Critique My 4.5 Day London Itinerary

The Jack the Ripper tour is pretty cool, something to keep in mind though it is much more enjoyable when it is pitch black out. You will be doing it with alot of sunlight as it does not become dark till after 9pm that time of year so it will be weird doing it in the "daytime". Also you have to see St. Pauls and I would absolutely sugggest watching the Trooping of the Color practice as its spectacular and there is nothing like it here in the US. You may enjoy the Changing of the Guards at Whitehall more as you are closer and the crowds are nowhere near what you will experience at Buckingham.......thousands ! I would catch a train to Windsor Castle that last day after the Guard Ceremony. Windsor is a do not miss place! Let me know if you have any questions as I visit alot.

The trooping of the Color takes place on horse guards, the parade is probably from Buckingham palace to Horse Guards, so wont affect your other plans. Definitely worth attending the trooping Colour practice (i was lucky enough to see the real thing before it became popular). Much better than the Buckingham Palace change. I also agree with above, the regular Changing of Horse guards at Horse guards is much more spectacular (and much easier to see) than the Change at Buckingham palace.

Friday - go straight to your hotel from the train, your bags (your room could very well be ready by then anyway) and then go to lunch. As for the pub later on, I would check first. I have seen recent discussions on other forums that children are often not allowed in pubs after 9 p.m. Saturday - speaking of pubs, there is Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese on Fleet Street. It dates back to the 1600's and has tons of atmosphere. 145 Fleet Street, on Wine Office Court. It's less than 10 minutes' walk from St. Paul's, so you could lunch there. When you get there, go down stairs, and more stairs and more stairs. It's fun just seeing the place. Monday - if you spend some time on the internet before you leave, you can usually get about the same price tickets in advance, instead of waiting in line and using up your precious sight-seeing time. Look at this discussion: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/82474/london-theatre-early-june.html

Nice itinerary. After arriving via the Eurostar I'd head right to the Premier Inn via the tube. King's Cross to Waterloo station, then walk to your hotel or King's Cross to Westminster and walk across the bridge to the hotel. Check in or at least store your luggage, then have lunch. You could have your first pub experience at the Red Lion just up Whitehall from Parliament. However, if you must eat after arriving there's a Pret a Manager, (salads, soups, sandwiches) Fine Burger Company, even a Starbucks are on the lower level of the train station. You might get some sandwiches or wraps to take with you from Pret a Manager for a nosh after Evensong. Especially if Evensong begins at 5:30pm instead of 5pm. That way you won't be rushed to get from Westminster to Tower Hill via the tube during peak travel times. On Sat. get up early to visit Borough's Market for breakfast, then off to the Tower. Is the visit to the Tate Modern something you're REALLY interested in? Is the 13 year old? ONLY ask because something like the Camden Lock market would be entertaining. Vibrant neighborhood with interesting booths for shopping. With the tube it's so darn easy to get from the Tower to Camden Town to explore it.You could return to St Paul's and then take your walk across the Millennium bridge to the Tate later the same day. Lastly, on Monday I would go to the Leicester Square ticket booth when it opens, (10am) then off to the British Museum. From Museum take the tube to West Ham to meet up with your Olympic Walk. On the last day after The Changing of the Guards you can enjoy walking around Hyde Park, visit Lillywhites near Piccadilly, have lunch in the crypt of St. Martins, stroll thru Covent Garden, get your luggage and head back to Heathrow. Oyster card is a must. Have a wonderful time.

Does the Tower open at 10 on Saturday? If not, I'd strongly suggest that you get there earlier -- right before it opens. It is worth getting up early or grabbing breakfast on the go, because it is so wonderful to be there before it gets crowded...and it gets crowded fast! That was one of the best sightseeing decisions we made in London!

Darren - I understand what you mean about the Jack the Ripper Tour, but I think the London Walks one is only at 7:15. Are there others that are later (from other companies)? Would you suggest doing that instead? Thanks for your other suggestions, I'll look into those! Claudia - Tate Modern is for me, really. But Camden market was something I was interested in as well. Ruth - Yep, Tower doesn't open until 10 that day. Everyone - Thanks for your advice! And duh, I don't know why I didn't plan to go to the hotel right after arriving to drop off the bags. One other question - my husband was concerned with the short amount of time we have for the British Museum. But I'm pretty interested in doing the Olympics tour sometime (2:15 daily) - any suggestions for things I could move around? (we've already purchased the Globe tickets as they were nearly sold out).

Heather, The half price ticket booth on Monday.......are you going to the tkts book at Leicester Square? If so, be aware that the queue for tickets starts much earlier than 10am when the place opens, and tickets for the best shows go quickly. Since your Monday plan doesn't begin until 10am anyway, perhaps you can get in line for tickets first thing after breakfast. If you're at the front of the queue, you might get your tickets not long after 10, and then can head up to the British Museum and spend as much time there (and lunch) as you can before taking the Tube to your Olympics Walk. That might give you at least a couple hours at the museum and you'll want that. (I don't know anything about the walk or where it is, so I can't comment on the 1/2 hr ride to it from the British Museum as opposed to from the ticket booth.)
Matt

We enjoyed the London Walks Jack the Ripper tour. We actually didn't go with the main guy, they split the group into 2 and we went with a female guide instead since that group was a bit smaller. We liked her though. My husband enjoyed it more than Ijust slightly differing tastes. Also, the guy was selling copies of his book on Jack the Ripper and autographing them if that interests you 10 pound I think (which was less than the cover price). The tour ends right down the block from a pub one of the women was in right before she was murdered (if I'm remembering the story right). We ate at fish a chips place right around the corner from that pub that was sort of a British 50s style diner that we liked quite a lot.

What a great idea to ask others to critique you're plans. Everybody who took the time to help - I'm impressed and will be sending mine for review as soon as I finish my first draft. We arrive on Saturday, June 9th, and I also noticed that the Tate Modern is open until 10PM. As we're trying to see the big sights between the 10AM-6PM I was thrilled to see this was open late because it was lower on my husband's/son's list and high on mine - net I'll get to see it without taking time away from bigger attractions. Heather, I'll keep my eyes open for you that night. I'll be the woman with her husband and 10-year-old son. To offer something in return, I can provide advice (if anybody is interested) on bakeries in Rome. I've been to Italy twice and was there last April - 5 days in Rome. I'm an amateur baker (I've actually beaten Majorie Johnson - the "Living Betty Crocker" at the MN State Fair) so I take it pretty seriously. I did about two months of research on the best bakeries in Rome before we went and I can give detailed recos on all three. Two are well known and $$$. The last is in the Trastevere district, is not well known, wins awards every year for the best cookies and costs next to nothing. Oh, and convents! Both times I stayed at convents so I can give advice on that as well. Best!

regarding the pub question, I think you may run into issues here with a 13 year old at some pubs. Others that are more of an actual eatery you may be all right at. Not sure if your family is interested in military history at all (WWI or II) but if so the Imperial War Museum is a can't miss. This is my favorite museum in London after the British Museum. It's not too far from the London Eye and you can go through it in an hour or two depending on your interest level. Other than that, your itinerary looks good. The parks are great for people watching, and I would suggest exploring some of the shopping markets. enjoy.

Heather, I do not know if they have later ones but I doubt it, it takes 2 hours as it stands now. Let me know if you need any other tips.

Heather it all sounds great to me except the Jack the Ripper tour and the only reason I say that is because of the age of your son. I went on this tour several years ago and the guide (I believe it was the guy who is considered the "expert" as he has written a book and sells it at the end of the tour) got very graffic about how the sexual act was conducted between the prostitutes and their customers at that time and area where the killings took place. I would not have wanted my 13 year old to hear some of that, but that is me and you and your husband may think entirely differently - just wanted to give you that heads up.