Our First Trip to London

Hi everyone,

My wife and I will be spending 3 nights in London this summer. We have 2 nights prior to our cruise out of Harwich and 1 night post cruise. We've never been there before and we are having a really hard time deciding what to choose to do while in town.

We'll be staying at the Cavendish London near St James square prior to the cruise and the Waldorf Hilton after the cruise.

The only thing we've booked so far is a tour of Buckingham Palace after the cruise other than that we are completely undecided.

We've looked at the walks, the bus tours, the all day guided tours etc but just are having a hard time deciding. What are the "must see's" for first time visitors? Also any suggestions of restaurants in the area of our hotel's?

We are 35 & 40 yrs old from the US...if that makes a difference when you consider things.

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hiya,

you're right that there is so much to do, it can be pretty daunting deciding how to narrow it down.

I would say that (assuming you are relatively fit and have a good pair of shoes) doing a lot of it on foot is a great thing to do. You get to see much more and avoid the stuffiness of public transport (as well as the prices!). I would suggest doing a route say down the Mall to Buckingham Palace, then head down Birdcage Walk towards Paliament square. There you have Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament. After you've had a look there, head over the bridge towards the South Bank and wander along the river. You'll go past the London Aquarium, the London Eye as well as further down, Shakespeare's Globe, the Tate Modern Gallery and if you go far enough, Tower Bridge.

From the Waldorf you'll be just around the corner from a place called Christophers which has a great cocktail bar to start off your evening. It's just opposite the Lyceum Theatre (where the Lion King is showing) near Aldwych.

Hope this helps...have a great time. :)

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