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Why choose London? Well, whether you’re a seasoned traveler, or this will be the first stamp in your passport, London has something for everyone! This London itinerary 4 days “plus” will get you acquainted with many well-known locations, as well as introduce you to some lesser-known gems.
In the first few years after getting married, my husband & I traveled…a lot. We had the time, two full-time incomes, and we both enjoy it. My husband had never been to the UK before, so we decided to go to London in spring for a week.
That said, we also like finding good deals (semi-budget travel…hello!). We found a great airfare deal on Virgin Atlantic and stayed at a super affordable basic hotel (Travelodge, of all things). We also packed in tons of activities throughout the week, many of which had entrance fees. Add to that transportation, food, and even souvenirs, the trip cost was around $3,000. However, you’ll find out that, at the end of the trip, our net cost was unexpectedly less than half what we originally paid…for 2 people having a great week in London!
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Preparing for Your 4 Days in London
When to Visit London
So, now that you’re all excited about your trip, it’s time to ask…what time of year is best to visit London?
Well, really, that depends on your goals. Spending the holidays in London can be magical, and summer can bring the warmest weather.
The relative off-seasons of fall and spring can be wonderful as well, and we have a particular saying in our family…
London in spring is a wonderful thing!
The crowds are lower in spring, and coming from southern California, the cooler weather was quite welcome. So, to each his or her own!
And, once you’ve decided which season might work best for you, your next question might be…
Can I Afford This?
Totally! I wouldn’t steer you wrong! If you’re looking for semi-budget travel tips (London included!), you’re in the right place!
In fact, click here for access to my FREE Semi-Budget Travel Resource Collection!
There are so many ways to find great airfare and affordable lodging these days, especially if your schedule is flexible. Click here for some of our favorite semi-budget travel planning links.
Or, do like we’ve done for Hawaii and mainland Europe…”purchase” your airline tickets with miles & points.
#London in spring is a wonderful thing! #travel Share on XGetting There & Getting Around
We had a non-stop flight from LAX (Los Angeles) to LHR (London’s Heathrow Airport).
There are so many direct flights from the U.S., whether you’re starting from the West Coast, East Coast, or somewhere in between.
And speaking of flights to London…I have only ever had these worcester sauce flavored pretzels on flights to & from London. They are amazing! I looked for them at every grocery store in London and could not find this flavor. Does anyone know where I can find these, save taking a flight to London?????
But, I digress!
Another feature of visiting London is that the language barrier for English-speaking travelers is virtually nil.
Public transportation (the Tube/Underground, buses, etc.) is so plentiful and easy to use that you don’t need to worry about “driving on the other side of the road.”
We rode public trans everywhere, including to and from Heathrow. It was all included on our London Pass.
Many people use an Oyster card, a contactless travelcard, to get around London.
We purchased a 6-day London Pass ahead of time. The London Pass can save you a lot of money, if you’re planning to visit multiple sites that have entrance fees. Of all the sites we visited, we only paid out of pocket to ride the London Eye. Everything else was included with the London Pass!
The London Pass can be purchased on its own or with a travelcard (Oyster). We chose the London Pass that included the travelcard. This covered all our local transportation, including to and from Heathrow Airport!
Travel Mascot
As we were yet to have children at the time of our trip, we found FLOXY at LAX and decided to adopt her. She has become our family “mascot” of sorts on vacation, and our children now have their own Floxies as well!
Floxy even has her own Instagram account. Click here to follow her!
Do you have a travel mascot that you take along on your adventures?
Where to Stay in London
One word: Travelodge! (yes, for reals!)
Travelodge has hundreds of locations across the UK. They also have fantastic deals periodically, with room rates as low as £29/night!
Many Travelodge locations in London have newly updated “SuperRooms,” which include in-room Lavazza coffee, a fancy adjustable shower head, choice of firm or soft pillows, and more. Travelodge’s Bar Cafés also offer unlimited breakfast (for a fee), as well as other food and drink options throughout the day.
Family Rooms (up to 2 adults & 2 children) are also available at many Travelodge locations, so it’s a great choice for families wanting to economize and stay in one room together.
We stayed at Travelodge London Central City Road, which is conveniently located between two train stations (7-minute walk to Moorgate or 5-minute walk to Old Street). The location was fantastic!
Where to Eat
Also one word: Wagamama!
After checking in at the hotel on our long travel day, we had a late dinner at Wagamama. If you ever have a choice to eat a Wagamama, do it! We ate at three different Wagamama locations across London in the week that we were there. They also serve complementary hot green tea, which paired well with the food and warmed us up. Communal tables add to the environment of the restaurant, and the menu is family-friendly with kid options. Wagamama has locations all over Great Britain, as well as many other parts of the world (including a few in the U.S.).
4 Day London Itinerary Plus! Take Your Pick!
Here are some mix & match options for what to see in London in 4 days “plus!”
Hyde Park, The Orangery, & Buckingham Palace
Get ready to walk and enjoy the outdoors on this full day of seeing London! Your pedometer will love counting all your steps!
Breakfast = included at hotel
Breakfast at our hotel included baked beans, of course! When in London… As you can see, we had plenty of fuel for the day ahead.
Our main form of transportation was the London Underground metro, and our first stop of the day was Marble Arch. Marble Arch used to stand in front of Buckingham Palace as its formal entrance. It was moved, however, in 1851, and now sits at the northeast corner of Hyde Park.
From Marble Arch, we took a long stroll through Hyde Park.
The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Walk (more commonly known as the Princess Diana Memorial Walk) is within Hyde Park.
Our planned lunch stop was at The Orangery at Kensington Palace, one of the best place for afternoon tea. What we hadn’t anticipated was the wait time, so we put our name on the reservation list and continued on to some other sights (including the Albert Memorial) before returning to The Orangery.
(Late) Lunch = The Orangery at Kensington Palace
Yes! Back to The Orangery! Afternoon tea at The Orangery is not to be missed when visiting London, whether it’s your first time or fiftieth! The building is lovely, both inside and out. The afternoon tea menu was delicious, including their namesake orangery cake.
NOTE: The Orangery is currently closed for refurbishment. A temporary structure, called the Kensington Palace Pavilion Restaurant and Tea Room, is still serving brunch, lunch, and afternoon tea in the interim.
After our amazing afternoon tea at The Orangery, we continued through the grounds of Kensington Palace and on to Buckingham Palace.
I love the color of the sky in these photos at dusk, at Buckingham Palace.
We ate dinner in, of all places, a train station…specifically, St. Pancras Station. This is the station where you can board the Eurostar train…the train that traverses the Channel Tunnel (or Chunnel) to Paris! Paris wasn’t in our plans for this trip, but maybe some day!
I love the interior architecture of St. Pancras.
Dinner = Crepe Affaire at St. Pancras Station
We had a great day, mostly exploring on foot. We also really enjoyed the 54°F weather of London in spring!
Wimbledon, St. Paul’s, & Tower of London
This day’s itinerary will take you outside of London proper, to The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club.
What’s that, you say? It may be better known to you as the place where the Wimbledon tennis tournament is played.
Breakfast = included at hotel
We rode the Underground, took a bus, and walked to get to The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. As I mentioned, it’s a ways out of town. We took the official Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum Tour and saw many of the iconic things that are standard fare when watching Wimbledon on TV a world away.
Lunch = The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club
How could we pass up the famous Strawberries & Cream at Wimbledon? We couldn’t!
After our morning at Wimbledon, we headed back into London proper.
Our first stop was St. Paul’s Cathedral. We were only able to take one interior photograph (oops…weren’t supposed to take any). Needless to say, the architecture is magnificent.
Then we were off to explore the Tower of London and the view of the iconic Tower Bridge. We loved the overcast skies of London in Spring. It was a nice change of pace from the non-stop sun we have at home. I know this isn’t the case for many of you, but for us desert dwellers, fog, some light rain, and cloudy weather is a welcome respite.
Dinner = Wagamama…again!
Abbey Road & Afternoon Tea at Harrods
Breakfast = included at hotel
This day begins at Westminster Abbey. Entrance into the church is included in the London Pass, but we saw the interior a different way.
The day we were there happened to be Palm Sunday, so we attended a morning church service. As such, we didn’t explore the interior of the Abbey as much as we might have otherwise, but we did hear some indescribably wonderful music and gained some spiritual enrichment to boot.
This London spring day brought a high temperature of 48°F and rain most of the day. We were loving it!
Big Ben is located just outside Westminster Abbey. Did you know that Big Ben is the name of the bell inside, not the tower itself? It’s true! The tower was named Clock Tower, until 2012, when it was renamed Elizabeth Tower, in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.
We ventured out to Abbey Road and Abbey Road Studios, which was made famous (at least in large part) by the Beatles recording there.
(Late) Lunch = afternoon tea at The Georgian Restaurant at Harrods
For our second afternoon tea in London, we splurged and went to The Georgian Restaurant at Harrods. We love afternoon tea, no matter where we are in the world!
UPDATE: The restaurant is no longer called The Georgian. It has been renamed The Harrods Tea Rooms.
We finished the evening by taking a walk past Southwark Bridge, which is lovely all lit up at night.
Dinner = The Real Greek (tapas-style, as we weren’t very hungry)
Royal Albert Hall, Fish ‘n’ Chips ‘n’ Mushy Peas, & Tower Bridge
Breakfast = included at hotel
Another really lovely overcast day…London in Spring! Our first stop of the day was a tour of Royal Albert Hall. (This is another venue where photographs were not allowed inside.)
Lunch = fish & chips & mushy peas (it’s a thing!) at The Golden Hind
We finally had some British fish & chips for lunch, along with “mushy peas.” It was all delicious, including the mushy peas! The Golden Hind (the restaurant where we ate) is not super close to any Underground stations, so we had to walk a ways to get there & back, but it wasn’t a problem.
We made a quick stop back at our hotel…Travelodge – London City Road. This might have been the only day that we stopped by the hotel in the middle of the day. For the most part, we were only at the hotel to sleep & eat breakfast. As such, this Travelodge met our needs perfectly. When we stayed there, it had been recently renovated, and we had no complaints.
In addition to seeing the iconic Tower Bridge (not to be confused with the London Bridge) from afar, we decided to see it up close as well this afternoon. Crossing the River Thames, it’s a sight to behold!
Dinner = Wagamama…yet again! What can I say? We loved it! This one had a view of the Tower Bridge!
London Eye, Greenwich, & Prime Meridian
Breakfast = included at hotel
Given that this was our last full day in London, we just had to experience the London Eye!
The London Eye might be touristy, but it’s a fun experience and gives great views of the city.
It was yet another cloudy day in London in Spring, but the views from the London Eye were still great!
From the London Eye, we went further out from the main part of the city again (like when we visited Wimbledon). This time we went to Greenwich.
Part of what we went to see up at The Royal Observatory in Greenwich was the demarcation of the Prime Meridian!
Lunch = pub food at Kings Arms
We walked back into Greenwich and finally found real pub food! We had lunch at the King’s Arms pub. Yum!
Upon returning to London proper, we visited St. Pancras station again, the British Library, the Handel House Museum, and Regent Street (to visit the Hamleys flagship toy store…think Paddington the Bear!).
Regent Street is beautiful at dusk, with all the lights coming on!
Dinner = Cafe Fiori
We ended up, quite unexpectedly, at Cafe Fiori for dinner. It is near Leicester Square, where many of London’s theatres are. It was packed with theatre goers, but we weren’t disappointed by the food!
If you’re still wondering what to do in London for 4 days, check out the next section!
Afternoon tea, pub food, and Wagamama…oh my! #London #travel Share on XMore Options of What to See in London in 4 Days, Based on Your Interests & Budget
If you’re a solo traveler, your four days in London are totally up to you!
If you’re looking for things to do in London for couples, you might have some negotiating in your future.
And what about families? What will keep the kids (and parents, grandparents, et al) engaged and interested?
Who’s looking for quirky things to do in London?
The sky’s the limit in a city as large and storied as London. Here are just a few more popular options to mix & match into your 4 days in London.
- Wesley’s Chapel
- Trafalgar Square
- Chelsea FC Stadium Tour
- Notting Hill neighborhood
- The Shard observation deck
- Harry Potter WB Studio Tour
- Sherlock Holmes Museum
- Theater shows
- Churchill War Rooms
- Borough Market
- Covent Garden
- British Museum
- Natural History Museum
- National Gallery
- Further afoot (Stonehenge, Bath, Windsor Castle, Oxford & Cambridge)
Be Flexible! You Might Get Paid!
There was a teensy bit of blue sky on our last morning in London in Spring (well, we thought is was our last morning there)!
On our way to the airport, we stopped at Wesley’s Chapel, which was just a couple blocks from our hotel. We had a lovely time learning more about John & Charles Wesley.
After our visit to Wesley’s Chapel, we went back to the hotel, packed up our things, and took the Underground (or the Tube) back to Heathrow.
What we hadn’t anticipated was that our time at Wesley’s Chapel was just enough for us to get bumped from our flight. The flight was overbooked, and by the time we arrived to check-in, there was no more space on the plane!
So, the two of us, 10 other passengers that were also bumped (!), and all our stuff waited at the ticket counters for over two hours while things were sorted out. We were shuttled to a nearby hotel, where we would spend the night on the airline’s dime (or pound, as it were). They also fed us dinner and breakfast there.
And the “best” part about this delay was that they paid each of us the required monetary compensation for being bumped from the flight, which was more than what we had paid for the airfare to begin with. We received the equivalent of $1,785 USD, which brought the net expense of our trip (including airport parking, food, souvenirs…everything) to $1,200…less than half what we originally paid! An unexpected semi-budget travel miracle???
Of course, in order for this to really work, we had to be…all together now…flexible! Flexible with our schedule. Flexible with our attitudes. You get the picture!
Be flexible with your schedule! You might get paid! #London #travel Share on XIn the morning, we could see the planes landing at Heathrow from our hotel. We hoped that they’d have seats for us today!
And yes, we did make it onto the plane! The worcester sauce flavoured pretzels were waiting for us!!!!! YUM!
We had an eventful week in London and can’t wait to visit again some day!
What to Pack
Start with our Ultimate Packing List, which can be downloaded by clicking here.
London in spring means…fog. As we were coming from balmy weather in SoCal, we were more than ready for this. We actually packed (& wore) coats! Woot!
We recommend leaving your umbrella at home. Hands free is the way to go. Pack a rain shell instead…large enough to fit over your backpack and/or purse, to keep everything dry.
Keep track of the London weather leading up to your trip, and pack accordingly!
In terms of apps to “pack” on your mobile device, the Citymapper app is the way to go for helping you find your way around London.
With so much to see and do in London, it’s time to start planning your next semi-budget vacation across the pond!
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