Expert: David Stewart White - 7/9/2005

Question
hello David, my wife and I for our long delayed honeymoon are going to be in London for two days before moving on to Paris. It would be wonderful if you could give us a short list of places that we must visit in that short time. We already plan to stay at the Regent Palace hotel, what do you know or have heard about the hotel? The only othe things we definatly already have planned are the London eye and the Tower of London. If you could shed a little more light on what else is a culteral must for us that would be wonderful.
Thak you so much for your time
Ron

Answer
Hi Ron,

Two days is very limiting for seeing much of London (or Paris--where I hope you have more time).  But if this is your plan, then I think you might start with some type of overall orientation tour like one of the hop-on/hop-off bus tours that take you past major tourist attractions.  An alternative, and one that I've enjoyed, is a boat tour on the Thames.  

The Tower of London tops my list of sights.  My advice is to go first thing in the morning, see the crown jewels first, and take a tour lead by a Yeoman Warder.  IF you are not leaving on your trip for a while, you might want to write away for tickets to the nightly Ceremony of the Keys (locking of the Tower's gates).  You can find information on this and other Tower questions on the Historic Royal Palaces website:  www.hrp.org.uk

A ride on the London Eye is great--I think going at sunset is one of the best times.  

Since your time is so limited, I would pick one museum to visit.  My favourite art museum is the Courtauld Gallery, but the National Gallery or Tate are both top notch.  

I'd be certain to visit Westminster Abbey because it is one of the most historic religious places in the UK.  If you had more time, or if you are particularly inclinded towards visiting churches, then consider St. Paul's Cathedral too.

Be sure to walk through one of London's parks. My favorite is St. James's Park since it is very central and you can walk between Buckingham Palace and other sights by going through the park.  You can see the changing of the mounted guards at HorseGuards Parade on one end of the park and visit the Cabinet War Rooms (Churchill's wartime bunker) nearby.

Now the bad news.  The reviews on your hotel are very mixed, with a definate trend towards poor.  Go to Tripadvisor.com and enter "Regent Palace London Hotel" in the search box to read reviews by over 100 fellow travelers.  

Feel free to email me if you have more questions.

Regards,

Dave White

mail@OnOurOwnInLondon.com