Revised London Itinerary

I see you only have arrival day and Friday night available, but I thought I'd mention that Witness for the Prosecution is playing at County Hall. When we stayed there a year ago, we wished we would've booked seats on one of our nights there, had realized it was in the same building block.

Lane, your new itinerary looks good.

I don't know if you need restaurant suggestions, but I wanted to let you know that the ever popular Dishoom in Covent Garden takes reservations up until about 6 pm. In March I booked a table for 5:30 and was seated at 5:45 for a pre theatre dinner. Worked perfect and the food was great.

That’s nice and simple and gives you plenty of time.

I suggest you also make a list of other “might-do” things near each of your main focuses each day, and have them up your sleeve if you take less time than expected at a site.

Eg: near the British Library, you could explore gorgeous St Pancras hotel/station or the canal area around the back of Kings Cross.

your Thursday 26th looks very ambitious to me, Lane -

undoubtedly you have move vim and vinegar than I have but that day looks exhausting

all morning inside and outside at the Tower of London, especially if you are up and down the stairs in the walls like I would be, and there are only stairs in the White Tower and it is a long way up and very worthwhile, then slogging around the British Museum which is absolutely vast and equally exhausting, then on to the British Library (decent tea at each of the two prior but better IMHO at the British Museum) and then the theatre. I hope you don't fall asleep in the Back to the Future

Oh, I’ve just noticed that italics are priorities and I’d assumed they were extras.

Yes, Tower of London followed by British Museum and British Library is a lot for a day. The Tower is all-morning at least. The British Museum depends on your plans: are you popping in to see just a few carefully-planned rooms or trying to do it all? The British Library won’t take too long.

To be honest, the British Museum shouldn't really be in italics. I put it as a high priority because everyone says it's a must-see and I have no doubt it's probably, as Rick says, "The world's greatest collection of artifacts of Western civilization."

That said, museums of artifacts are probably my least favorite kinds of museums. I figure I will follow the RS audio tour, which takes about 2 hours, and I might skip sections of that. I'm probably more interested in the building and the overall experience than the actual contents. (I've seen the replica of the Rosetta Stone when I was in Cairo in 2023. I can't imagine the real thing looks any different. Just to say I've seen the real Rosetta Stone doesn't thrill me.)

Thanks, jeanm, for the pointer about Dishoom. I ate twice at Dishoom in Edinburgh (once with Mardee), and I loved it. Might have to go again!

CanAmCherie, I saw a great production of Witness for the Prosecution in Cape Town last summer. It's a really fun play, but I guess I don't need to see it again for now. Thanks for the tip!

Golden Girl, I actually have that list. Some of it is backup plans depending on weather, and some is for spontaneous changes or having more time than expected.

Thanks all for your help with planning this trip!

I agree that Thursday is a bit busy, but really, you can finish the Tower by noon, have a nice lunch, then head to the British Museum, pick your exhibits to see there. I wholeheartedly agree that the British Museum is overwhelming. I'm not sure why—probably partly the crowds, but also the space. I don't know, but every time I go, I wind up with my eyes glazing over after an hour or so.

So having said that, it might be a good idea to get some tea or coffee before (or when) you get to the British Library. In fact, you could head to St. Pancras station for a cafe break, which would allow you to see that magnificent building and then head for the Library.

Yes, to Dishoom! Oh, that lunch at Dishoom in Edinburgh was so good! And if you have time, you might want to check out their breakfast. My grandkids and I went to the Carnaby location and had a wonderful breakfast there.

By the way, enjoy your stay at the PI County Hall. One thing to know—if you want housekeeping service (even if it's just to have your towels replaced after a few days), you need to let them know. I sort of assumed that you only needed to give notice if you wanted the full housekeeping service, but even if you want your towels replaced, let them know downstairs.

And when you go to the theatre (the Adelphi and Gielgud), I would suggest walking there over the Golden Jubilee Bridge. It's the most direct route, anyway, and really makes for a lovely walk. I did that when I went to the Ambassador Theatre one evening. It will be lighter out when you are there, but it's such a beautiful walk over the bridge, and you can see all the people out for the evening, with the river lit up. It's not far—slightly under a mile, so you can easily walk it in about 20 minutes.

You could easily do the RS Westminster Walk on your arrival day, just side trip in to St. James' park when you're done. That would give you a window on Wednesday to play with (or just to relax a little).

I also agree Thursday looks ambitious. Even if you do the highlights tour of the British Museum, it's the process of getting in and the crowds that are exhausting. I was there a tad bit earlier in June on a Wednesday afternoon and it was mobbed. But if you're mentally prepared for it and that's when you have time to go, then go for it.

If you decide on Dishoom, book ASAP as they limit number of reservations, everyone else will be standing in the long queue.

I agree that the British Museum is exhausting and overwhelming. In March I booked the Around the World in 90 minutestour. Our excellent guide efficiently herded our group of 20 through the overcrowded museum using headsets to see the highlights. As fascinating as the museum is, I was ready to get out of the museum after 90 minutes.

If the weather is fine and your not up for museums after Tower of London, head across Tower Bridge and spend the afternoon walking along the South Bank. Great views across the river, nice historic pub stops, Southwark Cathedral, Winchester Palace ruins, a sailing ship, Borough Market (enter at your own risk) and more.

Lane we used the audio tour option for the Houses of Parliament and it was really great. A scheduling snafu had me give up our guided tour tickets, which initially I was kind of bummed about, but I didn’t have any regrets after using the audio tour version, it was so well done. We really enjoyed visiting this iconic place and learned a great deal. Enjoy your trip!

Unless something has changed, only the ground floor of the V&A Museum is open late on Fridays. Check at the information desk when you arrive so you know which exhibits will close at the regular time. In addition, you might want to consider how the various areas of the ground floor are illuminated. It seemed to me there was significant dependence on skylights in some areas, which made them rather dark after sunset.

Definitely visit the National Maritime Museum on your visit to Greenwich.