Downtown London

My top sights for a no-art museum visit for a first time London visitor -Westminister Abbey and a walk by of Big Ben and Parliament. -The Tower of London. It's expensive and might have some museum-like qualities, but is great. Take the free-with-admission tour with a "beefeater" -I'm not a fan, but a lot of people consider watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace a must-see. At least walk by the palace and into the bordering St. James and Green Parks. -St. Paul's Cathedral, and wander the area near it, called "The City". -Ride the London Eye observation wheel, like a Ferris Wheel -Take a tour with the London Walks company. They have hundreds, look at their website for the days she's there and see what's of interest. There's pub walks and neighborhood walks and Jack the Ripper walks. -I love Hyde Park and looking at the stores in nearby Kensington (Harrod's is...something else, an interesting visit for someone who likes shopping and tacky Egyptian escalators.) -Speaking of shopping, I've not been to the famous markets (Spitalfields, Camden, or Portobello Rd are most often mentioned to me), but one is on my list for next visit. Something for her to look into -Just ride the underground. The "Way Out" and "Mind the Gap" signs seem to provide no end of interest to first-time American and Canadian visitors! And because I simply can't write about London without mentioning it...
-British Museum (yes, obviously this is a museum, but it's free and amazing and not focused on art. It features the real Rosetta Stone, the marble from the Parthenon in Greece, an actual temple, mummies, etc).

She could also go on one of the Hop On Hop Off bus trips. They take you on a narrated tour of the sights of London, passing by all the "must see" sights, and you can get off at a sight, spend awhile looking around there, then get back on one of the HOHO buses. Your ticket lasts for 24 hours, and includes a short boat ride on the Thames. Good way to see it all. If you don't get off the bus, the complete tour is about 2 hours. She should read the Rick Steves London guide. Even though she will only be there 2 days, it would be a shame for her to miss something she would like and only find out about it after she returns home. As for pubs, I highly recommend she take the Pub Walk with the company that Miranda mentioned, London Walks. Look at their website at www.walks.com. You can also research here: http://www.fancyapint.com/ My favorite pub is The George, on Borough High Street, Southwark (south of the River Thames) where Charles Dickens and Shakespeare drank. It's not far from The Globe theatre.

One unsolicited piece of advice I always give first-time London visitors is to have a good map. Sounds really obvious, but a lot of the maps in guidebooks (even Rick's) aren't detailed enough for walking around a lot. Maybe it's just me, but I generally have an excellent sense of direction and found London quite confusing at first. Now I use a London A-Z tourist app on my iPhone (doesn't require internet once you download it the first time), which shows every single street in a large section of central London.

The London Elizabeth Hotel is a great hotel..http://www.londonelizabethhotel.com/hotel-overview.html at a great location a two minute walk from Lancaster Gate Hotel, across the street from Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens and around the corner from The Swan Pub, it has great food. With only two days I wouldn't spend several hours at the Tower of London, instead I would suggest getting tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower which takes place at night at 9:52 every night. That way she could see a little inside of the tower, if you want more information you can send me a message. If she doesn't care to do that, I would suggest walking past it and keeping a tour of the tower for her next visit. Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, walk thru one or two parks...St. James Park and Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens are great. I would suggest having tea at The Orangery at Kensington Palace. You told us what she isn't interested in, but what is her interests...history, royal, etc? If we knew a little more we could help her more.

Thank you all for your replies with great suggestions. My wife likes to cook, do some shopping, pop into a bar for a drink or a restaurant for a good (not expensive) meal. She also likes to walk around to get a feel for a city and to people watch. We spent a week in Paris years ago just walking around and seeing the sites. With me she will go into a museum but without me, not so much.

She might be interested in the shop in Notting Hill called Books for Cooks. Years ago when I went with a friend to London, I went to some museum or other and she went to Books for Cooks. She came back with three cookbooks (one of which was quite hard to find in the US) and said she was in heaven while shopping. booksforcooks.com

We have stayed several times at the Green Park Hilton on Half Moon Street. From there you can walk to all of the tourist attractions (except the Tower of London) mentioned by the others. There's a Pret right around the corner where they can get a reasonably priced breakfast while people watching. Does "no museums" mean no ART museums or absolutely NO museums? The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert are both superb and free. They are a bit like the Smithsonian - very eclectic. The V & A is close to Harrods, if she wants to go there.

First time and two days. Wow. Others have offered good advice. This would be mine. Time is your biggest challenge so I would focus on saving time over money. Stay centrally near a tube stop, and don't be afraid to spend on cabs. They are plenteous and get you from point to point quickly. I would look at Victoria station area, or near Marble Arch. I have stayed at Lime Tree Hotel and The Sumner and recommend both. Both are close to transport. If you have never been to London before see Westminster Abbey, just because. I would challenge you on the museums, as have others, to consider an hour in the British Museum and the National Gallery. In the British Museum just go see the Rosetta Stone and the antiquities, and do a quick walk through the National Gallery. The National Gallery is the best all-around gallery in the world in my opinion. You don't need to blow a half a day in each to see the best they offer. I would concentrate night life in the theatre district. If you wander around Leicester Square and Covent Garden areas, you will get both shopping and pubs galore, plus see some sights to boot. Take in a show. You can see a lot of London in the Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Covent Garden areas. I'm going in February for 10 days. Sixth trip and have not seen it all yet. You'll clearly be saving something for the next time.