First time visitor to UK, staying London. Advice from locals requested.

[SweetSallySue]

Hi, my DD (mid-twenties) and I are very excited to be planning a trip to the UK for late May. We will be staying in London. As we (Canadians) are completely unfamiliar with the area, any advice (including suggestions of things to see and do) would be greatly appreciated!

One specific concern at this stage involves booking accommodations for our stay . My daughter has found an ApartHotel that would suit our needs well in the Dalston area. However, we are concerned about safety and wondered if locals can advise as to whether this area of London would be relatively safe for us as female tourists.

I look forward to your comments and guidance!

For a very unique theatre show take a look at Witness For The Prosecution
( Agatha Christie) at County Hall. You might be lucky to get cut price tickets on the day https://officiallondontheatre.com/tkts/

Yes, we’re open to making day trips outside of the city to surrounding areas - recommendations would be welcomed!

Sorry, that was in response to MulledJuice

Wow, so many great suggestions! I will read through more carefully when on a break😊

If you’re staying in Dalston.

Broadway market on Saturday and Sunday.

and a walk around Victoria park park accessing the canal at the end of broadway market turning left and heading straight to Vicky park.

it’s a lovely walk!

I’m very local to this area and it’s busy at all hours.

1. Go to Greenwich on the DLR. See the observatory and then take a boat ( not a clipper as they’re too fast) down the Thames to Westminster. Lots of places to eat in Greenwich or buy a sandwich from marks and Spencer and sit on a bench by the river.
2. Portobello market on a Friday or Saturday. Antiques/food/vintage clothing. Nearest station Notting Hill Gate.
3. If you like nature, take a trip to Kew Gardens.
4. Ballet at the royal opera house in Covent Garden
5. Usual museums/galleries

Not sure how convenient Dalston is and I think there are much nicer parts of London!

Someone mentioned Westminster abbey being expensive. Just attend evensong (see website for the schedule) no charge but donations gratefully accepted.

It's very easy to go to Windsor to visit the castle, which is an amazing place - there are regular trains from Waterloo station and the journey takes about an hour. The station at Windsor is very close to the castle.
Many of the museums and art galleries are free, though sometimes they have special exhibitions which cost to visit.
The National Gallery and National Portrait gallery are right next door to each other in Trafalgar square. They have the old stuff in general. Then there is the Tate and the Tate Modern - the latter has some weird and wonderful modern art.
The British Museum is full of mummies, greek sculptures etc, but it's not near the other main museums, ie. the Victoria and Albert, Natural History etc.
If you want something a bit different there's Speaker's corner in Hyde park and also on Sundays there is an art market all along the Hyde park railings in Bayswater road.
https://www.royalparks.org.uk/visit/parks/hyde-park/speakers-corner

Get a train from Paddington and spend a day in Bath. It’s really pretty, with lovely tea rooms and museums. Easy to go just for the day.

London museums - The V&A is my favourite, the Natural History Museum is opposite and also great. The Brompton Oratory (RC church) is also nearby and stunning.
The National Portrait Gallery, and the Wallace Collection.
If you want to see the British seaside, from London it’s very easy to get to the South Coast .

I haven't read the replies yet, so may be repeating what others have said, but here's my twopennorth:

Late May is a good time. Weather hopefully will be warm but not too hot and evenings will be getting longer. However, depending on exactly when you are there, it may (!) be school half term, so big attractions and family restaurants are likely to be busy. Places like the British Museum and the Natural History Museum will be heaving.

Be prepared to have your bag checked on entry to places. They were doing checks at the National Portrait Gallery last half term. It's just a quick look, you won't be asked to turn it out.

Get comfortable shoes and an A-Z street map or similar and get walking. Yes, there are the big attractions to visit, but so much of the history of London is in the streets and buildings. I love wandering around the City and poking into back streets ad courtyards and looking into the churches. Some of them, such as St Bride's Fleet Street and All Hallows by the Tower, are mini museums.

If you go to the big museums and galleries, don't try to see everything. Pick a particular gallery to focus on.

The Museum of London at Barbican is closed, but the Docklands Museum is well worth a visit if you have the time.

Ignore the tourist buses, take an ordinary red double decker. Keeping London moving - Transport for London is the official website where you can find out all you need to know about bus and Tube routes and tickets.

Similarly, ignore the tourist boats on the river, take an Uber riverbus. Down to Greenwich and back is a good trip.

If using the Tube, stand on the right on escalators, and have your ticket ready as you approach the barrier.

Read Samuel Pepys' Diary, especially 1665-66 on the Plague and the Fire. And this is a blog I like which focuses on more obscure aspects of London history: A London Inheritance - A Private History of a Public City

Have a great time!

Windsor and Eton is a great day out,or an overnight.
Check the days of the week and you can see the famous Changing of the Guard at the Castle and a tour of Eton College.

Highly recommend Citymapper app. I live in London and use it a lot.. even though I consider it my home town. Gives options on travelling... someones walking is quicker or bus more direct than tube.
But as others have said, be careful with your phone out.i tend to drop into a shop or turn away from crowds to check my phone, especially in busy tourist areas.

For history and ‘outdoors’ Hampton Court Palace is a great day out, easy train from Waterloo, Vauxhall, or Clapham Junction. Huge well presented palace, lovely formal gardens and huge park and over the road Bushey Park deer park with wild deer.

Kew Gardens is a lovely place to visit outside the City. Not far on the train.

A decent day trip could be oxford. Trains direct from marylebone station. Beautiful city and small enough to mooch about in the day... highlights would be Bodlian library or a college tour. The shops are typical of the uk but the colleges and general vice is well worth a visit

Definitely echo day trips of Bath/Oxford if you have time

To be honest, I think you'd be better in West/Central London than Dalston

The British Museum is full of mummies, greek sculptures etc,

But not just mummies and Greek sculptures. I like to visit the Sutton Hoo treasure when I go there.

Oxford and/or Cambridge for day trips. Broadstairs in Kent is a traditional family seaside resort - fast trains from St Pancras. Or some of our ancient cathedral cities - Canterbury and Rochester, Norwich, St Albans, Winchester and probably others are all doable in a day.

The British Museum has tours of galleries led by volunteers for free everyday, definitely worth joining!

The Museum of the Home (formerly the Geffrye Museum) is a great place local to Dalston.

It’s easy to get to the City from there - the juxtaposition of multiple old churches and London’s financial centre is something in itself. Many (not all) of the churches can be visited or are open for free recitals, and for a sense of Roman London the free Mithraeum is hard to beat (definitely book online for that) and the Guildhall Gallery is nearby.

Further afield you might like to take a boat or Docklands ride out to Greenwich to the National Maritime Museum - superb park and great river views, as well as fantastic museum and associated sites eg Cutty Sark.

Top tip 1: Check and book online for exhibitions at any museum or gallery you go to, and for English Heritage properties in and around London which are also worth visiting, such as Apsley House (No.1 London), home of the Duke of Wellington, or Kenwood House over at Hampstead (at gallery, park, Hampstead Heath has great views).

Top tip 2: Travel by bus or walk as an alternative to the Tube - that way you see more of London, get more of a sense of the city and its history, and it’s cheaper than both the Tube and the hop-on hop-off tourist buses. Buses 242 and 243 from Dalston serve tourist destinations such as St Paul’s and the British Museum, bus 38 takes you to Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park. Walk through Hyde Park to Albertopolis (Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall, V&A and Natural History Museum) - pleasant and gets you away from the traffic. The TfL (Transport for London) website gives you details of all modes of transport from the Tube to the boat and live arrivals and departures, also walking options if quicker.

Top tip 3: walk along parallel streets to get away from busy areas eg Wigmore Street parallel to Oxford Street and enter department stores at the quieter rear entrances.

Top tip 4: Walking allows you to get a feel for the city’s more recent history. Tate Britain and the V&A have deliberately retained blast damage from WWII and areas of modern buildings interspersed with much older buildings will also show you where bombs fell.

Top tip 5: Avoid tourist trap shows like Phantom of the Opera and check out what’s on at prestigious venues such as the Royal Opera House (opera/ballet) and the Globe, or smaller venues such as Sadler’s Wells and the Southbank Centre for world-class dance and music. (Top tip 6: hire a cushion and backrest at the Globe on arrival! You can prebook but it’s more expensive.)

Check out the Horniman museum too.

for a sense of Roman London the free Mithraeum is hard to beat (definitely book online for that) and the Guildhall Gallery is nearby.

And the Roman amphitheatre under the Guildhall Art Gallery. (And the Guildhall Art Gallery has very nice loos!)

Edited because posted too soon:

modern buildings interspersed with much older buildings will also show you where bombs fell.

Many of the City churches were bombed, and have displays telling how they were rebuilt. Or the remains of the church of St Dunstan in the East have been left as a garden, a peaceful place to rest if you've been walking a while.

My advice: don’t spend long in That London; visit Yorkshire - god’s own country 😍

You’ve got lots of great replies! Personally speaking, I would say download the Citymapper app and don’t worry about not seeing everything - I have lived in London my whole life and there’s too much culture to see in one trip! By all means take a day trip to Windsor or bath but there’s plenty to keep you occupied in the big smoke.

If you haven’t already got the John Soanes museum on your list, I would add that as it’s quite special.

top tip: plan in rest stops. There are plenty of lovely places to potter and a lot of cafe culture in London.

Londoners are used to travelling at least an hour to get between places and some of the suggestions here are at least that far from Dalston, so be selective. Are you from a city? If not, you might find the travel tiring.

Welcome to London! have a wonderful time!

You could see inside a royal residence. Buckingham palace isn't open till July, but Kensington palace is open