I'll be in London one day, what should I see?

Question

only having one day, I want to make the most of it. never know if I'll ever get to return.

Answer 1

The Tower of London. It's where King George chopped off the head of his wife. Lots of history there. Plus there is a wall close by that was built by the Romans.

Answer 2

I love London!  What a great city!  Here are the things that I would suggest to see.  Buckingham Palace and watch the changing of the guards.  The London Eye which is like a huge ferris wheel.  You can get a great view of London from here.  Take a double decker bus tour and you get to see a lot of little things that you would typically miss.   I would also suggest going to see a Broadway play.  You can get tickets the same day for pretty cheap.  My true advice is to just open your eyes and enjoy this beautiful city.  It is amazing.  Also, check out www.visitlondon.com.

Have a great time!

Answer 3

Do the big bus company tour - its about 20 pounds and it shows you everything and you can hop on ad off at your pleasure saving you tube and bus fares too... It goes for 48 hours so when your done you might be able to off load it to someone else who has one day and split the cost??? Maybe :o)

Answer 4

Good news, Melissa: you can see a whole load of stuff in one day here!

You could go on one of the bus tours… if you do, the best will be the Original London Tour. But to be honest, the regular tube and bus network is a lot cheaper and more flexible.

Now, what to see. I think you should start in Trafalgar Square (Charing Cross tube station is the nearest.) This is London’s most famous square. You have Nelson's Column in the centre, with the huge, adorable lion statues at its feet. On the square’s north side is the National Gallery (amazing collection of art; Leonardo da Vinci, Monet, Van Gogh and much more). Free entry to the main collections: full info here: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/defaul... Oh, and good food, too: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/plan/i...

On the east side of the square is the beautiful 17th-century church of St Martin's-in-the-Fields. They do great lunchtime concerts there, and their café (in the crypt) is a fave of mine. http://www2.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/p...

You have two options for where to go next.

If you’d like to see Buckingham Palace… go out under Admiralty Arch at its south-western corner. This brings you to the road called the Mall. Stroll down here and you come to the palace. If it’s a sunny day, walk beside the road, through one of London's beautiful 'royal parks', St James's Park.

There are tours of Buckingham Palace through till 29 September. They’re very splendid. But they do take two hours or more, so you may just prefer to stay outside and watch the changing of the guard. Now we’re into September, this happens every other day – on even-numbered days. More info here: http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/defaul...

From the palace, it’s about a 15 minute walk back through St James’s Park (down the other long edge of this triangular park) to Parliament Square, home of the Houses of Parliament., where you can see the iconic clock tower where the great bell ‘Big Ben’ tolls the hours. Westminster Abbey faces Parliament across the square, scene of every coronation since William the Conqueror in 1066.

Option two: if you’d like to see royal guards but you’re not so worried about seeing Buckingham Palace.

Leave Trafalgar Square at its southern exit, Whitehall (opposite the National Gallery). A few moments down Whitehall is Horseguards Parade, where you’ll see magnificent royal cavalry guards duty. They do the ‘changing of the guard’ ceremony daily here, at 11am Mon-Sat and 10am on Sundays. http://www.army.mod.uk/events/ceremonial...

Carry on down Whitehall and you come to Downing Street, where you can peep through the gates at the amazingly ordinary London residence of the British Prime Minister (don't worry; he gets a big country house called Chequers too)...

A couple of minutes’ further on, Whitehall opens out into Parliament Square (see above).

So, either way, once you’re finished with Parliament Square, leave it by the road beside Big Ben’s clocktower. Straight away, you’ll see Westminster Bridge over the Thames. Wonderful views up and down river… and on the opposite bank, the London Eye.

The Eye is a giant sightseeing ferris wheel and is everyone's favourite viewpoint, but if you want to go on it – and you absolutely should! – buy your ticket in advance, online. A standard ticket costs £15.50, a fast track ticket is £25 but lets you jump the always-long queues. Once you’re on the wheel, the ride takes about 30 mins and the panoramas stretch for miles. Info here: http://www.londoneye.com/

From here, I’d suggest catching a riverbus down the Thames to the Tower of London. Best views, and also even quicker than the same journey by tube. Stay on the same side of the river as the London Eye, and walk away from Westminster Bridge. The riverbus stop is about two mins walk: it’s Waterloo Pier. You pay extra for the river bus but it’s much cheaper than a tour boat. Timetable here (you need Adobe Acrobat to read it as it’s a pdf file) http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/r...

As you come down the Thames, you get the best possible views of Tower Bridge, so get your camera ready! You can go inside the bridge to see the fab old Victorian engines which used to raise the bridge (now replaced by electronic motors) and go up to the top walkway for another amazing viewpoint. More details here: http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TowerBridg...

Right beside the bridge is the Tower of London, our oldest royal palace as well as the place where several queens including two of Henry VIII’s wives were beheaded). The Crown Jewels are an unmissable sight here. More info here http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/

I think that this is about as much as anyone could cope with in a day.

If your day includes an evening, you could save your London Eye ride till twilight – it’s really magical then.

Whatever you decide to do, buy a one-day Travelcard (an Oystercard would be cheaper if you were staying more than one day, but this is best for you.)

Depending on where you’re travelling into town from it could cost you less than this, but an off-peak card for zones1-5  (covering all of central London and as far out as Heathrow airport) costs £7 after 9.30am weekdays or any time at weekends).

I hope you have a really great time here.

Love from a Londoner born and bred.

=D