One day in London, all by myself. What to do?

[awkwardsis]

So by good fortune and fab grandparents, I have a whole weekend to myself in three weeks time. I'm a single parent of three so this is kind of a Big Deal. I want to catch the train to London and revel in no one talking to me, no pushchair to wrestle with, and being able to pop my headphones in . But aside from that, I don't really know what I want to do. I'd like to take a wander around the Tate, and I'd really wanted to see the Pompeii exhibit at the British museum but its all booked up. Are there any chances of getting tickets n the day, bearing in mind it'll be a Saturday? I love a good look in vintage shops but I feel I've done portobello to death, anywhere else good to explore in that vein? And where can I go to eat lunch All By Myself??

How lovely! Not sure about museum stuff but if it was me, I'd have lunch at Barrafina.

The Wallace Collection behind Selfridges it defo worth a visit.

An open top tour bus is fab, head phones in, top desck, wind in your hair. Book online before as it's cheaper, you can also hop on and off and use it like public transport.

Definitely the Wallace Collection every time plus you could sit in the courtyard coffee/restaurant area. And indulge yourself.

What train station would you come into ? There are some lovely bars/deli places at St PAncras where I would feel happy to go and chill out at with a proper grown up drink eg champagne or cocktails.

Have fun

I was going to say the Wallace collection too. The oxfam shop just off the Marylebone high st often has designer clothes that have been donated by ageing slebs who live round there.

When did you last go to Camden Lock?

There is a good Mexican exhibition on at the RA, frieda thingy.

Walk.down from Tate Modern along the south bank and pick.up a paperback. Or take the riverboat from Tate to Tate. I gather Tate Britain has been rehung chronologically and is really interesting.

Take a no 11 bus all the way from Liverpool street station to the kings road. On the upper deck. If you get a day travel card you can get off at Somerset house and look in their ace shop and have a great lunch in the cafe.

Look up and see if one of the proms is a lunchtime concert.

This sounds fantastic. If I were you I would go to the busiest, least-child-friendly place I could think of (e.g. Harrods, Selfridges, Spitalfields) and enjoy it stress-free!

Open bus tour is also a fab idea.

Have fun and treat yourself

Gotta be Liberty, imho. And tea and cake somewhere nice.

Tbh if it was me, I'd probably just go to Liberty and Fortnum and Mason, possibly Selfridges, have tea and cake somewhere, and then have an hour in one of the small museums, such as the Wellcome Collection (fantastic bookshop there) or the Hunterian.

Ooo thanks for the replies! I've been desperately trying to plan my day, but also trying to entertain the children at the same time so I'm all over the place. I don't know London at all really. I arrive in kings cross at about half 8 so was planning to head straight to notting hill for portobello, but might give Camden a whirl instead? I've looked at the Tate Britain website and all the lovely pre rapheaelites I wanted to see are on loan :( but the v and a looks interesting. I fancy a wander around some nice streets where I could never afford to live(!) so was thinking of going for a mooch around Kensington or Hampstead. I'm planning to slot in time for coffee at the smallest, most child unfriendly cafe I can find, and lunch somewhere fabulous. The open top bus idea is just lovely, weather permitting I'd love to do that, I must miss so much by going on the tube.

Camden won't be in full flow by 8.30. Find a cafe somewhere.

How about a mooch into that fab 1930s decor cafe opp the RA for coffee, then the Burlington and picadilly arcades and the ra, then head north, Camden lock followed by hampstead and Keats's house and Ernst goldfinger's house and the jack straw pub ?

All v unchildfriendly.

Or, for the southern version, hop to Liverpool st station and get on top of no 11 bus and take to sloane square, brunch and shop at peter Jones, then decide whether to wander up sloane st and thence to v+a or head to Harvey nicks and knightsbridge.

Try the Lovetheatre website for Pompeii tickets. They seem to have 3 slots for most days. Booked myself a couple of days ago.

I'd go to the Zoo or the Tower of London and have a lovely meal.