London when we have been before.

[Dancingtimesquare]

Can you help me plan London? Its myself and DH, kid free Sunday and Monday. We have done London a few times before so have seen many of the sites such as Buckingham Palace, London Eye, HOHO bus etc as well as Harry Potter, Shreks Adventure with the kids etc. These main sites we don't particularly want to see again.

We fly into Stanstead early on the Sunday morning so straight onto the train into Liverpool Street. We have a hotel booked near the Tower of London and will drop our bags off. I hope to be in the city for around 10 or 10.30. I want to see St Pauls. Likely a walk by as DH has no interest plus its £26 to get in. Happy enough just to see it and keep on walking towards the Tower of London. I will pre-book this and I will also pre-book Tower Bridge as these are two sites we haven't seen before. I think we could be done here around 3 ish. What next? I have dinner booked at a restaurant called Vicinity in the Tower Hotel at 6 pm but I am open to changing this time or changing restaurant completely. Its not set in stone. I was thinking a drink in the Shard or possibly the Sky Garden or may be Borough Market? I have done Borough Market before but its been 15 years so not sure if its worth another visit or not?

On Monday, the plan is breakfast in the Sky Garden, if we haven't been the day before for a drink. Open to other breakfast suggestions in the area as well. Then we are heading to the Churchill War Rooms. DH is massively into war history so this is for him more than me. I believe that tour takes a couple of hours so we could potentially be done here around lunchtime. I'd then like to go to Harrods Food Hall as I love it in there. Before that we may take another walk up towards Downing Street, Horse Guards etc.

We do like to do a bit of shopping but aren't going to London specifically for that. As we have done much of London before, we don't want to find ourselves aimlessly walking around thinking what can we do now. Is a Thames Cruise worth it? If anyone has any other suggestions or recommendations, we would appreciate it. Our flight home from Stanstead is not until 10 pm on the Monday night so we really don’t have to be back at Liverpool Street until approx. 7 ish.

Thanks for helping.

Lots of good suggestions. Book Sky Gardens in advance, even though it’s free it’s limited numbers and you might not get in as a walk-in. I fancy Battersea Power Station Chimney ride myself and it looks like there are shops and eateries. Have you done the Houses of Parliament tour? Why don’t you split up for St Paul’s and the War Rooms and meet for lunch halfway? So much to do and you don’t want to waste it doing something you’re not interested in!

Thanks again for all of your help. Slight change in plans. Sunday is still a work in progress but Monday will now be Tower of London, walk to Borough Market (open on Easter Monday) for lunch. I am going to see about a drink in the Shard. Then we will walk back and do the tour of Tower Bridge. I have moved our restaurant booking at Vicinity Restaurant to the Monday early evening. There may be time to explore some of the streets nearby that have been mentioned too - Lovat Lane etc. We are then a quick walk to pick up our bags from our hotel before walking back to Liverpool Street Station.

I am still working out how to see St Paul’s. DH refuses to be in any church environment but I will have time at some point even if it’s a quick look when a service is on.

I am coming back down in October for a birthday party so would have a day to myself to revisit myself.

Sounds good. An alternative to borough market is maltby street. Lots of lovely places on Bermondsey high street too.

@Dancingtimesquare , does he have a reason to avoid churches? RC XP wouldn't go into a Protestant place of worship.

Here's a link to Top Things to Do Near St Paul’s Cathedral | The London Pass® should you want to do St Paul's while he does something else.
Top Things to Do Near St Paul’s Cathedral - London Walks

He just doesn’t like churches, the wealth, religion, doesn’t believe in any god etc. I am similar although I can switch off from the religion side and appreciate the architecture. DH would most definitely not pay to visit and wouldn’t sit through any service. He wouldn’t others by going into a free service to then walk out.

Isn't The Borough market closed on Mondays? Have you been to the traditional Pie shops for authentic London experience?

As you said about seeing Downing Street, Horse Guards check in advance if there are any protests planned at the time of your visit.

Check if Tower Bridge will be open when you are in London as that is interesting to watch here
Tower Bridge Lift times - Tower Bridge
Find out when Tower Bridge opens, and which vessel is passing through.

You can go to viewing deck on top floor of One New Change to see St Paul's Cathedral. Walk across from St Paul's to Tate Modern like @Somanylemons suggested. Browse their shop. Walk along the South Bank. Southwark Cathedral has its own cat and a lovely cafe/ lunch area.

I don't think anyone has suggested The Hayward Gallery or the Changeling Museum yet - both worthwhile.

He wouldn’t disrespect others that should say.

Thanks also for that link showing what’s nearby. That’s helpful.

Borough market is open on Monday. It’s closed Easter Day but open on Easter Monday.

If you’re hoping for a decent lunch in Borough Market (on any day, but especially on high days and holidays) do, for goodness sake, book somewhere. Otherwise you’ll spend two hours being buffeted about by all the other people crowding around stalls and then wondering where the hell to sit with their tiny bits of pastry, whilst keeping their bags safe … And then wondering where to find a loo … It’s brutal.

You’re probably too late, but

https://www.oma.london/

is died and gone to heaven, weep at the memory, fantastic. And not expensive and definitely not dressy. First floor, above Borough Market. If you can’t get in there, book any of the other (non-chain) restaurants dotted around the area.

I'd allow a lot more time for the Tower of London. There's so much to see, and would be a shame to pay to go in then rush through and not see it all

I’m going next week and have booked an architecture tour of the Barbican after seeing it mentioned on Mumsnet. London walks do loads of guided tours. Highgate cemetery is fascinating.

Southwark/ Festival Hall, The Globe, Hornimans Museum, Imperial War Museum, City of London Map walk for free (search on line and explore areas like Postman's Park, Guildford Hall, Smith field area and have lunch in one of the pubs still operating), Design Museum, Bermondsey Fashion Museum, Butler's Wharf area, Tate Modern, The Tate.

Yes, we have talked about that this morning. If more time is needed there is a cafe in the TOL where we will have lunch. Borough market can wait.

i would put in time to visit St. Paul’s when you next visit London. There is a lot to see and I don’t know how much you see by going in during a service. Look out for the Bill Biola videos.

Don't go for a service - go on the tour and see the Whispering Gallery.

Do you like birds? In all the parks there are wild parakeets that feed out of your hand. It made my day 🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜

Theatre? https://officiallondontheatre.com/todays-tickets/

Don’t know if it was this thread where someone suggested an architecture tour of the Barbican. Did it today and it was absolutely fascinating.

Ooh yes I think that was me @ToddlerteapleaseI’m glad you enjoyed! Did you walk along the high walk?

You pay for tours at St Paul's Cathedral but not for entrance to services. They just ask for a donation, which all places of worship do during/after a service anyway.

@oxfordpoweryes we went along the high walks. I had no idea it was such a fascinating place. Feels a bit like a holiday camp. Which was part of the idea. It was really busy even though it was a Sunday. I liked the atmosphere but you couldn’t pay me enough money to set foot there after dark. It would feel very unsafe.

The conservatory felt a bit rundown. It was open to the public so got to go in afterwards.

Dennis Severs House is open over Easter. It is fascinating.

https://www.dennissevershouse.co.uk/calendar?start=2026-04-05

We had an amazing lunch at Nina in Marylebone then walked over to The Wallace Collection.

Got tickets for the £1 comedy show which was brilliant in soho area.

Went to a west end show.

Had an amazing breakfast in seven dials area called 26 grains. So good we went back the next day.

Your plan actually looks really well put together, especially for a short London stop where you’ve already seen most of the main sights. It’s a nice mix of walking, landmarks, and food stops without trying to cram too much in.
The only thing I’d say from a practical point of view is that London can feel a bit more “spread out” than it looks on a map, especially when you’re moving between different areas like the City, Westminster, and then out towards places like Harrods. Add in airport transfers from Stansted and it can become quite a lot of switching between trains and walking.
For trips like this, some people do end up using more flexible point-to-point transport (like private transfers or car hire for certain legs), especially when they want to save energy for actually enjoying the city rather than managing connections. It can make the whole flow feel a bit more relaxed, particularly on arrival and departure days.