Please critique my March/April London travel plans!

For Saturday night, pick a London Walls pub tour. You’ll be data dumped into exhaustion with the Tower and Houses of Parliament.

Two art museums in one day is a lot. You can sub a London walk for one of them if you get Museum burnout, especially if museums are in the Paris agenda. I wouldn’t eliminate either Tate Britain or the National Gallery but maybe do them different days.

Have a pint at St Stephens Tavern across the street from the Houses of Parliament, it’s full of UK political history.

By Earl’s Court, you could get a selfie at the TARDIS even if you’re not a Doctor Who fan. Free and takes time.

Dale,
Thanks for the quick reply!

We are pretty good at absorbing facts, etc., but I like the idea of a pub tour after our Parliament tour. Getting back to the hotel afterwards, though, hmmmm . . . :)

The two art museums are mostly for my graphic design daughter, but I'm up for the challenge as well. I told her I would last as long as she does, but I will need plenty of breaks in there. We have no problem shifting one of them to another day, if we have time. It's just that those are on her must see list, and I don't want to disappoint.

Thanks for the tip on St Stephens Tavern. I like that idea, if we don't have enough stamina to do a pub tour that night.

I think we are up to about 50 selfies now by the Tardis (son and husband included), from previous trips. It's part of the reason why Earl's Court remains one of our favorite tube stops!! Haven't ever been able to catch sight of the Doctor there yet, though. Maybe we'll spot her there this time??

Emma,

Thanks for your reply, and I don't think you're being negative, just cautionary. But we travel and sightsee very well. The last time we were in London, about a week earlier in March than this visit, we did a lot more, and ended up feeling like we had a bit too much down time. I guess everyone travels differently, but I'm glad for the warning.

Besides, we're not gluttons for punishment. If we need to, we will take down time. It's hard to be too specific in a post like this, without writing a book, but we actually tend to space things out quite well. For example, you mentioned Westminster Abbey and the V&A maybe being too much for one day. This is why I picked the day the V&A was open late, to visit it. Specifically, our goal is to see the Abbey until early afternoon (our last planned tour ends 1:30p-ish), have a sit down lunch somewhere, go back to the hotel if we need a rest, then head back out late afternoon to the V&A (open until 10p). I feel confident we can see what we want there in say four or so hours. Would it be so different than touring St. Paul's Cathedral in the morning and visiting the Museum of London in the afternoon?

Thanks for the Morpeth Arms tip. I like the idea of spying on MI6!! Love these pubs that have tons of history attached! Will definitely consider that place. And Picadilly Circus (I keep forgetting NOT to abbreviate!) is for my DD. We've been to NYC Times Square, so she has to compare. (Plus they show it in the opening scenes of BBC's "Sherlock." Total fangirl. The things we do for our kids!)

As for the British Museum, we were there last time for six hours and didn't even feel like we saw half of what was there. If we poop out, so be it, but we're going to give the same respect that we did last time. And, yes, if we have a good breakfast, we certainly won't need lunch. It was just one of those "breakfast here, lunch here, dinner here" things I tend to insert in my planning without being aware of it. Thanks for pointing that out!! By the time we're done, though, I doubt our legs will want to do anymore walking for the day!!!!

And we're still working on our last day. We found several places that serve Sunday roast near our hotel, so it wouldn't be a huge trip back there after lunch for our bags. Do you really think it will take more than an hour and a half to eat? I'm hoping that if we get there right when they start serving, we won't have to wait long to be served.

Emma,

Isn't it interesting how coming from two different backgrounds, we can have two different viewpoints on matters? I think that's one of the things that make travel so interesting! For we Americans and British, I think my British colleague summed it up perfectly when she said "Americans think 100 years is a long time. The British think 100 miles is a long distance."

I will certainly keep your words in mind for our last day, but I think we will keep things as they are for now and play the whole day by ear. We're good with spur of the moment decisions, and if it looks like things are too busy, of course we will change our plans. And thanks for your advice!

Hi Cathy!
I don’t have anything to add, just wanted to say I can’t wait to see your scrapbook! This will be your second trip to UK right?

Hi Tammy!!

Did you ever get my emails about your last trip? I seemed to be having problems replying to your emails. If you didn't, I just wanted to say I loved your scrapbook from Greece!!!

Yep, this is another trip for us to London, but just me and DD this time. And no pressure making another scrapbook, huh? ;) Actually, it will be fun to do, since it is just the two of us, with more emphasis on art stuff this time (for dd). And a quick, little three day trip over to France. We're very excited!

Of course, I will try to post a trip report as soon as possible once we're back. Keep sending me your scrapbooks! I love reading them.

What a fun list of things to enjoy in London! There's so much to see and do in London, it is easy to have a long list. In one of your responses you commented "if we need to, we will take down time" - that's good. I also encourage you to be open to unplanned experiences and taking the time to enjoy those as well, even if you don't see everything on your list. A chance conversation with an amicable stranger may allow you to discover some wonderful spaces.

Anticipation is a joyful part of the journey. And if for some reason you don't see all the places on the list, you and your daughter can always return! Good wishes for you both,

Garrison

Cathy, DH and I are doing the RS Paris & The Heart Of France tour at the end of April. I can’t decide which is more fun, the anticipation and research and planning, the actual trip or scrapping the trip! I love it all!

Garrison,

Thank you so much for your post! That is exactly the attitude we are striving to follow on our trip! I'm a planner by nature, and used to plan things down to the minute. Then, about fourteen years ago, the whole family was on a trip to Disney World and we all got sick one night!! The entire next day's schedule was scrapped and we lounged on a beach the whole day. Best day of the entire trip! From then on, I still make detailed plans, so I know what's available to do, but we're very much go with the flow now. And I'm sure we will be back again!!

Tammy,
I'm with you there. It's ALL part of the fun and anticipation!! Can't wait to see your next book - we can compare notes on Paris! :)

I also agree that the Museum of London needs more than an hour and a half.
The other thing is that you plan to visit it on a Sunday, and buses are less frequent then.
Emma is right when she says add 25% more time to each planned journey.
Looks like a great trip overall!

Thurs - Borough Market. It gets very crowded at lunch time when the locals come by. If you can get there before then, fine. Otherwise, better to wait till later. You'll get lots of offers to taste at the various stalls, so don't eat lunch first.

Mon - I'd think once is enough for Borough Market. Also, check how many of the vendors are there. Mon-Wed is usually pretty light, with many only there from Thurs.
4 hours for St. Paul's sounds like a lot to me.

Last day - Museum of London needs more than and hour and a half, especially when you are on pins and needles to get to the airport. Either do it on another day when you have the time and the mindset, or leave it for your next visit.

We live now in London and I go into the city a lot with an art history class. I don't agree that there are lots of issues with the Tubes and buses. However if there is rain, then things just tend to get very very crowded! London is such an easy city to walk around as well, and I just use Google maps to help navigate. Sometimes I want to see more on a bus vs getting there quickly by Tube.

I would just add some other ideas...Perhaps a side trip to see Hampton Court Palace if you haven't gone and enjoy history and gardens. I also took some fun walking tours of London where you just show up and pay £10 per person. I also love the Portrait Gallery, though I know they are closing soon for refurbishment. Even with crowds, BM is fun to check out, but also see the lists from EATER. They have some fun restaurant suggestions that take you to different parts of the city. See Greenwich is worth a trip, especially if you take the boat down and see London from the river. Just hop on the DLR on the way back. Try to find some local farmer markets, walk Hampstead Heath, and stroll along the hidden canal from Camden to Maide a Vale. So pretty and never crowded!

Have a fun trip!

Emma,
I will certainly check out the tube lines before going out each day! (I have this website to use: tfl.gov.uk. Will this work for that?) I'm one who likes to arrive places early anyway, so that won't be a problem. Thanks for the tip on weekend work, also.

SJ,
Hmmm. I'm definitely getting the feeling we should just skip the Museum of London that last day, and try and squeeze it in another time. But even if we don't get to it this trip, I'm guessing there will be more London trips in our future, so we can save it for next time.

Chani,
We will definitely try and get to Borough Market as early as possible. Thanks for the tip on samples from the various stalls. Of course, I'm sure we're going to want to try everything, so we will just have to pick and choose! :)
As for St. Paul's Cathedral, do you think we would have to wait in line long at that time of year if we didn't get there right at opening? Maybe more like 10am? It's a bit of a concern, since we will be using 2-4-1 tix. And I'm also concerned that if we didn't show up early enough, we wouldn't be able to get with a guided tour that day. Unfortunately, the tour we are most looking forward to - the Triforium tour - is only at 2pm, only that day, so we are a bit limited. Can you enter, leave, then re-enter on the same day, on the same ticket, without having to re-purchase? That might make it easier.

Benowitzea,
So many good places to visit - I had some of your suggestions on our list, but we seem to have run out of days to visit them! I am definitely going to keep all of your suggestions on our "maybe" list, though, so that if one thing falls through, we might be able to do a quick turnaround and go someplace else. Always good to have options!

We're planning on using Google maps, too, and also the Citymapper app, something DH and DS did on their last trip with resounding success. We have TMobile phone service, so usage isn't a problem, and they were getting at least 3G the whole time they were there.

Thanks for your response!