Speed-Visiting Essentials

Thirty-two boroughs plus the City of London is a lot of pavement to cover if you want to get around it all. However if you just want to get a feel for some of the major landmarks including one or two little hidden gems it is actually possible to do it in 12 hours.

Obviously we are being highly selective here and we have picked out some major attractions but if you really want to see what you can do in half a day fasten your seatbelt and let’s go.

9.00 - 11.00 am

Start your day at the discount ticket booth at Leicester Square and snag tickets for a show that night. Go to the TKTS booth in the square and avoid the mark-up shops along the way (alternatively you could even book tickets through Triptide online). Then head over to the Tower of London by walking down to Embankment from Leicester Square and take the Circle Line tube to Tower Hill. It’ll take you past Embankment Gardens a very famous piece of London’s outdoor scene and full of some highly distinguished Victoriana.

11.00 am -1.00 pm

Come out at Tower of London but an admission ticket and one of the booths and head straight for the man in the black Elizabethan garb guarding the main entrance and you are in. Just join a group with a Beefeater tour guide right when you enter. It’s free to join and makes a huge difference in your visit.

There is a great deal to see here but you will miss plenty unless you know where to look.

1.00 - 2.30 pm

Walk back up Tower Hill and take a bus west to St. Paul’s Cathedral for a quick visit. Check the sign to make sure you grab the right bus route. The bus ride should be about 5–10 minutes – prepare the smart phone as there will be countless opportunities to take snaps along the way. When you get off continue walking about 8 blocks west on Fleet Street and stop in for a pub lunch at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, famously rebuilt in 1666 after the Great Fire.

Share a pie and a pint with workers from the area but don’t expect too much local knowledge, as most of them don’t live in the area. This was Charles Dickens’ hangout and if you do not believe us you can stop in the first room on the left and find his booth on the back right wall with a brass label above his regular seat. Then seat yourself downstairs in the catacombs and order from the bar at the very bottom of the basement. The food and beer is decent but the atmosphere is incomparable – breathe it in.

2.30 - 3.00pm

Catch another westbound bus (on the opposite side of the street) to Trafalgar Square – you can walk but it is going to take about 30 minutes. The bus ride should be about 15 minute and look for the road leading to Big Ben (you’ll see Big Ben from the Square) and walk to it, passing by the iron gates leading to 10 Downing Street on the right which as we all know is the home of the British Prime Minister. It’s about a 15–20 minute walk. You will also pass the Life Guards who will be mounted and resplendent with horsehair plumage and steel breastplates

3.00 - 9.00 pm

Its time for a selfie break so relentlessly take your Parliament/Big Ben photos and upload them to TripTide’s selfie App (they will reach home before you do). Stop in Westminster Abbey next door and get a whistle stop tour around the marriage place of British Kings and Queens. It’s time to jump back on the tube at Westminster (across from Big Ben) and then head straight back to the West End (Piccadilly, Leicester Square or Covent Garden tube will be close enough although you may have to transfer lines depending on which theatre you are visiting.

Try to go near your ultimate theatre destination for later that evening and pick out a cool place to eat and/or shop. There is plenty to choose from. Then head to your show with the discounted tickets you bought this morning.

Finally when the show's over it's time for a last drink at a nearby hostelry and call it a day – you have packed a lot into it.