Westminster Abbey; lots of famous people entombed there.
Kew Gardens.
Stroll across Abbey Lane.
The weekend markets.
Find a good fish and chip store.
Look right
I’ve been thinking about a trip to the UK for a while
Tower of London
British Museum
Kew gardens
Pubs
then back to the Tower of London, it seems like a fascinating place
(BTW I’m in the same boat in a way. I’ve lived near Washington DC for more than a decade, and never been inside the white house or congress, nor to the top of the Washington Monument.)
Take a look round Eltham Palace. I lived in South London for more than thirty years and only discovered this gem shortly before I left (in fairness, it hadn’t been open all that time). Bit of a journey to get there but well worth it.
No…too easy…
Well, I was going to say, personally, visit the Hunterian Museum…but it seems, doing a little checking, it’s going to be closed until late 2020 for renovations. 
I’d also try and get some Jellied Eels. I can’t seem to find them for sale anywhere on this continent.
Or, actually, both ways. There are too many one way streets and pedestrian islands in the middle of streets for me to only look one way in London. Suburban roads, that’s another story.
Few things here actually make me laugh out loud, but this sure did. Well done.
Another vote for Kew Gardens. The huge Victorian greenhouse (Palm House) alone is worth the price of admission.
I was in the UK for two weeks about 15 years ago.
I hit all three of those spots.
I visited the Tower, saw the Crown Jewels (I had to buy a reference book as photography is not permitted), explored the museum there, and took lots of pictures of the ravens and the Yeoman Warders.
At Parliament, I met three young travelers from South Korea who joined me as we sat in on the House of Commons. It was like C-Span, but with British accents - democracy at its finest! Later that night, we went down to Soho for Chinese food. I was gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein.
The following day we met up at Buckingham Palace to observe the Changing of the Guard. It’s not enough just to go there; you have to see the Changing.
Other things I did, not counting a weekend jaunt to Edinburgh:[ul][]Ride in the London Eye (Try both on a clear day and at night!)[]Visit the Tate Museum of Modern Art[]See the National Portrait Gallery[]Explore the British Museum[]Take in all the exhibits at the Victoria and Albert Museum[]See importatnt documents (such as one copy of the Magna Carta) at the British Library[]Explore the Imperial War Museum[]Cross the Thames using Tower Bridge[]Visit Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral[]Check out the Salvador Dali Exhibit (Is it still there, near Westminster Bridge?)[]Explore Piccadilly Circus[]Go shopping at Harrod’s[]Stop by Games Workshop Hammersmith (Is it still there? I heard it closed), wherein was displayed the entire Ultramarines chapter[]Eat cheese enchiladas at the Texas Embassy[/ul]
Add to your list a few we visited the last time we were there -
Kensington Palace - A treat for the Diana fans.
Apsley House - The 9th Duke of Wellington still lives there (sometimes) behind that big door.
What would have been the point of fighting the Revolutionary War if we were going to let in jellied eels?
Also: Amazon UK hasn’t yet killed off Foyles, and their Charing Cross Road flagship bookshop is well worth a visit for any book lover.
One of the things I really liked doing was catching a waterbus from Little Venice to Camden Lock Market. Goes past the Zoo, too.
Also, while all the museums are nice, I have a soft spot for the Museum of London.
Do an audio tour of the British Museum. My biggest regret from my time in London was never doing an audio tour of it, only walking through it myself.
One that hasn’t been mentioned, and was honestly one of my favorite things I did: Do a Jack the Ripper walking tour! It’s a nighttime tour that takes you through the actual streets and corners where Jack did his slaying, with some cool stories told the entire time.
Can’t recommend it enough.
Speaking as someone who’s lived in the city for nearly two decades, the attraction that the locals most take for granted and so miss out on is the Tower of London. We generally lump it in with things - like avoidably being in Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus, or being in Madame Tussaud’s at all - that only tourists would do. Now the Tower is undeniably expensive and has its cheesy-tourist-trap aspects, but it’s a big site with lots of different things to see (of varying interest) that could easily soak up a day if you’re inclined.
I would irritate the locals by constantly saying things like “That Jag-u-ar has a lot of alu-mini-um in it.”
Find a Pub, have a pint or two and play darts with the locals.
I’m not really a fan of big cities so I’d go to the countryside and visit the little village that is my namesake. Then probably ride a sheep.
I hope you’d be careful or you might find yourself locked up in a boot.
Go to Greenwich Observatory, not to see the observatory but to climb the hill where you can see the skyline of London.
Go to the ExCeL Centre just to see how large it is.
Go to the Tate Britain to see my favorite painting in the world, Ophelia by John Everett Millais.
Go to the Museum of Curiosities.
Walk around to the rear of Buckingham Palace, which looks like a prison because of the dirty old brick wall with a barbed wire fence over it:
Go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street.
leftfield6 writes:
> I’m going to be there the first week of September.
I’m going to be taking day trips into London during most of September, so anybody want to have a Dopefest?
I will go there on december! any suggestions?