London must do?

[CommonCrisis]

We're planning a day trip to London, what are the must dos? Is it worth paying to go to the top of the shard even if the weather might not be great?

What are you in to?
My must do are Sir John Soanes house and the Foundling Hospital, but I'm really into art.
My DD and her BF did the Shard in bad weather and were really disappointed.

I would go and see Buckingham Palace and then walk up through Green Park and onto Piccadilly. From there walk up to Piccadilly Circus and through Leicester Sq to Covent Garden. I love that walk. And Waterloo Bridge is nice to walk over, great views both ways and that can take you down to the Southbank which is fun.

Southbank
Tower of London
Tate modern
Natural history museum
Greenwich park and observatory

We enjoy art, history and architecture, but not massively into it, so we like to go and see the different buildings or galleries but wouldn't spend hours somewhere like you would if you were really interested! Thinking of doing the glass floor walk over tower bridge, really want to do the shard but just worried a bit about the weather, and it being a big disappointment.

Don’t pay for the shard, instead try to get a booking for the sky garden - has both a bar and restaurant and if you just book for drinks it’s free (and the drinks are cheaper than the shard!!). Good thing is it’s a similar view but never as busy, there’s a much bigger indoor area if the weather is poor and the fact that it’s a garden in the sky is pretty awesome!

skygarden.london/city-garden-bar

This thread in the London topic might help www.mumsnet.com/Talk/london/3220593-If-you-had-48-hours-in-London-by-yourself-what-would-you-do?msgid=78845044?

I haven’t been to the sky garden but I plan to - might be a better option than the shard if the weather is bad as at least there’s the garden etcto enjoy as well. I think St. Paul’s is a must see and the British Museum (for me it’s worth a trip just to see the Rosetta Stone but I’m really into ancient history)

I did look at the sky garden, partner really fancies the shard tho, can you see the shard from the sky garden, that might swing it!

Yes, the sky garden is almost directly across the Thames from the Shard so you can definitely see it! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done both and enjoyed it, just found that the entrance fee plus drinks at the shard were far less value and a far more crowded experience than the sky garden.

If it's just for the view - then Sky Garden all the way.

Duck and Waffle restaurant also has fabulous views - great breakfast there.

Oblix East at the Shard has great views at night and the food isn't horrifically priced either.

Tower of London, walk over Tower Bridge, then HMS Belfast.

Afternoon Tea at Harrods! Far better than F&M.

Echo the walk from Buckingham Palace - but i like up past Horseguards, detour onto the Mall, then Piccadilly and ending up at Covent Garden.

If you like Indian food, Dishoom is great.

Is the sky pod bar the same views as sky garden bar, I can book a table there but sky garden is fully booked?

If it’s via the site I linked to it’s all part of the same building and you can walk around /go outside to view etc