Are you taking an overnight flight and flying into Heathrow? Sounds like it, by the time you get there, settle in etc, it’ll be lunch time and you will be exhausted. You are 100% correct not to try to cram too much in or it won’t be fun. We created a “loose” itinerary with a Plan A/B for each day and it worked out very well. General guidelines we followed: major sites early (less crowded), buy tickets ahead of time (skip all the lines), not many attractions are open in the evening aside from Pubs, so theater at night is a great option.
I’m happy to share our itinerary with you as it sounds like we have very similar interests and I accounted for jet lag, days things are open, etc.
I’m meeting one of my kids in London next month for a reunion trip. He remembers the Imperial War Museum from a trip at about age 7 and wants to see it again from an adult perspective. The WWI and WWII exhibits, which include walk through displays. had a great impact on him as a young guy. The museum is well done - definitely not a war promoter, but a place to learn a lot.
Thanks to the above suggestions of the Soane House Museum. Does anyone else have suggestions for smaller, lesser known or out-of-the-way places? I’ve seen all of the majors and most of the “second tier” must-dos at least once. I agree with the previous posters, all the suggestions above are very good!
I especially concur with trying to get out to Hampton Court with kids. Real castle feel, Henry VIII tennis court, maze, etc. Very easy by train.
I would also recommend the Museum of London. It really is very well done and it will really provide a good overview of the city that you are visiting including the understanding that this was an outpost of the Roman empire. The Great Fire exhibit is great as is the Victorian shopping street. The Tower of London is great. The first time that I went to London back when I graduated from college and yes you could tour Europe and live on $5.00 a day… when I went to the Tower other than being blown away by the crown jewels… it was seeing the armor on display and how small they were size-wise was that the knights were essentially either teenage boys or young adults because the life span was not very long. I love the British Museum especially if they have studied the Rosetta Stone in school, how cool to see it and so much else. Stonehenge and Bath are great especially as there is a new Visitors Center at Stonehenge. When I was last there the Visitors Center was pretty outdated and as you cannot get up close to the stones you cannot spend all that much time there to be as interesting an experience as you might have wanted.
I loved our boat trip down the Thames to Greenwich as you can see all the residential architectural development along the Thames and Greenwich itself is a lovely town. The prime meridian itself is cool. There is also the Royal Naval Museum and more but it might be cold on a boat trip on the Thames and walking around Greenwich in January.
+1 on the War Rooms, the Museum of the City of London, and going early to major sites. Borough Market and Portobello Market were some of our daughter’s favorites. Went to Sunday morning service at St.Paul’s and had lunch in their restaurant afterwards. The Connaught is a good small art museum with a number of paintings that will probably be familiar (eg, “Girl at the Bar at the Folies-Bergères”).
The verger’s tour of Westminster Abbey gets you in to areas not normally accessible to the public and gives a lot of good historical context. It was one of the highlights of our trip. http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/verger-guided-tours
@Momofadult, if you’re looking for smaller museums or historic sites, you might especially like the Wallace Collection in the Marylebone area. http://www.wallacecollection.org/ It’s a spectacular collection of Old Masters and 18th century paintings in an historic mansion. We could only stay for 2 hours but wished we had more time. There’s an excellent restaurant in a glass-roofed indoor courtyard.
The National Portrait Gallery isn’t smaller or out of the way, but I do have a hint for folks visiting there: save enough time for the 20th century and contemporary portraits. We spent much more time on the 18th-19th century works than we should have and had to speed through the excellent recent stuff because we had matinee tickets. http://www.npg.org.uk/
Thanks @frazzled1 - art history buff here! I love the Wallace Collection - glad you brought it up. Another good collection is the Courtauld Gallery for anyone intrigued by the the thought of smaller art museums. Thanks for the hint on National Portrait Gallery also. Reminds me that I have to plan and pace myself!
Also, thanks to @FrancescaBennett for the Bletchley Park suggestion. I’m not sure I would have remembered that possibility and I would like to get out there.
Look very carefully at the London Pass to see how many things you might ACTUALLY want to do. Looking back to a trip with a tween (and the same kid a few years later), I would nix Hampton Palace [boring and not convenient to get to; we only went because of the London Pass – see above]. London Museum is neither yea nor nay. Very okay and near St. Paul’s, but I doubt I would make a special trip. Oh, St. Paul’s – do not, DO NOT, go all the way to the top unless you have absolutely no fear of heights. The outer balcony/ledge before that stage was enough for me. Museum of Natural History had [I assume still does] a very cool earthquake room. Paddle boats in Hyde Park. The War Rooms/Churchill Museum – absolutely. If you like toy soldiers, there’s a place on the left hand side as you walk toward toward Buckingham Palace that is ASTOUNDING. I want to say it’s the Marine Museum or something like that. I like the Tower of London and the Crown Jewels at least once. Visiting the Golden Hind is very cool. There is a maritime museum down in the far southeast (I think I’ve got that right) with some very cool memorabilia (e.g., Nelson’s uniform when he died). That might even be on the London Pass. Mousetrap? Unequivocal YES YES YES. I’m a doofus and forget the ending, so it’s fun every time. I never get tired of Les Mis and you can get me to go to almostany show in that town. If you want some nice (and not too expensive) restaurant recommendations, PM me.
@Fishnlines29 Just had to let you know that I kept checking the Warner Brothers Studio Tour Availability constantly and tickets finally popped up for a day we can go so I got tickets to that. 11:00 AM start time which seems great.
My daughter is going to London for a week with her uncles and cousins, then she’s staying for a semester abroad. This is a group (or part of the group) who stayed in the Lizzy Borden B&B just for ‘fun’. Jack and the fog sounds fun.