What are your favourite things to do in London?

[Theda13]

My DP and I are booking a trip to London for a big birthday (mine). We’ll be staying for a few days.

I’d definitely like to go to the Ritz for afternoon tea and the National Portrait Gallery. Maybe a show too, but not sure which one.

Any other ideas?

Westminster Abbey.
V&A nice cafe too,
Frameless near Marble Arch (also nice cafe)
Paddington and Play that goes wrong both great fun shows.

Which bridge do you mean by the Queen Elizabeth bridge? The Millenium or the Golden Jubilee?

So far we have:

Day 1:

British Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum
(Apparently these are in close proximity, so we’ll do them on the same day.)

Day 2:

Ritz Afternoon Tea
Horizon 22

Day 3:

National Gallery, London
A show, likely Phantom of the Opera.

Potentially Tower of London too, but not sure where to fit that in!

(Londoner here)

Assume you’ve already booked the Ritz? If not, book NOW. It used to be for weekends you had to book 6 months in advance (and 3 months for during the week) but I have no idea if it’s better (or worse) these days. There are better afternoon teas and certainly less touristy ones but if you’ve never been, it’s an experience worth doing.

I second the recommendation for the Tower of London. It really is quite incredible (more so if you manage to avoid the crowds - best time to arrive is about 10 mins after opening and head straight for the Crown Jewels, then double back for the Beefeater tour afterwards). I also find Westminster Abbey fascinating and very moving. A guided tour of the Houses of Parliament is also a memorable experience.

I think Sky Garden is much better than Horizon 22. But Sky Garden can be rammed with tourists so better to visit during their the week when it’s less frenetic.

You don’t mention restaurants (or hotels) other than your afternoon tea plans. Is that nothing something you’re particularly interested in? A bit more info re which location you’re staying in and likes/dislikes will help us suggest less obvious places that you might enjoy.

@Theda13
Horizon 22 is close to the Tower of London. It’s only a 16 minute walk. I like Sky Garden too.

Your big unknown is the Ritz. It’s such a tourist attraction, it gets booked up and you will probably need to be flexible about day and time. We’ve been in at a very early sitting and a late one (DD sang there.) I’d honestly look at others if you cannot get in. Plenty are very good.

Not sure what days you'll be there but Sir John Soanes museum is only open on certain days. Wednesday to Sunday, I think.

Hmmm. I would avoid the Ritz afternoon tea. A group of us went (some years ago, to be fair) and all had (mild) food poisoning afterwards. If you want a fancy hotel tea I would choose the Corinthia (in Whitehall, v close to Trafalgar Square) or Claridges for a nicer quality and less touristy experience.

If you wanted to combine a visit to the Tower of London (with informative and entertaining guided tours) I would second PP recommendation of going to the Bridge Theatre which is directly opposite, walking across Tower Bridge.
Their production of Into the Woods is excellent and the views of the Tower and the bridge lit up at night are gorgeous!
I haven't checked to see if the run extends to April but I would choose that over Phantom if you can.

I've lived in London since leaving Uni in 1984, so my preferred things might be different to people answering as visitors.

My answers would be: Greenwich Park, anything near the river or on the river, the Sky Garden (rather than the Shard), Regents Park, St Paul's, Bloomsbury, Little Venice, Mayfair, Soho, St James Park, the Kings Road and Peter Jones for shopping if that's your thing. For a show I can recommend The Producers and Matilda but there are literally hundreds.

I would avoid Borough Market, Camden Market, Madam Tussauds, Leicester Square, Oxford Street, Covent Garden - all over crowded tourist attractions.

I second the river bus to Greenwich, although you would need almost a whole day to do justice to Greenwich's sites. I'm happy with getting off the river bus, circling the Cutty Sark and back on the river bus!

The Museum of the Order of St John is interesting and has a lovely cloister garden. The Charterhouse is in the same locality (Farringdon area) - lovely buildings and garden.

The Dickens museum is near the British museum. It’s in the house he lived in. Quite small so not overwhelming especially if you’re doing BM too.

Camden market and The Science Museum are my favs.

We’re a family of weirdos and so we enjoy feeding the wildlife in the London parks. Probably not what you’re after though 😂.

dd1 and I enjoyed cocktails and mr foggs society of exploration. I do enjoy a good museum, the V&A, natural history and British museum are my favourites.

I love the Geoffrey museum too, which is now called The Museum Of the Home btw!

I’d also recommend- Borough market, Tate Modern walk along the South Bank - uber boat to Greenwich.

Battersea Power Station - go up the chimney

St James’s Park - see the pelicans being fed about 2pm each day

Hamyard Hotel is good for afternoon tea

Operation Mincemeat and Harold Fry are fantastic shows.

Walking down the S Bank from Blackfriars - Tate Modern, The Globe, Borough Market, Shad Thames...

Greenwich: Cutty Sark, Market, Royal Naval College, Maritime Museum, walk up the hill for great views and the planetarium, and International Date Line.

The Blues Kitchen in Shoreditch is so much fun for cocktails and live music in the afternoon!

The guided tour I had at the John Soane was the best tour I have had anywhere. Guide’s knowledge was encyclopaedic.

Visited that v recently. He actually only lived there (rented) about 2 1/2 years. Some of the furniture (eg desk) is from the house in Kent that he actually owned. I left with the feeling that it was a bit fake.

Thanks for all the tips, loading my google maps up now!

Lots of good suggestions already. I’d try to fit in some good food as there’s so much variety in terms of restaurants in London, but you’d need to give an idea of what kind of food and atmosphere you like.

I like spending a day in South Kensington - V and A and Natural History museum and garden, then there’s a few nice places for lunch to refuel before heading to Hyde park.

I also love walking along south bank, especially in the evening. And, the bar in the OXO tower has great views and cocktails (not been for years so cant vouch for the cocktails recently but they were good when I went!). The gothic bar at the St Pancras Hotel - think it’s called the Renaissance Hotel ? - is also lovely and does good cocktails. I think one of the bars at the hotel does afternoon tea too so you could look at that if you don’t end up in the Ritz or Claridges.

Bit niche, but an unusual museum a friend took me to years ago is the Hunterian in Lincoln’s Inn Fields - a specimen collection. The other side of the fields to the John Soanes museum.

Hope you have a lovely time !

Claridges for afternoon tea. We opted for champagne with the afternoon tea. They may have been very generous with that! Lovely service, attentive without hovering and had some good tea recommendations. Sent home with extra scones. Yes, it was pricey but we wanted to do tea at an old and established hotel so we looked into a number of offerings and chose Claridges. Would happily go back again but it was an expensive treat.

My absolute favourite thing to do in London is get a bit drunk somewhere on the Thames. But I do enjoy the museums and cultural shit too.

The Bridges are marked as The QE Golden Jubilee Bridge and I believe were previously known as the Hungerford Bridge. The bridge is directly outside Embankment station.

We love the London Eye (daytime... We went on it both day at night, but night not as good) and dockland museum!

A guided walk. Doing a short walk which really encourages you to look at buildings properly and learn so much is a wonderful thing to fill a couple of hours. There’s hundreds to choose from.