and we went through twice. Later on in the visit the line was moderate. We saw most of the exhibits, but felt that once you'd seen 50 suits of armor do you really need to see more? (and I am saying this as someone who loves British history)

St. Pauls: We attended Evensong, did not do a tour. We felt that since we were doing Westminster Abbey we didn't want to do both. The service was lovely, and the cathedral is stunning. I would like to take the tour when we visit again.

Purchase timed ticket entry for Westminster and war rooms on same day. Recommend Abbey as early as possible with three hour window to explore. Plan for lunch of 90 minutes before entry to war room. Walking time between two locations is 10 minutes. Suggest two to three hours in war rooms. Timed entry tickets allow you to join the line specific for those holding timed tickets.

London offers excellent walking experiences and the RS London guide is good with maps defining these paths and I also like A Lady In London website which offers excellent information. We deliberately strive to walk throughout this area for the delight we have found in hidden experiences.

I would skip the British Museum in favor of V&A combined with Natural History Museum adjacent to V&A. Take the underground to Kensington and you will find an underground walking path taking you to the V&A lower level entry. Upon finishing these museums you could walk over to Hyde Park and see a number of wonderful places. Google maps will be your friend on defining these opportunities.

St Paul’s is a wonderful experience. Do your research on line and determine if you desire to climb up or down or just sit and look around. So much history imbued within these walls. We did pay a small fee for a docent tour which was well worth the knowledge. Outside of the cathedral you have several walking and experiencing opportunities. Head east into narrow streets of local retail and pubs. Head south to the Thames and walk across the millennium bridge to find more events.

Tower of London is a good experience. Highly recommend a slow walk across the bridge. If river is at low tide then recommend turn east and descend one level to find a narrow alley with a stairway allowing access to the river. Excellent views and great photo ops.

Have you noted the theme of our London experiences? Do enjoy the major attractions of your choice, but add value by taking an hour to walk in the adjacent areas.

We generally don't spend more than 3 hours in a museum or other indoor attraction because by that time I'm overstimulated by seeing so many things, and being around people in an enclosed space.

We have never taken a tour at Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's Cathedral but have toured on our own and attended evensong services at both. At St. Paul's we have twice climbed to the top of the dome, and enjoyed talking to each other across the Whispering Gallery. Also enjoyed walking the cloisters at Westminster Abbey after evensong, though last year they were closed for refurbishing so were only allowed to walk as far as the toilets!

The ancient Egypt tour that Stacie mentioned might be worth it if you want to see the mummies, etc. We were visiting the Sutton Hoo exhibit, the Lewis chessmen, and the astrolabes last June, and found those displays fairly uncrowded. I wanted to see the cat mummies on the way out and almost had a panic attack. You could barely move in those rooms. On the other hand, we were there in late September one year and had no real crowds anywhere in the museum.

Went back to the Tower of London last summer, almost 20 years since the last time we went with our sons. We took a White Tower tour back then, but just walked around on our own this time. We particularly liked walking through the wildflower garden in the moat--a great break for me after being around so many people. Hardly anyone else was there, just a couple from Australia comparing Australian road trips with the docents. :-)

We enjoyed our time in the V&A. Went to see the glass together then split up to visit the exhibits that interested us individually (husband and I), so we saw what we wanted to see without spending all day there. I think bostonphil7 was probably talking about the Divas exhibit. Didn't see that but did look at the free fashion exhibit below. Then we enjoyed tea and scones in the patio area.

Haven't been to the full Portobello Market on Saturday, but I did buy some antique glass buttons when we visited on a Friday (I think) over a decade ago. Walking around Notting Hill was enjoyable just for seeing the buildings and what people had in their gardens. (We have a picture of a metal gorilla we saw somewhere in that area.)

Thinking about it, we tend to visit places on our own--reading ahead if it seems necessary--rather than taking a tour. I enjoyed all the local tour guides we had on our Rick Steves tour in Italy, but I tend to get impatient (just mentally, not verbally) with people who don't listen to the guide and then ask questions that were covered already! That said, we did overhear a small tour near the Lewis Chessmen in the British Museum last summer, and if you didn't know anything about those pieces, the tour guide helped you understand what you were looking at and was very engaging with the tweens in the group.

So as you said--it's a personal preference really. I love London and hope to visit many more times, so I'm satisfied with just a few hours at a museum knowing that I will probably be back on another visit, and that staying too long gives me diminishing returns anyway. Enjoy your trip!

Check to see what special exhibitions may be at the museums during your visit. There may be special events or hours/ I spent almost all my Tate Museum and British History Museum time in the special exhibitions (I had visited the BH many years ago).

Churchill War Rooms, Victoria and Albert, other museums I personally don't take tours. The V&A is great.

Tower of London we took the (included) yeoman warder ("Beefeater") tour; I personally think it's essential. Westminster Abbey we attended an Evensong service, which was exceptionally meaningful to me. But I'm a Christian who enjoys the Anglican orders of service, which puts me into a somewhat small category.

There doesn't seem to be much point in going to Portobello Road if you're not interested in antiques and don't like crowds.

The advantage of most museums in London is that they are free so you can just spend as much time as you like or your plan allows. So you can plan on doing your other key attractions - Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Tower of London and St Pauls and then fit in museum visits around them.

Of course there are plenty of other attractions we could recommend but that's only going to make you more more confused.

OP when is this trip? Summer? Fall? This year?

Asking only because as a frequent London visitor I can say the size of crowds differ.

I’ve actually taken a late November trip and in touring Westminster Abbey with a first time visitor counted 20 people inside with us. Never in all my visits had I’d seen so few people.

Not sure why anyone would be disappointed in St Paul’s. The Christopher Wren’s design is gorgeous and the fact the it survived the Blitz is enough for me to be impressed. Ages ago I enjoyed a lovely Evensong there on a Christmas Eve. When leaving found a light snowfall had begun. Trust me, I caught my breath as the cathedral bells peeled. It was memorable.

Portobello Road is fun especially if you go early and watch the vendors set up. If you like street markets London has plenty to experience in its various neighborhoods.

Maltby Market
Old Spitalfields ( if record (LP’s ) lovers check dates and times for the Vinyl Market
Brick Lane
Brixton
and
Greenwhich are but a few to explore.