Time efficient planning during a brief 3 day trip to London

Expect a bag check in just about every museum and historic site in London--maybe also at theatres (I don't remember). It happens here in Washington DC, so it's not something I pay much attention to. It doesn't normally take long at all.

If you want to see the Churchill War Rooms you need to buy a ticket in advance. It is expensive; worth it if you're interested in the excellent Churchill Museum part, but I thought it very over-priced if a person just wanted to see the war rooms themselves.

For the British Museum I suspect entering on the north side--I think that's Montague Place--means less risk of a long line. I've gone in that way twice, and there were only a few people in front of me. Unfortunately, that won't help you once you get inside the museum. It gets extremely heavy visitor loads. My LondonWalks tour guide said the Egyptian section was the worst, and so it appeared to be. It's reportedly unusually bad on rainy days. It would be an excellent idea to spend time on the museum website prior to your visit and figure out which sections you most want to see and how to get to them. It is a huge place and you can burn a lot of time just walking from one section to another.

Over the last three summers I have made multiple trips to the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Science Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Design Museum (only one visit to that one) and Imperial War Museum, and I've never had a significant hold-up at the entrance. I always have a good-sized purse with me, but no extra bag or backpack. What those places have in common is that they are free/donation-requested (and some are getting rather pushy about the donation). There are donation boxes scattered around, so there's no hold-up involving money. Special exhibitions may well require costly and/or time-specific tickets which you might need to purchase in advance. I haven't done many of those, and I'm not aware of significant delays if you already have a ticket. Highly popular exhibitions are often capacity-controlled to avoid over-crowding, so I think it's theoretically possible you wouldn't get in at exactly the expected time if a lot of the earlier visitors are dawdling, but I don't know that for a fact.

Thank you for this! Very helpful.

Your post is titled “ time efficient planning....brief 3 day visit to London.”

Seems you’ve been before and visited some of the major sites. Great.

To be efficient on this trip:
1.) Make a list of what you want to see then check each site’s website for the December dates you’ll be in London and make note of opening and closing hours. Also make note if there are admission fees.
2.) Then make a flexible itinerary for each day.
3.) Remember it will start getting dark around 3:30-4pm.
4.) If you already have an Oyster card top it up.
Once you’ve decided where you are going plot your route. Use Google maps to see how far a walk it will be from whatever tube station you’ll be arriving at.
Use the tfl.gov.uk website.
5.)Dress comfortably for the weather. Some museums have coat checks. Some don’t.
6.)Museum gift shops are great for Christmas gift shopping.
7.) Look for Christmas Card boxes in church lobbies.
They are sold for various charities. The back of the boxes will tell you the name of the charity.
8) Eat at museum cafes or grab food to go from a Pret a Manager or Marks and Spencer or even a Tesco market. Don’t eat food on the tube though.

Great city. In December enjoy the Christmas lights.

What those places have in common is that they are free/donation-requested (and some are getting rather pushy about the donation)

I'm glad to hear it. Foreign tourists have had the ability to visit world class museums in the UK at the taxpayers expense. No other country allows free entry to so many museums so it's only fair that foreign visitors donate some money. I'm all for charging foreign visitors an entry fee, it'd allow some of the tax paid by UK residents to go elsewhere.

Most of Washintgon DC's major museums are also free. Even the zoo is free, though there's a charge for parking if you don't choose to use the Metro.

I have no problem with donating. I donate at every museum I visit, but I'm pointing out that it is becoming theoretically possible to run into a bit of a hold-up as you are routed through a staffed gate if people start fumbling for money at that point.

And as I have mentioned before, the donation box may be right inside the door so you encounter it before you learn of extra-cost exhibitions you want to see, or the sale of a useful-to-essential guide book whose purchase (per museum staffers) "counts as a donation"--but you've already made the full suggested donation. (I encountered that at Sir John Soane's Museum.)

Hi! You asked about dinner reservations. Well, there are two school of thoughts, take your chances and you may be very well able to get a table. However, I try to make reservations whenever possible. It can't hurt and it could save you a headache of a long wait. I would make reservations especially if there is someplace you really want to go to. Yes, sometimes, it really didn't matter if I made reservations or not and I got a table quickly or the place was not that crowded but why take the chance.

Today, you can easily make reservations on the restaurant or pub website! Or you can ask your hotel to make it for you. It is so easy to do it online and it only takes a few minutes of your time. I found that many pubs are now taking reservations and found them very busy. I also like to make reservations in Paris. To me that is a must as many of the Paris restaurants are small.

I rather be safe than sorry. Many may not agree with me but I find it easy and quick and less of a headache to make a reservation. This way your not turned away and not have to hunt for a place to eat.

If a museum wants reservations like the Churchill War museum, make them. I was lucky, I happened upon the Churhill War rooms and there was a line but it moved quickly and I got in. But others have told me that the lines were very long and they were happy to have a reservation.

I plan on going to the British Museum and the National History Museum next spring and will go before they open to get on line. I also like to go to the most popular exhibits first as they get more croweded as the day goes on.

The best way to make things go as smoothly as possible is have reservations for museums, dinners, and anything else that requires a reservation. If there is a museum you really want to see, then get there before they open to be on line to get in as soon as possible. Do the things that are not as popular in the afternoons. Map out your days so you know where you want to go to first thing in the morning and then have a list of what else you want to see and what sites you want to see that are closest to where you will be after your first thing in the morning museum or site. This way you don't waste time traveling around but are closest to where you finish in the morning. I make sure where I am going in the morning and then see where the day takes me.

I also look at the pubs and resturants that are near my hotel to see where I would like to eat or stop for a drink on my way back to the hotel. I also look at the RS guide book to see what restaurants and pubs he recommends near my hotel or near a museum that I am going to. I will then look at trip advisor to see if people like those resturants and pubs. For my upcoming trip to London there are a number of puts and some are good to eat at and some are just good to have a drink per trip advisor.

I like to have an idea of the resturants and pubs to go to while in London ( and this goes for Paris too) so that I don't waste time trying to find a place to eat.

You want to look at google maps and map out where you going what is near by that you want to go to, where the tube stations are and where your hotel is and how to get from your hotel to whatever the first museum or site of the day is. I keep a folder in my IPhone and screenshot my tube maps from google to know what tube lines and stops I need to take to get to my first morning site or museum. It saves me time in the morning knowing what tube line and stop and how many stops there are inbetween.

No matter how much you plan things do happen, trains are delayed and lines are down but it helps to be prepared.

I also have an Uber app and used it twice in London when it was pouring rain and nitetime and it was easier to take an Uber than go to a tube stop with no umbrella.

Have a great time, hope this helps!

You didn't mention the Victoria and Albert Museum, but if it's on your list and you want to see the (magnificent) jewelry collection, it is most pleasant immediately after the museum opens. Within an hour it's getting very crowded. Still enjoyable, but it's the one part of that huge museum where I've found that timing matters. Special (ticketed) exhibitions are a different matter, of course; some of those sell out.

I don't personally like Ferris Wheels, but I want to comment that my last (Sept, 2019) visit to London struck me with the vast number of relatively new "viewpoint" skyscrapers. Some of them even are free, but that brings problems of crowding, naturally.

If you are mainly going to the London Eye for the view, I would suggest that a much better use of your time and money might be the (alas, overpriced) VIP tickets (which come in every flavor and price) to The Shard, which even my jaded 68-year old eyes found to be first-class, superb "glassed-in" view. ( I mention glassed-in because I consider the Top of the Rock to be NYC's best view partly because it is open air. There are still glass barriers at the edge of the balconies.)

You may be on a budget, but the hard-to-book and sky-high priced restaurants Hutong and Duck and Waffel have private elevators to their superb upper-level dining rooms. We managed to span sunset and dark at Hutong, so I could live with spending $450 for three well-heeled people.

Thank you all for the very helpful replies! My wife has her heart set on the London Eye and I think it'll be fun in the evening, but I do understand that it's probably got a bit of 'tourist trap' in it. But hey, we're tourists!

I did go to the V&A in my last visit. Loved it then and would love to go back, but with only a day and half in the city I have to be picky about my museum choices. I feel we have to go to the British Museum, it's just so important. The National Gallery for me is high on my list to see the famous Velazquez painting of Venus and Cupid (I lived in Madrid at one point, took an art history course at the Prado, and Velazquez is my favorite painter). I also want to visit the Florence Nightingale museum as I'm in nursing school right now and she holds a special place for us aspiring nurses!

Our third and final day in the city we're planning on going to Greenwich. It's a spot that always intrigued me ever since I read The Secret Agent by Conrad. And I also just think it'll be a fun day out. Could maybe squeeze another museum in on our way back into the city then I suppose as well.

Overall, I think that right now, the reality is that we can only do so much, so I'm going to try and enjoy myself and not worry about what I miss.

Does anyone have opinions on their favorite Indian restaurants? I've heard good things about Dishoom.

In truth, on an incredibly short visit to London, I honestly would use my time elsewhere rather than trying to see 1% or 2% of the British Museum, unless I had a really special interest in one of the subjects it covers. Depending on what you want to see, you could easily spend 20 minutes just finding your way to and from the right gallery. Plus the British Museum is not very close to any of the other sights you've mentioned, so you might spend an hour or so just getting to and from it.

"I don't personally like Ferris Wheels,"

The London Eye isn't a "Ferris Wheel", from the internet:

"It's not a ferris wheel
Unlike Ferris wheel, the London Eye is supported by an A-frame only on one of its sides and its carriages do not hang low. You can call it a cantilevered giant observation wheel and it is just that."

Dishoom is excellent however it is very spicy. Their new cookbook is excellent at well.

Good luck and have a great trip.

It is a very short visit unfortunately. Basically, we get in early on Thursday, and then have that day and Friday for fun in London. Saturday I wanted to do a day trip, which is when we'll do Greenwich.

And I do understand what you're saying about the British Museum. It's a shame these places don't open earlier (although I get it that they're free and so I really can't complain....). Honestly, with big museums like this I always only give myself 2-3 hours absolute max even if I had all day. Any more and I can't process what I'm seeing. And I prioritize what I'll be seeing. For me, the parthenon sculptures, and the Egyptian and Anglosaxon collections are what interest me most.

The first two of those were massively crowded at the time of my visit (a rainy day). A lot of what is on display is quite large, so you can still see it fairly well over other people's heads. The bigger issue is being able to read the posted explanatory material. The Anglo-Saxon area wasn't as bad; my tour spent a bit of time around the Sutton Hoo treasure.

as you know, those are three of the most crowded and busy parts of the British Museum, regardless of day of the week or time of visit.

Getting to the Elgin Marbles and the Rosetta Stone is a well worn trail, just follow the crowds.

Getting upstairs for the Lewis Chessmen and the Hoards can be a bit of a challenge but perseverence getting through the mummies will eventually pay off.

There is a replica of the Rosetta Stone that you can walk right up to and even touch. Since the original may be invisible behind dozens of other people, swinging by the replica is a good idea if you're interested in the Rosetta Stone.

In Figeac, France (birthplace of Champollion, in the Lot), there's a small square paved with a blown-up replica of the Rosetta Stone. It's really cool.

I love those little Lewis Chessmen. They have such adorable expressions on their faces. For British Museum I'd suggest you go to the website and do a bit of research on what you'll want to see then try to work out a path to use your time efficiently. No guarantees this will work but it will give you a starting point.

Foreign tourists have had the ability to visit world class museums in the UK at the taxpayers expense. No other country allows free entry to so many museums so it's only fair that foreign visitors donate some money. I'm all for charging foreign visitors an entry fee, it'd allow some of the tax paid by UK residents to go elsewhere.

I have no issue with charging foreigners or non-locals a different fee. I live in a city, New York, where the Met is pay-what-you-will for New Yorkers but $25 for out-of-state visitors.

What I do have an issue with is calling it a donation -- by definition a donation is voluntary. If you want to charge foreigners or non-locals a fee, by all means go ahead, but be intellectually honest and call it an entry fee -- don't try to have your cake and eat it too by calling it a "donation" but then harass visitors who choose not to donate.

"Did you see they recently found a new chess piece?"

Emma! Yes! I did see that. Can you image it just hiding out in someone's drawer for all these (recent) years? He does look like he's been thru the mill, lol.

calling it a "donation" but then harass visitors who choose not to donate.

In all the museums in London which have donation areas - and I have visited lots - which I have visited I have never seen anybody hassled or harassed to make a donation. Lots of foreign and UK money in many of them and never anybody even next to them asking or even suggesting to make a donation. The facilities are clear and obvious, and silent, easy to visit and easy to bypass.

Usually some sort of perspex (plexiglass) box with some sort of a clear chute in which to drop notes or coins.

On fee-paying locations there is often a Gift Aid extra fee optionally payable, but this gives often extra benefits (such as entry for the year instead of the day) and only UK taxpayers are able to Gift Aid so it shouldn't affect a foreigner.

I don't think that Dishoom is particularly hot spicy. Very rich and tasty, and not cheap, but not too hot.

Then again, perhaps I should disclose that I come from a family where when my father was in a restaurant once - a famous one famous for their curries - he sent back a Vindaloo because it wasn't spicy enough....

Thank you for the additional Indian recommendations! We'll have to check out the Keralan restaurant you referenced. We both love Indian food-from both the north and veggie stuff from the south- so want to hit up one for sure and maybe more during our stay.

In regards to the Rosetta Stone, I remember seeing it once and not being that blown away. Honestly, it's more interesting for how it was used and it's historic importance than the actual object itself. We'll play it by ear for the rest of the stuff in the museum. If it's too crowded in one room, just move on I say. Massive crowds definitely make it hard to enjoy.

I've also found that when you try to pack too much into your schedule, sometimes you just don't get to everything.

On another note, does anyone have a favorite spot to go ice skating? Looks like Somerset House is the most popular.