3.5 days in London Is this feasible ?

[EffieeBriest]

So much to see and trying to work out an itinerary. Also not sure what’s worth it.
I’m into Art, history, books. DP along for the ride but deffo wants to go to Kew.

Sir John Soane’s Museum, maybe Hunterian which is opposite I believe or
Denis Severs house
Got Sky garden booked last morning
St Paul’s cathedral Or Westminster Abbey or both ?
Tower of London and St Dunstans in the east church (believe it’s really atmospheric), probs last morning as close to Sky Garden.
Walks along south bank to Tate modern and also through St James park to Buck palace/Big Ben
Churchills war rooms
IWM
Partner is desperate to see Kew Gardens. Is this a full day ?
Would love to visit the National Gallery or Tate Britain. Not sure which ? And would be very much focused on seeing certain things rather than wandering aimlessly.
As we are coming by train many of the attractions can be booked 2 for 1 which reduces the cost.
Any advice would be really welcome !

I live in London and tend to spend a whole day in Kew. The journey feels like a long one, and I feel I need to get the most out of it before schlepping back to town.

I am a "two attractions a day" sort so to me your schedule seems packed! But if you organise efficiently I think you could squeeze it all in. For example Sir John Soane is about an hour or so, but St Paul's/Westminster might take longer.

As much as possible book tickets in advance because in peak season the queues can be long and you lose time waiting in line.

You could do it if extremely well-planned and focused but would you really be getting the most out of the things you're paying (a fair whack for some of them) to do?

Really not sure you need three churches.

As a PP said, Kew is pretty much a full day thing unless you travel, wander for a short time then hop back on the train.

Factor in travel time conservatively.

Where will you be located? It's a very full schedule! Kew is a full day if you want to mooch about and see / do all the popular bits, but could squeeze into a half day if you only want to do the greenhouses / rose garden (basically not the "grounds"). It'll also take you over an hour each way from central London.

Museums / galleries in London are generally free, but churches/cathedrals are not. The latter are quite expensive, and you will likely have a timed slot if you pre-book.

I think one of your (potential) problems is that you want to see things all over London. You might need to plot everywhere on a map and then see what's feasible. I'd possibly cut out the "west" bits; Westminster, Buck House, St James etc.. and keep it more to the City/ South/ East; IWM, South Bank, St Paul's, Tower of London, St John Soames etc.. I know it all looks close / walkable, but you have to account for time in / doing the attractions.

Kew is a step too far. For ease of travel I'd do Nat. Gallery and forget Tate Britain. Either St Pauls or the Abbey not both.

That aside I'd say it's doable in 3.5 days. Speaking as a Londoner.

I always find Kew Gardens a bit of a let down. It's a long way out, the greenhouses are over crowded, and the outside space is fine but never seems that special. It's definitely an entire day though.

Why would you go to London for that

Thanks everyone. I’d not realised how far Kew is from central London. As a non Londoner it just looks like London 😳
And yes 3 churches is a bit much ! I guess they are totally different but if you had to see one would it be St Paul’s or Westminster Abbey ?
I suspect Dennis Severs’ house is out.
And 2 sights a day to actually go in and see sounds more realistic.
Any opinions on Tate Britain v National Gallery ? Does the NG get much busier ?

I've not done the Tate, but NG has a lot of religious iconography and Dutch Masters, which I'm not overly fond of, but has tons of other things that I am! Best bet is to look at their sites and see what's open when you're visiting (sometimes entire wings are closed for cleaning/ renovation etc..), and the kind of art you enjoy looking at. From Traf Sq, you can walk over the bridge from Charing Cross station towards Waterloo and you come off at the Southbank centre. Wander up the riverbank, pop into Tate modern, then over the Wobbly Bridge, and keep going straight into St Paul's.

Surely if you're into art you know which of the Tate or NG is going to be more your cup of tea? Aside from the permanent collections there will be exhibitions on, so just choose one of them and reserve the other for another visit. I would always vote St Paul's over Westminster Abbey but that's just me. Denis Severs is open in the evening I think so that might buy you a bit more time. But broadly speaking I think PPs are right- you'd be packing too much in to really appreciate them.

Kew is beautiful and is definitely a whole day. But, could you combine it with one of your churches/cathedrals if you planned to go to evensong after a day in Kew?
Or, Kew is on the district line so it might work on a sunny evening to get the tube back, get off at st James park, and do the buck palace/ st James park wander in the early evening sun.

@Talipesmum that sounds a good idea. I suppose it depends on the weather. Last time I visited with DS2 it was roasting. This time maybe rain, who knows !

If you go to St Paul's, you can climb to the top of the dome for a fantastic view across London and cut out the Sky Garden. Definitely more atmospheric!

St Dunstan's is indeed beautiful and very atmospheric - it's a ruin and now a city garden. Just a warning, because it featured on someone's Instagram it's become a massive attraction and can get really busy, which spoils the serene and ethereal ambience, so maybe go early!

The Ruined London Church That's Now A Stunning City Park (secretldn.com)

🙄

It'll also take you over an hour each way from central London

Kew to Victoria on the District line is 25-30 minutes.

Kew Gardens is beautiful and big, and quite a trek to get to if you’re otherwise based more centrally.
What your DP’s main interest? Plants? Landscaping? The impressive architecture of the greenhouses?
Kew “village” is quite pretty and there’s also the National Archives nearby who have a small but fascinating (and free!) exhibition on WW2 “Great Escapes” atm. Sorry, not making your choice any easier…
An alternative to Kew is the much smaller though fascinating Chelsea Physic Garden. No greenhouse architecture but amazing plants, including medicinal, and also very beautiful and a bit of a hidden gem.
St Paul’s vs Westminster Abbey - I think Westminster Abbey wins on the exhibition which is on the roof level. Both are very impressive though, and yes expensive.

Kew is not that far from central London, only about 30 minutes on the Tube from say Victoria!

Definitely St Paul's over Westminster Abbey. St Paul's is 10 mins walk from the Tate Modern so that's an easy combination.

I'm quite a slow traveler and prefer to take my time but I'd do:
1 day: Kew
1 day: St Paul's + Tate then the walk you suggested through St James. You could then do the war rooms although that would be too much for me in 1 day
1 day: Two out of 3 of Sir John Soames + Hunterian, National Gallery and Tower of London. I'd personally drop IWM as it's a very good museum but its content is not unique to London, unlike your other options. Tough choice but unless you drop Kew I can't see how you could do them all without swapping out something else or rushing around miserably.
0.5 day: I'd do the Sky Garden at a leisurely pace and relax with a drink!

Zone 5, though. Positively rural in MN terms. And 'a trek,' apparently.

I live in London

There's much more to see at Westminster abbey if you're picking a church and the audio commentary is really good - this is worth paying for as an attraction

St Paul's - go to the service and you don't pay - 5pm is usually evening service and you wander around before and after. I went to the communion service a few weeks ago and it was really moving to see so many nationalities taking communion together. Plus the servers/the priest/ all women service

Kew is amazing but is definitely a whole day

Get the Uber boat up and down the river (you just tap in and out with your debit card). Do not pay to go on a tourist boat. That way you can go to Tate modern, jump on the boat and go to Tate Britain

There are some glaring omissions from your itinery - the National portrait gallery was reopened by Princess of wales last year and it's amazing - I would go that over Tate Britain. Cafe very good but st martins in the fields church over the road has an underground crypt cafe which has home made soups/nice mains etc - bit cheaper

Tate modern is great if you haven't seen it

The same Uber boat to Greenwich in the other direction is the other omission- the royal observatory, walking round the royal naval college, the queens house, the National maritime museum, the painted hall - I live 5 minutes walk
away so im biased and thinks it's unmissable plus you can then see all the bits where the latest Bridgerton plus poldark was filmed. Greenwich is a full day out, opposite on the Isle of Dogs is the (free) museum of London docklands - again you just get the boat over (or walk through the foot tunnel)

John soane and denis severs are both incredible (you don't need the hunterian on top of that) - you need to book severs in advance- it was really hard for me to get tickets a few years ago and I had to wait weeks for a slot

If you love dickens the (paid) dickens museum in Bloomsbury is great.

I'm sure you've missed out the British museum/the V and A/the natural history museum because they're all massive and take pretty much a day each !

Download the today tix app and see a show for £15/£20 - I see dozens of shows a year (it's my thing) - and this is pretty much the cheapest way to do it ad hoc

Chelsea physic is lovely too

Churchill's war rooms is my favourite! But is really expensive - it's £25 ish

There is so much free don't feel like you have to buy others

Agree about the IWM - not unique to London - I go at least 4 times a year though as it's so good - it's also about 20 minutes on the bus for me so is a very easy win to take visitors

Your itinerary also slight depends on where you are staying...

Regarding Kew - it's open until 7pm so you could do something in the morning and head over there mid afternoon and leave when it closes.

Some amazing advice. So helpful when it’s from people who actually live there. I’m a bit doubtful about Kew tbh but it was my main selling point to get him to come so I’m stuck with it really ! I’ll let him read the thread and he might opt for Chelsea Psychic (sp) instead. In the end if the weather is poor we might have to give it a miss.