Six days in London: please critique my itinerary

Lane, to me, your schedule looks pretty relaxed. But I tend to go through museums a lot quicker than you probably do.

I would suggest seeing the British Museum and the British library on the same day, since they’re so close to each other. It would make a lot of sense.

And I do hope you can see the V&A museum. I love that. Do you have any plans to visit Westminster Abbey? That’s probably one of my favorite places in London.

Mardee, you may have missed my Westminster Abbey tour on Monday afternoon.

Rebecca, everyone's different. I need to stay active on my first evening. If I do what works for you, I will wake up at 1am and not be able to sleep anymore the rest of the night.

Thank you both for the feedback!

We spent a lot more time in Greenwich than expected, but my husband is all about maritime. So I might consider taking in V&A or Tate Modern on Thursday, June 26 and do Greenwich on Friday, June 27 since you have theatre on the 26th? Just a thought. It's fewer museums in one day as well, but I can get overwhelmed by more than one in a day.

I know you have your London Walks Westminster Abbey tour italicized, but I'm going to give you my two cents!

I've done the London Walks Westminster Abbey tour, and the guide was wonderful, personable and informative. But the Abbey was so crowded that it was hard to enjoy it. Granted, it was on a Saturday, but I think the Abbey fills up every day of the week by mid-day.

I've also booked my ticket myself, the first slot on Monday morning, 9:30 I think. Got there early and got a place in line near the front. I was one of the first in line and got in quickly. Booked my Verger tour and then proceeded to look around until the tour started. I think I had about an hour. The Abbey was still relatively uncrowded. I had Henry VII's Lady Chapel to myself, and also other side chapels. It was great. Then I did the Verger tour. By then it was getting pretty crowded, but our guide was great, and you get to go in the shrine of St. Edward the Confessor, which was very special. And we also got to sit in the choir area while the tour guide talked to us! Being a history lover, this is one of the most special things I did in several trips to London over the years.

I don't know how important the changing of the guard is to you, but my advice is to change things around so you can do Westminster Abbey yourself, without a London Walks tour (I love London Walks, have done several of their tours, but I feel this is better done on your own.) Of course, it wouldn't have to be on a Monday.

Good luck and have a great trip!

Lane- I agree with everything MaryC said about an early entry to Westminster Abbey with a verger’s tour. I’m a huge fan of London Walks as well, but the verger’s tour was one of the highlights of my trip.

On a side note….our trips to London this year will overlap for a few days. I’m also staying at the PI County Hall.

Happy Travels!

I would really recommend that you do not do a Jack the Ripper tour for two reasons. Firstly, you will be celebrating the life of a mass murderer. Secondly, the area where he operated was very heavily bombed in the war and has then been redeveloped such that the tour ends up taking you to places that now do not exist, so there is very little to see.

I know that the London Walks tour advertises itself as more thoughtful and less sensational than others you can do but still I can't recommend it.

Mardee, you may have missed my Westminster Abbey tour on Monday afternoon.

Oops, I did, Lane. I do agree that it will definitely be crowded by then, and I also agree that the verger tours are very good. So something to consider. But either way, I think you will love Westminster Abbey. It really is one of my favorite places I've been to.

I'm thinking of canceling the Seven Deadly Sins tour so I can visit both the V&A and Tate Modern, but that's a lot of museums all in one day.

The Tate Modern is not that large so it's doable. It's about a 30 minute tube ride on the District or Circle line to get between the two. If you were trying to combine the V&A and the British Museum in one day, it would be a bit much, but I think you could do the two you mentioned without too much trouble. I really enjoyed the Tate Modern, but if I had to choose between the two, I would pick the V&A hands down.

Your Wednesday does look a bit packed, so you might consider narrowing that down a bit. Are you touring Parliament? That will be interesting. I've never done that for some reason. If you're going to St. Martin's, I would suggest having lunch at the Cafe in the Crypt there. It has good food, served cafeteria style, and a bit of an atmosphere considering you're sitting around tombstones embedded in the floor. I love this place and always go when I am in London. To get there, just look for the glass elevator in the alley right next to the church and either take the stairs down or the elevator. St. Martin's also has a nice gift shop. :-)

FWIW, I don't think that going on a tour of Jack the Ripper sites is "celebrating" the life of a mass murderer. I think it's just part of London's history. If this were not true, we would have to avoid 50% of the historical sites in the world. There were kings and queens and other officials who did horrific things during their reign, and yet we still visit their homes and their tombs and the sites of their atrocities.

Lane, it looks like a fun trip! My only thought is to maybe extract on Friday the Seven Deadly Sins walking tour or after the British Library on Friday to add some time in The Regent’s Park. It’s such a lovely space and even if you don’t have time to see most of it, just meandering through Queen Mary’s Gardens is delightful.
You are also pretty close by bus on Fri and Sat to Camden Market if you wanted to add a totally different experience. The British Library did not take us long to explore, maybe 1.5 hours. We did spend some time in the gift shop, though! Lol

We could have spent hours and hours at any of the London Parks. They are all wonderful. Of course, weather will be a big factor, but I always suggest to anyone going to London to check out the parks there.

Have a wonderful time!

I did the London Walks tour of Westminster Abbey on a Saturday and has been noted, it was a fine tour but sooooo crowded! Due to timing that was the only day we could visit there so we made it work. If you can arrange the schedule so you can take a verger tour instead I think it would be worth it.

On your Saturday, the British Library isn't a giant space and I agree it won't fill a whole morning (though you do take more time in museums than I do, so it might!). As a suggestion for your time between there and getting your train, you might consider Sir John Soane's Museum which is about half way between the two. It's quite the quirky space but I rather enjoyed it, especially because they came in and rotated the painting wall while we were there. Before you catch your train you could also take a quick stroll through the Leake Street arches and possibly grab a meal there. I haven't been yet but will go this summer, it looks interesting.

I agree with booking an early time slot on a weekday for Westminster Abbey. Upon entry, immediately sign up for the first Verger Tour. Wander on your own before the tour taking in the side chapels. Our Verger skipped those due to crowds on a Tuesday morning in March.

I enjoy London Walks and their guides, but, sometimes, there's a better choice.

Also, have you considered taking a stroll through St James Park from Horse Guards Parade to Buckingham Palace on your arrival evening. Check out the views from the Blue Bridge. The park is open late.

I'm in agreement with Johnew52. I certainly hope future generations don't want to take tours in the US of all the sights of mass murderers' crimes. Educating us through history (the good, the bad and the ugly) is very important, I don't know what we can learn from Jack the Ripper.

Thank you all for the excellent input! It's going to take me a bit of time to sift through all your suggestions and make adjustments in my plan.

On that Monday morning there's only one ticket available for the first time slot! Doesn't sound like it won't be crowded!

I'm thinking of doing it on Wednesday morning instead. Question: since I won't know what time the verger tours will be available, and I want a time slot for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, any recommendations on how to coordinate? Should I get the first time slot for the QDJG, and then sign up for a verger tour after that?

With this change, I will probably visit the National Gallery on Monday after the Changing of the Guard. That will open up my Wednesday afternoon, and maybe I can visit some of the lovely parks you are all recommending!

I have no interest in the Jack the Ripper tour; as I said, I was just looking for some activity to keep my on my feet in the evening after my arrival. I might just take a walk on my own. But I agree 100% with Mardee, and I think it's silly to suggest that a tour of anything heinous celebrates that thing.

I'll post a revised itinerary in a few days.

Lane, when we went they did not adhere to the entry ticketed time for the Galleries. It was end of June/early July. We had the earliest tickets for the Abbey and did the audio tour. I wasn’t sure about doing the Verger’s Tour bc I had so much packed into that day. By going at our own pace, we were ready to go up before our stamped time, and the attendant didn’t seem to even check the time printed. Next time I will take a Verger’s Tour for sure. The Galleries were amazing and still are at the top of our favorite places to remember about our trip. Make sure you find the drawers in the center displays before the gowned figures. The artifacts/ manuscripts within are incredible!

Lane, I booked the 9:30 time slot for Tuesday, upon entering the Abbey they were taking Verger Tour bookings for 10:30 and 11. I was able to visit the side chapels using the audioguide without crowds before my 10am Queen's Galleries entry. An 11am Verger Tour would be perfect.

Thanks Mustlovedogs and jeanm. I have done exactly as you did, jeanm: I booked a 9:30 entrance, 10:00 QDJG, and hopefully there will be an 11:00 (or thereabouts) Verger's Tour.

Mardee, you asked about visiting the Houses of Parliament. My plan is based on what Rick says in his guidebook:

The Houses are open and free to the public when Parliament is in session. You can stroll through the building's majestic rooms and watch Parliament give speeches and debate policy.

And Parliament is generally in session from October to late July, so that should work out when I'm there.

Lane, if you move quickly through the Queen's Galleries and don't feel compelled to look at every single item on display, you should be able to make a 10:30 Verger tour. Also, it's a long climb up to the Galleries. The elevator would probably save you some time.

Lane,
I may be wrong but I don't believe it's that easy now to see Parliament. We've had too many security issues. The tours I think are on Saturday and in recess. You can get in to see debates on Monday to Thursday, but may have to wait in line to do so. And that will only be directly to the visitors galleries. UK citizens probably still have more privileges, arranged through their MP.

Also, it's a long climb up to the Galleries. The elevator would probably save you some time.

Jeanm is right—it definitely would. I toured the Galleries when I took the Hidden Treasures tour at WA (no longer offered). I took the elevator because the staircase was pretty open, and I have a fear of heights. I beat the others up by about 5+ minutes. The one advantage to climbing, if you have the time, is that you get to see some gorgeous views on the way up. However, I saw some great views once I was at the very top, so I'm not sure you're missing that much.

Stuart, actually I think you can still see the debates and so on. This is from their website: https://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/watch-committees-and-debates/

Lane, thanks! It sounds like you're right—I should have checked that before my last trip as I know my grandson would have been interested. Shoot! Oh well, I'm you will get to see it!

Mardee,
That was exactly what I wrote that you can get in to see the debates, but not to generally look round the place when MP'S are there - the latter seems to be what Lane wants to do, and what RS implies you can do. It feels like a long time since general tours on working days were possible.
I think the wait to see debates is probably longest for Prime ministers question s time (PMQ'S)
And yes I did look at the Parliamentary tours website before responding as I was surprised by the quoted text.