wolverine_8910

We are first time visitors to london. We will be in London for 8 days in early May 2007. I'm not sure if we are doing to much in one day. We are staying in the Westminster area, close to Buckingham Palace. Could you please look over and advise? We arrive at Gatwick at 8:00 AM we are hoping to get going around 11:00 AM. This is basiclly a rough draft of what we have planned.

Wed: Westminster Abbey
Big Ben/Parliment (pictures)
Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum
London Eye
Thursuckingham Palace (Pictures)
Trafalgar Square (shopping)
National Gallery
Piccadilly Circus (shopping)
Fri: St. Paul’s Catherdral
Museum of London
Temple Church
Tower of London
Tower Bridge (pictures)
The Cermony of the Keys????
Sat: Portobello Road Market (shopping)
British Museum
Winston Churchill’s Britain atWar
Experience
Sun: Hampton Court Palace
Mon: Victoria and Albert Museum
Albert’s Memorial (pictures)
Natural History Museum
Science Museum
Tues: Free so far
Wed: Free so far
Thurs. Leave London

Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions everyone.

Hagan

I don't think I'd go to the Cabinet War Rooms my first day in London. If you're flying in from the states, you're going to be pretty darn tired. We did the hop-on-off bus our first day, and even at that, my DH fell asleep on the top deck of the bus somewhere around the Tower of London!

Maybe the Westminster Abbey and the London Eye would be enough for the first day, with a nice walk across the bridge. Everything else looks doable, just postpone the museum-type sightseeing until you're rested. Have a great time!

janisj

Well you have a long time to plan so you will make a lot of changes between now and next May.

Just a few comments:

Don't plan anything major on Day 1. Especially "Major MAJOR" like Westminster Abbey and the Cabinet War rooms. You will have been on an overnight flight and will probably have been awake up to 24-36 hours by the time you land. So take it easy the first day, stay outside in the fresh air and then jump into major sightseeing on Day 2 after you are over the jet lag.

You list Trafalgar Sq and Piccadilly Circus as shopping areas - not so much . . .

Your friday list is pretty hectic - it is best to get to the Tower of London first thing in the morning. Getting there much after opening time means huge crowds.

You Sat doesn't make much sense. Portobello Rd is in the NW corner of central London, the British Museum is to the east, and the Britain at War is in the far SE corner of central London - so you are running all over town. Britain at War is near the Tower so a nice day would be Tower in the morning and until after lunch, walk across Tower Bridge and then Britain at War.

kaleighsgram

Personally, I'd like to recommend that you be flexible. I have a feeling that some of the things you plan to do will be shifted from one of your assigned days to one of the ones you are calling "Free so far". You will be tired when you get into London, esp. if you arrive at 8 a.m. Did you remember to ask your hotel for an early arrival check-in. This way you won't have to wait until the afternoon to drop off luggage, freshen up, and go!
Again, the only way I see you accomplishing all of this in this time frame is if you get to an attraction and then rush. . . and you really don't want to do that. London is a wonderful place to visit, so enjoy.

FLmom

Well, I've never been to Europe, but I've learned from my own planning here in the states...that less is more.

Gotcha! wolverine_8910

gabrieltraian

My wife and I have been to London a few years ago and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We travelled around the UK and Northern Ireland for 36 days, of which 10-12 days we stayed in London.

Passionate as we are about museums, Victoria & Albert took us many, many hours. This museum is next to Natural History Museum and I remember that we chose one day to visit both.

That day however, were long opening hours at Vitoria & Albert, which we visited second.

I wrote a detailed trip report from which you can see how we planned and saw what we wanted during our stay in London.

Maybe you will get some ideas of what you can see and do and how long it may take.

Here's the link to the report (Toast, Beans and Tomatoes)

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34851175

Daisy54

On the days you have not yet planned for, some suggestions I'd make are visits to St. Paul's Cathedral, Kensington Palace, The National Portrait Gallery (which is right next door to the National Gallery), the British Libary, the British Museum, and the HMS Belfast (right across the river from the Tower of London). I realize that you won't possibly be able to do all of those and the things you've already planned in the time you'll be there, so you'll just have to plan a return visit!

wolverine_8910

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.
We have modified our schedule. We have tried to space our activities and allow some time each day for shopping/investigating etc. Please see if this looks like a more doable schedule.

Weduckingham Palace
Bus tour: hop on/hop off
Big Ben / House Of Parliment
London Eye
Thurs:Trafalgar Square
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
Piccadilly Circus
Frit. Paul’s Catherdral
Museum of London
Temple Church
Satortobello Road Market
British Museum
Sun:Hampton Court Palace
Kingston
Mon:Victoria and Albert Museum
Albert’s Memorial
Natural History Museum
Science Museum
Tues:Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Winston Churchill’s Britain at War
Experience
The Ceremony of the Keys??
Wed:Westminster Abbey
Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill
Museum.

Lori

Schedule still looks like a killer to me I cannot stress enough that a mega-planned schedule can make for a horrible trip (notice I said can .. perhaps some people like every second filled, but it can make for misery for many people, i.e. grumpy traveling companions).

I am more inclined to choose one site per day and actually see it .. not go in one door and out the other. I think time alloted for just strolling around can be very rewarding and relaxing. The museums are all huge, unless you plan on literally walking through the main floors and out another door you need more time.

Shift some of your activities to your "free days" and leave time to just enjoy what you are seeing. Frankly your schedule gives me a headache just reading it

highflyer

Too many museums for my taste and I like museums! .

In May, I'd like to hope that you'd take a walk in a park. (Hampton Court has some nice gardens and a maze). Kew Garden is lovely in the Spring.

Whatever you plan to do prioritise as you'll probably end up skipping the third museum or whatever.

Keith

I will go contrary to the rest about activities on the first day. What you have planned is about the amount I usually do on the first day, though substituting a show for the Eye.

It depends on how well you handle the overnight flights and if you get some sleep on the plane.

I shift my schedule ahead an hour or so a day, leading up to the day I fly to Europe. The day of the flight, I get up at about London time. I am ready to sleep on the plane and get enough rest during the short night, that the first day goes fine.

Keith

gabrieltraian

When we were in London we covered most of your planned sights, and here's what I have to say.

Wednesday is perfectly doable. Buckingham Palace is done in the morning and London Eye can be done any time of the day. No rush between them.

You can see Big Ben and Houses of Parliament as you stroll between Buck Palace and London Eye.

Thursday - Trafalgar Square is just a square, so no problem with any rush.
For National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery allow 2-3 hours minimum, for a non-rush visit.

Piccadilly Circus is just a square, a shopping area. No problems on Thursday either.

Friday - St. Paul's Cathedral. Go up to the Whispers Gallery and whisper against the wall. Have someone with the ear against the wall on the opposite side trying to hear your whisper.

Museum of London and Temple Church - I don't know their location, how far or near to each other they are. Except the time taken to get from one to another, I don't see any problem in doing these on Thursday.

Saturday - Only British Museum and Portobello Market. Easily doable, since all day will be spent in the museum. How long could that market take so as to affect the time allowed for the museum?

Sunday - Hampton Court Palace takes most of one day, i.e. until 5 or 6 pm when they close, including transportation.

I don't know what or where is Kingston.

Monday - one museum too much. You can do the Natural History Museum and V&A Museum, as they are near each other. But keep in mind that they are huge. It took us one full day to visit them.

Albert's Memorial is just that, no timings for it, so it can be done during a stroll in Hyde Park.

No time for Science Museum, unless you cut short, really short, some other museum visit.

Tuesday - Allow at least 3 hours for the Tower of London. Britain at War could be done as well.
Ceremony of the Keys is in the evening when everything else is closed, at 9.30pm. So it doesn't affect any other visit, therefore it can be done. Request your tickets in advance.

Wednesday - You have only Westminster Abbey and Cabinet War Rooms.

With the exception mentioned, my wife and I would be able to do this easily, without feeling rushed.

We did a lot of sightseeing while walking from one place to another and also in the evening, when our visits were finished.

We kept our 9 to 5 times for museums and other visits with a schedule. After 5 o'clock we did only walks and sightseeing.

wolverine_8910

Thank you everyone for responding. Please keep the suggestions coming. I think we are going to drop the Natural History Museum from our list.

How far out should we request tickets for the Ceremony of the Keys??

JoeTro

I think it's pretty good. Not sure how much you like art, but some great museums that not everyone knows about are the Courtald (there's actually 2 other great museums along with it in the Somerset House) and the Wallace Collection. Not really sure where you'd fit those in though as you are pretty full. But I don't think you are trying to do way too much. I would suggest a park or two.

roodboy

If i had 8 days in London then i would definitely reserve 1 day to take a Thames river cruise from Westminister to Greenwich - the Thames cruise itself is well worth doing and then you can easily spend 1 full day in Greenwich (Royal Naval College, Painted Hall, Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark, Trafalgar Tavern, Maritime Museum etc) - Greenwich also has a great market which is best seen on Saturday or Sunday altho parts of it are open on Thurs and Fri as well

I agree with others who have said you are trying to fit in too many museums - plus Portobello Road market is overrated in my opinion - and im not sure why you are planning to goto Kingston?

johngerard

You should maximise your hop on hop off tour bus by visiting sites of interest that don't take too long. The museums take a long time so they can be seen after your bus pass has run out. Identify places from the tour that you want to spend more time at & go there if time allows or you are in that area that day. Use the underground which is really quick & with a day pass you can use it on buses.
Check on a map & do some areas together - Buckingham palace, St James's palace & the parks are close together. Kensington palace & park are worth a visit.
You don't list Harrods which is worth a visit - the cream scones are the best around.
Avoid the dinner rush & don't expect to find too much left to eat after 1.00 in the sandwich shops. Trafalgar Square restaurants fill up quick at that time too.
We couldn't get into St Pauls for a tour but managed to see it by getting in on a recital that was taking place.

wolverine_8910

We are going to kingston to visit a friend who has offered to show us around a bit.

We do plan to stop in at Harrods just for a quick look around.

We have decided to not visit the Natural History Museum. Unless by some chance we squeeze a little time out of our schedule.

We have never visited London before and it is so hard to pick what to do in such a short visit.

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

noe847

wolverine, I think your activities for each day sound reasonable. Eight days goes fast in London, so you just have to pick the things you think you'd enjoy the most and give them reasonable time blocks. For shopping, you might enjoy the Covent Garden area. Also, the Borough Market (food market) is great. It might make a nice lunch stop on Friday. You could cross the river on the Millennium Pedestrian Bridge and walk along the South Bank to Southwark Cathedral, where the market is.

mhdavidson

my wife and I visited the churchill britain at war exhibit last month. it was ok but it had a pretty limited collection. if you have the time the imperial war museum is fantastic. you could easily spend 4 hrs there.

oohrahmom

wolverine_8910: Your itinery is really great. I would try to get the some of the tickets on line ahead of time, or consider getting the LondonPass. Many of the places you plan to visit are included in the price. Check first, to see if you will be getting your money's worth. I think it comes with a 3-day travel pass for the tube....but check it out. It could be a $$ saver for you. London Eye...try to do this early in the morning as the queue tends to get very long as the day goes on. They also tend to put a lot more people into each "pod" when the lines are long...this is going to make it difficult to take photos. Not everyone will be in front of the windows. One thing you might want to consider is the "Big Red Bus". It's a hop on-hop off sort of thing. Over 80 stops, but it is a great way for you to see London. Each ticket is good for 24 hours, however, it only runs from about 9 am until 6 pm. But if you activate your ticket at 1 pm, you can continue to use it the next day up until 1 pm. The drivers are very good, telling you all sorts of things about London as you go along, they'll also be happy to recommend places to eat in each area. I think there are 3 different routes, and one ticket allows you to use them all. I think it's much better than a 1/2 day or full day London tour...and a lot less expensive. You can hop off where you want, have a look around, and get back on and go to see something else. The routes take you all over London.