London is definitely a must-do if you are making a trip overseas. It’s so easy to stop over on your way to Europe, or you could stay in the area and add other areas of England, Scotland, Ireland, and / or Iceland as well…so much to see in a very small area! I’ve done London several times for work and was able to see some sites during those trips, but this itinerary is based on a family trip when my kids were 12 and 15. From London, we went on to Paris, Rome, and Venice, so we packed a lot in to our 2.5 days in London. Everything we did in this itinerary is applicable for adults, couples, singles, girls trips, and can be done any time of the year. I hope you are well-rested and have some comfortable shoes, because we have a lot to cover!
Before reading ahead, be sure to check out my post on 32 Tips for Traveling Overseas with Ease for tips on everything from currency to etiquette!
Here’s a sample itinerary based on our 3-day trip to London in July:
DAY 1: ARRIVAL, LONDON EYE, WESTMINSTER, AND BIG BEN
Our flight arrived in London in the morning on Day 1, we got our British Pounds (GBP) from the ATM in the airport, and then took a taxi (this was 2017 before ride share was so common!) in to the city and got checked in to our hotel. We stayed near Borough Market at the London Bridge Hotel. If you’ve read my 32 Tips for Traveling Overseas with Ease, you’ll know that the best thing to do to fight the jet lag is to get out in the fresh air and get moving, so that’s what we did! We had a reservation that afternoon for a ride on the London Eye, so we started walking along the South side of the River Thames past Borough Market (there are food tours of the market available on Trip Advisor), Shakespeare’s Globe Theater (you can just do a tour the theater, or get tickets to see a show there), and Tate Modern Museum and Gardens (open every day and admission is free!). We didn’t have time to stop, but I’d recommend checking one or all of them out if you have time.
If your hotel isn’t within walking distance of the London Eye, the underground system is really easy to use. When you’re ready to take your first ride, you can buy your tickets from an attendant or a self-serve kiosk right in the train station. I’d suggest getting a 3-day Visitor Oyster card for around 25 GBP for unlimited trips during your stay. Just be sure not to lose that little ticket!
I highly recommend riding the London Eye at the beginning of your visit. There are great views of the entire city during your 30 minute ride, and it gives you a good feel for the layout of London from the sky. For this trip, we had purchased a London City Pass (catch-all ticket that includes admission to several popular tourist sites, including Kensington Palace and Tower of London, along with other discounts) based on the places we wanted to visit, plus it included 24 hour access to the Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tours, and a River Thames boat cruise. We throughly enjoyed both.
From the London Eye, it’s a pretty short walk across the Westminster Bridge over to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. We walked around the area for a bit, and then found a pub to get some English food…Shepherd’s Pie and Fish and Chips with mushy peas! We made it past dinner time in London, so we were in the clear to head back to the hotel and finally get some sleep.
DAY 2: BUCKINGHAM PALACE, CHANGING OF THE GUARDS, BRITISH MUSEUM, & HARRODS
Day 2 was a really full agenda, so we started with a hearty breakfast at The Breakfast Club. It’s a really fun atmosphere and there are several locations around London..and they have pancakes! The pacing item on this day was to see the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, which happens at 11AM each day. On the way to Buckingham Palace, you can stop outside the Wellington Barracks starting at 10AM to see the guards getting ready for their shift, and if there is a band they are generally practicing outside the barracks. At around 10:45AM they start their march from the barracks to Buckingham Palace. It’s so crowded and hard to get a good look once they are at the palace, so this is a nice way to see them up close. On the day we were there it was Canada Day, so the Canadian Guard was watching over the palace. If you want to tour the palace, it is open to the public for two months each summer. Be sure to plan ahead for this one and book in advance!
After the changing of the guard, we walked back through St James Park (there’s a beautiful view of Buckingham Palace from the bridge in the park), and visited the Guard’s Museum. My son was really in to the guards at that time, so we had to make a stop! It is a really neat little museum that showcases the various guards’ uniforms, hats, weapons, etc; not just from England, but also from other parts of the UK and other British Commonwealth countries. It was just about 8 GBP per adult, and kids 16 and under are free with each paid adult.
We walked back to Westminster to grab some pizza for lunch and to get the obligatory photos in the red phone booths. Warning…they are filthy and smell awful, so you won’t want to stay long. The pictures are cute though! From there, we decided to make use of the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus pass we had for the day and made our way to the British Museum. It’s definitely worth a visit, as there are some really amazing artifacts there and again, it’s free! Some highlights for me were seeing the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon Sculptures, and Sophilos Vase. I’d suggest planning to spend at least 2 hours there.
After the British Museum, we made the short walk to Trafalgar Square. Again, since it was Canada Day they had live music and other Canadian food and products on display in the square. They often have special events going on. You can check this website for the schedule of events happening there.
To end our day, we made our way to Harrod’s Department Store. It’s fun to walk around and look at all of the high end clothing, bags, and shoes. There’s also an area called the Food Halls, where exotic fruit, fresh breads, and fancy chocolates (just to name a few) are all beautifully displayed. There are several restaurants there as well, with everything from sushi to burgers to pizza. We chose to have dinner at the Burger Bar (I took a picture of the cute ketchup container below), but it seems to have been replaced by Gordon Ramsay Burger. I’m sure it’s even better (and more expensive) now!
DAY 3: KENSINGTON, TOWER OF LONDON, AFTERNOON TEA, TOWER BRIDGE, & RIVER TOUR
This was our final day in London before heading on to Paris, so we decided to make use of our City Pass and tour Kensington Palace and Gardens, the birthplace of Queen Victoria. It’s worth a visit, plus when we were there, they had a special exhibit featuring several of Princess Diana’s famous dresses. That was really a highlight for me. Kensington Gardens spills over in to Hyde Park, which is worth walking through as well.
For us, the next stop was The Tower of London. It was too far to walk there from Hyde Park, so we took the underground. The Tower of London was BUSY and the line for the Crown Jewels was super long, but I was determined to see them so my daughter and I waited to get in. Was it worth it? I think so! But it meant I didn’t really see much of the rest of The Tower of London. We walked up to the Tower Bridge and took it across the river. It’s a beautiful bridge and worth seeing up close (and it’s not to be confused with the London Bridge which was near our hotel and is a very small, unassuming bridge).
If the timing works out and you’re free at around 4PM, I highly recommend going somewhere for traditional afternoon tea. You could do this on Day 1 or Day 2 if that works out better for you, and it’s best to make a reservation in advance. There are a number of places to go for tea, and they can get pretty pricey, so do a little research before booking. Some places that are kid-friendly include The Ampersand (they have a super cool science- themed experience), Langham, and Aqua at the Shard (I especially like this one because you can check out the unique architecture of the Shard building at the same time).
We ended our day with a River Tour on the Thames, which was a nice finale for our time in London.
If you have another day in London, there are a couple other things I’d recommend. First, if you’re interested in seeing Stonehenge, look for a day tour via Viator or Get Your Guide. They take the better part of a day, but are a great way to see the area outside of London without having to worry about driving. Or, if you’re not really in to Stonehenge (I wasn’t overly impressed, but my husband says it’s a must-do) I’d recommend going to Windsor. You can tour Windsor Castle (buy tickets in advance), and Windsor itself is a quaint little village that is fun to explore, shop, and eat. You can take a train from London to either Windsor or Eaton station (about a 30 minute ride from London) to get there.
Finally, if you’re looking for some current and unique things to do in London, check out Secret London on Instagram or Tik Tok…it’s a really fun follow. Putting this post together makes me want to go back to London ASAP!
Al I love reading this blog! Makes me wanna take a trip!
Thank you Liz – we NEED to plan our next girls trip soon!