Texan in London - Itinerary Advice

Day 4 looks very congested to me with three major attractions - all of which neeed several hours to get full benefit. I think you need to prune down to just 2.

There is more Roman in London than just the wall. You might look into these https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/where-to-find-londons-secret-roman-sites. Also at the British Museum the docent tours on different subject include Roman ones https://www.britishmuseum.org/visit/tours-and-talks/eye-opener-tours#tours Enjoy the planning!

Technically you can do all your planned activities on your itinerary. But you really need to pick your preferred "must do's" and let your trip evolve as the days go on. It takes a couple of days, for example, to get your internal clocks turned around.

Young folks also complicate long term planning as they often have a different attention span than the adults. They also have different interests.

I was once a very detailed planner on European trips. Now, I limit my time finding great places to stay and flights that don't arrive at 6:00 a.m. when I cannot get into my hotel until 2:00 p.m.

How old are your children?
They can drink beer cider or wine with a meal bought by you with a meal from 16

You have done a lot of research! I agree that day 4 seems heavy. You mention a walk through Hyde Park but you might consider visiting the Hyde Park Christmas market when all lit up at night. Your guys might like the London Eye for some tremendous views. My kids who were teens at the time really enjoyed the Beefeater tour at the Tower of London. Great idea to see a theater show in the evening. Or see if there are any Christmas concerts you can attend. Check the weekly events guides to see if there is anything you all might want to do or attend. Borough Market is not very far from the Tower of London and is a fun place to see the different vendors and grab a great lunch. Greenwich is intetesting - Old Royal Naval College and Observatory and prime Meridian which you have plans to visit, and walk past the Cutty Sark, also there is an indoor market. Lots of pubs in that area. Take a boat ride to get either there or back. My teens also very much enjoyed the imperial War Museum on Lambeth Rd.

Hope you have good weather for your trip but there are lots of indoor activities available.

Day 2: You have quite a long day planned - if Churchill Arms is too far by the end of the day, the Hereford Arms could be a good alternative. It’s only a 10 min walk from the museums, near Gloucester Rd tube stop. Run by Fuller’s (like Churchill Arms), so same great beers and the food is good too (modern pub food and classics). Arthur Conan Doyle and Hitchcock were supposedly patrons. I go there almost every time I’m in London and never been disappointed. It does get crowded in the evenings, so would be there on the earlier side if you don’t have a reservation.

It looks well researched and flexible. I really agree with having a “what did we miss” day. If weather was bad or jet lag hit or someone was feeling blah and needed down time- you’ve got a slot to make things up. I’ve learned a “flex” day is vital.

Have a great time!

They can drink beer cider or wine with a meal bought by you with a meal from 16

Don't forget Perry!

You're more optimistic about your energy level on arrival day than I would be, but it may work out for you. I see that the tea tour involves sitting on a bus. That's not generally considered a good idea after an overnight flight; it's very easy to nod off. I gather that the tour includes afternoon tea--presumably little sandwiches and cakes as well as beverage. You may not want much dinner afterward.

European museums start trying to usher people toward the door well before closing time, so it's best to think of the Friday closing time at the British Museum as around 8:10 or 8:15 PM. It will be somewhat less of a zoo if you arrive at 5 PM or so rather than earlier in the day, and you may spend less time in the security line (which can be 30 minutes if you arrive around opening time in the morning), so that's a plus for a late visit. If you decide to skip dinner after your afternoon tea tour, I guess you might be able to get to the museum early enough to have worthwhile time there. The question is whether at least some of you may be walking zombies at that point (which I would be). I don't think you'll find food available inside the museum after 5 PM, or perhaps earlier, so don't plan to grab something there if you get hungry. Better to at least have something like packages of nuts with you. It would probably be OK to eat them in the area of the ground-floor cafe after it closes. Whatever time you head for the museum, you should have a plan of attack in mind. It is monstrously large, so some time spent on the museum website to identify priorities is really smart. The upper floor is nearly always less crowded than the ground floor, and the Egyptian section is usually the most packed.

You should get tickets for the Churchill War Rooms ahead of time; there's generally a really long ticket line, and there's no guarantee that all the day's tickets won't be sold out by the time you get to the front of the line. This is a two-part sight. The actual war rooms are crowded and don't take long to see (perhaps roughly an hour). What justifies the very high admission fee, in my view, is the Churchill Museum section. A full visit to the entire sight takes over half a day. Crowding here, especially in the war rooms, is such that conditions may be uncomfortable for folks worried about COVID.

I've taken many London Walks and enjoyed all of them. I can vouch for the Jack the Ripper tour. I might try to do it earlier in the week rather than counting on having decent weather on one specific night toward the end of your visit.

Hubby will be happy.

Plenty of pubs to enjoy. Pub lunches are fine.
You’ll see families and their dogs. Sometimes a pub cat.

Pubs to consider:

Day 1: Buckingham Arms or The Cambridge near The Palace
Day 2: The Queens Arms near Natural History Museum
Day 3: The Clachan near Hamelys on Regent Street
Day 4: The Two Chairman near Churchill War Rooms
Day 5: The Dickens Inn near Tower of London
Day 6: Plume of Feathers or Ashburnham Arms near Greenwich Observatory
Day 7 : The White Cross by Richmond Park or The Victoria Paddington or The Kings Head Earl Court or Hoops and Grapes Aldgate.

Just few I’ve enjoyed whilst visiting London.

I think you will be too tired by the end of your arrival day to get much out of the British Museum. And I think you should not do it on Day 4, when you're already doing Westminster Abbey and Churchill War Rooms. Maybe put the British Museum on Day 7.

I also think a bus ride on arrival day might not be great. My daughters and I did a hop on hop off on our arrival day and couldn't stay awake. YMMV.

Have a great trip!

I agree with others about avoiding museums and bus rides on arrival day after an overnight flight. But that bus ride with tea looks fun and appetizing. It's harder to nod off if you're eating and drinking something with caffeine.

Day 4 really looks too busy. Pick two of the three sights, probably Churchill and the Abbey since they're close together. British Museum might be better saved for day 7. Is there something specific you want to see there, or a specific period or subject that interests you there? If not, you might not want to invest the time and energy it requires. It's a great museum, and free, but there's no requirement to visit!

I'm impressed with what a great job you've done researching this trip-I hope your family appreciates what a gargantuan task this was to fit their interests. Y'all are going to have a wonderful time!

I didn't see this mentioned elsewhere but you might want to look into this. https://www.daysoutguide.co.uk/2for1-london It gives you 2 admissions for the price of one to a number of London sites, like the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. It is clearly tied to the use of trains. Someone smarter than I can explain how to make it work although it may well be that your tickets to and from Windsor Castle will suffice. We have certainly used it and when my brother and sister took their 6 kids to London in 2019 they were just thrilled at how much it saved them.

Check the 2-for-1 website to determine the current procedures. Pre-COVID, you could only get that deal on walk-up tickets, which wasn't practical at the very most popular sights for time-limited tourists. I was able to take advantage of the 2-for-1 offer easily at Kew Gardens but knew it would be a terrible time-waster at the Churchill War Rooms. I think they may have changed the procedures more recently but am not sure.

Hello

Your trip sounds great to me, but my adult kids would revolt.

Do they get any time to themselves? I see a lot of walking and a lot of museums (I would like it) again it’s a pretty old person trip.

Are there things they want to do without you? Are there sights that they would love but you might not love?

Good luck

I’d want to go to the Tate Modern and the South Bank with that age group. They might also like exploring Brick Lane and Camden Market. Wouldn’t bother going out to Windsor. It’s not that interesting there compared to London. Hampton Court would be easier to visit.

You can get same day theatre tickets online at good discounts.

If you (or anyone or everyone) are a fan of Queen, The Champion pub in Notting Hill is said to be the place where the band used to frequent and Freddie Mercury wrote 'We Are the Champions' ... they have an area in the pub dedicated to this ... it's on my list of must-sees when I am there next April!

Being from Texas, I’m surprised you don’t have the Texas Legation building plaque on your list of things to see. The building was used by the legation between 1842-1845. It’s really just a photo op and only take a minute to see. At the same location is Pickering Place, site of the last duel in London. It too is a short stop. The legation plaque is located at 4 St James's St, a block from St. James Palace.

For old pubs, we enjoyed Ye Olde Mitre, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, and Blackfriars, but there are plenty to choose from. The Churchill Arms pub is busy anytime after about 3pm. We enjoyed the Thai restaurant in it. It too was busy. Since you’ll be by the O2 I’ll suggest Prospect of Whitby pub or Turner's Old Star for dinner that day.