London city centre daytrip

canon4652009

canon4652009

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Chris
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I have a day trip booked in a few weeks time, dropping me next to the London eye early morning and picking me up in the evening.

I'm looking forward to spending the day Sightseeing/photographing, any tips on what order to see things as i'll be on foot.

Thank you in advance
 
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Hmmmm maybe asking the wrong place!?

I'll have a look at the tourist websites
 
Hi Chris, lots to do and see around where you'll be. Just depends on how 'touristy' you want to be. You've got Royal Festival Hall, Tate Modern, Tower Bridge if you head east or you've Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, The Mall all within walking distance on the north side of the river. Alternatives include Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garde, China Town, Green Park, Hyde Park, Marble Arch.

I know these all might seem very obvious, but I thought I'd list them as a starter for ten!
 
Hi Chris!

The London Eye itself is fab for photos - I keep meaning to go up and do a long exposure at night with the tripod.

If you want to hit the touristy hot-spots that scream "London", check out Big Ben, London Bridge (bonus points for a red bus going over at the time), The Tower of London, Buckingham Palace. It might be worth your while grabbing a seat on the top of one of the open-air Sightseeing Tour buses - they're pretty good, letting you hop on and off, and open air makes it easy to shoot-as-you-go.

If you're looking for green, the parks are the best bet - Green Park (near Buckingham Palace), Regent's Park, Kew Gardens is fab too (I could spend an entire weekend there).

Oxford Street will give you plenty of opportunities for street photography, and some iconic shops in the area (Selfridges, for example) can make for good snaps too. If you're looking for something edgier, head East - Shoreditch can be good for more "artsy" subjects.

Covent Garden typically has some interesting stuff too - check out the market. Sometimes the stalls themselves make for a good shot; at others, the entertainers do. If street entertainment sounds good, try South Bank too. There's also a skate area with some fab graffiti down there that I've shot a couple of times, and right now there's an art installation alongside the Royal Festival Hall - suspended children's alphabet blocks spelling out words from different angles - that might inspire you. If you fancy stopping for a decent lunch on your travels, I heartily recommend Belgo in Covent Garden - not only is the food fantastic, but the interior offers up plenty of photo opportunities (think the Industrial zone from the Crystal Maze, but with waiters in monk-style robes).

I think that should be enough to get you going! If there's something specific you had in mind, shout and I'll have a think :)
 
If you are going on foot is a bit tough, from London Eye, you can either go Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace,across Green Park, check the Royal Academy, then back towards Trafalgar Square up to Piccadilly, to Leicester Square and finish in China Town.
Other direction is Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Eye, then keep walking towards Tower of London, you will see South Bank, HMS Belfast, Tate Gallery, Millenium bridge, crossover for St Paul Cathedral, up in Monument (the London Eye in a budget), then towards Tower bridge.
Walking in London is bit hard, you will not cover as much as with Underground. An Oyster card will be £5 deposit (you get back when you return the card) and all day unlimited travel is £7 (covers underground and bus) or just buy a all day travelcard for £7. That way you can zip quickly to most locations.
Bus number 11 is a good alternative to the sightseeing bus and a lot cheaper.
British Museum is a really good place to go too, and the inside picture is one of the must haves, if you have a sunny day with blue skies, is just an awesome picture.
 
freyuk said:
If you are going on foot is a bit tough, from London Eye, you can either go Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace,across Green Park, check the Royal Academy, then back towards Trafalgar Square up to Piccadilly, to Leicester Square and finish in China Town.
Other direction is Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, London Eye, then keep walking towards Tower of London, you will see South Bank, HMS Belfast, Tate Gallery, Millenium bridge, crossover for St Paul Cathedral, up in Monument (the London Eye in a budget), then towards Tower bridge.
Walking in London is bit hard, you will not cover as much as with Underground. An Oyster card will be £5 deposit (you get back when you return the card) and all day unlimited travel is £7 (covers underground and bus) or just buy a all day travelcard for £7. That way you can zip quickly to most locations.
Bus number 11 is a good alternative to the sightseeing bus and a lot cheaper.
British Museum is a really good place to go too, and the inside picture is one of the must haves, if you have a sunny day with blue skies, is just an awesome picture.
Click to expand...

I didn't think walking in London is hard at all. It may be slightly tricky to navigate but I've walked from London Bridge all the way up to Victoria Embankment and back in a hour on my lunch breaks. The routes along the river are all very very straightforward.
 
Probably didnt express myself well, by "hard" I mean, he will be limited to a tiny portion of London compared with using the Underground to move around. Camdem, Brick Lane, Portobello Road, Regents Park, Hampstead, St. John's Wood, South Kensington for the Natural History Museum, Albert Hall, V&A Museum, Canary Wharf are all worthy of visiting, but not doable if you go on foot.
 
Wow.
What a difference a day makes!!!
Thank you very much everyone, my day trip is booked for next month...i'll keep you all posted.


Edit: if any specific questions pop up i'll be sure to ask.
Thanks again everyone i'll be making notes and planning my day.
 
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Had a little impromptu taster yesterday.

I popped down into the city center after breakfast at the Ace Cafe, parked near Pall Mall and walked along past Downing Street (never realised it was gated) and down to Trafalgar square where they had a Canada day celebration.

Then headed towards big ben and along the river.
Had a spot of lunch then headed home.
Have never seen so many lovely statues in one place before!!!

I'll post some pics after work. (Don't go too hard on me over them)

It was a great couple of hours, i'm really looking forward to my day trip now.
 
You 'could' buy a trip on a tourist open top bus and cover more ground (as long as it isn't raining and the capital isn't gridlocked).
For me, probably London Eye, Houses of P, then SouthBank, along to Tate Modern, across to St Paul's, (or divert to the Shard) bus up to Holborn, Inns of Court, then Trafalgar Square, on to HofP, back across the river, to Eye.
gee, I feel exhaused just writing it.
 
From yesterday's little mooch about:
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Once again please go easy on the critique
 
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Good luck and remember if is not dry, you have plenty of museums to visit, and most are close to underground stations, lovely buildings and plenty of photo opportunities.
 
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