Day Trips from London

London is very well placed in UK and with best transport system in the world, it is a great place to make base and then travel around. Depending on time on hand, your day trips around London could include very wide variety of sightseeing activities and things to do. Three day itinerary for London

Here are top getaways from London.

1. Windsor Castle:
This is the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the country. It is official resident of the Queen.

This 900 year old castle contains beautiful royal gardens, palaces, chapels and living quarter of many officials. This truly majestic castle is located on beautiful grounds and one of the best place for a day trip from London.

You can take London subway (tube) and get to the castle in about hour or so. Or you may decide to use tour offered by one of the many tour operators.



2. Greenwich and Queen's Museum:
Greenwich is famous not just for Prime Meridian Line. There are many other attractions in the surrounding area. 16th Century Queen's House which is now converted to Art Gallery, Royal Naval Collage and Royal Observatory to name the few. Greenwich Park and Market are fun to spend a afternoon. It will be very fun and enriching day out for the kids as well as adults.
It takes about 30-45 minutes by train or bus to get to Greenwich. If weather is good you may want to take boat ride. It is fun and it can also serve the purpose of on board sight seeing cruise for attractions like Westminster Abbey etc.
3. Cambridge:
This university town even though small, offers amazing variety of family friendly activities. It is about 50 miles from London and will take about hour or so by train to get there.
Depending on your preference you may choose one of the many ways explore the city. Either take self guided tour , guided walking tour, private customized group tour or even very relaxing boat tour !



4. Stonehenge and Salisbury:
Stonehenge is one of the seven wonders of ancient world. There are many stories and legend around who built this mysterious structure. But regardless of how they came into existence, to see this place is once in a lifetime and very unique experience.
You can travel to Stonehenge via public transport. You will find it in more detail in above link. You can also get private tours and they cover Lacock and Bath as well. Lacock is home town of Jane Austin, the famous author many classic novels like Pride and Prejudice , Emma etc. Romantic films based on these novels were also shoot in this charming town. Its architecture still dates back to 15th through 18th Century. It is one of the most beautiful villages in England.

City of Bath famous for roman baths. Its natural hot water springs are providing hot water even after 10000 years.
5. Wales:
Miles of natural wonders, unspoilt coastline and countryside, rich history and culture, majestic castles. That is wales. It is only two hours by train from London. There are tons out outdoor activities like walking tours and biking tours available as well.


6. Lake District:
UK's lake is district is one of the most beautiful landscape in England. This area covered with innumerable mountains, lakes and streams. This area is agriculturally very important and famous for its farming and dairy business. There are working farms where you can stay and have ultimate farm experience without doing hard farm work.

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Image: Wikipedia

10 Free Things To Do in London

London is an expensive place to visit. But then there are also many free things to see and do in London. Here are 10 Top Free things to do in London.

Day Trips from London.


1. Change of Guards:

For anyone visiting London this is a must see. Guards changing ceremony is held at Buckingham palace at 11:30 am and it is free. During summer months (April through July) Change of Guards happens daily. Rest of the months it happens alternate days. You can see it from the front gates of the Buckingham Palace.




2. National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory:

Museum and Observatory are both located in Greenwich. About 30 minutes train ride from central London. Entry is free for both these locations. Here you may stand on Prime Meridian Line. Which is also know as Greenwich line. Every place on the earth is measured in its distance either in east or west from Meridian Line.

3. Queen's House

It is also located in Greenwich and can be covered same day item above in 2. This is the oldest classical building in London. It was build in early 1600s.

4. Westminster Palace (Parliament House):

UK visitors can arrange for tours of Westminster Palace as well as attend hearings/debates free of charge. Foreign visitors are charged a fee for a tour and it is available only during summer. But they can attend hearings/debate free of charge through out the year/when parliament is in session.



5. Westminster Abbey:

Westminster Abbey is a church built in 11th Century. Many famous people including Sir Isaac Newton, Sir Charles Darwin, Dr. Livingston etc are berried here. Visitors are charged fee but there is not fee for worshippers and you may see the church from inside during this time.

6. Tate Modern and Tate Britain:


These are exceptional art galleries featuring some finest contemporary artwork and artwork from Britain from 16th century. They are free and must for art lovers.

7. National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery:

Entry to this world renowned National Gallery is free. It is located in Trafalgar Square. It houses about 2300 paintings from 12th through 19th Century. It is open till late on Wednesday.


National Portrait Gallery represents British history from medium of Portrait. You can find here portrait of The Beatles, Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, Sir Richard Branson etc. Entry to Portrait Gallery is also free.

8. Royal Mail Mount Pleasant Sorting Office (Mount Pleasant):

Mount Pleasant is the largest mail sorting office in the world. It covers about 7.5 acre area. Its underground tunnel network to deliver mail is 23 miles long. Free guided tours are available for visitors.


9. Victoria And Albert Museum:

This museum has a collection of tons of items collected from countries all around the world. Mainly the countries where Briton had colonies as some point. Items include jewellery,pottery, clothes, paintings,weapons,statues etc. Entry to this museum is free as well.



Its fun to feed pigeons at Victoria and Albert Museum. These pigeons roam freely in the garden/lake of the museum and they are not at all scared of humans. They even eat french fries from your hand !!

10. London Landmarks:

This list will not be complete without mentioning London's most loved and very well known and well recognised landmarks like Big Ben , Piccadilly Circus (This is to similar to Times Square for New York) ,Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square.

Trip To London - 3 Days Itinerary

3 days in London seems like very short time. You can cover quite a few major attractions in three days. But you are sure to leave with a promise to visit again in future. Here is suggested itinerary for visiting London for 1, 2 or 3 days as well as few other travel ideas. 10 Free Things to Do in London

My Impression: People seems to be so much accustomed to walking, about 30 -45 minutes walk is nothing. On our 1st day in London, whenever we asked for direction and people told us that place was right around the corner, it was really 30-45 or even longer walk in some cases.

Unexpected:. If you are landing at Heathrow airport and need to pass through Immigration, count on to spend at least 2 hours in queue. There are long lines and not very fast moving either.
Tip: London Travel Pass came very handy to us. It covered free entrance to many London attractions as well as transportation. I have personally felt that if you have at least 3-5 days in London then it is worth the Money.

Tip: One more important thing. At places like Buckingham Palace, there are limited entries allowed every day. So if you are sure you do not want to miss the place while you are in London for short time, make sure to get there early in the morning. In the late afternoon there is no guaranty you will get the entry.

Best Time to Visit: September and beginning of October is a good time to visit London. It is off season and hard winter would not have kicked-in yet. This is the time when you will get best deals and there will not be that much crowd of visitors.

Day 1


1st Day we covered Westminster Abbey , Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Queens Stables and Kensington Palace.

Westminster Abbey is a church from 9th Century AD. It holds graves of many famous people. Most noteworthy Sir Isaac Newton, Dr Livingston and Charles Darwin.


Above is the picture of the chariot in which present queen Elizabeth travelled for her coronation. It is located in queens stables. They are located next to Buckingham Palace.


To Londoners all these monuments are in walking distance, if you are not used to walking, I would suggest taking at least Bus.




Below is picture of Kensignton Palace. You can see people paying their tributes to Princess Diana.

Day 2


Side Trip: You may decide take a day trip from London to Windsor Castle or you may want to spend day browsing some of the museums in London.

We decided to spend time in Victoria Albert Museum.
This is museum is also located quite near from Kensington Palace.








Same day we also visited Saint Paul's Cathedral. Magnificent church designed in 1600 AD.


Day 3
Last day in London and still many more places to cover. We spent most of our day in Tower of London and by Tower Bridge (Which is sometimes incorrectly referred to as London Bridge).



It is part of one of the many Royal Palaces of London. Do not miss Crown Jewels while you are there. Amazing collection of Jewels.
Here are some more ideas and tips about things to do in London.
1. While you are in London, you may want to check out Change Of Guard. During certain months it happens every day. And in certain months it happens every two days. So may need check the schedule.
2. You can also purchase British Heritage Pass if you are interested in history and monuments.

If you have more time in London, you may take a Day Trip To Paris.