subirnag1965

My wife and I will be travelling from India to the UK for a month (awaiting the visa). I have a detailed itinerary, but I want to discuss the London plan here with you great folks. So this is my plan, as of now:

04-May-24 - Saturday - Arrival in London - Rest & Chill, Ilford
05-May-24 - Sunday - Cooking at home & Ilford Local - Valentine's Park etc.
06-May-24 - Monday - Tootbus (Yellow) (with planned stops & Cruise)
07-May-24 - Tuesday - City Walk & Bus - Mayfair/ Picadilly/ St James/ Kensington Palace
08-May-24 - Wednesday - Brick Lane & British Musuem
9-16-May-24 Scotland
17-May-24 Friday In London - Open
18-20-May-24 - Cotswold, Oxford, Windsor Manor etc
21-May-24 - Tuesday - National Gallery, Trafalgar Square & West End Musical
22-May-24 - Wednesday - Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe - Friend's Place in Carshalton Hill (Tea and Dinner)
23-May-24 - Thursday In London - Open
24-29-May-24 Middlesborough & Lake District
30-May-24 - Thursday - Greenwich & Wimbledon
31-May-24 - Friday - Walk & Bus - Regent's Park/ Camden/ Primrose Hill/ Hampstead Heath
01-Jun-24 - Saturday - V&A, Saatchi, Chelsea Football Club
02-Jun-24 - Sunday - Change of Guards, Canary Wharf
03-Jun-24 - Monday - In London - Packing & Short plans
04-Jun-24 - Tuesday - Departure for Kolkata

Now, I know there is no best plan for a city like London. Also, I am not trying to do too many touristy things (staying lightyears away from Madame Tussaud), and devoting substantial amount of time for museums and galleries. Also, some of it seems a bit spatially disjointed (like Greenwich & Wimbledon), but it probably will give us a opportunity to Uber across the city and have a different look at the city.
I am also in two minds if I should spend a lot of emerging market money, going from THE ex-colony, on buying tickets and going inside heritage buildings like The Tower, Westminster and Kensington Palace. I am immensely interested in history though, so I probably pick 1-2, I wonder which ones.

I seek any recommendations, modifications and suggestions that you kind folks can provide to make this better.

Thanks in advance.

JohnEW2912

I'm assuming that Ilford is to stay with family or friends? If so, that makes sense, even more so now that Ilford is on the Elizabeth line so you can quickly get into central London.

I would very much not recommend a HoHo bus service like Tootbus. They really do not work well in London because of the terrible traffic - it takes a long time to complete a circuit. If you get off to see something you might have trouble getting back on and could be stood at a stop for a long time. It is much better to use London's public transport, including the regular buses which cost £1.75 per trip and move faster.

Brick Lane is best visited on a Sunday for the market and never if you're thinking of eating there - the restaurants there are very much average tourist traps. There are some excellent asian restaurants in the vicinity though.

I guess also that Middlesbrough is again family or friends? It's not a usual tourist location although it is very close to the North York Moors NP.

It's not really practical to see Greenwich and Wimbledon on one day, unless the latter is an evening visit. Greenwich will fill pretty much a full day. Getting between the two by road will be interminable. It would be much better to do Wimbledon on one of your free London days by train/tube.

ChallengerGrey

I recommend HoHo buses everywhere I go. It's a great way to see an overview of the city. In Paris, we used the HoHo bus as our taxi service. I got us everywhere. London was just fine, but a bit cold. After the HoHo bus, we used the tube.

janisj

I can't make any sense of your plan -- don't know if its the colors/colours, the staying in Ilford (maybe we need an explanation for that choice -- staying with family perhaps?? ), afternoon tea and dinner an hour south after three museums in central London, the jumping from London to Scotland to London to the Cotswolds to London to the Lake District to London . . . or this "but it probably will give us a opportunity to Uber across the city and have a different look at the city."

Trust me, you will never never NEVER want to uber (or taxi or any other motor vehicle) from Greenwich to Wimbledon. Not only does that make no sense -- it will take a looooooong time and cost a king's ransom. Group things geographically so you aren't spending hours just in transit.

I'll try to absorb what you are actually saying here: "I am also in two minds if I should spend a lot of emerging market money, going from THE ex-colony, on buying tickets and going inside heritage buildings like The Tower, Westminster and Kensington Palace. "

Does that mean you are contemplating NOT going inside the tower of London, Westinster Abbey, etc??

The changing of the Guard and Canary Wharf on the same day -- why?

janisj

Middlesbrough and the Lake District are on opposite sides of the country -- are you staying in Middlesbrough or the Lakes or both??

subirnag1965

#2 You are right. Staying with close family at Ilford. And visiting a close friend in Middlesborough.

#3 & #2 I have thought a lot about the HoHo bus in London and decided to use it for the top of the bus experience for just a bit, take the Thames Cruise built in it and choose a few stops. Separate itinerary for that, as follows:

Yellow Route
1 Coventry Street - Hop On
2 Trafalgar Square6 - Hop Off and back on
3 London Eye
4 Waterloo Station
5 Covent Garden - Hop Off Roam Around and Hop Back On
6 St Paul's Cathedral
7 London Bridge
8 Tooley Street
9 Tower of London - Hop Off and Do the Tower & Cruise
10 Temple
11 Westminster Pier London - Hop On after the cruise
12 Horseferry Road
13 Buckingham Palace 1 Buckingham Gate- Get Down and Check Out Buckingham
14 Victoria Station101-115 Buckingham Palace Road, London
15 Grosvenor GardensGrosvenor Gardens, London
16 Hyde Park - Queen Elizabeth Gate - Get Down and Do some part of Hyde Park and end the tour

subirnag1965

#4 & #5
For your understanding. The colored dates are in London.
Yes, we will be staying with very close family in Ilford, London. Thus one month. Thus we will do London in parts with trips in between. The Lake District dates are to coincide with the mid-term break of schools as my relative is a teacher. Similarly, will do the Cotswold & Oxford with friends on a weekend.
Middlesborough and Lake District are across the country, yes. But they are on the same latitude on a small island country - Redcar to Keswick is 2 hours. We do cross country in 4 days. So I guess, it's just a nice drive for us.

All, I know that covering Greenwich & Wimbledon seems difficult on the same day. But I guess both are on the South Side, and we will have to apportion time to each. We will just do the Maritime Museum and Old Royal Navy College, and just a peek at the Prime Meridian.

Thank you all. Please keep it coming.

janisj

I'm working on a project so will be back later to read the rest of your responses -- but the H-o-H-o bus IMO/IME is not a good idea in London. On your other thread I explained why the H-o-H-o's could make some sense in Edinburgh -- they don't in London. Most regular city buses al double decker so definitely don't take an expensive H-o-H-o just to get upstairs. Traffic in London is VERY congested -- even for buses. So the H-o-H-o spends a lot of time just sitting and waiting, waiting, waiting -- and you really don't dare hopping off to look at a site then hoping to hop back on another one. If the next bus does come soon (no guarantees) if it is full you can't get on. There are lots of water buses so you don't need to but a H-o-H-o ticket to get a river trip.

and:

"All, I know that covering Greenwich & Wimbledon seems difficult on the same day. But I guess both are on the South Side, and we will have to apportion time to each. We will just do the Maritime Museum and Old Royal Navy College, and just a peek at the Prime Meridian. "

Not only are they difficult to do on the same day -- it makes no sense to even try to do them on the same day. Yes, they are both on the south side of the river but they are in totally opposite directions and it would typically take close to two hours to drive from one o the other on a weekday afternoon.

You are in London a reasonable length of time -- there is no reason to mush Greenwich and Wimbledon into the same day. Just. don't. do. it.

rialtogrl

I agree the HoHo bus is not a good idea in London. Utilize the regular buses and sit upstairs.

The Tate Britain and Tate Modern in one day is too much. Maybe it would be better to go to Wimbledon on the same day as the Tate Britain.

Also, maybe drop the changing of the guards and visit Canary Wharf and Greenwich on the same day. You can take the DLR between the two and even walk under the Thames between them, in the Greenwich foot tunnel. To do that, go to the bottom of Isle of Dogs by walking, bus or DLR to Island Gardens. The tunnel is there.

Brick Lane would be better on the weekend, the big market is on Sundays, if you are going for that. If you are going for the street art, any day will do.

You might add the National Portrait Gallery to your list of museums.

Be prepared to switch some days up, so on nice sunny days you visit Hampstead Heath and Greenwich, and gloomy days, museums…

KayF

I've seen HOHO buses in London with an open top deck. Good if the weather is nice. Otherwise you'll be on the lower deck with windows steaming up and no views. It's not a good use of time or money.

subirnag1965

#10 Great concrete suggestions, rialtogrl !!
Thank you so much!!

KayF

Uber in London is not a good idea. Use the tube - no traffic. You won't get to all these places on your list, it's too much in the time you have. I'd pick out a couple of things you really, really don't want to miss and prioritise them. Out of the three historic places you mention, I'd visit The Tower.

subirnag1965

#12 Thank you KayF for picking the Tower and ending my dilemma. Also, I totally appreciate your point about too many places. Let me give pruning the list a serious thought.

Sassafrass

We have been to London several times and though I know different people have different interests, IMHO:

The Tower is one of the most interesting things to tour in London, an absolute do not miss.

To skip seeing inside Westminster (one of the great cathedrals in the world) would be almost a crime.

The Victoria Albert Museum is simply wonderful! Well worth the time.

The changing of the guard is a big draw which I do not get when there are so many more interesting places to spend time.

HOHO Busses are often a huge, unpleasant waste of time in London. Outside, you are breathing the fumes of traffic. It is noisy. You can be stopped in traffic for what seems like long period of time. Stops are not always convenient. Sometimes you can walk the routes faster than the bus. We gave it a second (yes, stupid) chance on one visit and after being stuck in very slow traffic and feeling trapped, we managed to escape and have never done it since!

We do a lot of theater nights in London, if that interests you. Not, necessarily big, expensive shows, just whatever interests us.

We enjoyed a canal boat ride from Little Venice to Camden Locks and would do it again.

KarenWoo

I’ve been following along on this thread since we are planning a trip to England and Ireland, hopefully for 2025. Sassafrass, I really like your list of what you find interesting to do in London.

Sassafrass

Thank you.
This is something I should include more often and don’t think about until we are there ourselves.
London has many, many fabulous Art supply stores all over the city. Prices are good and they have things you can’t get in the states or have high shipping costs. Some are large and modern. A few stores are lovely, in old buildings worthy of seeing on their own. Anyone who is an artist of any kind will find them fun to visit. Unless you are extremely disciplined, you may find yourself buying a new tote to carry home your purchases.

My absolute favorite is L. Cornelissen & Son. This store is 168 years old, housed in a gorgeous old building with many original fittings. It is a beautiful, small space, square footage wise, but tall with ladders to reach things hanging high on walls. It is a sensual feast of lovely brushes and boxes of pastels and drawers of papers. It smells of oiled wood, paint and pencils. For an artist, this is a magical experience.

https://www.cornelissen.com

geetika

My top pick is the Tower, be there first thing in the morning when they open and go straight to the Crown Jewels. Of special interest to those of us from India, think Kohinoor 😉

I love all the museums, almost all are free, except for special exhibits. Verger’s Tour at Westminster Abbey and Evensong too, if you are so inclined, an exhilarating experience. Spend at least half a day at Greenwich, take in a play one evening, you can find quite reasonably priced tickets. Afternoon tea at the Savoy. And walk a lot, you’ll discover many unexpected treats.

Karen, it’s been too long since I went to London, need to plan a trip soon, next year perhaps…

janisj

I am not an artist but my mom was (as was my ex) and I've traveled with friends who are painters and/or collagists. I've spent many hours (cumulatively) in L. Cornelissen & Son -- would be a MUST for any artist -- just up the block from the British Museum.

janisj

I was just looking for a good image of L. Cornelissen & Son and came across this fascinating video on youtube. The first few seconds are about a painting lab but stick with it and most if of the shop.

Sassafrass

Another thing we enjoyed (at least before Covid, don’t know what is up and running now) was concerts at churches and eating in the church crypts and cafes.
St Martin in the Fields (Trafalgar Square) is the best and the variety of musical performances offers something for everyone. Food was fresh and reasonably priced.
https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.o...-in-the-crypt/

Other churches serve simple sandwiches and soup or salads.