aanswer

Hello,

I'm visiting London for the first time in the next 2 weeks over Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I have a list of places that I want to visit. However, I'm not sure if it's possible to visit all these over 3 days. Here is the list:

London Eye
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abbey
House of Lords
Big Ben
Horse Guards Parade
Buckingham Palace
Trafalgar Square
Oxford Street
Tower Bridge
Tower of London
Houses of Parliament
The Tate Britain/Modern
The British Museum
Knightsbridge
King's Road
Kensington High Street
Canary Wharf
Whitehall
The Monument
Thames Barrier
Shakespear's Globe

I realize that i's a very touristy list, but I'd like some assistance on determining when to visit each of these places.

Thank you!

Trav+

A flight on the Eye is best done when the weather is clear, so wait to book nearer your arrival date in London, I'd say. The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace closed to the public at the end of September, and I think the last date for a visit to the Royal Mews is 31 October. The Queen's Gallery at BuckPal is open daily from 1000 - 1700 if you would like to have a peek there.

You'll not be able to see Big Ben as it's the clock inside St Stephen's Tower, but if you time your visit just so you'll hear the clock chime - rather a nice thing to hear in situ. The Palace of Westminster and the Abbey are just across the road from each other; if you take the number 11 bus from Victoria station towards Liverpool Street station it will call at Parliament Square for the Abbey and Houses of Parliament. The bus then continues on along Whitehall and around Trafalgar Square before making its way along the Strand to the City.

From the Strand take the number 15 bus towards Blackwall, as it calls at St Paul's for a walk across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern, and will call at the Monument and the Tower. Alternately, from the Tower take the RV1 along the South Bank towards the Eye and the Globe Theatre.

There's not a lot to see at Canary Wharf except high rise buildings which have next to no aesthetic appeal, and are a rude juxtaposition to the remaining estates and houses of east London. But a ride on the DLR from Tower Gateway towards Woolwich Arsenal will give you a peek at the Thames Barriers; river cruises to the Barriers stop as of 01 November.

The number 9 bus from the Aldwych towards Hammersmith will take you to Kensington High Street; alight at Knightsbridge for a wander along Brompton Road. The number 22 towards Putney from Hyde Park Corner will take you along the King's Road; alternately take the Underground to Sloane Square then a 19 or 22 from there.

The British Museum is about a ten minute walk from Russell Square station, with the number 7 bus from Oxford Street calling near the Museum.

The river , Trafalgar Square,
Piccadilly Circus and Westminster links might help you sort out bus routes. Buses may be a bit slower than the Underground but will allow you to see London rather than the inside of the Underground tunnels. Also, if you're travelling on a day when there are partial or full closures of some Tube lines you'll need to have alternate transport plans in mind. Check for planned works at www.tfl.gov.uk

stut

Well, it makes sense to visit all of the ones that are in a similar area at a similar time!

London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, House of Lords, Big Ben, Horse Guards Parade, Houses of Parliament, Whitehall and Tate Britain are all within easy walking distance of each other.

Trafalgar Square, and Oxford Street are, with the British Museum a little further (but 5 minutes from the Eastern end of Oxford St)

Tower Bridge, Tower of London, The Tate Modern, The Momument and the Globe are (I'd strongly recommend visiting this area on a Friday or Saturday and including Borough Market, incidentally), and the Tate Modern is a nice walk from the London Eye (and a short boat trip from Tate Britain)

Knightsbridge, King's Road and Kensington High Street are.

Canary Wharf and the Thames Barrier are further out East. I'd recommend getting one of the river boats to or from Canary Wharf in one direction, and the DLR back. If you just want to see the Thames Barrier, you can get the DLR to Pontoon Dock and see it from the Barrier Park (quite a nice little park - they're funny about photography, though). If you want the visitor's centre, you need the other side of the river - a little harder to get to. There are also cruises to the barrier from Greenwich and central London. I'd also recommend having Greenwich as a stopping off point - it's a nice place to wander round the market and grab a drink or bite to eat.

Swanhunter

Canary Wharf looks just like a North American CBD so if you come from the US it won't be very exciting. Save the Thames Barrier for another trip.

Oxford Steet isn't hugely exciting but Soho (south of the eastern end) is well worth a ramble.

Do try and fit a couple of less touristed attractions too, Dennis Severs house or the John Soane museum.

Tax Dude

Check out the London Walks site. I (and many others) have mentioned them here before, but they give great inexpensive walking tours around London. You don't need to book in advance, just show up at the start point (always a tube stop) at the appointed hour.

The Royal/Westminster Abbey walk on Friday or "This is London" walk on Saturday will both hit quite a number of the places on your list. The evening pub walks are always fun and a good choice, especially if you're traveling solo and want a bit of company after dinner.

aanswer

Thank you all for your suggestions.

I actually have 2 Walks planned. It all comes down to timing, as I'm meeting up with a few people there.

Sam Weller

You've certainly set an ambitious agenda -- most of the sites you've listed would be on mine as well. I've visited them, sometimes many times, but over a period of years. You might consider paring down your list so you won't be rushed.

I can't help with a master plan, but I would suggest considering a visit to Tate Britain, followed by the boat trip from there to Tate Modern, then across the Thames via the Millennium Bridge to St. Paul's, then west on foot via Ludgate Hill, to Fleet Street, and the Strand to Charing Cross and Trafalgar Square.

London weather forecasts are notoriously unreliable, but Accuweather does offer a 15 day forecast that will at least give you a sense of the bands of weather that pass over London during the period you'll be visiting.

Drop me a line if you have any additional questions. A penny for my thoughts is the going rate.

Cheers

Non-NonRev

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I would second the suggestion of including smaller-scale attractions along with some of the "biggies". For example, save the Tates for another trip and go to the Courtauld Gallery instead. Its smaller scale allows a more intimate enjoyment of the art (major pieces by Seurat, Manet, etc), and the gallery is a very short walk from Trafalgar Square.

Trav+

+1 to the Courtauld Gallery. A fantastic small collection of wonderful pieces, some of which you might have thought would be in the Louvre or the Musee d'Orsay. Very much worth a visit, one of my favourites in London.

BCH

Of the ones you mentioned, I would definitely not prioritize Oxford Street, Horse Guards Parade, and Canary Wharf.

On the other hand, I love the Monument - such a great experience.

Check out bus route 11, which goes from St. Paul westward past all kinds of tourist sites. And if you sit in the front of the bus on the upper deck, then you really get an amazing experience for just a small price.

aanswer

Alright, I've taken off Oxford Street, Horse Guards Parade, and Canary Wharf from the list.

Regarding Bus Route # 11 -- If I purchase a 3-day travel card, are buses included?

Touristy question -- Can you get free Tube maps at LHR?

Thanks!

ExitRowOrElse

You will save a good bit of time and be able to take in more attractions if you travel via The Tube. You can get a one day pass that will cover the zones you need to see and then ride all you like. I found that out during my visit to London 2005. I also learned not to drive in the city except on weekends and do not drive without a GPS.

Also, planning with a map so that you can hit all of the attractions on your list in a specific area also works well.

bensyd

As someone who worked in Canary Wharf for a bit over two years I agree completely. It's just an oversized business park, there's nothing really unique about it, I think the comparisons to a "mini-Manhattan" are way overdone.

alanR

I would however recommend Horse Guards in Whitehall which is on the way between Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament and Trafalgar Square

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...l_2006_026.jpg

As for buses - ANY travelcard allows you to use the buses throughout London, not just the ones in the zones the travelcard is valid for

BUT no-one has mentioned www.daysoutguide.com which offers substantial savings on entry fees (typically 2-4-1) for a wide range of London attractions. The only requirement is that the Travelcard must be bought at a TRAIN station booking office and not a Tube booking office

Polk

Yes and yes. All travelcards are valid on buses and any tube station should be able to provide a free tube map.

Enjoy your visit.

Polk