London 3 day Itinerary Help

You don't say if any of you have ever been to London before or not, so I'll base by reply as if you haven't been. I was there last October for 3 days and only saw the tip of the ice berg. We made it to Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's and the Tower. We also did the Hop On/Hop Off tour and that included a Thames River Cruise which we took on the 2nd day and got off at the Tower. The tickets are good for 24 hours so if you get them on Sunday afternoon they will be good until Monday afternoon. I also recommend taking the entire "loop" on the Hop On/Hop Off twice - once in the day light and then again once at night - I thought seeing all the lights of London was wonderful. I don't believe that either St. Paul's or Westminster will be open for sightseeing on Sunday. I was truely impressed with both Westminster and St. Paul's and found both worthwhile (and I didn't climb to the top of tower). Both the V&A and the British Museum are great or you might consider the Imperial Way Museum. Also think about taking in a play one evening - I got a great seat for Agatha Christie's Mousetrap for £15 - it was ever so British!

None of us have ever been to London before. I thought we would do the East End walk on Sunday to see the markets since this would keep us moving around and hopefully awake!

None of us have ever been to London before. I thought we would do the East End walk on Sunday to see the markets since this would keep us moving around and hopefully awake!

Not too excited about RS East End tour. Starting with the Morning bus tour is a good way to get an overview, and possibly see stuff you want to get back to. Top sights are Westminster Abbey (and the Poets Corner) and its surroundings, Big Ben, from there you can walk past Horse Guards (Horse guards Change is really worthwhile, but still a fun Photo Op even without it), Trafalgar Square. I usually like walking on my first day but you will probably be limited on that score. Tower Bridge and Tower of London (with or without the tour). St Pauls is good, but in depth probably more if you are interested in English history. Piccadilly Circus, Piccadilly (street) (for the shops) and Burlington Arcade (High end shops). Boat cruise on the river. West End walk. You must do one theatre visit- if you arent too choosy, try and see what you can get at the TKTS booth at leicester Square- there is usually a good choice Walking the parks- St James Park is small and manageable, Hyde Park is large but has refreshment stands. Globe Theatre. Mu=seums are your call- National Gallery is convenient (right on trafalgar Square) and has a good gift shop and cafe I usually recommend Hampton Court, but it takes a lot of walking.

"You must do one theatre visit" Not on a 3 day visit, I would not. I'd concentrate on filling up the day with sights as listed already, Westminster Abbey, St.Paul's Cathedral, I'd also add the British Museum and the National Gallery. We very much enjoyed walking around the Covent Garden area. I would avoid the East End unless you want to see the more raw parts of London. Instead, perhaps a walk along the South Bank of the Thames would be good, its certainly a wonderful way to see Central London, from across the river!

Thanks all for your replies. I'm starting to rethink the walk on the first day since it seems to not be well liked on here. My other question was how much do you think we should put on an Oyster card for 3 days? I don't want to put too much and have a whole bunch left over.

We have always been to London off season but from previous posts I understand the Tower of London can have long lines so I think people recommend getting there first thing in the AM. One time we stayed for the entire Beefeaters tour but found the very end where you are lead into the small chapel was long and boring so the next time we just skipped out before going in to the chapel. Then if you are up to it you can walk across Tower Bridge and turn right and walk along the Thames. The only walking tour we took was from London Walks in the evening so can't tell you about any of the ones you reference. We loved St. Paul's, only my son walked up to the tower. I think it was worthwhile even though I didn't go to the top. Especially enjoyed the American Chapel in the back. Enjoy.

If its your first time I really wouldn't start with an East End walk. Would probably look at the Hop On Hop Off buses to get an overview of London. If the weather's good you could sit on the open air top deck and get your bearings. Also assume you'll be jet-lagged.

Although I dont think the East End walk makes sense. You could/should walk through some of the parks and streets to get the feeling you are IN London, and to get a little over jet lag

Peggy, going to the theatre one evening would be great. There isn't much to do in the evenings...of course there is walking around but the actural sites close between 5-6pm and the stores close around the same time. The theatre in London is fantastic...I would suggest going to Covent Garden having a nice meal then to the show.
You should really take your mother to The Orangery at Kensington Palace...you can get a lovely cream tea (tea and scones) or an Afternoon Tea..it's very pretty inside and I'm sure all three of you would enjoy it.

Hello. My husband and I are in our late 60's. We have been to London in 2009 and 2020. We will be returning there in September. We have always been very happy with the Gray Line Tours inside and outside of London. You meet the tours at maybe Victoria Station or they pick you up near your hotel. The Hop-on- Hop-Off tours are wonderful to. We took Gray Line Tours around London (they include all the sites), to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Bath, Cotswold's, etc. They are a great company. They are based here in the U.S. You can also book tours while you are in London. Sometimes the tours need to be booked in advance though. Elaine

For a three day trip, I'd buy a one day pass for each day, skipping the Oyster Card.

Thanks everyone for your great replies! I have scratched the East End walk since everyone seems to agree on that. We are definitely considering the theatre one night. Should we buy tickets now or wait until we get there? Also, thanks for the tip about the Travelcard as opposed to the Oyster. I didn't realize you could buy them for 1 day at a time. The Oyster card was confusing me because I just really have no idea how much we would be using it. Our hotel is in the Hyde Park area.

If you have your heart set on a specific play or musical you should definitely buy it in advance. That will mean you pay top dollar. If you just want to go to something, you can bet there will be discounted tickets available the day of the production at Leicster Square. I've pasted a link to the "official" discount ticket source. http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/tkts/ You can see what's showing now is you wander around the site and maybe get a better idea of what will be playing during your trip. What's available and at what price varies considerably. On Sunday both Westminster Abbey and St Pauls willl be closed to all but worshippers. On Sunday Westminster Abbey does an Evensong service at 3 pm that is open to anyone. They don't check your "affiliation" or lack there of. You'll get a chance to peak at the beautiful interior but they won't let you tour the place. I wouldn't try to optimize an oyster card vs one day passes. The oyster maximizes out at what you'd pay for the daily pass. For a zone 1-2, an off peak card is 6.60 GBP (good for Sunday and after 9:30 am) and the peak card is 8.00 GBP if you think you'll be out and about before 9:30 am on Monday thru Wednesday. One day passes would work but I think you find the oyster card more convenient. You could get cards and put 20 GBP on each. That will give you a couple of trips per day (1.90 off peak & 2.50 peak) for less money and you wouldn't have to buy one for each day. You can always top off the cards if you travel more. (Locals - please feel free to correct me.) I've attached the link to the London Transport website if you want more info. You can also buy oyster cards and travel passes in advance. http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/english/introduction.htm Have a good trip.

The travelcards are usually much more expensive than the Oyster card. Fares are about 1.60 (pounds) per trip on the underground, so we did 8 pounds at a time. That gave us 5 trips on the Underground. You can add money at any station very quickly, so if you need to put in more once you see how much you use it, it's very fast and easy. You can also use the oyster card on all the buses (which are well labeled and easy to use), which can save precious time and tired feet. And Oyster cards never expire. So if you ever go back to London or have a friend who goes, you can use any leftover money then. Or you can get your deposit for the card (I think it was 5 pounds) back at the end of your trip. Definitely look carefully at the cost of the single day pass and how much you'll be traveling on the underground/buses.