What’s London like to visit now? Posting for traffic!

[Freakeconomics]

So I live in Ireland and am travelling to London for IVF treatment in mid November. I’ll be quarantining 2 weeks before I go and then again for 2 weeks when I get home so I was wondering if it’s worth booking an extra day or two while over there to enjoy a bit of a break.

Are restaurants/ cafe’s open to sit in? Could you still go around sightseeing - maybe not inside but the main sites outside? What is the atmosphere like re shopping?

Same as ever for shopping social distancing aside you can do most things

I live and work in London. It's a great time to visit as everything is so empty! All the tourist sites are open, you may need to book a slot in advance for galleries and museums. Most cafes and restaurants are open, but be aware that you can only mix with your household. Try to download the NHS app so you don't have to give your details every time you go into a new place. Trains are empty, tubes slightly busy. Bring your mask

I live & work in London. It's a brilliant time to be visiting tourist sites here.

You'll need to book in advance, but the controlled numbers mean it's a lot easier to see & enjoy places without the crowds. Restaurants & cafes are open, probably worth booking restaurants in advance too though if you want to be sure of getting a table.

Shops will normally have someone by the door to check you're wearing a mask (unless exempt of course) & point you at the hand sanitiser.

Normal etiquette on tubes at the moment, at least on the lines I've been on, is for people to sit in every other seat. They're much, much quieter. It would still be a kindness if you can avoid them during rush hours though.

Thanks so much @Kazziek all sounds great! We’re in total lockdown here in Ireland so I figured given I have to travel it would be nice to have a day or two of more normal life before back to quarantine!

Thanks @EmpressJKRowlingSpartacus our clinic is very central so we would hope to mainly walk everywhere as it’s v near all the main tourist areas but will definitely be mindful to avoid rush hour to not add more people into the mix

Most museums and galleries are open but you will likely need to pre-book slots online.

Restaurants, cafes, pubs are still open but you can't meet people outside your household inside them. Shops open as normal - although may limit numbers of people in them at a time. But central London is very quiet so unlikely to be an issue.

A couple of theatres are open (Bridge, National) with a very sparse audience. There was even a very minimalist opera on at Covent Garden this week.

You'll need a mask everywhere so pack plenty of them.

London is wonderful at the moment, I doubt it will be this quiet again plus hotels are cheaper. Definitely book in advance. What do you plan to see?

We went recently and it was great but incredibly quiet, a bit weird really. We stayed in a very nice hotel and the cheaper rates meant we were able to upgrade to a suite (which we have never been able to do before).
Some parts of the underground were deserted and the streets were pretty quiet, no crowds.
Most cafes, bars and restaurants were open and all were observing social distancing etc.
Book in advance for tourist attractions but bare in mind that due to CV not all parts of an attraction may be open, we went to Tower of London and had done it all in about 40 mins.
Hope you have a successful trip.

Now is the best time to go! Most places are open and they’re all empty. Great time to do the tourist attractions.

Thinking of taking my daughter (age 9) in nov/Dec time... looks like it will be a good time to do it.

I want to do afternoon tea, wax place, national history museum, Dunkin donuts 🙄😂

A brilliant time to visit London, its quieter than ever. But plan in advance and book galleries and restaurants before you arrive. Most have slots and most have plenty of space but some slots get filled up around lunchtime. So many good restaurants you can get a reservation in now. Go for it.

Thanks everyone! I’m getting excited now. It’ll be nice to have some normality as a treat post IVF also as we’ve been healthy eating/no alcohol/ no caffeine etc. I’d love to do London eye, afternoon tea, Tower of London and just enjoy a nice dinner and few drinks. Hopefully things won’t have gotten worse and moved to tier 3 by the time we arrive.

We went for a week in September and had a brilliant time. We also had a walk around The City and it's shocking how deserted it is.

London Eye is brilliant at the moment. They are limiting the numbers going on to each capsule so it's better than normal.

I live in zone 4
Tube is very empty off peak.
Zone 1 is quiet AF
Restaurants museums and galleries are all a joy to visit.

Go mad and enjoy yourself

Fantastic time to visit - galleries and museums are much enhanced by social distancing.
Work out what you want to see and book slots in advance.
Royal Academy's "Summer" exhibition is fabulous this year.

I agree with everyone. I'm a Londoner and i love central London just now. Do you know London very well? Do you want some ideas of places to see? Theres so much to do and am not missing going away on holiday at all. Never been a better time to enjoy it. And wishing you all the best for your treatment

@P999 if it’s not too much trouble I’d love a few ideas of what to do - even if you could give a few names of things I can look them up. I have only been once years ago and it was to visit a friend so didn’t do too much touristy stuff or much sightseeing in general.

Royal Academy will still have the delayed summer exhib on then and it’s fab - book first.

It’s a great time to go in restaurants that are usually tricky to get in so make the most of it! Tables at the ivy etc. Covent Garden has lots of tables outside many heated if you prefer that too.

Tate Modern is open but book online first - it’s free still. Open air food trucks along the south bank. It’s a fab time to go.

We go to London often and just got back yesterday from two days there. We went to the Tower of London but there weren't any tours on which was a shame. We were the only people looking at the Crown Jewels which was cool.

We went to Camden market and went to Hans and Gretel (google for awesome ice creams).

Last time we went we went to tower bridge which was fun.

Agree that everywhere was quiet, not as quiet as when we went in August (obviously!) but still great. Buses and tube quiet.

I think that lots of places are getting their Christmas decs/markets up from November, skating rink at the Tower of London to. I suppose it depends what you want to do

I’ve been twice in the past two weeks, the latest being yesterday.

It’s strange. In the day it’s almost as if nothing has changed apart from certain shops still being closed and queues to get in some. Euston station is so quiet. The tube is quiet too but then you unexpectedly find a busy route and I did feel uncomfortable at times.

A lot of the little restaurants around theatre land are sadly still closed but we did find some lovely ones open. Covent Garden in the evening was nice.

The tube & streets back to the hotel At night felt strange without the theatre/tourist crowd. You noticed the drunks and troublemakers a bit more. They were always there, but the theatre crowd swamped them.

We didn’t visit any tourist attractions as we were there for the theatre (a couple of small cast, socially distanced shows).

OP have a look at the Sky Garden. It's free, and gives great views (it's in the city, between London Bridge and Tower Bridge!. As previous posters have mentioned, most things are open but you do have to book.
Everything is so quiet if you're not sure if what you want to see/do then I'd do an open top bus tour (if they're still happening) first.
Enjoy, and good luck with your treatment

I live and work in London and in many ways I am loving it atm - much less of a crush, plenty still open, transport has never been so civilised.

The only thing I would say is that the usual tourist holiday buzz is lacking. Picture a seaside resort in winter - life is much slower.

Btw I don't think you have to quarantine before coming here, do you?

@TheYearOfSmallThings

I live and work in London and in many ways I am loving it atm - much less of a crush, plenty still open, transport has never been so civilised.

The only thing I would say is that the usual tourist holiday buzz is lacking. Picture a seaside resort in winter - life is much slower.

Btw I don't think you have to quarantine before coming here, do you?

She will have to quarantine prior to going into hospital for the treatment.