What to do with morning in London?

[cazinge]

My sister in law and I are staying overnight in London on a Friday night at the end of October. We are seeing a matinee in the West End on the Saturday so we will have a morning to kill. Dinner Fri night and Breakfast Sat morning already taken care of.

Any suggestions of what we could fill a nice morning with? Staying in Canary Wharf so don't want to travel too much out of our way as we need TCR/Leiceter Sq for the Theatre.

Greenwich or a boat trip?

How much luggage will you have/where will you be leaving it?

Museum of London Docklands? Five minute walk from Canary Wharf, and free.

Or walk from Canary Wharf along the river to the Tower, then pick up no.15 bus to Trafalgar Square, where you'll be a short walk from Leicester Square. Sometimes the no.15 is an old Routemaster. Ding ding. (London buses don't take cash, you'll need contactless.)

Or National Gallery/Portrait Gallery/big Waterstone's in Traf. Sq, or walk up CX Rd to Foyle's. Forbidden Planet is nearby too, if that's your sort of thing.

Yes definitely if you're staying in the Wharf you can get the Thames Clipper (Uber boat) from Canary Wharf Pier to Greenwich, where you can stroll through the park up to the observatory for a fantastic view of London, then have a look round the museums / Cutty Sark or the village itself with its market. Plenty of lovely coffee shops and lunch places etc too. It's a really lovely way to use your morning.

When you're ready to go to your matinee you can use the DLR from Cutty Sark to get up to Canary Wharf, then Jubilee line into town or Elizabeth Line.

For the Thames Clipper you don't need a ticket, you can just tap using your contactless card. Timetables are here. www.thamesclippers.com

An earlyish morning boat from Canary Wharf to Greenwich in Oct will be fine, but I would say don't be tempted to travel back to the West End from Greenwich by boat for your show as by lunchtime on a Saturday there are often queues.

An earlyish morning boat from Canary Wharf to Greenwich in Oct will be fine, but I would say don't be tempted to travel back to the West End from Greenwich by boat for your show as by lunchtime on a Saturday there are often queues.

End of October is likely to be half term, so even busier.

And I think OP would be doing extremely well to fit in a boat ride, a walk up to General Wolfe, a visit to the museum or Cutty Sark, plus lunch, and get back to Leic Sq in good time for the show!

If you are getting the Jubilee line into the centre from Canary Wharf, there are a few good art galleries on your route: White Cube at Bermondsey, plus the Tate Modern and Fashion and Textile Museum at London Bridge. The latter two are also close to The Shard (amazing viewing platform) and Borough Market (a nice place for lunch or just generally browsing and/or shopping).

Breakfast at Tiffany's?

Turbine Hall

I think Go Boating now has a site at Canary Wharf which could be fun if you want to stay local. There's also usually lots of outdoor art and sculpture trails around that area.

@LouisRenault

End of October is likely to be half term, so even busier.
I don't agree going that direction from CW first thing on a Saturday - it will be fine.

And I think OP would be doing extremely well to fit in a boat ride, a walk up to General Wolfe, a visit to the museum or Cutty Sark, plus lunch, and get back to Leic Sq in good time for the show!

What? That's crazy. Let's say they get the 0954 which gets to Greenwich at 1002. Disembark and walk up the park - depending on leisurely pace we are talking a max 20 mins!
Thereafter a wander through the free museum OR the village, and you're still only at 11am! Plenty of time for coffee and lunch!

CW is a lovely area in itself, with interesting food outlets and food stalls, and lots of public art and public statues. It's interesting to visit on a weekend as it's mostly locals so emptier than most parts of London.

Thank you! Some great ideas here. I'll ask SIL what she fancies x