Hello everyone! Long time no post. Life has been crazy and to be honest I have been focusing most of my energy on TikTok. But, I feel like travel guides are so helpful and I love having a place where all of my recommendations can live. So many times I get asked what to do in London so here it is! Here is our itinerary for a week in London. You can edit this itinerary to fit your schedule and your hotel's location. We stayed at 100 Queens Gate hotel which is located in South Kensington. This is my preferred neighborhood when staying at London. I lived in South Kensington for a summer as a kid so it feels like home. I'm familiar with the area, restaurants, and tube stop so that is just my preference! It is very centrally located and walkable to a lot on our itinerary.
DAY 1 ITINERARY
10:3am- Land at London Heathrow Airport
10:30am-11:30am- De-board, go through U.K. customs
11:30am-12:15pm- Take taxi to hotel in South Kensington
12:15-1:15pm- Check into hotel or check bags with bell hop.
2:00pm- Eat late lunch in South Kensington near our hotel. We ate at Hoop & Toy (Greene King) which is a pub located near South Kensington Station.
3pm- Explore South Kensington & Knightsbridge. This includes Harrods and the Parent Trap House (23 Egerton Terrace). After you browse Harrods head to Hyde Park to explore. Be sure to checkout the Albert Memorial, Royal Albert Hall, Princess Diana memorial, Peter Pan statue, then walk around Kensington Palace & Kensington Gardens.
6/7pm- Early dinner near your hotel. We went to Byron Burger on Old Brompton Road.
This time around customs took no time. It was a very smooth process. We got off the plane, through customs, and had our checked bags within an hour. Maybe even less than that. It was nuts! But we didn't complain. After we got our bags we got into a taxi to get into the city. You can take the tube but I don't recommend that as it is hard to navigate with a lot of luggage. If you are a carry on queen then it might be okay! But we don't pack light and most tube stations have a lot of stairs and escalators and is very hard to navigate luggage with. So keep that in mind if you want to take the tube! I am in the point in my life I'd rather pay more for things to be easy. Hence the cab.
Luckily when we got to the hotel they had a room available. So we unpacked a little bit and relaxed then hit the ground running. My biggest tip to help with jet lag is to keep moving. If you stop to rest too much you may fall asleep... so keep going as late as you can! We headed to lunch at a nearby pub. It is a great way to kick off a London trip with traditional pub food.
The Parent Trap House- 23 Egerton Terrace
Located a few blocks away from Harrods!
After a bite to eat we walked around the area near our hotel. For us we headed to The Parent Trap house for some photos then to Harrods. Then after browsing the many floors of Harrods we headed to Hyde Park. I love walking around Hyde Park. It doesn't even feel like you're in the city! Some highlights include the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the Peter Pan statue, Kensington Gardens, and Kensington Palace. If you aren't interested in browsing Harrods you could swap it out for going into Kensington Palace!
After you are tired from walking head to an easy and early dinner. One of my favorite London places is Byron Burger! They have a ton of locations so odds are there is one near your hotel or the neighborhood you are staying in.
Then it is off to bed! That was our full itinerary for day one. This is now my second time using a similar itinerary and it still worked out great. Key for your first day is to keep moving and get some fresh air. It'll feel nice after the long flight over.
Stay tuned for the rest of our London itinerary!
XOXO
Miranda