Anonymous wrote:The British Museum is not huge actually, but has items worth seeing, I would allocate a half-day for that and would go right at opening.

Oxford Street for half day if one wants to include some shopping. Hamleys is a wonderful toy store, but also is pricey.

City of London museum is unheralded, but actually surprisingly nice. It covers the history of the city since Roman times.

Sadly the city of London museum is closed till 2026

Reserve slots for everything! Will be packed with tourists. We went for 1 week in October 2023: we did natural history museum, transport museum, aquarium, London bridge, the Zoo, Covent Garden, a musical and lots of shopping and walking and eating.

Beefeater Gin Distillery tour. It was the highlight of our trip.

I think Harrod’s is a must see if you’ve never been before. The British Museum is worth visiting. I would also do afternoon tea since it will be cold. You could do one of the hop on hop off buses to see the city. If it’s really cold and you need something to do or a place to hang, we like Battersea Powerstation.

Tower of London is great. Mostly it is outdoors, so have layers of clothing. Some love the Crown Jewels, but we did not find them worth the long wait.

Churchill War Rooms were surprisingly interesting.

Heathrow Express has discounted tickets if bought online in advance. “Elizabeth Line” train is much lower cost than Heathrow Express and is only a slightly longer trip to/from Paddington.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Flying into gatwick. How was the transport from airport to city?

Very easy. You can take Thameslink or Southern trains from the Gatwick Airport station into the city. Pay using contactless credit card/phone (Apple Pay or Google Wallet). Just don't take the Gatwick Express - much more expensive and not worth it.

Where is your hotel?

Actually because it's Boxing Day, trains won't be running nearly as often, but it does look like there is Southern service to Victoria Station from Gatwick every 30 minutes that day. Thameslink not running that day.

Definitely check the TFL trip planner, it includes the holiday schedules.

https://tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Flying into gatwick. How was the transport from airport to city?

Very easy. You can take Thameslink or Southern trains from the Gatwick Airport station into the city. Pay using contactless credit card/phone (Apple Pay or Google Wallet). Just don't take the Gatwick Express - much more expensive and not worth it.

Where is your hotel?

OP here. Flying into gatwick. How was the transport from airport to city?

I did a 4.5 day trip there in September, and it was also my first time so i wanted to see all the major sites. Here's our itinerary:

Day 1: arrived at hotel around noon, dropped off bags, and then walked for hours through Kensington Gardens, Kensington Palace, saw Albert Hall, hung out in the beautiful outdoor gardens at the natural history museum, and basically just wandered until it was time to check in. Then we relaxed, and went back to Kensington for dinner.

Day 2: Reserved tickets at the Winston Churchill bunker museum and spent a good 2 hours there. Had lunch, and then walked to Buckingham Palace, backtracked and walked to Big Ben, Parliament, etc. Crossed the bridge and went to make our reservations for the Thames Rocket boat (super fun). After the boat ride, we walked spent the rest of the day wandering from the London Eye down to Tower Bridge, stopping for dinner, drinks, etc. Walked over the Tower Bridge and then took the tube back to our hotel.

Day 3: Had brunch in Notting Hill and then went to the Notting Hill market (wasn't impressed). Took the tube to Tower of London and spent a good 3 hours using the self-guided tour. I love history so this was really one of the highlights of the trip.

Day 4: took the train to Oxford and walked all over for the day. When we got back we went to Soho/Picadilli and spent the night walking around, dinner (Dishoom of course), etc.

Day 5: Toured St. Paul's Cathedral in the morning and wandered around the City for awhile after before heading back to the hotel and then to the airport.

There were a ton of things on my list that I wanted to do that we didn't get to, but there's just no way to do that city justice in such a short time. I loved it!

Tower of London

If the Christmas market is still going on in Hyde Park, don't miss that!! SO much fun.

The Eye of London is worth it if the weather is cooperating - if it's too foggy, don't bother.

Catch a show on West End - if Six is still running, it's a definite crowd pleaser.

Jack the Ripper walking tour, if you are into that kind of thing. You can then eat at Jack the Chippers, a touristy (but yummy) fish and chips joint right around the start of most walks.

Harry Potter World takes most of a day, but if you are into it, it is really fabulous.

schedule tea at the Ritz or Fortnum and Mason. Go see Operation Mincemeat or some other show. Do a londonwalks tour. Churchill War rooms.

The British Museum is not huge actually, but has items worth seeing, I would allocate a half-day for that and would go right at opening.

Oxford Street for half day if one wants to include some shopping. Hamleys is a wonderful toy store, but also is pricey.

City of London museum is unheralded, but actually surprisingly nice. It covers the history of the city since Roman times.

river bus
https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/river/about-river-bus
borough market is really crowded but the food is good
https://boroughmarket.org.uk/
the globe
saw aiden gillen perform the dead some years ago. solo in a candlelit theatre. amazing
https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/whats-on/
love a walk along the thames

buen viaje

How much walking can you do? I like to do the Tower right when it opens, walk across tower Bridge, down to Burrough Market for lunch, see the Globe, quick look at the Tate, across the Bridge to see St. Paul's. That's a big day, and if you want a lot of time at any one location

Arriving into London on evening of 12/26(Boxing Day). Leaving morning of 12/30. First time there...please help me with a plan!