LONDON THINGS TO DO
1) Tower Bridge – Museum and Walk Across – excellent view and interesting bridge history
— after you walk across, you could walk along the Thames to the HMS Belfast Ship and museum.
— OR walk to Borough Market (15 min) – lots of little shops https://boroughmarket.org.uk/visit-us/
2) St Paul Cathedral, then, a few blocks way is the millennial bridge, walk across, then go to the Tate Museum which is in a renovated industrial building. Mostly modern art and the building is interesting to walk through
3) Boat ride to Greenwich, about 20 min ride up the Thames. Small town that hosts the Maritime museum. Then up a hill is the official Greenwich Mean Time, with a small museum. Return to the Thames river. There is an underground pedestrian tunnel that goes under the river. Walk through, then return to central London on the Underground (Island Gardens Station) or go back to get the ferry boat.
https://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk/things-to-do
4) Churchill Bunker – In central London, if you like WW2 history, this is where Churchill led milatary operations when London was being bombed.
5) Museum – there are lots of museums in London, you can bring up a list on line.
Notable is the National Gallery, if you like art. It is on Trafalgar Square, which is the main city center.
I think the museum is free.
Also nearby is the London Transport museum if you are a train nerd.
6) Roof Tops – A number of the new buildings have roof top views
— check out Sky Garden. You can get a free ticket on line (book ASAP!) there is alos a bar and restaurent on top.
Garden Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrLIuv4w1pU
This also might be interesting, if you can’t do the SkyGarden:
Its a roof top garden on the 15th floor – it is free and not ticket required. Its near Fenchurch Rail Station
https://fen-court.com/garden-at-120
7) Tower of London – VERY touristy. I would personally skip it, unless British medieval history is of interest.
Other Touristy things
– Westminster Abby – crowded and you need to get tickets ahead. You might consider other old churches of London that are not as crowded –
– Parliament Tour – never did this, but many people do.
– Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace – we did do this. There is a schedule. Get there early for a good viewing spot. Its good cheap (free) entertainment
TRANSPORTATION
Transportation from Healthrow
— Heathrow Express – Expensive underground (but fastest) train to London Paddington Station
— Elizabeth Line – Much cheaper and and almost as fast. Goes thru London and connects with other underground lines
BRITISH RAIL – can be VERY expensive. Try to get tickets Off-Peak ( I think after 9:30am). Ticket agents at the rail stations were VERY helpful. They also can save you $$ with the right connections
WHERE TO STAY
On our last visit, we stayed between Paddington Station and Kensington Gardens. There are a lot of small townhouse hotels in this area. Rooms were a bit small.
Wherever you do stay, be sure to be near an Underground or Train Station for easy connections.
Citymapper App – excellent app for live transit routes through the city.
NATIONAL RAIL APP – Official app for British rail lines. There are six or so different rail companies, and it can be confusing. This integrates them all. Displays prices and time tables and online ticketing