On that note, there’s (at least) one particular tour that also includes a boat ride down the Thames and you can tack on entrance into the Tower etc.- I recommend that one.
If you were limited to 3 things in London, the Tower, Westminster Abbey and the British Museum are them.
Greenwich / Cutty Sark / National Maritime Museum / Royal Observatory are all good, but you kind of have to be into naval stuff and/or be a giant nerd to really get a kick out of them.
West End theater is good as well, but not too different than what you’d get on Broadway.
HMS Belfast, the Imperial War Museum (S. of the Thames) and the British Army Museum (in Chelsea) are terrific if you’re a military history buff. I’d rank the IWM as the main one to see, and the other two if you have time.
Parliament is interesting, but you kind of have to go when they’re not in session, or else your access is very limited, so October would be right out.
Portobello Rd. is kind of like a giant flea market stretching down the street, with shops backing up the stalls. Interesting for sure, but not anything I’d go out of my way to see. (actually went there to buy an antique teapot as a gift, not as a tourist).
Westminster Abby wasreally cool inside but you can’t take pictures inside. Some of the tombs are downright comical, like the one where the guy has a statue of him laying down on his crypt and looking at you with a smile. Sorry, can’t find a picture to link to right now.
For neat pictures I’d say go to the dinosaur exhibits at the Natural History Museum.
Thank you for all the suggestions.
Definitely going to go to one of the museums, probably the British Museum.
Naval stuff is good, my boyfriend is an enthusiast, so Greenwich might be a good choice.
Maybe West End is like Broadway, but Broadway is on a different continent, so I’ll take what I can and see what they’re playing. Not a must for us, but something to keep in mind.
Once again, thanks, maybe I’ll come back to this thread after we come back.
Hope you’re not thinking that the West End is inferior to Broadway, far from it. The London theatre scene (West End and fringe) is the best in the world. Don’t miss it. You can decide on the day - go the the half price booth right in the middle of leicester square (called TKTS) to get cheap tickets to the top shows on the day.
Don’t worry about seeing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. It’s a big waste of time.
I’d recommend HMS Belfast as well then if you get chance.
Also, If you pass through Canary Wharf on you way to Greenwich (Jubilee line then DLR) and fancy an hour or two diversion then the Museum of London Docklands is a few minutes walk away and surprisingly interesting. (and free of course) Plus there are many eating places in the Canary Wharf mall from the dirt cheap to the sillymegabucks.
I love the Tower. And I’ll second the British Library. Particularly if you haven’t done Washington DC. (The British Library has a Magna Carta and a Guttenburg Bible - my rather jaded and well traveled 14 year old daughter said "I’ve seen one of those before…).
The Eye - which I would have never done had I not been on a tour, was surprisingly fun.
London is big, with a ton of history - and within day trip distance is even more history - from Neolithic Stonehenge to the Roman Baths of Bath to the Royal Palace in Brighton. It has fantastic art and great theatre. Decide what you are interested in - you’ll find it.
Take the underground, but also walk the streets. Both are experiences.
FWIW, I wasn’t trying to say that the West End was inferior to Broadway, just that the shows you’ll see are in line with the sort of shows you’ll see on Broadway. So if you have limited time, other things you want to do at night in London, and have seen plenty of Broadway shows, you can skip the West End theater scene without missing much.
If you haven’t seen much actual theater, and have a spare evening, it’s terrific and well worth doing.
I heard very good things of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It’s not only a museum about them, but also about the things that interested them, and Albert especially was really into science and technology.
I’d avoid Madame Tussaud and the London Dungeon. Not really really bad, but overpriced, grimy, and not really interesting.
Consider taking a day trip to Caterbury and see the Cathedral, it’s really beautiful if you’re into gothic churches.
It’s not actually about V&A themselves at all (or about science actually) - it was simply one of Albert’s pet projects. It’s actually a museum devoted to the decorative arts – or design, as we’d call it today. As such, it covers everything from medieval devotional pieces to 21st century furniture design.
It’s probably my favourite museum in London. It has 7 miles of display so has something for pretty much everyone. It has an incredible display of clothing from the 17th century right up to fashion icons of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Science Museum is next door. As is the Natural History Museum. There’s a reason the street outside is called Exhibition Road.
Many history buffs really enjoy the National Portrait Gallery (right next door to the National Gallery itself). Here you will find every famous painted portrait of every famous person we’ve ever churned out, from Henry VIII to Kate Middleton. It also not often busy as it isn’t top of the list for many tourists who are queueing up for the National Gallery next door.
The theatre scene is really diverse, there’s plenty to miss. It isn’t just musicals. Half of hollywood takes time to tread the boards there.
OP I recommend following TimeOut to keep tabs on anything you might want to see when you’re here. Not just theatre, but music, cabaret, festivals etc: Time Out London - Events, Attractions & What's on in London London’s culture scene is quite something.
Go to South Kensington on the tube, walk down the underground walking route to the museums (it’s slower than taking a direct route above ground, but you won’t get lost or rained on - you’re going in October, after all) and go to the three museums there, the Science Museum, the V&A and the Natural History Museum. If you’re here at half term (the week around Halloween) the queues will be horrendous and at the NHM you can reduce them by going to the Earth Galleries entrance instead of the main entrance. Takes longer to get to the dinosaur bit but if it’s half term the queue for that will probably make you give up anyway. There’s tons more to see. I recommend the Geological Society shop at the Earth Galleries entrance for bizarrely cheap and just bizarre maps of the British Isles - less than 4 quid for a largish map of gravity in the British Isles, for example, which looks like it was tie-dyed but is science.
Then get off at Holborn, go to the British Museum and choose from the many small museums in that area. Dickens’ house (really well done), the Grant Museum of Zoology, the cartoon museum, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology - less showy than the same exhibitions in the British Museum but without 3,0000 other tourists snapping pictures in front of you.
Greenwich is also a great suggestion. You have a bit more of a sense of space there, for a start.
And you shouldn’t miss the Tower. The Beefeaters make great tour guides and they’re all really invested in the building; they are all former soldiers and they, along with their families, live in the Tower. That’s pretty unusual.
See Warwick Castle if you get the chance.
That’s in London travel zone 173, by the way.
Thank goodness you posted this. Otherwise this thread would have been worthless.
Try a day trip to Oxford and Cambridge, well worth the money to see the history of these great universities.
Windsor Castle is also a great place to check out.
Make sure you ask for the extra large Oyster card.
I think you’re gonna have to stay longer than a week, the Dope has decided 
If you’re faintly interested in plants, Kew is always good- it’s the granddaddy of botanical gardens, and it’s a bit more relaxing than most of the easy day trips.
You could just spend a week in the British Museum, to be fair. Maybe camp out behind a sarcophagus.
My tip is St Pauls, and in particular the view from the top. Much better than the London Eye which is a bit antiseptic and modern in my opinion. On a good day, from the top you get a fantastic view from *within *the City as opposed to of the City, which is what the Eye gives you. Also, the climb up, amongst the roofing and rafters along funny little stairs and ladders, is great.
I worked for a short while as a removalist in London, while on a working holiday in my youth. We did an office move in the Tower. It was a bit interesting. At one point we had to get stuff into a room being used as an office, which was within one of the outer walls. The door to the room was so small we had to dismantle an *office chair *because it wouldn’t fit through otherwise.
The company I was working for was staffed mostly by travelling Kiwis, Aussies and Saffers. One of the Beefeaters noticed our accent and invited us into his flat in the Tower for a cup of tea, because he was a Kiwi. Apparently he had been on vacation in the UK and was doing the tour of the Tower and started talking to a Beefeater about the qualifications to become one. The Beefeater looked down his nose and said that one had to have been a warrant officer or better in the armed forces. The Kiwi said he had been a warrant officer in the NZ army. The Beefeater said he needed to have had more than 20 years service. The Kiwi said he had about 30 years service. The Beefeater said he needed to have earned certain decorations. The Kiwi said he had received those decorations or better during his time in Vietnam. The Beefeater, becoming irritated, said the service needed to be in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. The Kiwi pointed out that Liz II is the Queen of NZ too.
So the Kiwi decided (more or less out of spite, he said ;)) to apply and, as he put it, “the Pommies despite trying very hard couldn’t come up with any reason why I wasn’t qualified, and had to give me the job”.
He was a funny bloke, I really enjoyed chatting to him.