Q: I am travelling to London for 5 days. I have never been to London and wish to experience a fair amount that the City has to offer.With only 5 days, i dont want to try too much that i cant appreciate anything.
I would like to visit a museum, see a show, visit a market, see notting hill gates, etc.
A: Suggested Itinerary
Day 1 – Initial exploration:
make your way to Westminster underground, and broadly follow the route described in my Royal and Political walk. This will take you to places you have probably heard of and would like to see, such as Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Number 10, Trafalgar Square etc. Though you could do the walk itself in under 2 hours, you could easily spend a day doing it by the time you stopped here and there on route (e.g. to browse some of the famous shops and arcades, or take photos, etc.) The route leads you back to Westminster station.
Day 2 – Museums:
make your way to south kensington station, and follow the signs to the museums. There are several clumped together here, including the Science, Natural History and V & A museums.
Day 3 – Museum and Theatre (avoid Fri / Sat / Sun)
in order to get good cheap tickets, visit the half price ticket booths around Leicester Square. As most don’t open until early afternoon, perhaps start the day with a visit to the British Museum (which is in walking distance from Leicester Square – or walk from Tottenham Court Road station), then walk down to Leicester Square for early afternoon. Spend the rest of the day wandering around Leicester Square and Covent Garden, then see a show in evening.
Day 4 – Markets ( do this on a Saturday)
get tube to Notting Hill Gate, then follow the people to the market area and shops. After visiting that area, get tube to Borough and visit Borough market. Then walk down to the riverside, and follow the path along the south bank to Tower Bridge.
Day 5 – Short trip out of London
go to Waterloo station and get a train to Windsor. Visit the area around Windsor and Eton, then return to Waterloo.