London trip - to cram everything into 2 days?

[Magenta1234]

Im planning a 2 night trip to London for myself and two teenage daughters (14 &15), surprise trip for daughters birthday. First time for us all visiting London. Currently feeling completely overwhelmed despite trying to get organised as going in less than 2 weeks. I can’t work out if I’m cramming too much into our trip to the point I’d be dragging them around just to get through our list?? I have a list of things we want to do but don’t know what order, timings so any help would be great!!

so far:
Thursday
12.30pm arrive at Paddington train station- tube to Victoria. (Could get earlier train if needed?)
Staying in Belgrave- drop bags off, freshen up.
3pm circular walk around Westminster, HOP, back up to Buckingham Palace, st James park etc.
5pm - pre theatre meal at Bills
7pm - Wicked
is it worth going for nighttime walk after the show to see anything ‘lit up’?

Friday-
early start:
walk along embankment across Westminster bridge to Southbank.
London eye
boat trip/ Thames Rocket?
Cable car
tower bridge and Tower of London,Shard?
can’t book Sky garden as tickets all gone.
also definitely want to do Covent gardens, Camden market and Soho?? Girls really would love it.
DD would also like to see MM shop - not sure if this is on way to anywhere else?
Dinner - Chinese in Chinatown?

Saturday-
anything we didn’t get to do on Friday?? Perhaps Camden market, Soho, Convent gardens and group these together?
lunch/ early dinner??
bus home from Victoria Station at 6pm.

Planning on using boat, hop on off buses, walking?

is this too much to get through in 2-3 days ? Any other suggestions that would be classed as ‘cool’ for teenage girls?

Thanks in advance and apologies for rambling post🙂

Where are you seeing Wicked at?

Covent Garden, Soho and Chinatown are within walking distance to each other and you could even add a bit more like Piccadilly Circus, Carnaby if you like to

Camden Market is much further away and need a bus or tube ride to get there.

Camden is your outlier... It's far out from everywhere else.
I would let it go and focus on central, Covent Garden etc

In Victoria Apollo @phoenixrosehere , I think it’s around 15 mins walk from Buckingham Palace?

perhap it would be better to do Covent Garden, Soho on Friday afternoon then and then dinner in Chinatown?

we could do tower bridge and Greenwich cable cars on the Saturday then? If that would leave enough time to get back to Victoria for bus home at 6🤦🏻‍♀️

Personally I would drop Camden Market out of that and focus on the more central area. Also the cable car requires you to go to places a bit out of the way of the rest of your itinerary so would work if eg you were planning some time in Greenwich at the museums but that doesn’t really tie in with the rest of your plans. M&M world is in Leicester Square so would fit well before dinner in Chinatown. Would they want to do any of the big department stores eg Selfridges, Liberty, Harrods?

Bills and the other resterant get packed pre theatre in Cardinal place, make sure you book in advance

When we saw wicked we had food at Market Halls Victoria first, it’s a two minute walk to the theatre and was fun and buzzy. Your girls would probably love it - something for everyone and as quick as you need it to be to fit into your schedule.

I agree, a trip to Selfridges might be fun (which has several restaurants/places to eat - a burger or something at the Brasseries of Light would feel very special). Ditch the cable car - too far out. And as mentioned Camden is quite far away.

Don’t try to pack too much in - be flexible - enjoy the moment and if you’re enjoying something in particular don’t rush away from it because you also have to fit in xyz.

MM shop is practically next to China town, are they harry Potter fans? My dcs enjoyed a look at platform 9 3/4

That’s really helpful, thanks @Secondsop. They don’t really know anything about Camden market so they won’t notice if we don’t go I suppose 😂 makes sense to give it a miss.
They would love the big department stores but wasn’t sure of where to fit them in with other plans? I want to avoid the usual high street shops as they’d lose a day looking around those😂

I wouldn't use the hop on/hop off bus - it's £££ for what it is. Either walk (as you've already planned) or use the normal buses. Download Citymapper - it is EXCELLENT for getting you around London. Simply tell it where you want to go and it will tell you the best way to get there - which will often be by bus so you'll get all the same views as the HOHO, but at a fraction of the cost. And the buses will be much more frequent.

Tower of London takes a long time if you want to go in/round it, but it's still impressive from the outside.

London Eye, Cable car and Shard are all about looking at London from high up. You don't need to do all of them (even though the view is different from each). Cable car is OK, but you don't really see any of the 'famous' things from it - it's mainly just a view of the city/canary wharf. Impressive, but not 'wow'. It's more of a transport means to an end, I'd say.

Maybe do London Eye at night? Or sunset would be ideal, so you can still get a clear view of all the famous stuff, if you can do that?

Is the Sky Garden fully booked just for the free lift to the top, or can you still book in the cafe? If the latter, you could go up for breakfast/brunch/a drink and get the view from there. Monument is very near there too, and I'd go to Borough Market for some street food (walking past the Golden Hind).

I'd try and take in a museum if you can - the British Museum is worth it for the roof! And maybe just look at one small part of it - there's bound to be something there that relates to something your daughters are interested in. The other big (famous) museums are a bit further out of your way.

I wouldn't bother with the cable cars. Yes, you get a view of the O2 and a bit of Canary Wharf but everything else is too far away. The London Eyes would be far more interesting. Plus, getting to Greenwich from Tower Bridge is the 188 bus (easiest option), which is fine but there's not much to see on the way, it's just typical outer London streets. I suppose you could do a boat, but I think a boat the other way past the more scenic London monuments is better.

Your first day sounds fine. I wouldn't worry about the night time walk as you can take in the night time feel of London as you walk back to the tube / on the bus.

2nd day - waaay too much!

Seriously - your girls can get up early ??? And the touristy stuff doesn't open early (I'm thinking 8am here as early).
That's a lot of walking you have planned. So a walk from Belgravia to Tower Bridge is at least 4.5 miles, so a minumum of 1.5 hrs of walking, and that's not stopping to look at stuff. The London Eye itself doesn't open until 11am (from their website). You really haven't got the time to walk that, take a ride on the London Eye, go to the Tower of London (there's usually a queue for the Crown Jewels - you would need at least 2 hours for the whole site), and the Cable Car is all the way down in Greenwich, even if you use the Thames Clipper boats. Then you need to build in time for coffee breaks and lunch.

And you haven't got anywhere near Covent Garden, Camden Market or Soho. My suggestion would be
Thursday - leave as is

Friday - stick just to the South Bank (London Eye, Wobbly Bridge),Lunch at Borough Market, and walk on to Tower of London / Tower Bridge. Thames Clipper back to Westminister and walk up to Covent Garden for the evening.

Saturday - tube over to King's Cross and walk north into the new developed area behind King's Cross -lots of trendy cafes, shops, street entertainment , Canopy craft market. Can you leave your bags at the hotel - you really don't want the bother of carrying / pulling them along with you all day ?

Have a wonderful weekend!

I think you could do Greenwich or Camden, not both, both are a bit of a way out in different directions. My DD15 would want to prioritise Camden, there's lots of street food options there that she loves and it is bright and has a different feel to central London. Greenwich has a villagey feel and is nice, but I wouldn't worry about it. You can get the boat from Westminster Bridge/Embankment to Tower Bridge or back again the times can be a bit erratic though so leave plenty of time for it.

M&M store often has a queue to get in, and the cost of the pic n mix M&Ms is shocking - make sure DCs are aware - there are bags made up showing examples of what costs what, but you need to look for them.

I would get a visitor Oyster card ordered for the girls - you probably just about have time, then ask staff at the tube station to apply young person discount when you arrive, then your teens can travel on these for half adult price.
Visitor Oyster card - Transport for London (tfl.gov.uk)

sorry forgot to add - From King's Cross you can walk up to Camden market too

Hi! How exciting for your and your DDs, I bet they will absolutely love it. Agree with some PPs - Camden is a bit out of the way compared to everything else you're doing, so not sure there is a 'natural' point to go there. I'm a bit confused by where Greenwich/Cable Car fits into your plan though - that's miles away from where the rest of your itinerary is...

One thought I had looking at your plan though was it's a LOT of rushing about and seeing different things, but not necessarily taking time to actually enjoy the space. . Personally I'd ditch London Eye - the queues are always so long, and I'm not sure you actually get much out of going around it (but that's just my opinion - I've lived in London my whole life and not been on the Eye since I was a child!). If it was me, I'd probably wander along the river from Westminster Bridge, down to Borough Market where you could stop for lunch (Borough Market obviously being nothing like Camden Market, but I think pretty 'cool' - lots of their food stalls end up on Tiktok/Instagram so might be popular with teenage DDs). From Borough Market you can cross London Bridge and it's about a 15 min walk to Tower of London/Tower Bridge.

Westminster to Borough Market is about a half an hour walk, but you get to walk past LOADS of fun bits - you see London Eye/Parliament, Shakespeare's Globe, National Theatre, Tate Modern, etc!

If you did all that by mid-late afternoon, you could definitely get the tube back (Tower Hill to Embankment is about 10 min), and wander up (Embankment walking to Leicester Square = 5 min) to explore Leicester Square/Covent Garden/Soho in the early evening, and Chinatown for dinner!

To be honest this I've just described my ideal day out, and might have to do this soon!!!

Friday seems impossible or at the very least you'd be exhausted by mid afternoon or rushing around.

early start:
walk along embankment across Westminster bridge to Southbank.
London eye
Yep. Doable. Nice walk. London eye will be at least an hour once on and off so for this allow two hours.

boat trip/ Thames Rocket?*
To where? Boat to canary wharf is about 30 mins once on.* And then you're out at Docklands. If you started at 9am it's now lunchtime

Cable car
Hmm. This is miles out. You'd have to get off the boat at Canary Wharf and get in the DLR to do this and come back again as there's nothing the other side and it's errr dull sorry.

tower bridge and Tower of London,Shard?*
Back again from docklands? Sack off the boat trip and the cable car and just get to Tower Bridge.* Tower of London will be at least a couple of hours and it's v expensive. Potentially look at it from Tower Bridge and then get the tube back central

can’t book Sky garden as tickets all gone.
also definitely want to do Covent gardens, Camden market and Soho?? Girls really would love it.*
Covent garden and Soho are pretty close but you'd be wandering streets really.* If you've done that morning routine you'll be exhausted after this. Would suggest plotting a route so you aren't wandering aimlessly. It's just streets of shops and bars really. For Camden you'd have to get the Northern line at Leicester square (mid Soho and Covent Garden) and travel north. If you've done all the above you are way into mid/late afternoon and you'd be loosing the will to live. *
*
DD would also like to see MM shop - not sure if this is on way to anywhere else? I think this is near Leicester square like all the other tourist traps. Sorry to be snooty I don't get the attraction
Dinner - Chinese in Chinatown?*
Again this is near Leicester square and pretty touristy.* I lived in London for 20 years and never had dinner in Chinatown so I'm not best placed to recommend. So many fab places in soho or north soho eg Charlotte Street you could try rather than a Chinese you could have anywhere. *
*

Bolding fail sorry

Don't underestimate how massive London is and also how long it takes to get from place to place. The tube is very quick and regular but adds huge time to your day.

Also don't underestimate how long it takes to visit to a place and the cost. London eye will be £100 for the three if you and a full hour. More if you need to queue. A lot longer!
Tower of London same cost and they recommend 2 to 3 hours a visit.

Also when people say they want to do Soho. Not sure what you expect but...Soho is a grid of streets with bars and restaurants on them .. and offices. You could waste several hours looking for something that isn't there. Same with M&M store. If there's a queue and you've all walked 30 mins to get there will you wait for an hour in a queue to get inside and self dispense some from a machine?

Choose a couple of must do's a day and walk between them taking in Some sights along the way. Find a lovely quirky lunch stop mid way a final sight see for the afternoon and back for a freshen up then out to a nearby well rated restaurant. Lovely.

So many useful suggestions, thank you all this is brilliant!
I can see I need to plan Friday again. I’m ditching cable car and Greenwich idea.
@mangopumpkin love that plan and sounds more laidback than my original plan.

@DPotter I may do the tube to kings cross on the Saturday then and walk to Camden market from there?

@meatbaseddessert i don’t see the interest in going to M&M store either but DD’s keen on going for a look 🤦🏻‍♀️ Do you have any suggestions for a nice Chinese restaurant in Soho? Happy to try somewhere else but thought Chinatown may be more fun for girls, never been though so not sure what I’m expecting?

thanks again everyone for your much needed advice and reality check 😊

If you’re in Soho then you’re not far from Liberty, you’re just south of Oxford Street really. Fortnum & Mason is also just near Piccadilly. Are you planning to go into the Tower of London or look round the outside? It can take a while and your girls might prefer to do other things. Is there anything they’re particularly interested in generally? If so we can help find the best London thing to do in relation to it.

Totally agree with others re not bothering with the hop-on bus - use Citymapper and you’ll be fine for getting around and some routes eg the 139 and 11 are basically the same as a sightseeing route anyway.

I would avoid Chinatown for dinner… the only time I had a good meal there was when I was with Chinese friends who took us through a particular restaurant, up some stairs into a hidden dining room, and then ordered everything in Mandarin…
cable car you would need to take the boat to North Greenwich (about an hour), or the Jubilee line, then probably do a round journey, and go back. Not that exciting really, and it is quite far out from Central London.
Covent Garden is really just a selection of stalls and small shops. Camden is up the Northern Line, so not really on your way, but possibly enjoyable for teenagers.
i like the walk along the South Bank, from the London Eye to Borough Market, and HoP, to Buckingham Palace, down the Mall, through the Horse Guards, to Trafalgar Square. Easy walk from there to Covent Garden, Leicester Square (and China Town), Piccadilly.

there is also a Food Court called Nova in Buckingham Palace Road

https://createvictoria.com/nova

I don't think you need cable car, London Eye and shard. I'd just pick london eye. Also if you're going to take the boat tour and are planning on seeing some of these places (not actually going in) then I'd skil whatever is viewed from the boat. And then go to the ones you really want to see again.

I would definitely skip the cable cars - they are nowhere near Tower Bridge, and honestly they're pretty rubbish - you just see dockside industrial units and the river. It would take you a few hours to get there and back.
It generally sounds like a lot - I'd do less but enjoy it properly. Get the Citymapper app and research distances between stuff. Perhaps skip Camden as well. I wouldn't bother with the hop on/off bus either - just get the normal bus, Citymapper will tell you which one and where to get off.

Oh and if you want to shop, such as Soho/Oxford Street/Covent Garden - do that Friday as likely it'll be a little quieter. Do the walking around the river, Westminster, etc on Saturday.