London and ?

OMG - there is SOOOO much to see! If you gave us an idea of your budget and your general areas of interest, that might help us narrow it down. On my personal "do not miss in England" list (in no order whatsoever) are: The Tower of London St. Paul's Cathedral window shopping on the King's Road the Tate Modern a stroll in Kensington Gardens - check out the Royal Albert Hall Harrod's food halls Westminster Abbey The Globe Theatre fish 'n' chips a pint of bitter Stonehenge Salisbury Cathedral Stratford-Upon-Avon "Old Sarum Glastonbury *Tintagel
*Bath spa... and the list goes on.

Really depends on your interests. History? Sports? Wildlife? Hiking? Shopping? It will be easier to make suggestions if you can give us some of your interests.

First- I'd give London more than 3 days. You can do alot of day trips from London and not have to uproot yourself (if you are intersted, private message me with your email and I'll send you an article I wrote). Then- it depends on your interests. Do you want to stay in the UK? Are you interested in history- especially any particular period? Or Art- any particular movement or artist? Architechture? Religion? Literature- any period or arthor? You get the drift. Also, how do you prefer to travel? We DON'T drive in Europe, but lots on this board do. What kind of accomodation do you prefer? What is your budget? If you want to stay in the UK, here's just one idea London- 5-7 days with day trips to any of these (Windsor, Cardiff Wales, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, Winchester, Brighton, Canterburry, Dover, Oxford, Cambridge and more) Train to York- 1-2 days Train to Edinburgh- 2-3 days Train to Aviemore- 2-4 days (microwbrewery, distilleries, Balir Atholl castle, funicular up Mt. Caringorm, restored steam train along Spey river) Train to Inverness- 4-6 days with day trips (Culloden battlefield, Clava Cairns, Isle of Skye, Eliean Donan castle, curise up Loch Ness with Urquart Castle and Drumnadrochit, distilleries, etc.)
Train to Galsgow, 1-3 days There are LOTS of options- You could stay a few days in Bath, visit the Cotswolds, see the Lake District, or go other to Penzance and the coast. You could take a week or more to see Ireland. Or you could head to France or other countries.

First, add at least 2 more days to London... Now - I have a crystal ball but it is foggy at best, and when you give no hint of your likes, dislikes, budget, size of traveling party, mode of transport or even if you really mean "England" or "Great Britain" or "United Kingdom" it is absolutely useless. Which guidebooks have you read or skimmed? What was it about England that led you to choose it for your holiday? Have you been elsewhere in Europe before, or is this the first time to Europe as well as first time to England?

Wow so much great info. Been to Scotland, Belgiuim, and the Netherlands. Love cities with lots of architecture and nice centers to walk around in. Prague, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Brugge are all great examples of cities that have it all. More of an outside person than inside. Read Rick Steve's England. Ran searches off a map of all the different cities. Looks like 5 days for London not 3. Love all the ideas shared so far. Thank you.

Another thought. Would it make sense to get an apartment for a week in London and do some daytrips? Prefer vacation apartments over hotels when staying a week or more in one city.

I'd suggest you check out the London School of Economics. they rent spare dorm rooms and apartments to tourists. Just be aware that their site sometimes has problems with some web browsers and says there is nothing available when there really is (Internet Explorer, especially) here are their websites http://www.lsevacations.co.uk/ www.lsetopfloor.co.uk/ While not big cities, the Cotwolds would provide you lots of outside 'opportunties' as there are LOTS of walks in the area. But for that you'd want to rent a car. The Lake District might work, also. Snowdonia (Wales) is another area to consider.
Persoanlly, I've enjoyed Cardiff, but it is mostly the shopping I like. York is wonderful for history and unusual architechture (you have the Shambles - half-timber houses, the Minster, the Wall, etc.) and shopping. Bath also has lovely architechture (very Gerogian and Roman) and you could combine it with Cardiff and/or the Cotswolds.

Toni and rita have listed a lot of good suggestions. If you are into architecture (and walkable cities) i think of Salisbury, York, Winchester,Canterbury, Bath (not one of my favorites) all cathedral towns with interesting walking areas near the cathedrals- York, I would allow at least two days, the others could be done as day trips from london by train. Oxford and Cambridge of course. However you could point your nose in ay direction from London and find a fascinating area to sightsee and experience. Outdoors- Devon, Cornwall and Yorkshire for their moors; Costswolds and anywhere along the Thames for cute. All easier by car Buy a couple of guide books (or borrow from the library) an see what sounds interesting. I also agree there is a lot more to see in London than you can cover in only three days