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Advice for a day in London
A pretty quick work trip has been planned. I will fly into Heathrow Saturday morning. I'll have until Sunday evening to get to Warwick. I'll be in Warwick for 5 days before flying back out the next Saturday.
I'm looking for any general advice but also if there is anything specific to the following:
- I'm going to book my own hotel in London the Saturday night I fly in. Saturday and Sunday are essentially my "tourist" days. Where is good to stay? Not too concerned with price.
- I'm taking a train to Warwick and mostly have that figured out but is there an app or pass that I should add to my Apple wallet for transit around London?
- I like museums of all types. Are there any in particular I should check out?
- Any classic pubs or restaurants I should try to get to?
- Once the week starts I don't think I'll have much time to do touristy stuff and I won't have a car. Any recommendations on things around Warwick/Birmingham that I can get to some evenings via train or bus?
American who’s lived in London for almost a decade here. There are several good suggestions above (especially the British Museum), but I’ll add a few…
The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square is not the best art museum in London (that's the V&A) but it has a major exhibition of Van Gogh's work on right now. I haven't been yet (it only opened a couple weeks ago) but it is meant to be excellent.
The Sir John Soane’s Museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields is quite special. Soane was a successful architect in the early 19th century. He was also a massive hoarder and his house is comically packed to the gills with his collection. (Seriously, the man had a problem.) But, being a rich imperial-era Englishman, he hoarded fine art and priceless Roman, Greek, and Egyptian artefacts. It’s a fantastic collection, eccentrically presented, and usually not too busy. If you go, make sure you get the staff to demo the room he designed to house his paintings: it is absurd (in the best way).
I'm also partial to walking around European cities, and London is a great city to see on foot. It's about an hour's walk along the south bank of the Thames from Westminster Bridge to London Bridge, and you'll get a good view of all sorts: Big Ben, the Eye, the Globe Theatre, the City proper, and most of central London. You'll also end at Borough Market, one of the city's best food spots. It's a good place to get a late lunch (late, because you'll queue for ages if you arrive at midday). The George Inn is a few blocks away—one of the oldest pubs in the city, it features in a few of Dickens' novels. It used to sit next door to the (long since vanished) Tabard Inn, from whence the pilgrims of the Canterbury Tales set out. (Fun history all over the place here!)
Awesome, thank you! This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. Is there a recommended area to stay? I'll be catching a train from Marylebone Sunday afternoon.
I don’t really know, to be honest—I’m not often in hotels here. If you’re worried about connections you might look near Marylebone or Paddington—they’re very near to one another, and Paddington has direct train links to Heathrow.
Also: don’t bother with the Heathrow Express unless you’re in a very big hurry. The Elizabeth line will get you to Paddington (or other parts of the city) pretty quickly and for a fraction of the price.
Edit: also should’ve noted initially, as I don’t think anyone else has—all London transit (tube, buses, etc) takes Apple Pay, so you shouldn’t have trouble getting around.
American here who has enjoyed London. When it comes to museums, you are spoiled for choice but the British museum was an experience I will never forget. The most surprising impressive thing for me was the collection of medieval clocks.
William Blake's artwork at the Tate gallery was another highlight for me.
As an American who just landed from London, I agree with the British Museum suggestion. I was only there for a few hours and I really wish I'd had more time.
Breakfast at E Pellicci, you won’t be disappointed.
Thanks, looks like it's cash only? I wasn't planning on exchanging any money but I will if it's worth it!
It is cash only, yes.
Former Londoner, although not for the past 5 years or so.
If you've time to get over to Greenwich it's well worth a visit.
It's quite a fun trip down there on the DLR.
The National Maritime Museum is interesting and not too large. There's the Cutty Sark, you can just walk around the outside and admire it. I haven't done the interior, I remember thinking it wasn't a great value proposition.
Greenwich Park is lovely, and there's the observatory there and the prime meridian. Greenwich market is nice for lunch and crafts.
Plus there's the impressive architecture of the Old Royal Naval College.
Also in Greenwich The Fan Museum
Thanks for the warning though I will be in Warwick proper. My lodging in Warwick was arranged for me. I'm on the hook for my own lodging in London as I am coming in a day early to recover and see the city.
I would suggest avoiding The Science Museum. It's just.. kinda disappointing. Natural History museum is good though.
Tate Modern is generally a nice visit if you like modern art. Tate not so modern if you prefer it older.
I 100% recommend eating at Dishoom , or if you're feeling fancy, St John
Good to know. I would normally prioritize science museums. I just went to the US Air and Space museum and really enjoyed it. Natural history is always tempting.
I just picked up the Dishoom cookbook purely based off a recommendation. I haven't cracked it though and wasn't aware that it was a restaurant. Thanks!
It pains me a little to say it, because I’ve got great memories of going there as a kid, but the Science Museum didn’t wow me when I wandered through a few months ago. NHM is still pretty special though, seeing a full sized whale skeleton suspended in a building designed 150 years ago as a “cathedral to nature” is something you don’t get to do every day!
Good news is the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and V&A are all across the road from each other and all the major museums and galleries are free, so it’s easy to pop in for a quick look before deciding to spend your time in a particular one.
Dishoom’s always a good shout - there are four or five locations now, all will likely be pretty busy on a weekend lunchtime or dinner time, but they also do an excellent Anglo-Indian breakfast and that’s a lot quieter, so that could be a good shout if you’re looking for a great fry up and E Pellicci is too far out of your way. I’ll throw in Ye Old Cheshire Cheese as a suggestion for an afternoon pint, too - 450 years old and still going strong.
This is all classic crowd pleasing stuff: the kind of places that will be a bit touristy, but largely because they’re actually decent, basically! Good options for a flying visit like this, although if there’s anything specific you had in mind on the food/drink/activity front there’ll likely be a real standout example somewhere around here too. Happy to suggest if there’s something in particular you’re looking for!
Oh and on the transport side, if you’ve got a credit card/debit card loaded onto Apple Pay that you’re planning to use anyway I’d just stick with that. You can get an Oyster card, but everything within London supports normal contactless payments and figures out the best value aggregate automatically for you at the end of each day you use it so that’s what most people do - just make sure you use the same card for every journey so it can link properly.
I really enjoyed The Science Museum when I went! Granted, we wanted to go to the Natural History museum but couldn't get in. It was a solid alternative in that situation though!
What was disappointing about the Science Museum?
It's too dark. It's incoherent - quite a lot is just piles of assorted things in glass boxes, not curated exhibits with some kind of interesting narrative. It's a mess, there's bits here and bits there and again, a lack of coherence. The interactive stuff is not very interactive or fun (caveat: I did not pay for the extra bits upstairs which do sound pretty good). It's just boring, which is a surprise because it's largely about stuff I like and am interested in. I was bored, my kid was bored, our guests were bored. Not a good day out. Oh, and the cafes are expensive and too small and the food isn't very good.
Edit: the gift shop is excellent though. Not just because they sell astronaut ice cream. Lots of really great science toys and widgets.
The Natural History Museum is way better. The British Museum, for all it's colonialist origins, is also a good trip.
It’s more aimed at kids than adults in my opinion. Which is fine, but still have some stuff that’s intellectually stimulating for adults too
Visit the Imperial War Museum, its the dog's bollocks. Avoid Madame Tussaud's wax museum, it's a tourist trap. The London Dungeon's fun, but very crowded.
In Warwick go to Thomas Oaken tea rooms for some nice afternoon tea (https://thomasokentearooms.co.uk). Stratford upon Avon isn’t far away if you want more Warwick vibes but with Shakespeare. The Cotswolds are generally pretty small hills and nearby. Oxford is only one hour away and plenty to see. Leamington spa is next to Warwick and is nice but plain.
I’m not a fan of Birmingham but others might point out some good stuff to do there.
There are plenty of car related things around Warwick like Aston Martin/jaguar Land Rover who do factory visits and driving experiences if that’s more your cup of tea
My go-to recommendation for an afternoon visiting London is to get an architecture tour of The Barbican, if you're at all interested in architecture. You also get a bit of London history sliced across all eras, from Roman times through the Middle Ages to today. The tour guides are all great, and the complex itself is very interesting. Really recommended.
For food, I see others have recommended Dishoom, which is indeed great, but I would also recommend Bombay Bustle if you want something a little off the beaten track. My favorite Indian place in London.
Check out the pub Ye Olde Mitre, which I believe is the oldest continually operating pub in London, having opened in the 16th century sometime.
For transit around London, there is no need to add any apps as long as you have a credit card that has tap-to-pay functionality. You can get on and off the Tube using that directly. It will also work with Apple Wallet which is convenient.
If you have time only for one museum, do the British Museum. Well worth it, and completely free if you don't want to go to the special exhibit (and there is plenty to see without doing so).
Did you have a good time?
I had a great time! Ended up staying near Victoria Station. I went for a long walk and saw some of the big landmarks. I got to the natural history museum which was awesome. Didn’t plan well enough to get to the British museum though.
Then spent a week in Warwick for work. I liked the small town and how well some of the oldest building were maintained.
Now I’m in Kyoto and I’m glad I learned the London Tube before getting to Japan!
I like the natural history museum best anyway to be honest!
I also loved Kyoto, beautiful city, on balance my favourite in Japan. Very jealous of your current travels!
The whole trip was wonderful! Back home and still reeling a bit. What an amazing country and I hope we can return some day.