hightide

Would these following sites be doable on a March Sunday?

Changing of the Guards (Buckingham Palace) 11:15am-noon
Lunch (max 1 hour)
London Eye
Thames River Cruise from Westminster Pier to Tower Pier
Tower of London

If I do the above in order, am I likely to arrive Tower of London on time?
What time is a good time to arrive at Buckingham Palace?

Lastly, would it be worthwhile for me to purchase the hop on hop off London Original bus tour (includes Thames River Cruise) + London Eye bundle for £41.94 online?
If purchased separately, London Eye costs £18.90, Thames River Cruise £8.55 and taxi from Russell Square to Buckingham Palace is £10-15? (I will be sharing with 2 other people).
I'm unsure whether or not I will have enough time to take advantage of the complimentary walking tours offered by Original Bus Tour or use the bus for other destinations as their operating time is 8:30-18:00.

exilencfc

You could save time by buying sandwiches and eating them on the boat.

What time does the Tower close? It all sounds do-able but a bit of a rush and not all that enjoyable.

NewbieRunner

Note that Changing of the Guards only takes place on even days during March (plus 31st) so you will miss it if you plan to be in London on Sunday 23rd March.
http://www.royal.gov.uk/RoyalEventsa.../Overview.aspx

The last admission to the Tower of London is 17:00.

oscietra

It's Changing of the Guard, not Guards. The Guard refers collectively to all the soldiers who protect Her Majesty.

If you're going to do all that, get a www.londonpass.co.uk

You're missing out if you don't stop off at the Churchill War Rooms, nearish Buckingham Palace:



http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms

You're really trying to do too much in one day. Relax, you're on vacation and you'll surely come back again one day for more.

Cut out London Eye; not that exciting.

Thames Clipper similarly wasteful and time-consuming, except if your hotel is easy access to one of its piers for your early trip to the Tower.

Start at the Tower for the Crown Jewels early before the crowds get there, walk over the River INSIDE the Tower Bridge, along the Thames Path (southside) past Shakespeare's Globe, pop into Tate Modern for a sandwich and cross over the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's Cathedral, then along the Thames Embankment cutting into town around the Savoy hotel, walk down the Strand and through Covent Garden to Trafalgar Sq. and Leicester Sq. to buy your Theatre Tickets for that evening in the central pavilion which is the half price tkts.co.uk booth (DO NOT use the others) and then head through Piccafilly Circus to The Mall, and walk past the Palace, swinging round the Churchill War Rooms, and emerge for a walk around Westminster after everything's shut for pic beside Big Ben and at the gates of Number Ten Downing Street.

Grab a bite to eat in Soho (Chinese?) and then to the theatre.

That's more than enough in one day!

alanR

If you are there on the 30th remember that the clocks will have gone forward an hour earlier in the morning.

thijsseh

Well, if we are going to be a bit pedantic, then it is actually Changing the Guard, not Changing of the Guard.

lhrsfo

And, likewise, with respect to the thread title, Buckingham is a town outside London which has little to offer a fly-in fly-out tourist.

Kettering Northants QC

I find Changing the Guard a bit dull, and if the weather is poor I wouldn't recommend it. I like the London Eye

BearX220

Changing of the Guard tedious. Churchill War Rooms unmissable. Go War Rooms --> London Eye --> Tower of London --> possibly HMS Belfast and forget the Thames boat ride.

hightide

Thank you for all of the feedback ^

According to the weather forecast, Sun 16th of March will be a nice, sunny day between 8-17C.

As there are conflicting opinions, I will take all of your suggestions and discuss them with my travel buddies oscietra, I will also keep your alternative itinerary in mind.

oscietra

If you're looking for somewhere nice to eat around Buckingham Palace, try Inn the Park in St. James' Park:



http://www.peytonandbyrne.co.uk/inn-the-park/index.html

hightide

Update: Was able to do everything on my list, but decided to take the Cruise to Greenwich instead of stopping at Tower Pier. The queue for London Eye was only around 15min.