London for 8 days

How long is a piece of string? You could hop an HoHo bus and check off everything while sitting (slightly) comfortably in 4 hours. Or, like us, go frequently and never see it all.

If you know you will be there for 8 days, why do you want to know how long it will take to see the city?

That said, I used to live in the place, have gone back multiple times, including 3 trips in the last 4 years, including an 8-day stay earlier this month. I have yet to "see" the city.

Suggestions:

Do your research. Buy/borrow some good guide books. (I find books with a profusion of color photos very helpful. That's a hint, Rick.)

I find it very helpful to prepare a very rough outline of what I want to see and do each day. If I change my mind, that's OK. I keep a short list of indoor activities -- musuems, galleries, etc. -- in case the weather turns nasty on any given day.

Be prepared to get on a train for a day trip outside London. Places like Bath, Oxford, Cambridge, Dover, Canterbury, York, Chester, Salisbury, Winchester, etc., etc., are all an easy day trip. Leave after an early breakfast and come back after dinner.

And, of course, you can always take the train to Paris for a day or so.

There is a ton to do in London. On my first trip I was there for two weeks -- I spent one week in London and one week doing day trips. I did NOT see everything I wanted to see in London. I would need at least two weeks. It all depends on how much you like museums, how much time you like to spend it them, how much you like history, how much you like to shop, etc. etc.

As others have said- it can take a day or many, many more. We have been more than 40 times and I'd go again right now if I could. Alot depends on your interests. My hubby is not interested in paintings- so we haven't "done" many of the museums. But we both LOVE markets and often visit Covent Garden Market every day we are in London (there are different vendors each day of the week). You can customize your trip.

Rather than determining how long London "takes", I'd do some research,decide what you are interested in (art, history, gardens, markets, etc.)and pick some day trips you like (I'd add a day or half-day for Windsor, too). Then allocate your time based on all of that info.

As JC said, day trips by train are very easy. This is the web address of an article I wrote about doing just that (http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28208&stateprov=nc&city=charlotte).

Feel free to contact me by private message if I can be of further help.

80 days is not enough. I have lived/worked in London and frequent visitor since. Fascinating place and so easy to do day trips to many nearby interesting Cities and sights. Read all you can (not only RS) and come up with a list of what sounds interesting to you. Walk all over to get the feeling of London.

As others have said, you will never see all of London. Read about London, see what interests you then decide which things top your list. Do not over plan your days...if you do you will be tired and not enjoy it. Plan a couple major things a day, take time to sit and enjoy the area, have tea...people watch. Take walks thru the beautiful parks...St. James Park, Green Park, Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens, Holland Park ......take your time and enjoy wonderful, beautiful London.

Marybeth, as everyone else has answered, it is true you can spend infinite time in London and not "see it all," but I suspect that's not the point of your question. I'm reading into your question a bit, but my interpretation of your question is that you've got 8 days in London (lucky you) and you're trying to determine how much to spend in the city vs. elsewhere. OR, you're initially arriving in London for a total 8 days in Britain and trying to determine how much to spend in London.

For me, the limit to my time in London is entirely cost-related: how much can I afford to stay in that expensive city vs. getting more for my buck elsewhere. If you can afford it, I think London is always worth 5 or 6 full days at a comfortable pace. If you have more time, you can either choose to see more there or you can take a great daytrip to Cambridge, or Stratford-upon-Avon, or Bath, or York, etc. I've spent approximately 20 days in London over four trips and still haven't seen everything on my to-do list. Enjoy!

Wife and I spent 8 days in London in late September, 2008. We had a blast. Saw nearly everything we wanted to see that was on our list. Took Rick's London 2008 book with us and I carried it with me in my day bag every day as we went out into the city to explore. The only place we wanted to see but didn't due to limited time was Greenwich. We had planned a morning tour of the Tower of London followed by a quick tour of the Tower Bridge, and then to Greenwich. When we got out of Tower Bridge it was nearly 2pm, we hadn't realized that Tower of London took 3 hours to see (and we enjoyed it immensely). We want to go back to London soon, I think we'd spend more time in the National Gallery, it is huge beyond belief. I'd like to visit the V&A again, and maybe see the Soane's Museum one more time (it was incredible). We stayed in South Kensington and would stay there again, we rented an apartment which cost the same as a decent hotel room, and we had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms!! We took no day trips, and were glad to spend the entire time in Central London. The farthest we went out of Central London was to St.John's Wood tube station to see Abbey Road.

Nigle, well said. I've been to London many times, once for 10 days. Okay, 9 days. We went to Windsor one day. We did not run out of things to do and we have left plenty for other trips. Do your research and tell us what is on your list. We will all happily give you suggestions. Mind you, I don't consider Kew or Greenwich day trips. A nice thing about having 8 days is you don't have to be in a rush.

I have been to London 3 times in the past 2 years and still haven't seen everything. But I have seen alot and am going again in Spring so hope to see more. You can get to see alot of places and have a more local experience (and cheaper if you use an oyster card) if you take regular city double decker buses and the tube.

So whatever you like to see will have to be the foundation for planning what to see, i.e. art, museums, parks, shopping, etc. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about shopping places :)

Very jealous! I've been to London three times and always find new things. It is my favorite city. Eight days will allow you to take in the sites at a nice pace.

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
-- Samuel Johnson

Ditto to what everyone said about there being LOTS to see and do in London. One thing you might not think about is the Ceremony of the Keys tour at the Tower of London. You are supposed to write two months ahead for tickets. We've been twice and it's definitely worth the time and effort! The guides are great and you get to be a tiny part of something that's been going on for hundreds of years!