Tour ending in Paris, traveling to London on our own. Hotels? transportation? Day Tours?

Welcome to the forum!
I would obtain the London guidebook, from the library if you don't want to buy it yet. Most of you questions will be answered there.
https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/london-guidebook

I always recommend The Premier Inn chain. Several locations throughout London. Good value. My favorite locations are Waterloo and County Hall.

Eurostar to London, tube and bus around London. Day tours not necessary as it is easy to navigate in London.

Is this a first visit? How old is your daughter? How much time for London?

If only a couple of days, stick to the city, stay close to if not within the Tube circle line. Familiarize yourself with a map of central London with the Tube overlaid to get an idea of where to stay, the top sights...do some research on your own, then come back with specific questions. Lots of similar recent threads here about where to stay, so look for those.

Here's what I suggest you do:

1) Get the RS London guidebook

2) Go to the England section of the "Explore Europe" section on this website. It will give you lots of information on London:

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england

3) Go to Seat 61's section on the Eurostar:

https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/london-to-paris-by-eurostar.htm

4) Scroll through the England section of this site--you're there--and you will probably find lots of answer to your questions. For more specific questions, use the "Search" box at the top off the page.

Tickets are now available on the Eurostar train for trips until late June 2023 and prices only head one way.

No one location will cover all the sights, so stay anywhere within Zone 1 of the underground. Pick a location that’s better for what you want to see rather than something that’s better for the airport. The Premier Inn hotel chain is a good starting point.

Windsor is an easy journey by train from Paddington or Waterloo. There are no tours of Buckingham Palace on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. I avoid Borough Market at the weekends as it’s too busy to be a pleasant experience.

Stay at the County Hall Premier Inn. Right next door to the Millennium Wheel in Jubilee Gardens and an easy stroll to the Westminster Bridge. Walk across the bridge to Parliament Square ( Parliament, Elizabeth’s Tower with the Big Ben Bell, Westminster Abbey). From Parliament Square its an easy stroll up Birdcage Walk in St James Park to Buckingham Palace.

FYI use Google Maps now and type in Big Ben. You can see how close all of the above are. Walkable distance.

I also suggest considering the many Premier Inns for your stay. I will be in London in September and plan to stay in one that will be new to me, but I love the neighborhood. It is near Victoria Station. Take a look at the diverse walking tours London Walks does. I did one recently that met near the Tower of London and took a cruise to Greenwich then walked around. It was a lovely day. If you or your daughter like to shop I would suggest experiencing one of the large department stores like Harrods. The food halls are amazing. If you like theater I would suggest seeing a show while you are in London. The prices tend to be much less than in the US and I love the older theaters. I have noticed Rick's tour hotels in London tend to be in larger 'business' type hotels lately and can be more expensive than I want to pay. Depending on the month you will be in London Buckingham Palace may not be open to tourists, but check https://www.rct.uk/visit/buckingham-palace for information. A good way to orient yourself to London is to take one of the bus tours that leave near Victoria Station. They are hop on, hop off but I always suggest just staying on for the complete tour as there can be a wait between buses. Oh, and don't take buses in London during rush hours, the Tube will be much faster. Check out a couple different guides on London from your library, study the map-especially the underground map- and plan your visits so you can see several things in an area and not be traveling all over. I love London. My first visit was in 1984 and I try to spend time there every trip over the pond.

You definitely need to get the London guidebook but wait until Sept-a new edition is due out in August. Also, you do not want to do the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus unless you enjoy sitting in traffic. You should plan to stay as many days in London as possible, but the hotels are expensive.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

I know I'm cramming a lot in for 4 nights, but really want to see the country side as well. Is anyone aware of any tours that'll take you to a small town outside of London to take in the scenery and experience a small British pub like you see in the movies?

You can easily do that on your own. Take a train to Bath or Salisbury see the sights and drop in to a pub!

There are also neighborhood pubs in London.

I like to stay at The Lime Tree on Ebury Street although it's been completely renovated since I last stayed there. It will depend on your daughters age as they don't take children under 5 BUT if you are on a RS tour I suspect your daughter is older than that anyway! I enjoy this for the neighborhood, especially Elizabeth St.

https://www.limetreehotel.co.uk/

Personally, we like staying in Kensington. Make sure whatever hotel you choose is near a Tube station. Tubes go all over the city and with a Oyster card called buses are included too. Don’t miss Churchill’s War Rooms! You say you will be in London four nights which equals only three days for seeing the sights. You do not have enough time to leave London except, perhaps, to go to Windsor Castle. We didn’t even go out there until fourth trip to London. I would save it for your next trip to England.
If you are going to London during the time that Buckingham Palace is open to tours, make a reservation in advance. It is a wonderful experience. This also applies to the Churchill War Rooms, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey.
For a possible day trip, take a train to Windsor Castle. Buy your tickets ahead online! The town of Windsor is quite nice and and you can have lunch there. But your short time in London might be better spent seeing the important sites within the city itself.
The first thing you need to do when you arrive is is to get Oyster cards for each of you and fill them with some pounds. You can add more pounds as needed. You can easily travel all over London with your Oyster Cards on the Tube and buses. We love London, one of our favorite places to visit.

Thanks again everyone for all your tips and suggestions. Much appreciated!

We took a one day tour with London Walks of Oxford and the Costwolds countryside in 2019. This tour was definitely a highlight of our short stay in London. Check out London Walks:

https://www.walks.com/our-walks/walks-by-date/