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5 Days in London
Day One
Spend your first day in Royal London, which contains much that is
historic and traditional in British life. Get an early start at
medieval Westminster Abbey -- if Prince Charles becomes king, this
is where he will be crowned. After an hour exploring the abbey, make
the 15-minute walk (or Tube it from Westminster to St. James's Park)
to catch the Changing of the Guard at 11:20, outside Buckingham
Palace. Optimally you need to get there by 10:45. In season an
alternative option is to tour the palace. Next stroll down the Mall,
enjoying the view the monarch sees when she rides in her gilded
coach to open Parliament every year. Passing King George IV's
glorious Carlton House Terrace, walk through the Admiralty Arch into
Trafalgar Square, the very center of the city. Spend an hour or two
in the National Gallery or go instead to nearby St. Martin's Place
and the National Portrait Gallery, a visual who's who of Britain.
From Trafalgar Square, head south to Whitehall, which is lined with
grand government buildings, the Banqueting House, outside of which
King Charles I was beheaded, and the Horse Guards Parade. (Her
Majesty's mounted guardsmen make a great photo op.) Head past 10
Downing Street, the prime minister's residence, to the Houses of
Parliament. To see them, you have two options: either wait in line
for the limited seats available in the Strangers Gallery of either
house (use the St. Stephen's Entrance opposite the abbey) or prebook
a tour, which shows off the state rooms. Eventually you'll hear Big
Ben signaling the approaching dinner hour.
It's best to do this tour on Tuesday or Wednesday. From July through
March, the Changing of the Guard (usually a daily event) occurs only
every other day; check schedules. Buckingham Palace is open daily in
season -- from late August to early October. When the Houses of
Parliament are open to visitors, the House of Lords is closed from
Thursday to Sunday, the House of Commons from Friday to Sunday;
times are complex, so check the schedule in Chapter 1. On Sunday the
Banqueting House is closed, and Westminster Abbey (except for the
museum) is open only to those attending services.
Day Two
Think of this day as London 101 -- a tour of the city's postcard
sights. Begin at the British Museum (home of the Elgin Marbles, the
Rosetta Stone, and the Sutton Hoo Treasure), then explore bookish
Bloomsbury, including the Dickens House Museum and the British
Library (on Euston Road, 10 blocks north), perhaps tracking the
spirit of Virginia Woolf on Bedford, Russell, and Bloomsbury
squares. Now head southeast to visit the Regency delight that is Sir
John Soane's Museum at Lincoln's Inn. Continue south to Fleet
Street, then east to 17th-century St. Paul's Cathedral, the city's
presiding spirit. Head due south across the Millennium Bridge over
the Thames to Southwark. Initially infamous for its somewhat
alarming bounciness, the bridge was closed soon after opening but
has now been made more rigid. Stop at the Tate Modern art gallery or
take in a play at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. At day's end, journey
along Old Father Thames either east to Le Pont de la Tour or west to
the OXO Tower for a riverside dinner.
Don't plan on doing Day 2 on Sunday, when Sir John Soane's Museum is
closed. Note that Shakespeare's Globe stages plays in the open-air
theater only from May to September.
Day Three
Explore St. James's and Mayfair, the core of London's posh West End.
From Piccadilly Circus go west on Piccadilly to splurge on breakfast
at the Queen's grocers, Fortnum & Mason. For a brush with royalty,
detour several blocks to view the outside of Prince Charles's
Tudor-era home, St. James's Palace near St. James's Square, then
continue on to palatial Spencer House, which once housed the
ancestors of the late Princess Diana. From Piccadilly travel north
for some ritzy window-shopping on Bond Street, in the Burlington
Arcade, and along Savile Row, continuing on through Mayfair via
Mount Street, Carlos Place -- tea at the Connaught Hotel, anyone? --
and Grosvenor Square. From here take Duke Street north to view the
superb paintings at the Wallace Collection on Manchester Square.
Keep going south to Park Lane and, just before Hyde Park Corner,
visit Apsley House, by the Duke of Wellington's mansion. To the
southwest is the splendidly aristocratic enclave of Belgravia.
Apsley House is closed on Monday, and Spencer House is open only on
Sunday and is not open at all during January and August.
Day Four
London legends populate this itinerary. First take a break from the
city and travel up to its most famous "village, " Hampstead. After
taking in the picturesque houses, chic cafés, and Church Row --
London's most complete Georgian street -- move on to Abbey Road (if
you're a Beatlemaniac), in nearby St. John's Wood. Then take the
Tube down to Baker Street and visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum or
Madame Tussaud's (a must for kids). Go north to Regent's Park and
its elegant Cumberland Terrace and Chester Terrace. In the afternoon
take the Tube to Tower Hill and the Tower of London to see the Crown
Jewels and the Tower Ravens. At dusk cross the street to the Tower
Hill Tube stop to pick up a spine-chilling Jack the Ripper Mystery
Walk through the East End.
Note that the East End Jack the Ripper tours begin at 7 PM.
Day Five
This segment of your itinerary is all about shopping, history, and
priceless art. Begin at the "museum mile" of South Kensington. See
either the Victoria & Albert Museum, or, if you have children, opt
for the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum. Head up
Brompton Road for lunch in Knightsbridge and shopping at Harrods and
Harvey Nichols. Afterward you can go north or south. To the north,
in Kensington Gardens, you can salute the Peter Pan statue, then
visit Kensington Palace, childhood home of Queen Victoria and
repository of the Royal Dress Collection. Have dinner in sassy and
sophisticated Notting Hill. Alternatively, from Knightsbridge you
might head south to historic Chelsea to charming Cheyne Walk and the
Tate Britain. If you go this route, end the day by seeing a play or
musical in the West End's Theatreland.
Any day is fine for this tour.
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