London in 2 days?

[marilynbn]

I know this may be crazy...but. These are the sights we want to see during our 2 1/2 day pre-cruise stay in London. We do not need to spend many many hours in museums. We have never been to London and it may be many years before we can afford to return so we need to do this commando style! I already have theatre tickets for one evening.

 

I need to know from you experts what is the best grouping of sights to see in each day.

 

We will be arriving in London @ 1pm local time from California (8 hour difference overnight) and need to know what is really do-able on this first day considering jet lag etc.

 

Here's the list:

 

Tower of London

London Eye

Tate Modern

Trafalgar Square

Westminster Abbey

St. Pauls Cathedral

National Gallery

Buckingham Palace changing of the guards

Piccadilly Circus

Beatles London Walk

Afternoon tea (Where is an authentic experience but not too formal or pricey?)

 

We will probably use the Hop on Hop off bus to get to these sights.

 

So please group these as 1/2 day and then full day one and full day two.

Thanks so much for any advice. Marilyn;)

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

One of the best ways to get around most of your list would be to take the 4hr open tour bus ride there are loads to choose from.

 

yours Shogun

[Globaliser]

Tower of London

London Eye

Tate Modern

Trafalgar Square

Westminster Abbey

St. Pauls Cathedral

National Gallery

Buckingham Palace changing of the guards

Piccadilly Circus

Beatles London Walk

If you want three groups, these are probably the most sensible. But the Palace isn't particularly close to any of the groups.

 

St. Pauls Cathedral

Tate Modern

Tower of London

 

London Eye

Westminster Abbey

[buckingham Palace changing of the guards]

 

Trafalgar Square

National Gallery

Piccadilly Circus

... so we need to do this commando style!

Is that any different from "going commando"? ;) I had to ask.

[cberge]

I know this may be crazy...but. These are the sights we want to see during our 2 1/2 day pre-cruise stay in London. We do not need to spend many many hours in museums. We have never been to London and it may be many years before we can afford to return so we need to do this commando style! I already have theatre tickets for one evening.

 

I need to know from you experts what is the best grouping of sights to see in each day.

 

We will be arriving in London @ 1pm local time from California (8 hour difference overnight) and need to know what is really do-able on this first day considering jet lag etc.

 

Here's the list:

 

Tower of London

London Eye

Tate Modern

Trafalgar Square

Westminster Abbey

St. Pauls Cathedral

National Gallery

Buckingham Palace changing of the guards

Piccadilly Circus

Beatles London Walk

Afternoon tea (Where is an authentic experience but not too formal or pricey?)

 

We will probably use the Hop on Hop off bus to get to these sights.

 

So please group these as 1/2 day and then full day one and full day two.

Thanks so much for any advice. Marilyn;)

Speaking as a tourist flying into London..on the first day since you arrive in the afternoon and who knows when you get into London let alone into your hotel room..I would get out and walk(helps beat jet lag) and go to P.Circus,Trafaglar Sq.,(you could pop into St.Martin in the Fields Church as well and see the crypt area)Covent Garden,and then head back to your hotle and go to bed about 9(it will help with jet lag as well).Then the next day buy your tickers for the HOHO bus for 2 dyas and go from there as they are ridable for 24 hrs.and you will be good for go.If you did not want to waste time as you can stand for a long time if you want to get there early and wait by the fence..I wouls skip the changing of the guard and just visit the Palace area and see the coaches as well.I asked my daughter about this as well since she flies to London a lot as her BF runs a pub there and she lives in LA.and she thought this was doable as well.Have a great visit to London...great city.

[Casshew]

We went to London for 6 days last August and still didn't see everything we wanted to see. Travelling on the hop on/off bus was fun, but it is time consuming, as is the tube (by the time you get there, change trains etc...) everything seems to look close on a map but in reality can take much longer than you expect.

 

I would recommend cabs, we took cabs quite a bit and it seems the fastest way to get from point A to B, I don't think I paid more than 9pounds for a ride the whole week.

 

We also saved some time & money by snacking on the go, there are Tesco's everywhere with ready made sandwiches, muffins, salads, wraps, cut fruit and all kinds of other convenient food and good prices, we would grab something to go and eat while walking from A to B, or have an apple during the cab ride etc... We would only have one sit down restaurant meal a day, this saved loads of time.

 

Have fun, London is a great city :) you can have afternoon tea at Harrods, that is also a 'must see'. Funny thing about London, every time you turn around there is another monument, Arch, statue, fountain... I don't think you will be able to accomplish your list in the time given, but you will still have an awesome time and won't feel cheated.

 

I notice Hyde Park is not on your list, also Thames cruise (you can catch that from right below the london eye)... too bad you can' t go in a couple of days earlier. So many great things to see and do.

[spongerob]

I think everyone about has it right, there's too much to cram into a short time. We wanted to do the same thing and the first bit of trouble we ran into was that sites like Tower of London don't open very early. If I remember correctly, it opened at 9:30A, so in spite of getting on the go early, we waited an hour and had coffee while enjoying a sunny, warm morning.

 

The time change affects people differently. My wife actually did better than I in that respect. For a couple of days I was subject to sudden "nap attacks". She adjusted far more easily. We didn't do much the day we arrived, just a lot of walking in Hyde Park across the street from our hotel.

 

All I can suggest is that you try to be flexible and have some alternate plans. Purchase tickets on-line in advance if possible, otherwise you might have to queue up and wait. The Tube system is pretty easy to use and has a very handy route calculator that allows you to input your starting point and destination. It will give you the proper trains and changes if necessary, and an estimated time for the trip. I think if you google "London Public Transport" you will be able to find the site. It also had maps.

[pcur]

Our first visit to London was arriving from CA around 9:30 AM in the morning, getting to our hotel, and then we had two nights in London. The last day was spent traveling back to Heathrow and flying to Bacelona, so we actually had from noon of Day 1 until the end of Day 2 in London.

 

I agree you should plan on light activity (or none) when you first get there. My DH just HAD to sleep, so we rested in the hotel room until late afternoon. We used the HOHO bus extensively during our visit, and starting out in the afternoon of Day 1 worked out great. The ticket is good for 24 hours, so by the time it expired on Day 2, we were ready for dinner, packing, sleep, and off to the airport the next morning at 5:30 AM.

 

The HOHO bus is an truly excellent way to see the sights. We have used them in several cities. Go up on top so you get a great view, and take the whole route just to get the sights. Then we took it around again and got off back near the hotel for dinner. Day 2 we got back on and went around, getting off at the Tower of London. Spent 2-plus hours there (I had to circle the Crown Jewels at least 4 times, so that was a good 20 minutes alone!!!:D ).

 

Pick a few sights that are "must-sees", and do them in detail. We loved our visit.

 

We go again in 2 weeks, and this time we will take the tube and go to Portabello Market.