Never been to London!

[hellenbackagen]

I'm almost 59 and do jas suggested a trip to London.

My only must do is natural history museum and other than that I'm easy.

But this feels very daunting! Where should I stay and what else should we do?

Thanks in advance!

OMG so many errors here ....should say I'm nearly 50

And other half has suggested a trip....

What kind of things do you like OP? Are you into history and sightseeing or more have a few drinks and a nice meal? Also how many days and what sort of a budget? London can be very cheap or very expensive depending on your tastes.
Either way I’d stay somewhere fairly central so you can easily hop on buses rather than relying on the tube.

Don't try to do all of it at once :) pick out a few good things that really stand out and places to eat (maybe near to where you are staying) Anything that fascinated you as a child?

Do you like history? Tbh, even if not, I’d still recommend The Tower of London.
The V and A (check out any special exhibition that might be on there as you may have to book some of them).
The British Museum.
The Science Museum.
If at all possible, coinciding with a concert at The Royal Albert Hall.
If you have interest in shopping then the only place I’d bother with is Liberty, for the experience.
Personally I’d stay in a travelodge or premier inn type of place, just outside, Old Street maybe.

Order sky garden tickets in advance - they are free as opposed to paying to go up the Shard on the other side of the river.

What is it that you think makes London 'London' rather than any other city? That could be a good starting point. To me the famous sights and buildings - Buck Palace, Parliament, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Sq etc.
The Tube can be interesting if you have never done it and the stations can be architecturally interesting if you like that type of thing. Do you have a favourite book/film set in a certain area that you could explore or a relative like a great aunt who lived or worked there once - explore where they lived? Personally I don't like the Natural History museum (too crowded, nothing that screams 'London' - it could be anywhere) so it could be fun to visit places that are more unique to London. If that makes any sense?

If you were there mid week maybe a whistle stop of The City of London? The Monument, PuddIng Lane, The Guildhall, St Paul’s, Leadenhall Market, Spitalfields, Tower Bridge, (TOL as mentioned before), Temple Church, The Bank of England, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese........

Hi OP. When are you coming to London? The Open House weekend is taking place on 21-22 September (some places have to be booked in advance). openhouselondon.org.uk/

If you like the theatre, you can pick up last-minute (on the day) tickets from Ticket Office in Leicester Square.

Timeout lists a range of ideas, depending on what you want to do. www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/101-things-to-do-in-london

I've also found visitacity.com a great resource for planning city breaks. www.visitacity.com/en/london

Whenever I visit a new city I also try to go on a free walking tour as well.

Personally I’d stay in a travelodge or premier inn type of place, just outside, Old Street maybe.

Old Street isn't "outside", it's central London!

Yeah, didn’t word that well, , I meant outside the expensive areas where the museums etc are. Was going to go on to say that too many fancy hotels in London are horrendously expensive but not really all that special, but I got distracted (by the glass of ‘night before gcse results’ wine DH was waving at me ). Of course, OP might have The Dorchester level budget I guess.

How many days are you coming for and what are you interested in?

I've lived in London for over 20 years and I still feel a bit of excitement when I see Buckingham Palace!

maybe 3 or 4 days and my only real yearning is the natural history museum
i like museums and galleries
i do like history so tower of london would be good
i dont even know what other touristy things there are really?
i always imagine london as a sprawling metropolis and have no idea what is near to what.!
i love eating out and good food
ive never seen a show so that would be good.

Central London is pretty small actually.

If you go to the Tower of London it's worth doing the tour with a Yeoman as they're very funny and full of info. It's included in the price and they'll show you where to go.

Natural History Museum/Science Museum are just down the road from Hyde Park.
From Victoria station you can do a nice walk via St James's Park/Buckingham Palace down the Mall to Trafalgar Sq. you're near the river and there are lots of places to eat on the South Bank.

Have a look at Today Tix for tickets to shows. You can get tickets to see Waitress for £24 each at the moment. I would just book on the day you want or just turn up at the theatre.

I love Flatiron and Honest Burger,also Leon is great. Flatiron is in Covent Garden.

Borrow a guide book on London from your local library

Ok tube to Science museum or natural history museum, walk back though the parks along the sepentime, to Alberts memorial and bucking palace, see trafalger square. Other things nor mentioned
Cutty SArk
Imperial war museum. (really din't think it be my thing being a pacifist but actually interesting.)
London eye. (But expensive.)
Heading west you have Kew gardens.
I wouldn't bother with Oxford st.
One of those hop on/hop off double decker tours can be quite good.

There are so many things you could do, OP, so don't overburden yourself too much. The Citymapper app is a good one to get to help you get around - it can tell you which bus or tube to get and how long it'll take from wherever you happen to be.

Seeing London from the river is fun and the Thames Clippers are a good way to do this. They run up and down very regularly. You can get to the Tower of London this way and indeed roam up and down all day, getting on and off as you please. If you're travelling to London by train you can buy tickets at a discount with 2 for 1 London - quite a lot of places offer discounts this way.

My favourite places in London are the South Bank (Tate Modern, see an obscure film at the BFI, walk along the Thames) and British Museum.

There is an ordinary public double decker red bus that goes from Liverpool Street station to Westminster... it literally passes almost every famous sight. From the Bank of England, St. Paul's, Tower of London, Trafalgar Sq, Downing Street, Houses of P & nearly to Battersea power station. All for the price of a single bus fare.