London recs?

[panamajane]

Hello, I am going to be spending one full day in London this spring, any recs on what we should do?  Thanks!

[hz80408]

What are your interests? How many people? Weekday or weekend?

[emilyinchile]

I have a bunch of posts here that talk about some of the highlights: www.emilyinchile.com/tag/london

Although the best option will depend on your interests, of course.

[mdgirl]

Also, is this going to likely be your one and only shot of ever going to London, or the first of many visits?

[mrsericnorthman]

What are your interests? Are you a history geek? A foodie? Artsy? Theatre? Harry Potter?

There's so much stuff to do in London! One week wasn't enough for me. I did the HOHO for a week and took my time to explore every single stop, did some shopping here and there and and got suckered into tourists traps like the afternoon tea at Harrods and did day trips to Bath and the Stonehenge. If you're going to be there for a day and want to see everything, I think the HOHO bus is your best bet.

[mrsukyankee]

With one day I would go on the hop-on-off bus. It'll take you by the various sites and if something strikes you, you get off to explore. For food, I'd go to Borough Market for lunch and then make a reservation using www.toptable.co.uk for dinner.

[hz80408]

Sept 17, 2013 10:55:50 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

With one day I would go on the hop-on-off bus. It'll take you by the various sites and if something strikes you, you get off to explore. For food, I'd go to Borough Market for lunch and then make a reservation using www.toptable.co.uk for dinner.

I agree with Borough Market for lunch; although it's only open Thurs-Sun, I believe

[mrsukyankee]

Sept 17, 2013 11:30:23 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

Sept 17, 2013 10:55:50 GMT -5 mrsukyankee said:

With one day I would go on the hop-on-off bus. It'll take you by the various sites and if something strikes you, you get off to explore. For food, I'd go to Borough Market for lunch and then make a reservation using www.toptable.co.uk for dinner.

I agree with Borough Market for lunch; although it's only open Thurs-Sun, I believe

The big part of the market is only open Wed - Sat, but the food stalls in the back are open all week long Mon-Sat).  It's not open on Sundays.

[mrsukyankee]

www.boroughmarket.org.uk/

[mbcdefg]

If I only had one day, I'd do the Tower of London tour and also walk around Westminster Abbey.

[hz80408]

Sept 18, 2013 11:01:37 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

If I only had one day, I'd do the Tower of London tour and also walk around Westminster Abbey.

I agree with this. I'd buy tickets online for Tower of London (unless you're traveling via National Rail, in which you could get buy one, get one free tix). Do this in the AM, walk over to Borough Market for lunch, then take Jubiliee underground to Westminster to walk around.

eta: we used Rick Steve's Westminster walk although ours wasn't audio (only link I could find)

[clseale]

Sept 18, 2013 11:41:17 GMT -5 hz80408 said:

Sept 18, 2013 11:01:37 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

If I only had one day, I'd do the Tower of London tour and also walk around Westminster Abbey.

I agree with this. I'd buy tickets online for Tower of London (unless you're traveling via National Rail, in which you could get buy one, get one free tix). Do this in the AM, walk over to Borough Market for lunch, then take Jubiliee underground to Westminster to walk around.

I'd probably ditto this. We did both of these in the same day during our trip. It was a lot of fun, and while it wasn't my favorite day that we spent in London...it's probably the best use of your time for the "can't miss" sites. Houses of Parliament and Big Ben are right by WMA, so like hz80408 mentioned, it's a good area to walk around. DH and I stayed in Westminster, and after hopping in and out of pubs all day long, we enjoyed having a glass of wine on the deck of the boats that are right there on the Thames. Man, this is making me want to go back!