2 days in London

Based on your locations... I would consider starting the day at the Tower of London, pictures of Tower Bridge, I'd be tempted to go from there to the Monument and climb to the top if it's a nice day. Along to St. Paul's, tour of inside. Cross the Millenium bridge to the Globe, do the exhibit tour, grab dinner nearby, then see a show that night.

On your first day, I'd suggest a bus tour for hop on hop off, so that you could stop and take pictures of places like Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, etc. And pop into the National Gallery, British Museum, even for a quick peek.

I'm a little confused by the prices in Euros though, as they use the pound.

Yes, that was just silly me, I'm sure it is in pounds and I just put Euro since that is what I'll be using on the rest of my trip.

One of my favorite walks in London is from Westminster Bridge (also my fav. bridge in London), past Big Ben and Parliament, past the Abbey, up Whitehall to Trafalgar Sq., through Leicester Sq. and into Covent Garden. You'll pass a number of museums and churches that you can go into or not. Ditto with shops and restaurants. I love lingering in Covent Garden to watch the street performers and all of the people. And Whitehall is just so grand. You'll walk past a number of embassies, government buildings, and monuments.

Just plan them by the location. Previously mentioned walk sounds lovely (have done one very similar myself).

I LOVE walking around London, and that schedule is very doable. You might also consider the big bus tours - they're hop on/hop off, swing by all the major sites, run frequently, give you discount admission to many places with your tickets, and usually include a free Thames cruise. Tickets are good for 24 hrs, so if you get them at 2PM one day, you can use them til 2PM the next.

They also offer skip the line tickets, which can be nice depending on when/which day of the week you're there. Have fun!

I would take the tube to Waterloo tube station, see the London Eye, walk across Westminster Bridge, you'll see Big Ben, House of Parliament then to Westminster Abbey. Walk up Whitehall, you will pass Downing Street, walk up The Mall and you'll see Buckingham Palace. I wouldn't waste time trying to see the changing of the guards, if you want to see it you would have to be there by 9 or 9:30am and get right up to the fence and then wait till 11am, and with you only having two days I would put it off until your next visit. Then go to Covent Garden have a meal and go to the theatre. For the other things you could take tube to Tower Hill, tour Tower of London, see Tower Bridge walk up Lower Thames Street to Upr Thames St., to Southwick Bridge walk across the bridge go up Bankside St to th Globe Theatre then continue on Bankside to the Millenuim Bridge cross over the bridge. After Millenuim Bridge you can walk straight ahead to Peters Hill then turn left onto Queen Victoris Street to Godliman St., which will take you to St. Pauls Cathdral. Or if you never had a ride in a black cab I would take a cab from Millenuim Bridge to St. Pauls Cathedral, everyone should ride in a black at least once. I hope this helps some.

Here's what we are doing...first morning, straight to the Tower of London before the crowds. Then the hop on hop off tour so we know what we want to see more of the second day. By the end of the first day, many sights will be done, and a great plan will be in place for day two!

I will be visiting London also for the first time for 3 days. My list is very similar! I had friends just return from London and they told me to forget about the hop on hop off because the traffic was sooo bad they felt they wasted so much of their valuable time trying to get to places. They recommend the tube for everything. Do others feel this way about hop on hop off?

You do not say when you will be in London. Depending on the time of year, the changing of the guard does not happen every day, check and see. If you do not want to spend all morning waiting at Buckingham Palace, but do want some of the pageantry, go to St. James's Court (About half way up the Mall) and you will see the guard assemble for the changing, then RUN alongside it to the palace, cross the Green abd watch the old guard leave for the palace. The Hop on Hop off bus offers a free walking tour with a guide which does this.

Lyn--

I've never done the hop on/hop off tour, but depending on the time of day, taking a bus anywhere in London can be absolutely miserable. It took me over an hour to get from Mile End Road in the East End to King's Cross in early afternoon. It was nice seeing everything from the front of a double decker, but man did it take forever. Depending upon where you'd like to go, it can be very manageable to plan out a day of walking, taking the tube when you're feet get tired or you want to skip from area to area.

The Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace takes place daily throughout the summer.