London is a big and bustling city, and it can be overwhelming to navigate. There is so much to see and do in London, that it is important to narrow down the “must see” items on your list before you travel. We had just 4 days to spend in London and we do not like to pack our days too full. You will need to prepurchase tickets for some venues, especially if you are traveling during the busy tourist season.

We travelled from Seattle to London on an overnight flight, leaving Seattle at 9:00 pm and arriving in London at 3:00 pm. We knew we would be tired, so we booked a private car to pick us up at the airport. This is a luxury that we have treated ourselves to on our past couple of trips and it is well worth it. It is a stress-free way to start your vacation when you get through customs and have your driver waiting for you. It was close to dinner time when we got checked in to our hotel. We strolled around the neighborhood and ate dinner in a local restaurant before turning in early for a good night sleep- an excellent way to avoid jet lag.

When choosing a hotel, I looked for options that were in walkable neighborhoods and close to public transportation. We stayed in the South Kensington neighborhood, right across the street from the Gloucester Road tube station. There is a city bus stop, and a hop on/hop off bus stop at this station as well. The neighborhood has a small grocery, pharmacy, and several cafes and pubs. One thing to note is that the Gloucester Road tube station does not have any escalators or lifts. You must use the stairs to get to the tube. I was able to manage even with my bad knees, but it was slow going. If you are not able to manage stairs, you can research tube stations that have step free access. However, we found that at many of the stations there were at least some stairs to navigate. We found the tube system easy to navigate and used it to get around during our time in London.

On our first full day in London, we booked the hop on/hop off bus tour. We knew we would not have time to explore everything in 4 days and this was a good way to get an overview. We were blessed with good weather, so we rode in the open-air top deck and enjoyed a wonderful view of the city. We only got off the bus twice- once to visit a small museum and then again to take the included river cruise from the Tower stop to the Westminster stop where we were able to catch the bus again.

One of our “must -see” venues was Westminster Abbey. We purchased our tickets in advance which was a good thing as they were sold out on the day we visited. The Abbey is huge, and it was very crowded. Upon entering, you receive an audio guide so that you can do a self-guided tour at your own pace. There are several places where you can stop to rest during the tour. We spent about 2 hours here and did not see everything. I would love to go back someday in the off season when it is not as crowded. When visiting Westminster Abbey, it is a short stroll to St James Park and Buckingham Palace. It is easy to include these sites as part of your visit.

Our other “must -see” was the Tower of London. We purchased advanced tickets and chose the earliest entry time available. Getting there early in the morning and heading straight to the crown jewels avoided long lines. The Crown Jewels exhibit was beautiful and well worth seeing. We purchase audio guides here as well to allow us to tour at our own pace. The audio guides had a lot of interesting information about the history of the tower. The Tower of London can be difficult to navigate as there are a lot of steep stone stairs in many of the buildings. We avoided the White Tower as the stairs were too much for us, but we still found plenty to see. There are benches scattered throughout the grounds where you can stop and rest.

The remainder of our time in London was unplanned. We bought tickets to a West End play one evening. We spent an evening at Covent Garden. Although we got there too late in the day to go through the market stalls, we enjoyed a nice dinner and some great people watching. We explored different neighborhood pubs and tried new foods.

Four days in London was just enough to scratch the surface. It is not a relaxing destination, so it is important to pace yourself and not try to see it all in a short period of time. We enjoyed the time we spent there.