suggestions for things to do 11 days in london

You will benefit from having a guidebook to London, a city with countless interesting things to see and do.

I have enjoyed all the London Walks walking tours I've taken. They cost only 10 pounds each and do not require a reservation; you just show up at the specified Underground Station at the appointed time. You won't be able to download the full summer schedule until around May 1, but you can use the calendar on the website to see which walks may be offered during your stay.

Are there any particular eras of history in which you are especially interested?

Definitely get the RS London Guidebook and read it cover to cover.

Will assist you with the practicalities of traveling to and about London.

As far as events going on and things to see.....

Google Time Out London for events and for intel about museums, concerts, markets, churches, etc.

Definitely see some theatre. https://officiallondontheatre.com/
Also check what’s available for same day tickets at the 1/2 Ticket booth at Leicester Square

History is everywhere in London. Visit the free Museum of London to get a perspective about the city your visiting.

I’ve been visiting there since 1972. Always finding new places to see and explore.

Great city. Do some research here on this forum by using the search engine. You’ll find numerous posts on interesting things to do and see.

Try the Fat Tire Bike tour ! I did it on a solo visit and it was fun !

Also I did a daytrip to Bath, just took the train and walked around Bath for the day , saw The Baths , etc

So many great museums in London - don’t miss Victoria and Albert it’s one of my favorites

I also ( oddly enough ) really liked the Imperial War Museum - not really the military exhibits but the “ life in London during the war “ section was fascinating .

Also - I really enjoyed the Portrait Museum !

Obviously do not miss Tower of London !

I second the suggestion of London Walks. We've taken numerous ones and never been disappointed.

Claudia thanks! I am going to pick that up today. Thankfully my local library has a copy! Also thanks for the museum suggestions! Particularly the museum of London! It seems like up my alley. Really appreciate the suggestions! Should i buy a tube pass ahead of time?

I'll third the London Walks recommendation. I especially enjoyed the Westminster Abbey tour, the guide really brought the history of the place to life in a way that I wouldn't have been able to on my own. My top 4 London sites (or close to London); Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Westminster Abbey, Museum of London. If you're heading to the library to get the Rick Steves guide, check out Insight Guides as well. I usually start with that as an overview and move to the RS guide when I start dealing with logistics.

I second the Museum of London. If you are here for eleven days, try the second Museum of London site in Docklands. The Victoria and Albert sounds like it would interest you. Also try a couple of the smaller museums and homes such as the John Soane Museum (pre-booking required). And the London Transport Museum of course.

For the Underground and the occasional bus I generally just use an Oyster Card (stored-value card) that can be topped up as necessary. There's a daily cap that limits your spending when you use an Oyster Card. If you are a heavy consumer of public transportation, a weekly pass (which can be loaded onto an Oyster Card) would save a bit of money, but if there are days when you only take two rides, you'll probably be ahead just using the Oyster Card.

There's no need to buy any sort of transit card ahead of time.

I'll chime in with another recommendation for London Walks - we did two of them while in London and really enjoyed them both. However, I did not find the Museum of London to be as interesting as expected, although clearly others liked it as several posters have suggested it. I did love the Churchill War Rooms and spent quite a bit of time there, you might also find that to be of interest since you like history; just be sure to buy tickets in advance for this museum.

Ok coo thanks again guysl! The chuchill war rooms seems interesting. Sorry i keep pestering with more questions. Is the London Zoo worth it? What's everyone's opinions or census on that? Also in regards to the oyster card i noticed you can buy it online or at a tube station what would be the most convenient. Again thank you so much guys for all the advice i really appreciate it!

Really, London is like New York City - there's so many things to do it would take a lifetime. A lot of it depends on what you like to do. Some of the top attractions include:

• Tower of London
• Westminster Abbey
• Windsor Castle
• Buckingham Palace
• British Museum
• Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour
• St. Paul's Cathedral
• Tate Modern
• British Library
• Imperial War Museum

...and that's just scratching the surface. There are dozens of top-level, world-class museums for every taste. I really do recommend reading the Rick Steves' London book to help you narrow things down, and then pick one thing per day to do. There's the West End theater scene (like Broadway), Shakespeare's Globe, the Shard observation deck, the London Eye, and on and on.

How exciting - your first trip to London! I will also recommend London Walks tours. There are lots of different topics and locations that they explore. It's also a good place to meet people when you're traveling solo. We ended up at a pub with a couple fellow tour mates. As you do your research, you'll discover that many of London's museums are free - take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. The Wallace Museum is a lovely old mansion that has been opened to the public. There's a really nice restaurant that is in the middle of the structure. Definitely take in a show/play or two while you are there. Oyster cards can be purchased at any tube/train station - they're easy to acquire and money can be redeemed if you don't use it all. I would highly recommend taking/booking a tour of the Parliament Buildings. We did this on our last visit and thoroughly enjoyed the experience - lots of past and current history in the building. Amazing experience.

Just get your Oyster card when you get there. No need to get it ahead of time and pay for shipping.

Your profile doesn't indicate where you are from so is there a zoo in your area? Have you been to any of the big US zoos? I am not much of a zoo fan so this would be on my skip list altho when I went in the very distant past with some small kids I remember some of the buildings being neat (and that was WAY before Harry Potter!).

With 11 days you could also do a short trip for a couple of nights out of London. If you had an interest in Stonehenge you could spend 2 nights in Salisbury and take the public bus shuttle out to the stones on your full day, coming back via Old Sarum (site of an Iron Age Hill Fort and the first cathedral in the area). You could also visit Salisbury Cathedral, go to Evensong, see the Magna Carta.

It's not necessary to take a trip out of London - there is so much to do there that you'll not run short of interesting sights over your 11 days.

I'll also suggest a particular London Walk if you have interest in WWII. On Sunday afternoons they do a Westminster at War walk which is very good. I've done it twice, lol. They end near the Churchill War Rooms but I'd not try to cram them in this afternoon. Go another day where you can spend time there seeing everything instead of just having an hour or so until closing time.

https://www.walks.com/our-walks/westminster-at-war/

One thing I love watching on YouTube are videos posted by mudlarkers on the Thames foreshore. These are people who walk along the riverbank at low tide to see what they can find. I know that London Walks offers mudlarking walks, but bring your Wellies—it gets muddy. People find a lot of clay pipes, pottery fragments, coins, buttons, and other fascinating bits of people’s lives from yesterday to Roman times. You have to have a permit, so only do this on one of those guided walks.

Buy your OYSTER card when you arrive. There’s a refundable deposit. I have one that I got after William and Kate got engaged. Has a picture of them on it.

Kept that one but don’t use it. Got another 3-4 years ago. I always leave London with a few pounds remaining on it and then when I arrive at Paddington Station I check the balance and top up if I need to at the kiosks. As I always leave London with at least a 5 pound note I’ll most often top up with cash.

There are numerous ways to get from Heathrow into London. Depends on your budget. You can hire a car, take a pricey Black Cab ( read up on The Knowledge,), bus or take the expensive 15 minute Heathrow Express ride. Book 3 months out for the Express to get the cheaper rate.

At this point in time you should be booking your accommodation. Definitely stay within zones 1&2 on the London Underground Map. Public transport is fantastic in London but the further out you stay to save lodging costs will be eaten up in transport costs.

This past Christmas finally tried staying at the highly touted Premier Inn chain and was very pleased. Having been to London numerous times I stayed in the suburbs.

As you are there for the first time see if you can book at the Premier inn at County Hall or the one by Victoria Station. County Hall is by the Thames and London Eye and it’s a short walk across Westminster Bridge to Parliament Square. Don’t be too disappointed but Elizabeth’s Tower with the Big Ben bell is covered in scaffolding.

Keep asking questions. Love sharing my experiences from traveling and staying there since Nixon was in office. Dang that sounds ancient. Well not as ancient as Stonehenge.

After you made it threw immigration at Heathrow

Do get the Rick Steves London guidebook (and buy one to travel with, either a paper copy or a Kindle version, so you'll have it to refer to during your trip). It will not only help you figure out what to see and do before the trip, but will answer all kinds of questions you haven't even thought to ask.

Your trip is 11 nights. It's best to think of that as 10 full days. Remember that the day of arrival is often a jet-lagged haze, and the day of departure is mostly consumed with getting to the airport (unless you have a very late departure, in which case you can sqeeze in one more sight). Definitely don't plan on anything pre-booked for your arrival day, in case you don't feel up to it, or if your plane is late.

As for the Oyster, it's easiest just to buy it at Heathrow. There are helpers in the station, and you can use cash, credit card, or debit card both to buy the card and load it with credit. Assuming you're staying all 11 nights in London, you'll save a bit of money getting a 7 day two zone Travelcard on your Oyster for your first 7 days, then just using Pay As You Go (PAYG) credit the other days. If, on any of your days, you're taking a daytrip outside London (and so won't be taking much London transit on those days), then just use PAYG the whole time. If you're at all unsure, just do PAYG the whole time. Details of how to do this are in Rick's book.

As for what to see, I agree that London is like New York or Berlin - there's not only a ton of things to see and do, but great variety. Do you want theatre, shopping, museums, architecture, food, history? And within these categories, which sub-category do you want? For instance, in theatre, do you want see splashy musicals, stars from TV or film, Shakespeare, intimate dramas, experimental works, or something else? London has it all - the problem is choosing.

If you do have special interests, people can help with more tailored advice. "What should I see and do in London?" is unanswerable. But "I'm interested in scrapbooking - are there any stores in London I should check out?" or "Besides the Victoria and Albert Museum, are there any other costume and fashion collections I can see?" are the kinds of questions that can be hard to get answered from a book.

A few oif the major museums are open late one night a week--usually Friday or Saturday, I think. Rick is vey good about highlighting that sort of information in his book. Those late openings are a way of extending your sightseeing time. However, some museums are only partially open in the evening (often just the ground floor), so always stop at the information counter to get details so you know how to manage your time.

definitely visit churchill's war room, and take a cruise on the thames and stop and take a tour of the cutty sark. nick from santa cruz

I'll add a few:

1. Sign up to go to Sky Garden. Either just for the view or grab a drink or snack. We had breakfast. 2.Borough Market. Fun outdoor market 3.Churchill War rooms/Museum. Buy timed ticket and avoid the lines

You will be in London during Euro 2020 (it’s like the World Cup, but only for Europe, and it’s usually more competitive).

If England is still in the tournament at that time, find a park one evening where there is an official gamewatch. Or a pub. It will be a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity for you.

Lots of other great recommendations for you above. Do try and buy tickets ahead of time where you can.

Some Not as popular things that I’ve done over the years are:

Temple Bar and the Knights of Templar Church
Visit Parliament
Camden Town
Tour of Stamford Bridge and new Spurs Stadium
Find a local. Drink there every night
Have a cheesesteak at Passyunk Ave