Yɛɛ Kɔ Lon-Don

GET OUT AND ENJOY LONDON
Having spent the first of your seven days in London getting acquainted with the layout of the city, and familiarising yourself with where its major attractions sit in relation to one another, it’s time now to dive in and really get to know individual aspects and sites of the capital.

VISIT WESTMINSTER ABBEY
Begin your second day in London with a visit to Westminster Abbey, the coronation church, where almost all of England’s Kings and Queens have been crowned and where many of them are buried. Time your arrival between 9.30 am and 10 am and allow 90 minutes to 2 hours for your visit.

THE LONDON EYE
Leaving the Abbey, head across Parliament Square and pass to the left of Big Ben. Head for Westminster Bridge and cross to its left side. Keep ahead over the bridge and, on the other side, go left down the steps and walk along the riverside to the London Eye. The walk should take around 40 minutes at a gentle pace. For lunch, there are several pubs and restaurants located around the London Eye.

VISIT ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
Start your afternoon by walking over the River Thames via the Hungerford Pedestrian Bridge to Embankment Underground Station and take a tube to Mansion House Station. Leave the station via Exit Four and go left along Bow Lane. This attractive thoroughfare still adheres to its medieval street pattern and is lined with an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants.
On arrival at Ye Olde Watling Pub, we will turn left along Watling Street and walk towards St Paul’s Cathedral, the dome of which you will see directly ahead.
When you arrive at the Cathedral head clockwise around it and enter via the west entrance.

EVENING THEATRE
A good way to end your second day in London is to enjoy a visit to one of the city’s world-class theatres. You can head over to the Half-Price Ticket Booth in Leicester Square to see what shows you can get tickets for. They list the likely available shows on their website.
Beforehand you could enjoy a pre-theatre meal in one of the many restaurants around Covent Garden.
A nice way to round off day two might be to enjoy a nightcap in one of London’s historic pubs.
Sweet dreams.

THE TOWER OF LONDON
This imposing fortress enjoys a bloodthirsty history that stretches right back to the reign of King William 1st, who ordered its construction in the wake of his Norman Invasion of 1066. It’s a fascinating place, and one of the best ways to get to grips with its history is on one of the excellent tours conducted at regular intervals by the Yeoman Warders, or Beefeaters as they’re more commonly known.

The Tower is also where the Crown Jewels are kept so prepare to be dazzled by some right Royal bling! Details of admission charges and opening times can be found on this page. For lunch today there are numerous eateries situated on Tower Hill, from a noodle bar to a KFC and a few excellent, and reasonably priced, pubs.

THE BRITISH MUSEUM
Lunch over, make your way to Tower Hill Underground Station, and take a Circle Line train to King’s Cross. If there are any Harry Potter fans in this group you might like to make a diversion to visit Platform 9 3/4 here. It actually does exist as they’ve embedded half a luggage trolley in the wall, so that people can have their photographs taken here! Otherwise, at King’s Cross Station we will switch to the Piccadilly Line and take it one stop to Russell Square Station.

We will turn left at the station, cross to the right side of the road and keep ahead of the traffic lights to walk along the north side of Russell Square itself. Bear left, then second right where on the left side of the Street is the entrance to the British Museum. We can spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the highlights of one of the world’s premier museums. Opening times and a brief history of the museum can be found here.

A FISH AND CHIP SUPPER
Early evening, why not enjoy a traditional Fish and Chips meal at the Happy Days Fish and Chip Shop on Goulston Street (except on Saturdays and Sundays when it’s closed). To get there from the British Museum simply retrace our journey to King’s Cross via the Piccadilly Line, change to the Hammersmith and City Line, and take it five stops to Aldgate East Underground Station.

We will turn left off the tube, go up the steps and through the ticket barrier, go out of Exit One on the right, turn right along Whitechapel High Street and go second right along Goulston Street. The Happy Days Fish and Chip Shop are located towards the end on the right. They do some of the finest Fish and Chips in London.

A JACK THE RIPPER WALKING TOUR
On the evening of your third day in London why not follow in the footsteps of the world’s most famous serial killer on a tour of the Victorian streets where the Jack the Ripper murders occurred.
The tour begins at 7 pm and departs from Exit Four of Aldgate East Underground Station.

To reach the starting point retrace our footsteps back to Aldgate East Station, keep going past Exit One, cross over Commercial Street, pass to the right of the Sportech shop, and, when you reach Burger King, veer right to cross over Whitechapel High Street, where we will find Exit Four on the opposite side.
The Jack the Ripper tour will end in Mitre Square. For a nightcap ask your guide to direct you to the Hoop and Grapes Pub on Aldgate High Street, one of the only City buildings to have survived the Great Fire of London and an excellent place to wind down after the horrors you will have spent the last two hours hearing about.

Across from the pub is Aldgate Underground Station. And so, day three of your seven days in London draws to a close.

DAY=TIME TRIP FROM LONDON
For day four, why not venture further afield and enjoy a day trip out of London. Several coach companies tour to places such as Windsor, Salisbury and Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford, and Stratford Upon Avon.

COACH OR BUS TOURS FROM LONDON
Several companies even bunch them all together and offer a full-day tour that takes in Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath.
This isn’t an ideal way to visit these places. Done like this, the day is rushed and you get to spend minimal time at each location. Obviously, if seeing them all is important to you then do take one of these whistle-stop tours. Here’s how.

WHY NOT GO BY TRAIN?
Alternatively, you can make your own way via train. There are regular direct departures from London’s mainline stations and the train is often a lot quicker than a coach, which can get stuck in slow-moving traffic.
You can, for example, get from London to Windsor in a little under one hour. Oxford can take around an hour and enjoy a day exploring the colleges of the City of Dreaming Spires. Bath takes around two hours. Stonehenge can be combined with a visit to Salisbury, and there’s a regular bus service from Salisbury to Stonehenge. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, and are willing to travel a greater distance then it's even possible to go from London to York and back within a day by train.

EVENING- TIME
For the evening of your fourth day in London book well in advance and get yourself tickets for the magical Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London. Since this doesn’t start, or at least you don’t have to be there till 930 pm, you’ll have plenty of time to get back to London and have dinner before making your way over to the Tower of London.

SPEND A MORNING IN HAMPSTEAD
A good place to visit is the village of Hampstead, London’s country village. It takes about 20 minutes to get to Hampstead tube from central London, but when you exit the underground station you’ll find a part of London that is totally different. If you keep ahead over the road when you leave the station, and go first right into Church Row you’ll find yourself walking along with one of the Capital’s most impressive promenades.
At the end of Church Row is the church of St John in the churchyard of which lie buried the artist John Constable and the clockmaker John Harrison, he of Longitude fame. You can visit the churchyard on our Hampstead Village Walking Tour.
One of the must-do’s in Hampstead is a visit to the Keats House Museum where the poet John Keats lived from 1818 to 1820 and where he wrote some of his greatest poetry. You can get details of opening days and admission charges on this page.
The other Hampstead must do is to take a stroll on the magnificent Heath, full details of which can be found on the Corporation of London’s Website.

VISIT A LONDON HOUSE
For your afternoon you could visit one of London’s historic houses that are open to the public. High on the agenda is the Dickens House Museum, which was the house that Charles Dickens moved to in 1837 when he was writing his first major work Pickwick Papers. The house has recently undergone a major renovation. Full details, as well as details of other houses you might like to visit, can be found on our dedicated London Houses page.

TAKE A GHOST WALK OR A PUB WALK
A nice day to end your fifth day in London might be to take one of our ghost walks or one of our regular historic pub walks. Of course you can attend the theatre again as London’s west end theatres offer a huge number of and variety of plays and musicals.

How time flies! It’s day six already so, with just two full days left let’s ensure you don’t miss a moment! One of the things you are going to want to do before you leave London is go shopping. London has some first-rate, and world-famous shops, so let’s make day six a day for shopping.
For an evening on day six, why not give yourself a rest and enjoy a splurge and enjoy a meal at London’s oldest restaurant? Rules, at 35 Maiden Lane, London WC2E 7LB has been expanding the girths of Londoners and visitors alike since 1798.

It has always been very popular with actors, as is attested to by the number of signed photographs of stars both past and present that adorn the walls.
It was also a favorite with Charles Dickens and the Prince of Wales (although not together!). The cuisine is traditional British and the service is very much old school.

DEPARTURE

Well, here it is, the last of your 7 days in London and it’s time to bid it farewell.