London by train. Which station is best?

[shuz1980]

Im going to London for the day to do some sightseeing. Ive never been before. Im going by train but unsure which station to go to? Which station is the closest to get off at for the main sight seeing attractions? We definitely want to go to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben. Tower Bridge. Then do a bit of shopping.

Victoria station is in between those sites and has access to the Victoria tube line for Oxford St and the District Line to take you to Tower Bridge.
Enjoy your day in London!

Charing Cross is literally on Trafalgar Square.
Waterloo is over the river so good for the south bank.
Tbh, getting round is really easy. Depends really where you're coming in from.

Do you mean train or tube?

You don't get a choice usually over which station your train line goes into.

So generally northwest - Euston, Midlands - Marylebone/St Pancras, East of England - King's Cross etc...

For tube stations the main attractions are sometimes highlighted on the tube map.

But if for the above attractions: BP/St James Park, Big Ben/Westminster, Tower of London/Tower Hill.

Where are you starting from?!

You won’t get a choice as far as overground station you come in to - depends from where. Strongly advise you download the City Mapper app for bus routes, much better than the tube in the sense you can look out the windows! Lots of places walkable too. To see main sites conveniently the open top bus tours starting in trafalgar square are excellent - goodie for any discounts

Surely it’s a case of whatever terminus your train goes into then get the tube from there depending on where you want to go? Where do you live OP? Also, London is massive! Tower Bridge is in the City, quite far from the other stuff you mention, and is literally a traffic choked bridge. Are you dead set on seeing it? Just asking because Parliament Square + Buckingham Palace + shopping is already a jam packed day in itself!

Tell us where you live and which mainland station you will come in to and we can advise

If you tell us where you're coming from we can advise OP but the best plan will depend where you're starting!

Where are you leaving from, that will decide which station you arrive at. The best way might be to get a sightseeing bus or river boat trip, Wowcher and Groupon have good offers. The traffic in London can be terrible so it can be quite a trek to see everything. What sort of shopping do you like doing, different areas offer different things.
Buck Palace and Big Ben are walkable from Victoria and Charing X, Tower Bridge is a bus or tube ride away. Check to see if Big Ben is still being restored, it was all covered up.
Will you be stopping somewhere for lunch.
I would list exactly what you want to visit and what day of the week you are going.

Train @actiongirl1978 theres: London Euston. London Paddington. London Victoria. London Kings Cross. London Waterloo and London Liverpool Street. It's all going over my head if im honest

Im starting from Birmingham

I always take visiting friends to Leicester Square then you can visit Regent St/Oxford Street shops, Covent garden , trafalgar Square, Westminster etc quite easily but really you can walk round the West End from there quite easily then get on the River bus to see Tower Bridge and other landmarks

You will arrive at one of those @shuz1980 depending on where you live! I live in the Midlands and trains go to St Pancras you don't choose. Tell us where you live and we can help.

Ok so from Birmingham you’ll come into Euston.

Your train will come into Euston from Birmingham OP. You'll then need to get a tube - depending on how much walking you're willing to do you could get the Victoria line to Victoria station and then walk up towards Westminster

A direct train from Birmingham New Street will come in to Euston, or you could go indirect via Derby to St Pancras. They're so close together that there's nothing between them.

If you arrive in Euston, you can go directly to the underground from the station. If you arrive in St Pancras, you'll stay in the station but transfer to King's Cross for the underground. Both have lots of bus stops outside too.

OP all you need to do is google 'which station do trains from Birmingham go to in London' to find out that Birmingham trains come into Euston. After that you'll need a tube or a bus to wherever you want to visit. Google the attraction name and 'nearest tube station' and it will tell you. Do you really not know this?

I wouldn't make an effort to see Big Ben, it's still covered in scaffolding.

From Birmingham I would have thought you’d be most likely to get trains going direct to Euston. You definitely won’t have them going to Waterloo or Victoria. From New St it’ll be about an hour and half to Euston so I would plan to do that and get the tube to wherever you want to go. You could start by taking the Victoria Line from there to Green Park which is a short walk from Buckingham Palace.

@SimonedeBeauvoirscat

Ok so from Birmingham you’ll come into Euston.

Unless you go from snow hill or moor street on the chiltern railway train in which case the train will come into Marylebone. But the train from Birmingham new street to Euston is quicker.

Have fun when you go to London OP. I've lived there and tourists there and I think this will be the best year ever to see the sights!

I knew someone would quibble about Marylebone.

You can't chose which mainline station to arrive at, each station serves a different part of the UK. I think trains from Birmingham arrive at Euston or Marylebone. Either is fine.

I would take the tube to Green Park for Buckingham Palace (a few stops from either Marylebone or Euston). Then walk through St James Park to the Houses of Parliament (20 mins) or take the long route along The Mall and Whitehall around the park for the sights. Then take the river bus (public transport, not the tourist boats) past St Pauls, Tower Bridge, Tower of London etc. The take the tube to Oxford St/Westfields/Covent Garden or somewhere for shopping. Oxford Street is just a few stops from Euston and Marylebone (or walkable).

Westfield not a great shopping destination if staying relatively central just for the day - Shepherds Bush or Stratford are on the fringes. Oxford St us nothing special, Covent Garden or Harrods or Selfridges much more quintessential London

Depends how much walking you want to do. I personally find Leicester Square the best for everything in the morning - You can walk from there to embankment / London Bridge / Westminster / Oxford St / most attractions and museums.

In the evenings I would avoid tourist trains and opt for the fastest route home that has a commuter crowd as they tend to run a lot more efficiently