We took a two week girls trip this summer to Europe for my mother-in-laws birthday and visited England, Ireland and Scotland during our time. We absolutely packed in all the sites so I’m sharing with you some of our favorite adventures and what to see in two days in London.
We had a range of ages, activity levels & interests on our trip, so this itinerary worked for all of us. We started by flying into the well-known Heathrow Airport in London, and met our driver & tour guide. During our entire trip, this was my one takeaway – have a tour guide. I’m such a history lover so having our own personal tour guide to answer questions and ramble on about wonderful, historical facts as we drove around town was absolutely priceless – my favorite part.
We started with a trip to Buckingham Palace first. We arrived in London on the Trooping of Colors holiday, which celebrates the King’s birthday so the parades & festivities around town were plentiful so we had to work around it a bit to get our sites in. We just walked around the outside of the Palace, got our first glance at a guard marching, the beautiful fountain out front and the road that leads into the Palace with rows of flags and taxis for a great photo opportunity.
Next we went over to see Big Bend, the famous clock tower at the House of Parliament. We walked around the square, took a few photos in a quintessential red phone booth and got a few photos outside of Westminster Abbey (which we tour later on our trip). But this is a great square to stop in with lots to see and many photo opportunities. There are even a few Harry Potter sites to see if you’re a fan of the series that our guide was helpful in pointing out.
Later that afternoon we went to the Hotel Sofitel for our High Tea in the Garden Room. This was an experience at the top of my list for visiting London, especially perfect for a girls trip. Our four-course tea was such a girly, delightful experience and the girls (ages 7, 9, 13, 16) had lots of fun with this experience too I think. We enjoyed a variety of teas, savory bites, a palette cleanser and sweet treats too. I know there are many places to choose from when selecting a High Tea but we had a great time here.
Next we walked around the “Times Square” area of London in the Theatre District which was filled with statues, street performers and China Town – very much like walking the streets of NYC. We grabbed dinner and closed out the evening.
Day two began early and our guide took us to see St Paul’s Cathedral with coffee in hand. We walked around the grounds and took a few photos outside.
We then headed to the Tower of London, a beautiful grounds surrounded by what was once a giant moat but is now a huge surround of wildflowers. On the way in we got to see an original wall of the city of London, that helped to protect the city back in the day. There was so much to take in at the Tower of London, we had tickets for a large group tour and I’m not sure I’d recommend doing the actual tour as it took a good deal of time. You could just as easily walk around and experience the grounds for yourself at your leisure.
The Tower grounds has housed prisoners, large exotic animals, is home to the Crown Jewel experience, the Chapel Royal of St Peter Ad Vincula and has a variety of castle towers and buildings to visit and learn about. We were here for about two hours and then went in to view the Crown Jewels, which was also a ticketed portion. I’d highly recommend seeing the Crown Jewels, we learned a lot and the crowns, jewelry and other armor pieces and treasures were truly a sight to see. No photo or video taking allowed inside, so none to share!
Next we walked to see the Tower Bridge and and London Bridge, which sit on the waterway just outside of the Tower of London. Many people mistake the beautiful Tower Bridge for the more well-known London Bridge, which is just a basic concrete structure that isn’t very impressive. Loved being able to associate this popular childrens song that I’ve known for so long with the actual site.
Our next stop was a tour of Westminster Abbey, another ticketed event that I’d highly recommend. The Abbey is gorgeous just as a photo spot from the exterior, however the inside is absolutely incredible. A treasure trove of historical relics, this church is where William and Kate were married, you could have walked for hours exploring inside. There is a self-guided audio tour or you can just walk around inside and experience for yourself.
To end the day we took in the sites from way up high on the London Eye. We grabbed some fish & chips before heading onto the large, modern day ferris wheel that is a 30 minute rotation around and allows you to see all of London from the top. It was a fun experience especially for the kids and was pretty to see the sites from such a view.
Aside from the red telephone booths, original black taxi cabs, flags flying and guards marching, I loved experiencing the foods known to London. The Black Pudding was everywhere at breakfasts and I wasn’t brave enough to give it a try – a mixture of rice, bread crumbs, pigs blood and entrails – no thank you, but give it a try if you’re adventurous. Tea, shortbread, scones with clotted cream and jam, fish & chips and porridge were all things I tried as part of the London experience.
We also passed by some of the popular brand & retail sites, like Harrods, Fortnum & Mason and the Ritz. As a textile lover & surface pattern designer, next time I’d love to see Liberty of London, too. There was also a big Antiques Market going on the morning we arrived that we didn’t get to walk through, so that is a must-do next time I get the chance to visit.
You could truly take in a week or more in London alone and not see everything, but for a quick two day trip on our all over adventure I think we did a pretty good job of covering the grounds and seeing some of the most popular sites of London.
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