What we did in London

what to do in london (in 3 days)

I absolutely adored London. Maybe it was the unusually delightful weather we were having, but there were multiple times during the trip we talked about how we could see ourselves living there. It was familiar and comfortable, even though this was our first time visiting the city.

We only spent three nights in London (well, four if you count our unexpected layover thanks to a Lufthansa strike), but it felt like we were there much longer because we did SO MUCH in those short days.

We brought the 2015 London tour book by Rick Steves (“Ricky” as we affectionately referred to him on the trip), and modeled most of our trip after his three-day recommendation. It did not disappoint.

I’ll spare you long drawn out paragraphs of all that we did and share just the highlights and a bullet list of all we saw and did.

What we did in London, in three days

london!

Museums:

  • British Museum
  • British Library
  • Tate Modern Museum
  • National Gallery
  • Sherlock Holmes Museum (Well, we just went inside the gift shop since the museum wasn’t free)

national gallery

Landmarks:

  • Trefalgar Square
  • Picadilly Circus
  • Big Ben
  • Marble Arch
  • Tower of London
  • St. Paul’s Cathedral
  • Shakespeare’s Globe
  • St. James’ Park
  • Buckingham Palace

st. paul's cathedral and the millenium bridge

Shopping:

  • Camden Market
  • Portobello Market in Notting Hill
  • Harrod’s Department Store

camden market

Shows:

  • Westminster Evensong
  • Billy Elliot at Victoria Theatre

westminster abbey

Tours and experiences: 

  • Went to Kings Cross Station to go to Hogwarts on Platform 9 3/4
  • River Cruise on the Thames River
  • Bought a Big Bus Tour — we are so glad we purchased this, it was a nice way to see the city and give our feet a break from walking all over the place
  • Saw the Warner Brother’s Studio Harry Potter tour
  • Went up the London eye in the morning and evening

big bus tour in london

What a wonderful city! I hope to go back there someday, and explore the countryside next time.

Have you ever been to London?
What are your favorite things to do or see?

 

PS – See more posts from our European trip, including where we stayed in London. 

  • You guys did a lot in three days! I took a trip to London this spring and was there for about four days. My favorites were St. Paul’s Cathedral, Changing of the Horse Guard, Strolling through St. James’ Park, and Greenwich.
    I also visited some of the countryside. Loved Woodstock, the Cotswolds, Avebury, and Highclere Castle. Bath was nice in the evening after the tourists had gone away, but it wasn’t the quaint city that I had imagined and Oxford was very crowded the day we were there, in hindsight I wish we had visited one of the colleges and gone punting.

  • Oh you SHOULD move to London! I could get the train up and we could have coffee! Lovely photos -looks like you had a great time and saw everything. I just like looking at the architecture and soaking up the bustle. Haven’t been for 2 years though!

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