Quick trip to London- must see

Going next week mon-sun. We are interested in art, shopping, food. I’ll check our website you suggested.

If your shopping interest includes fine crafts, I can make a few suggestions; otherwise, I'm useless on that subject.

London has many art museums covering a variety of different periods. Many have free admission, though a donation is requested. The largest ones tend to be open late either Thursday or Friday night. The National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery are very close together. The Tate Britain is about 1-1/2 miles south of the first two. Those are all on the north (west?) bank of the Thames. The Tate Modern is across the river.

There are other art museums, catering to all tastes. The Courtauld Gallery is currently closed.

Among the other popular museums are the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum (decorative arts) and the Imperial War Museum. As I recall, those are all donation-only.

The Churchill War Rooms are extremely popular at the moment. If you want to see them, you may need to buy tickets in advance--as in right now. That requires a (not-cheap) paid ticket, as does the Tower of London.

I agree there are no must-sees, but I’d encourage you to visit the Tower of London. Get there at opening and go straight to the Crown Jewels — if you do this you will probably have it to yourself like I did. Then circle back to the entrance and start your visit, join a free Yeoman Warder tour, etc. Plan to spend at least 3 hours (could spend all day).

Was going to recommend the National Portrait Gallery but I see acraven beat me to it. If you like history or castles the Tower of London is very impressive. Go early in the day and see the Crown Jewels first before it gets crowded. If you like seeing where famous people are buried, Westminster Abbey can't be beat. Also the site of William and Kate's wedding.

Take a look at Rick's recommendations and see if anything appeals to you, given that it may be cold or rainy. https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england/london-itinerary.

London Walks offers 2-hour (approximately) walking tours that are well-priced at 10 pounds. Only a tiny number of specialty tours require pre-booking. You usually just show up at the meeting place. This is great because you can take a look at the weather, think about what you're in the mood to do and make a spur-of-the-moment decision.

This is the winter schedule. I find the cryptic/cutesy descriptions rather annoying, but the walks are good. A lot of the guides seem to be actors or former actors, so you can generally count on a very lively delivery of the facts.

Yes to London Walks!!

I've been to London twice and visited several museums--top favorites were Churchill War Rooms, British Library, National Portrait Gallery, both Tates, Museum of Transport (at Covent Garden, also a fun shopping area with an antiques market) and also Westminster Abbey.

Places that warranted a return visit were the Tower of London (I'm a wee bit nutty about the ravens, spent 3 hours observing them this past August), the V&A (special exhibit of Frida Kahlo's personal items) and the Portobello Road Market on a Saturday is really fun, lots of variety and the antique stalls are open on Saturday along with food, garage sale type stalls and some interesting shops. Regent St is a good shopping district but nothing truly unusual, mainly upscale chain stores--but Carnaby St is in that area & worth a stroll through for more unique shops.

I will be a bit more direct, there are some "must see's":

You mentioned art, The National Gallery then is a "Must See", it's free and has a wide range of art that appeals to most people. If you are more serious, then the Tate Modern (also free) is worth a stroll, but more challenging to the casual tourist. If British art is an interest, then the Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery might appeal (both free). There are other smaller, specialized museums as well if your interests run deeper.

Nobody travelling to London, having more than a day or two, no matter what your interests, should miss the British Museum (free again) One of the best collections of Egyptian, Greek, and Assyrian artifacts in the world, and that just scratches the surface. The British Library (free) is worth a look for documents from the Magna Carta, to Shakespeare, to the Beatles.

The list of free museums continues on, lots of interests, Pay sites too.

My favorite activity is just a walk around the city center (Rick has a couple good walks) from Westminster, up through Trafalgar, up the Strand, over to Southwark, and up along the Thames. Plenty of walk by things to see, plenty of historic pubs for a pit stop.

For food and shopping, markets rule, Borough market for food, Portobello for food and antiques, Camden Locks for funkier stuff...and food. For other food, Indian would be a classic meal, Pub Grub or Fish and Chips traditional, lots of modern selections from bistro to gourmet, a decent China town, basically anything you would want.

Wow thanks everyone for the input! This is all so great!

You could spend a day shopping in Selridges it is so large. Personally if you want to see a store like no other pop into Liberty.

As you are going.next week and staying in the Paddington area get into the Christmas Spirit by visiting the free Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. Especially gorgeous at night.

Portobello road market has been mentioned. Go early on Saturday morning. By 10am it's a zoo. So get there by 8:30am before the hordes. There will be many vendors selling Christmas goods. If I'm there at that time of year it's where I get stocking stuffers. Loads of food stalls at Goldborne Road so explore the entire length of the market.

If you are near St James of Piccadilly church stop in to peruse the Christmas cards they will have on sale. All boxes for different charities. Then enjoy a coffee from the adjacent Cafe Nero and a stroll along Jermyn street window shopping.

And as far as must sees Parliment Square is the biggest " must see." Parilament, Elizabeth's Tower
( Big Ben) in scaffolding and Westminster Abbey. From there walk up Whitehall passing the Horse Guards and 10 Dowing street to Trafalgar Square. That’s where the National Gallery is located.

If that’s not the type of art you seek then consider visiting the street art of Brick Lane.

Lastly, you MUST see theatre while there.

Shop at Harrods to say that you have been there. We actually found many reasonably priced items for souvenirs. There is a tourist floor and many floors to explore.
For afternoon tea or breakfast, lunch, or brunch visit The Orangery at Kensington Palace Green by Hyde Park gardens. We ate in a garden like conservatory and enjoyed choosing treats with our tea. It was lovely and not so formal.

I'm a big Victoria & Albert Museum fan- lots of quirky and interesting art & design there.

One nice thing about the British Library is that it's regularly open later than other London museums so can be scheduled around some of the big players with more limited hours.

Douglas--there's a FB group run by the charming Ravenmaster, and the ravens all wear colored leg bands so telling them apart and knowing their names is easy :)

I second the suggestion of a visit to Liberty if you go to Regent St--I went for their famous fabric as I am a quilter but the rest of their merchandise is quite unique & the store itself is just so unusually quirky.