8 nights in London - need help on where to go

First suggestion is to head out to your local bookstore and peruse Mr. Steve's book on London. Very informative. You can also checkout Timeout online. Pretty much tells you all to do and see in London. I assume by your post you aren't staying in London the entire 8 days. Again, it would be very beneficial for you to pick up Rick's book for a general overview and after reading it you've decide you'd like to see Bath or the Cotswolds or Stonehenge or.....then pop back on here to ask more specific questions. Using the search engine on this website will also generate tons of information about lodging, theatre, pubs, museums, etc.

If you tell us more of your intersts, we can give you more specific info- but here are some ideas.

You might want to read an article I wrote for AAA Carolina's "Go" magazine. It is about basing yourself in London and doing day trips. Here is the link:
http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28201&stateprov=nc&city=charlotte

We like to stay at the Victoria Thistle /Gosovner Hotel. It is located inside Victoria station. Very easy to get to trains, buses, and the Tube. There are nice resturants/pubs in the area, too.

With 8 days, you could also do 3 or 4 days in London and then visit another part of the UK- say Cardiff Wales, or Edinburgh Scotland for a few days.
My husband and I love the UK- we've been there more than 40 times in the past 20 + years. Feel free to private message me.

Samuel Johnston said "He who is tired of London is tired of life"! It depends on your interests, but here are a few suggestions. The Tower of London and the Crown Jewels. British Museum. London Eye. Harrods. Hamleys Toy Store if you have kids and looking for something to take home - or just a kid at heart! The Globe Theatre. Buckingham Palace and Changing of the Guard. The Cabinet War Rooms. Madame Tussauds. Ride a boat on the river. Ride the Hop On Hop Off bus. See a play or a musical. Go to Greenwich. I am sure others have other suggestions, but that should fill a few days.

With your time frame you may want to consider a day trip by train to another destination...We did Bath and Cambridge in past trips...both easy and fun. Coming up...Oxford. The free museums in London, on the other hand, could fill up 8 days by themselves. Have fun!

Hi Lori,

Sounds like this is your first trip. I'd recommend the "hop on hop off" bus for your first day - you will get a quick overview of all the main sites and you can get off at the various stops and reboard when you're done looking around. You also get a free riverboat cruise with these tickets and you can take the cruise to Greenwich which is very nice.

It depends on what your interests are but we enjoy the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery (they sit next to one another) and will usually follow that up with tea or lunch in the crypt at St. Martin in the Fields which is just across the street.

Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Churchill Cabinet War Rooms and the London Eye are always on our list. We also enjoy the British Museum (check for special exhibitions) and the Tate Modern.

Definitely pick up one of Rick's books and have a great trip!

We especially enjoyed St. Paul's. We climbed all the way to the top, and the view is fabulous. The history of the cathedral, especially the stories from WWII were fascinating. That in itself occupied the best of one day, so unless you are intent on leaving London, you won't run out of things to do in 7 days in the city. There are many museums if you like museums. We especially enjoyed the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is nicknamed England's attic. If you like theatre, be sure to take in a play. Also, just walk around a lot and look about. You see a lot of fascinating things. Harrod's is fun too. Just seeing the escalators is worth going in. We enjoy staying in the area close to Victoria Station. We stay at the Limetree Hotel.

Write ahead and get tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. What an experience!

Lori, it's difficult for any of us to know what type of sights you're interested in (art, history, musicals, museums)? Could you provide some further details?

As someone else mentioned, you might start with Rick's England or London Guidebooks, as they contain a wealth of information (including lots of good value places to stay)!

Happy travels!

We did 9 days in London last Fall. We went to British Museum, Covent Garden, St.Pauls Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, National Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace, Portobello Road Saturday Antique Market, Tower of London, London Bridge, Soanes Museum, Abbey Road, Transportation Museum, and also walked down the Thames. It was a great trip, we had a wonderful 2 bed 2 bath apartment in South Kensington, and it was nice to be able to cook our own breakfast and dinner every day (well almost every day, we had dinner out the first and last night). Take the bus!!! We used London busses as much as the Tube.