As I'm working on some posts for Barcelona, I thought I would share our travel itinerary from our trip to London, which includes aggressively nerdy notes from Rick Steves as well as our dinner plans for the day. I love a jam-packed schedule, and Nick loves whiling his afternoons away in a museum for hours on end, so we were out-and-about for most hours of the day.
Saturday 06:05 PM Depart ORD
Sunday
7:55 AM Arrive LHR
Lunch: Dominique Ansel bakery PM: Portobello Road Market Dinner: Lamb & Flag
Stay: Georgian House Hotel
Monday
AM: Churchill War Rooms
Underground WWII headquarters of Churchill’s war effort
Daily 9:30 to 18:00
Horse Guards change daily at 11:00
£19 includes audioguide
Tube: Westminster
Can buy ticket online in advance
People usually spend 2.5 hours here
PM: National Gallery
Remarkable collection of European paintings (1250 to 1900) including Leonardo, Botticelli, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Turner, Van Gogh, and the Impressionists
Free, £20 suggested donation, £4 audioguide (worthwhile), £1 floorplan
Daily 10:00 to 18:00
Tube: Charing Cross or Leicester Square
People usually spend 2 hours here
PM: National portrait gallery
Free, £20 suggested donation, £4 audioguide (worthwhile), £1 floorplan
Daily 10:00 to 18:00
Dinner: Dishoom
Tuesday
AM: Tower of London
Historic castle, palace, and prison housing the crown jewels and a witty band of Beefeaters
Tue-Sat 9:00-17:30; Sun-Mon 10:00-18:30, Nov-Feb closes 1 hour earlier
£25
Crown Jewels first: arrive before 10:00
Beefeater Tour & White Tower: One hour long & leave from just inside the entrance
Tube: Tower Hill
People usually spend 3 hours here
PM: Westminster Abbey
Britain’s finest church and the site of royal coronations and burials since 1066
Mon-Fri 9:30 to 15:30; Wed until 19:00; Saturday 9:30 to 14:30; Closed Sunday
£20, £40 for family ticket (2 adults + 1 child)
Ticket includes cloister and Audioguide
Evensong performances daily except Wednesday at 17:00
Most crowded every day at midmorning and all day Saturdays and Mondays. Visit early, during lunch, or late to avoid tourist hordes.
Can buy tickets online (no line-skipping October through March)
Tube: Westminster or St James Park
PM: Followed by Westminster Walk
Free Westminster Walk Audio Tour Download
Allow one hour
Dinner: Shoryu Ramen
Post-Dinner: Milroy’s for Whisky
Wednesday
AM: The City Walk
Allow 1 to 3 hours
Free audio tour download
AM: St. Paul’s Cathedral
The main cathedral of the Anglican Church, designed by Christopher Wren, with a climbable dome and daily evensong services
Mon-Sat 8:30-16:30
£18, £16 if purchased in advance on the website
Ticket includes church entry, dome climb, crypt, tour, audioguide
Rick has a free audio tour
Tube: St Paul’s
PM: Bankside Walk; then walk the Jubilee Walkway from the Millennium Bridge to the London Eye
Along the South Bank of the Thames
Allow one hour
Tube: London Bridge
Dinner: Churchill Arms
Thursday
AM: British Library
Fascinating collection of important literary treasures of the Western world
Mon-Fri 9:30 to 18:00, Tue-Thu until 20:00, Sat 9:30-17:00, Sun 11:00-17:00
People usually spend 3.5 hours here
PM: British Museum
The world’s greatest collection of artifacts of western civilization, including the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon’s Elgin Marbles
Daily 10:00 to 17:30, Friday until 20:30 (selected galleries only)
Free, but a £5 donation suggested
Least crowded late and on weekday afternoons
Rick has a free audio tour
Tube: Tottenham Court
People usually spend 2.5 hours here
PM: West End Walk to see Covent Garden and Soho
From Leicester Square to Piccadilly Circus
Allow 2 hours
Tube stop Leicester Square
Dinner: Burger & Lobster
Friday
AM: Changing of the Guards
AM: Victoria & Albert Museum
The best collection of decorative arts anywhere
Free, £5 donation requested
Daily 10:00-17:00, Fri until 22:00 (selected galleries only)
Tube: South Kensington
People usually spend 2.5 hours here
PM: Regent Street Shopping Walk
Mile-long walk from Regent Street to Piccadilly Circus, then up the street called Piccadilly and down the street called Jermyn
Includes Oxford Street, Regent Street, Jermyn Street
Consider teatime during / after
Dinner: The Victoria
Saturday
12:05 PM Depart LHR 03:20 PM Arrive ORD
Getting Around
We did the 7 day zone 1 to 2 travel card £33 with 2 for 1 deal
For more posts on London: