Day #1 – London Eye, landmarks around Big Ben, Trafalgar Square
- What you will see:
- London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, Horse Guards, Churchill War Rooms, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery and Piccadilly Circus
Four days is plenty of time to see the best attractions, but it’s not quite enough to see them all. The difficult bit is trying to decide how many you can squeeze into your itinerary without wasting too much time rushing around on public transport.
Our number one tip is that you want your first morning to be exciting, so we always recommend starting with a ride on the London Eye. This will give a you great view of all the landmarks you’ll be visiting later, and it only uses up 30 mins of your day (plus 30 mins queueing – but you can reduce that by buying your tickets in advance).
You will have seen Big Ben from the top of the wheel, so when you’re finished cross over Westminster Bridge for one of London’s best photos. Then take some more of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
Everyone has different interests so we’re going to give you three different options now. You won’t have time to visit them all, so just pick two out of three.
Option 1 – Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey is one of the most historic buildings in London and contains the tombs of Edward the Confessor, Henry V (Battle of Agincourt), Edward V (War of the Roses), Elizabeth I (Spanish Armada), James VI (Gunpowder Plot) and Charles II (allow for 2 hours).
Walk down Whitehall and stop outside Downing Street. You’ll have to get lucky to see the Prime Minister, but you should be able to see the famous front door easy enough – it’s halfway down the street.
Next-door is another one of London’s most popular photos – the mounted soldiers outside Horse Guards. There’s usually a big crowd of tourists crowding around them and they all take it in turns to stand next to the horses and pose for a photo.
It’s worth walking through the central arch to have a look at the parade ground afterwards. This is where they hold all the big military parades.
Option 2 – Churchill War Rooms
If you’re interested in WWII then you’ll find the entrance to the Churchill War Rooms next to the parade ground. This was where Winston Churchill directed the war during the Blitz (allow for 2 hours).
Return to Whitehall and keep walking until you reach Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column.
Option 3 – National Gallery
If you’re interested in art then our third option is spending a couple of hours inside the National Gallery. This is our finest gallery with artworks by the likes of Rembrandt, Raphael, Titian, Turner, Da Vinci and Van Gogh.
It should be late afternoon by now so how about finding somewhere to eat? If you walk through Leicester Square towards Piccadilly Circus you’ll find yourself in the heart of the West End. They are plenty of pubs and restaurants around here.
Day #2 – Changing the Guard, Sightseeing bus & Tower of London
- What you will see:
- Changing the Guard, Sightseeing bus around the landmarks, Tower of London, Covent Garden
Your second day will include another three attractions from our London Bucket List, plus a sightseeing bus that drives past lots of iconic landmarks that we didn’t see yesterday.
Start at Trafalgar Square and buy an Tootbus Tour ticket from their shop on Cockspur Street. Don’t board the bus just yet, though, because we’re going to see Changing the Guard first.
We’ve got a bit of time to kill before the parade starts at 11.15 AM, so maybe you can take some photos in St. James’s Park? You can get a great photo of Buckingham Palace by standing on the central bridge over the lake, and if you turn around you’ll get a great shot of Horse Guards as well.
If you want a decent view of the parade then you’ll need to get there by 10 AM (or as early as 9.30 AM if you want a really good view). Craig’s review goes into detail about the best places to stand.
When the ceremony ends around 11.30 AM find the bus stop for the Tootbus Tour in Buckingham Gate and catch one of their Yellow Route buses and get your camera ready. The route will take you past Big Ben, Parliament and the London Eye.
The Royal Courts of Justice and St. Paul’s Cathedral are highlights along the way, and the sights will just keep on coming until you roll over Tower Bridge. Get off outside the Tower of London.
Hopefully the entire route will have taken around 50 mins which will give you around 2½ hours to look around the Tower of London. Ideally we’d recommend at least 3-4 hours in here, but seeing as you’re only visiting London for four days you’ll have to settle for 2½ – that’s more than enough to see the Crown Jewels, Bloody Tower, Traitor’s Gate and Tower Green.
After that get the tube from Tower Hill to Embankment (10 mins). You had a meal in the West End yesterday, so how about a meal in Covent Garden instead?
Day #3 – St. Paul’s Cathedral, view from The Shard & West End show
- What you will see:
- St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tate Modern, Globe Theatre or The Shard, Borough Market and a West End show
Day three begins with St. Paul’s Cathedral. After you’ve walked around Christopher Wren’s spectacular interior and seen the tombs of Nelson and Wellington in the crypt, try climbing to the top of the dome for a fantastic view of the skyline (allow for 2 hours).
We’re going to give you a choice of three different attractions now, but you’ll only have time for two. All three of them are across the other side of the river so come out of the cathedral and cross over the Millennium Bridge.
Option 1 – Tate Modern
Tate Modern is one of the most visited attractions in London and is home to the country’s largest collection of contemporary and modern art. It won’t be to everybody’s taste, but if you’re into Rothko, Pollock, Picasso and Matisse then give it a try (allow for 1½ hours).
Option 2 – Globe Theatre
Next-door to the Tate is Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. There are two ways of sneaking a peek inside: a guided tour or watching a play. Unfortunately it’s an open-air theatre which means they only hold plays during the sunny months, so unless you come during the summer then you’ll have to settle for a tour. They’ve also got an interesting museum underneath which explores the life of Shakespeare (allow for 1½ hours for a tour, and 3 hours for a play).
Option 3 – The Shard
The third choice is a climb to the top of London’s tallest skyscraper: The Shard. You can find it by walking along the river, past the Golden Hinde and Southwark Cathedral.
You can see the whole of London from up there and it’s amazing how small it seems. You probably thought that St. Paul’s was high when you climbed it this morning, but from the top of the Shard it looks tiny! (allow for 1½ hours)
If you chose The Shard then you might like to pop into Borough Market next-door. It’s an undercover food market and they have lots of gourmet food stalls selling arty breads, meats and cheeses. It’s a nice place to stop for something to eat.
Now catch the RV1 bus from Southwark Street or Borough High Street and ride it all the way back to Covent Garden. You should be familiar with the West End by now so find a nice pub or restaurant and spend the evening watching a West End show.
Most of the big shows start at 7 PM or 7.30 PM and are within walking distance down the Strand and Shaftesbury Ave. There are more down Aldwych, Haymarket and Drury Lane.
It’s always best to buy your tickets in advance, but if you leave it to the last minute then try one of the ticket seller shops around Leicester Square. If you want the cheapest theatre tickets then try the discount TKTS booth in Leicester Square itself.
Day #4 – Boat to Greenwich
- What you will see:
- Sightseeing boat, Old Royal Naval College, Cutty Sark, National Maritime Museum or Royal Observatory
Day four takes you away from central London for a change of scenery. Tourists always think about trying a sightseeing bus but they rarely think of a sightseeing boat, so how about a boat ride from Big Ben to Greenwich? Thames Clippers, City Cruises and TRS all go to Greenwich, but we recommend TRS because City Cruises are too busy and Thames Clippers don’t have very many outside seats.
Get your camera ready because the 60-min ride will take you past lots of landmarks including Cleopatra’s Needle, St. Paul’s, the Globe Theatre, Tower of London and HMS Belfast. It will then pass straight under Tower Bridge and head towards the skyscrapers at Canary Wharf.
When you pull into Greenwich pier the first thing you’ll see is the Cutty Sark and the front facade of the Old Royal Naval College, but don’t rush over to them just yet because you have a choice to make. There are four attractions worth visiting and you won’t have time for them all, so we recommend choosing just two of them (or three if you don’t mind rushing).
Option 1 – Old Royal Naval College
Christopher Wren’s Old Royal Naval College is one of the most beautiful buildings in London. Tourists can only enter two rooms – but what rooms! The famous Painted Hall is often described as London’s Sistine Chapel (allow for 45-60 mins in total).
Option 2 – Cutty Sark
The Cutty Sark is an old clipper ship that used to carry tea from China in record speeds. The hull has been suspended in mid-air so you can walk underneath it and then explore the cargo decks and crew’s quarters (allow for 1½ hours).
Option 3 – National Maritime Museum and Queen’s House
If you’re interested in boats then you might like to visit the National Maritime Museum which tells the story of the British navy from the days of the British Empire. One of the best exhibits is the actual jacket that Admiral Nelson was wearing at the Battle of Trafalgar. Queen’s House is where they keep the museum’s collection of artworks (allow for 2 hours in total)
Option 4 – Royal Observatory
The final choice is the Royal Observatory on top of Greenwich Hill. You can explore the 16th-century house where the original Astronomer Royals used to live, and the museum is full of old clocks and telescopes. It also has a planetarium with a 360-degree movie dome (allow for 3 hours in total).
You might like to walk into the town centre at some point and have lunch in one of Greenwich’s lovely old pubs.
Bear in mind that your return boat might leave as early as 4 PM depending on the date, and which company you chose. Or you could just catch the tube from Cutty Sark to Westminster.