How to See The Best Of London In 2 Days

(For when you don’t know which way to look for traffic - thanks London! 😆)

We’re going to London!

This was the last leg of our UK adventure. And we got to see so much history. If you haven’t noticed, that’s sort of a theme in the Uk. History is literally all around you. 

Let’s get to the fun stuff.

British Museum

If you’ve been to The Met in New York, you don’t want to miss the British Museum. It’s the #1 tourist attraction in the Uk and for good reason. It’s older than the United States. And it’s the first national public museum in the world with various objects from cultures all over the world, natural history, and even oversees research programs. 

One of the breathtaking moments is when you walk into the Great Court. It used to be open air and was intended to be a place to gather and grab a bite to eat. But because of the rainy weather in London, a roof was later added. With 3,312 panes of glass, all different sizes, it’s the largest covered square in Europe. 

This is where the original Rosetta Stone, a large granodiorite stone with three languages on it, is on display. This is a popular spot and there will likely be many people gathered around it taking pictures. But it’s a cool piece of history to check out.

If museums aren’t your thing, at least walk around because it’s a beautiful building. Grab a pastry and some tea and enjoy the outside seating area when you’re done.

Afternoon Tea 

After you finish your tour at the British Museum, get afternoon tea at The Great Court Restaurant. You need to book this ahead of time and it cost about $25. It’s a beautiful location under the glass ceiling and feels like a fancy treat. You get an individual pot of tea, a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam, four finger sandwiches, and four small cakes. 

Everything is served on matching china for the real English afternoon tea experience. It may look like it’s not a lot of food but we were all stuffed by the time we finished. The cheddar and chutney on rye bread was surprisingly our favorite tea sandwich. The only downside was that the bread on the sandwiches was a little dry and the host wasn’t super friendly but for the price, I think it was great. I would go again.

Westminster Abbey

This is where every girl who ever watched Cinderella dreams of getting married. Westminster Abbey is known for its royal functions like coronations and weddings. William and Kate were married here in 2011. 

If you attend services there, you can go for free. We did the multimedia guided tour where they give you headphones and a device that guides you through the Abbey for $32. Sir Isaan Newton, Stephen Hawking, and Elizabeth I are a few of the famous people buried at Westminster Abbey. 

At the end of your tour, you see the real coronation chair in St. George’s Chapel, by the Great West Doors. It’s been used at every coronation for over 700 years, making it the oldest piece of furniture in England that’s still used for the same reason that it was built — coronations. 

Big Ben

One of the symbols of England, this tower is officially called The Elizabeth Tower. Big Ben is the bell at the top. Big Ben rings every hour and it has smaller bells that chime every 15 minutes. It’s 292 steps to reach the faces of the clock and just 42 more steps to get to the bell.

They have been doing massive work to conserve the clock for about five years. When we went at the end of March 2022, there was still scaffolding around the bottom of The Elizabeth Tower. It’s been closed to the public while work is being done so we didn’t get to go inside. But work is expected to be completed soon and tours will be available again.

London Eye

The London Eye is over 400 feet tall and gives you panoramic views, over 15 miles in any direction. It’s safe to say that it’s the biggest observation wheel in the world. It has 32 glass pods that represent the 32 areas of the metro London area. The pods are air-conditioned and hold up to 25 people. 

It moves at a whopping… 0.6 mph and takes about 30 minutes to make one complete rotation. And it’s lit up at night. I love to see skylines at night when the city is lit up against the twilight blue sky as the sun sets so I recommend going at sunset. Get your tickets ahead of time online, for a 10% discount and a guaranteed spot on the London Eye.

Tower Bridge

Many call Tower Bridge, the London Bridge because it’s a well known London landmark. We took a River Cruise that took us under both bridges and let me tell you, the London Bridge is basic and unimpressive. These two bridges are not the same, at all. 

The Tower Bridge is the only bascule bridge in London which means it’s the only bridge that lifts to clear the way for water traffic. It was designed in the late 1800s for easy access to the East End of London when it was growing commercially.

If you aren’t into the river cruise, you can also walk across Tower Bridge for free or purchase a ticket. The ticket includes climbing the North Tower, walking across the glass floor along the East and West walkways, and a visit to the engine rooms. 

Tower Bridge is iconic to London so definitely make sure you get to see it in person.

Buckingham Palace 

Did you know you can go inside Buckingham Palace? Many are happy to look at Buckingham Palace from the outside but you can also tour the castle during the summer months from July-October. 

The summer tours show you 19 of the 775 rooms in the house including the Throne Room, Music Room, and the Ballroom. Then round out your tour as your exit through the Palace Gardens. If you’re planning a trip to London, go in the summer months so you can get a look inside the Palace where the Royal family still work and live.

Be sure to book your ticket as early as possible. Since it’s only open to the public a few months out of the year, get there 15-30 minutes before your scheduled tour so you don’t get stuck in line and miss your scheduled time.

The British Library

Before you roll your eyes at a library being on this list, the British Library isn’t your average library. It’s 14 stories of over 1.2 million square feet filled with study nooks and educational displays of books, maps, and manuscripts. It’s free to go into the library and check out the displays.

We were overwhelmed when we walked in, we had no idea where to start. If you’re looking for a specific book, display, or exhibit ask someone. Seriously, you could spend all day here trying to find one specific thing. 

How to get around London

We used the tube (subway) and walked to get around and it worked great. The great thing about the tube is that you don’t have to buy a pass because there is a daily cap on the fees. This was a cheaper option for us because we were only in London for two days. 

Swipe your contactless debit or credit card each time you hop on or off the tube. Once you reach the daily cap, you still need to swipe your card to get past the turnstile, but you don’t get charged. If you’re in London longer than a few days, it may be cheaper to get an Oyster card. 

If you’re not sure what would be best for you, ask one of the security officers at the tube station entrance. They were very friendly and told us about the contactless payment option.

There are tons of things to do in London. But these were my top favorites.

If you strategically plan out your itinerary, you can see the top attractions in London in just a few days. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t check out places to eat and nothing really stood out to me other than afternoon tea. 

But, you can’t go wrong with bakeries, right?

Here are a few to check out!