Travel Interests: Arts and culture,Museums and Galleries,Tours and Sightseeing,World heritage sites
Description:
In this travel itinerary to London you'll find a list of all the places you’re going to want to visit on your first time to London – the iconic sights that you’ve seen in postcards and films plus more some "must" places to see and things to do in London today.
Here you will find plenty to do, from popping in to see the monarch’s crown through to exploring the White Castle at the centre of the keep. My advice for getting the most out of your visit is to arrive as soon as the Tower opens, which is around 9am, and beating the crowds to the crown jewels. You’re likely going to want to spend at least 3 hours here, if not
– there is a lot to see (and photograph!) here.
Wikipedia description
The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of more.. London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard I, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.
The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, a procession would be led from the Tower to Westminster Abbey on the coronation of a monarch. In the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period. In the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence, and despite attempts to refortify and repair the castle, its defences lagged behind developments to deal with artillery.
The peak period of the castle's use as a prison was the 16th and 17th centuries, when many figures who had fallen into disgrace, such as Elizabeth I before she became queen, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Elizabeth Throckmorton, were held within its walls. This use has led to the phrase "sent to the Tower". Despite its enduring reputation as a place of torture and death, popularised by 16th-century religious propagandists and 19th-century writers, only seven people were executed within the Tower before the World Wars of the 20th century. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, with 112 occurring there over a 400-year period. In the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, clearing out many of the vacant post-medieval structures. In the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, and the castle reopened to the public. Today, the Tower of London is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. less..
Address
St Katharine's & Wapping, London EC3N 4AB, UK
Opening hours
Monday: 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM
On from the Tower of London, you’re going to find yourself right next to Tower Bridge, the most iconic of all the London bridges. If you want to learn more about the bridge and not just take some classic photos, then you should visit the Tower Bridge Exhibition.
Here you can learn about the history of the bridge, including how it was built and how the lifting mechanism works to allow ships through. More excitingly, you can walk the glass floor walkway, a 42 meter high walkway that will definitely test any fear of heights you may have!
Wikipedia description
Address
Tower Bridge Rd, London SE1 2UP, UK
Opening hours
Monday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Tuesday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Wednesday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Thursday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Friday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Saturday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM Sunday: 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM
you’re going to find yourself by the Houses of Parliament, official known as the Palace of Westminster. This is the seat of government in England, home to the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and is where the politics in England takes place. Whilst it is possible to go inside and take a tour, I’d suggest just taking photos from the outside of this beautiful building, particularly of the Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben, and then heading on to.
Wikipedia description
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Palace of Westminster, Westminster, London SW1A 2PW, UK
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Westminster Abbey is definitely one of the UK’s most impressive churches. It’s here that key events in the life of the British Royal Family take place including Royal Weddings (16 to date) and Coronations (the majority of British rulers since 1066!). Westminster Abbey is also one of the most desirable burial sites in the UK, with countless famous figures from British history buried here, including Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Chaucer, and multiple British royals, prime ministers and more.
Even if you’re not interested in the Royal family or the buried dead though, you can’t help but be impressed by this gorgeous gothic style building. Again, there is plenty to see and do here (and the line to get in can take a little while), so plan at least an hour or two to fully appreciate the property.
Wikipedia description
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in the City of Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom's most notable religious buildings and the traditional place more.. of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. The building itself was a Benedictine monastic church until the monastery was dissolved in 1539. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral. Since 1560, the building is no longer an abbey or a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England "Royal Peculiar"—a church responsible directly to the sovereign.
According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site in the seventh century, at the time of Mellitus, a Bishop of London. Construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III.
Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have been in Westminster Abbey. There have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100. Two were of reigning monarchs, although, before 1919, there had been none for some 500 years. less..
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Westminster Abbey, Westminster, London SW1P 3PA, UK
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Last on our list for the day (see below for some optional extras if you want to fit more in!) are the Churchill War Rooms. Set below the heart of the government buildings in London, this huge underground bunker is where Winston Churchill directed the majority of the war effort during World War 2.
This maze of rooms is now open as a tourist attraction, and is a really fascinating place to explore, covering both the life and times of Churchill, as well as providing insight into the rooms themselves, and the people who spent so many years of their lives working away in secrecy underneath London during the war years.
Wikipedia description
Address
Clive Steps, King Charles, Westminster, London SW1A 2AQ, UK
Opening hours
Monday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM Tuesday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM Wednesday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM Thursday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM Friday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM Saturday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM Sunday: 9:30 AM – 6:00 PM
On your second day in London you’re going to head a little to the West, and take in some of the sights in this area, starting with Kensington Palace. Inextricably linked with Queen Victoria, who was born here, Kensington Palace is a Royal Residence, and has been since the 17th century. Today it’s occupied by both Princes William and Harry, and whilst you can’t visit the private Royal Residence, you can tour the State Rooms.
These have actually been open to the public for a long time, in a practice started by Queen Victoria in 1899, and today Kensington Palace is one of the most popular of the Royal Palaces for visitors. There are a series of four themed routes through the palace, covering different aspects of the history of the palace, and all four are worth doing. Then, when you’re done, there’s an excellent café where you can have a hot drink and a sandwich, before embarking on the rest of your day’s adventures.
Wikipedia description
Kensington Palace Gardens is a street in Kensington, west central London, home to some of the most expensive properties in the world. It was the location of the London Cage, the British government MI19 centre used during the Second World War and the Cold War.
A tree-lined avenue half a mile long in more.. the heart of embassy land, Kensington Palace Gardens is often cited as the "most exclusive address" in London, according to real estate agency Knight Frank. It is one of the most expensive residential streets in the world, and has long been known as "Billionaires Row", due to the extreme wealth of its private residents, although in fact the majority of its current occupants are either national embassies or ambassadorial residences. As of mid-2012, current market prices for a property in the street average over £22 million.
It is immediately to the west of Kensington Gardens and connects Notting Hill Gate with Kensington High Street. The southern section of Kensington Palace Gardens is called Palace Green. less..
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Kensington Palace Gardens, London, UK
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From Kensington Palace, it’s a lovely walk through Kensington Gardens to the Royal Albert Hall. This was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, and is named in memory of her husband Albert, who had died six years earlier.
Purpose built as an entertainment space, today the hall is most famous for hosting the annual Proms – an eight week long series of classical music concerts and events. It also hosts all sorts of other events, from film screenings to tennis, so there’s always something going on.
Even if there isn’t anything going on though, it’s worth a visit, with hour long guided tours available, where you’ll be able to visit that gorgeous auditorium, the Queen’s private suites, as well as learn a bit about the architecture and history of performances at the venue, which are now in excess of 150,000 since it opened. Pretty impressive stuff.
Wikipedia description
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Royal Albert Hall, Imperial College Rd, Kensington, London SW7 2AP, UK
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Free to visit (although there are usually special exhibitions for a fee), this is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, with over two million objects in the collection spanning 5,000 years of human existence. As you might imagine, that’s quite a lot to take in, and you could likely spend multiple days here exploring all the artefacts on offer.
Wikipedia description
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
The V&A is located in the Brompton district of the Royal Borough more.. of Kensington and Chelsea, in an area that has become known as "Albertopolis" because of its association with Prince Albert, the Albert Memorial and the major cultural institutions with which he was associated. These include the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the Royal Albert Hall. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Like other national British museums, entrance to the museum has been free since 2001.
The V&A covers 12.5 acres and 145 galleries. Its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from ancient times to the present day, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa. The holdings of ceramics, glass, textiles, costumes, silver, ironwork, jewellery, furniture, medieval objects, sculpture, prints and printmaking, drawings and photographs are among the largest and most comprehensive in the world.
The museum owns the world's largest collection of post-classical sculpture, with the holdings of Italian Renaissance items being the largest outside Italy. The departments of Asia include art from South Asia, China, Japan, Korea and the Islamic world. The East Asian collections are among the best in Europe, with particular strengths in ceramics and metalwork, while the Islamic collection is amongst the largest in the Western world. Overall, it is one of the largest museums in the world.
Since 2001, the museum has embarked on a major £150m renovation programme, which has seen a major overhaul of the departments, including the introduction of newer galleries, gardens, shops and visitor facilities.
New 17th- and 18th-century European galleries were opened on 9 December 2015. These restored the original Aston Webb interiors and host the European collections 1600–1815. less..
Address
Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL, UK
Opening hours
Monday: 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM Thursday: 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM Friday: 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM
Depending on the time of year you visit, you have a number of options for visiting Buckingham Palace. Personally, I’d advise going in the afternoon, after you’ve visited all the above, and to finish off your day. You’ll avoid the crowds associated with the changing of the guard ceremony, and have an overall far more pleasant experience.
I do know however that lots of people do wish do experience the Changing of the Guard ceremony, so if that’s you, you’ll need to juggle the above itinerary a little as the ceremony takes place over 45 minutes in the middle of the day. Finally, in the summer months, you can actually tour parts of Buckingham Palace. These tours last around two hours, and operate quite late into the evenings, so you could definitely do this at the end of the day. If this is something you want to do you definitely need to book in advance to ensure you get a ticket.
Wikipedia description
The Garden at Buckingham Palace is situated at the rear of Buckingham Palace. It covers much of the area of the former Goring Great Garden, named after Lord Goring, occupant of one of the earliest grand houses on the site. It was laid out by Henry Wise and subsequently redesigned by William Townsend more.. Aiton for George IV.
The garden occupies a 42 acres site in the City of Westminster, London and has two-and-a-half miles of gravel paths. Its area is bounded by Constitution Hill to the north, Hyde Park Corner to the west, Grosvenor Place to the south-west and the Royal Mews, Queen's Gallery, and Buckingham Palace to the south and east. The planting is varied and exotic, with a mulberry tree dating back to the time of James I of England.
Notable features include a large 19th-century lake which was once recently graced by a flock of flamingoes, and the Waterloo Vase. In the garden there is a summerhouse, a helicopter pad, and a tennis court.
Unlike the nearby Royal Parks of London, Buckingham Palace Garden is not usually open to the public. However, when Buckingham Palace is open during August and September, visitors have access to part of the garden, which forms the exit from the palace at the end of the tour. Visitors also have the opportunity to purchase specially made ice cream from the Buckingham Palace ice cream tent which is situated on the route out of the garden.
The garden is where the Queen's garden parties are held. In June 2002 she invited the public into the garden for entertainment for the first time during her reign. As part of her Golden Jubilee Weekend thousands of Britons were invited to apply for tickets to Party at the Palace where the guitarist Brian May of the band Queen performed his God Save the Queen guitar solo on top of Buckingham Palace. This concert was preceded the previous evening by a Prom at the Palace. During the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations in 2006 the garden was the scene of Children's Party at the Palace for an audience of 2,000 children.
The gardens are Grade II* listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.
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Thankfully, there is a way to save on sight-seeing, as well as take advantage of skip the line access, plus get free entry to loads more attractions should you end up having a bit more time to spare. The London Pass is the answer, you can buy it here: www.klook.com
For public transport, you definitely need to invest in an Oyster Card. Available both online and from most tube stations, this prepaid card is the most cost-effective way to get around in London, offering fares that are significantly cheaper compared to buying individual tickets with cash. You just have to load it up, and then tap in and out as you go through tube stops. It also works on London buses and river boats.
