Trying to plan a trip to London on my own - opinions on itinerary?

[TravelCapers]

Hello. I've never been on a train before and I've never been to London either. I am trying to put together a travel plan for what sights I want to see while I'm there. My current plan is getting there on an early train and then getting a late train back. I'll be travelling from North West England and the train arrives at Euston Station. It also departs from Euston. The train takes around 2 hours 30 minutes to arrive. I am expecting to have around 8 hours to spend in London before having to get back to Euston for the return train. Here is what I would like to see if possible.

British Museum
Science Museum
Natural History Museum
Tower Of London
London Eye
St Paul's Cathedral

When considering the time travelling between each place and then time spent queueing etc, I am not sure how much time I would need exactly. There isn't really enough time to see everything unless I was planning to stay overnight. It would cost me more to stay in a hotel overnight than what it would cost for the train there and back and the entrance fees for the attractions. What are your thoughts? Do you think 8 hours is enough to see most or all of what I'd like to see?

I mean you'd probably be able to see them all if you were happy just standing outside them - but if you're wanting to go in/on them then you're going to have to drop a lot from the list.

Are you planning on using the Tube to get between places?

If you want to do those places properly, you'll only have time to do about two of them. I think the Tower takes almost a day, but I've not been in years. They are also expensive to get in, so you don't want to rush it, if you're paid £25 entry.

If you got the first off peak train in the morning. And then left after off peak hours the next day. You might find it cheap enough to stay overnight.

Also, don't just get the tube. Walk or get buses to places, so you can actually see London. I love riding on the top deck of the buses.

If you want to enjoy them all properly, 1 day is really not enough. You’d be rushing from one to the other, and you need to factor in time to eat and time to find your way as well.

The Eye is likely to take a couple of hours including queuing & you’ll want at least that for the Tower.

If you can stretch to a weekend, you could do the Natural History & Science Museums and the Eye on one day & the Tower, St Paul’s & the British Museum on the other. It would still be a bit rushed but at least you’d have more of a chance to really see them all and a bit of London itself at the same time - sitting on the South Bank with a coffee, for instance.

As @Toddlerteaplease said, buses or walking are much nicer than the tube if possible. London buses announce the next stop so you don’t need to worry about when to get off, and there are big walking maps all over the place so it’s easy to find your way.

The Science Museum and Natural History museum are next to each other so can easily be done in one go. Queues are long on weekends / school holidays though. I think your wish list is very ambitious to do in a day though - there’s travel in between all the other things on your list, it’s not like a small city where you can walk around and see everything. Out of your wish list, what do you want to see the most?

I would be staying at a Travelodge or Premier at least overnight if not for 2. I quite often sanded off on my own and love it

I was thinking of using the Tube as I thought that would be the easiest and cheapest option for getting around. Honestly though I do like the idea of just walking and getting the bus. I had a quick look at the prices for one night in an Premier Inn and the cheapest was £190. It would cost less money for 2 train trips there and back.

For someone who claims never to have been on a train and never been to London, youre in for a huge shock! Arriving at Euston is daunting. You’ll need to get a tube to wherever you decide your first stop will be - say Kensington for the museums. Knowing which Underground line to use, which stop to head for, when you need to change is not easy for a first timer. You dont need to buy a travel card or anything for the tube, just use your debit card when entering / exiting and the calculations will be done for you as to what it costs.
It’ll take you maybe another 45 mins to get into the city from Euston, so factoring getting back to Euston that cuts your time by at least 1.5 hours down to 6.5 hours.
I could spend that amount of time just in the Museums. Any less than 2 hours in each museum is a waste - theyre massive.

From Euston, I would get the tube to St Paul’s. (Northern line - black - to Tottenham Court Road, then Central line - red- to St Paul’s). You can use any debit card with a chip in it to pay by tapping it in the barrier. I would strongly recommend avoiding being on the tube between 8 and 9am, as it will be very busy and people will be fast and impatient. Fridays should be fine then though.

After you have seen St Paul’s (nice and always clean toilets are in the crypt) , go to the gardens outside, and be sure to see the reflection garden, where you can take an amazing picture of the cathedral dome reflected in the water.

Walk down to the river and cross using the Millennium bridge. You will see Tate Modern in front of you and pass the Globe. Walk along the river path until you get to Tower Bridge. You will pass Southwark Cathedral (which is worth a look), lots of cafes and Borough Market. Cross Tower Bridge and go to the Tower of London. To see everything takes several hours.

From here you can go down to the river again. This time on the side furthest from Tower Bridge, and get a Thames Clipper Uberboat from Tower Millennium Pier to London Eye. It will be RB1 or 2 during the week, RB6 at the weekend. Make sure you get on the westbound service. The staff are used to being asked for directions. No need to prebook this, it is first come first served. Again you can use a debit card.

Get off at the London Eye stop, and you will be right by the Eye queue.

After the Eye, walk to Waterloo station, and get on the northern line back to Euston.

The museums on top would be too much I am afraid

Last time I went to the Natural History Museum (during Easter break) it was timed admittance so while there's a queue it's only a few minutes, the London Eye I also booked a timed slot so didn't have to queue, maybe this is the same at other venues.
OP you just can't do more than three of those activities in one day, unless you rushed it (and sometimes you have to go the pace of the rest of the crowd). But to do them properly I'd say one in the morning, lunch, one in the afternoon and save the rest for another time. Three max if near to each other.
The V&A is my favourite museum I'd choose that over some of your choices.

Have a look at the HUB hotels by Premier Inn, they are cheaper and start around £75 pn... otherwise realistically you will probably only be able to do 2/3 things on your list in a day.

The Uber river taxi can be a good (cheap) way to see London and get to Tower Bridge from the London Eye:

www.thamesclippers.com/plan-your-journey/route-map

I've lived in London for 27 years and generally only fit in one of your museums a day, to really appreciate them. All the attractions you've listed are very big, plus the queues to get into them can be lengthy.

Kindly, I would save up some money and stay a few days. Maybe three days/two nights?

The tube is the quickest way to get around, you are right, just use your bank card on the barriers.

Skip the London eye,
In the morning eithrt go to the Kensington museums or the British museum.

Then head to St Paul's and on to sky garden or Horizen 22 (both are free but should book in advance) and then the tower for the afternoon. You can walk between each of those.

Or if museums are a priority choose the second set for the afternoon.

Try the Travelodge in Richmond - it’s near the river Thames and the district line/overground - you will need to travel in central London but it’s an easy ride and very near Kew Gardens and the museums in South Ken

Any less than 2 hours in each museum is a waste - theyre massive

Strongly disagree. You wouldn't be able to see everything in them properly of you spent a whole day there. Of course you can see something worthwhile in an hour.

Greenwich might also be a good place to base yourself for a night or two (I’m a Londoner)

Here’s one option in Greenwich

It doesn’t take anything like 45 mins to get into central London from Euston. More like 10-20 mins on the tube depending where you’re going.

The tube is also easy to candidate as long as you can follow signs.

OP, look at getting a premier inn further out of town, say edgeware. Its really not worth going all that way just for one day. You will only see 2-3 things on your list at a push.

I'd change one to the V&A and remove one entirely. London is a great city to walk around, it would be a shame not to enjoy that instead of rushing between places.

Kindly, your list is nuts. I reckon you’d spend at least 4 hours just travelling between them and getting back to Euston and queuing to get in.

I'd choose an area of London and stick to it. If you go down to south Kensington you can do a range of museums there.

If you go to the British museum you can go to Trafalgar square, portrait gallery, covent garden, Somerset house, possibly pop over and do a bit for the Southbank.

But I wouldn't try and do both areas.

I work in London but when I do a trip with DC we tend to plan 2 things max and a nice lunch in between. It's far better than rushing about.

First things OP the toilets at Euston you have to pay for so go on the train.

I would get tickets for a HoHo bus

https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus.com/london-bus-tours#:~:text=A%3A,explore%20at%20your%20own%20pace.

They are not cheap but they do take you around all the sites. One of the buses includes London Eye tickets.

You can walk to the shuttle from Euston, it's basically a straight line the second link is the map that shows the route of one of the busses.

https://www.isango.com/Files/London_Bus_Tour_brochure%20Inside%20Map%20Green%20V1.png

Could you review your trip and have a think about coming to London by coach which would be cheaper, staying two or three nights just outside but on an easy access route, (Clapham/Wandsworth) but overall making the trip worthwhile?