London: a week in the city with Windsor, Bath and Cambridge

Arrive in London and a first look from the river

Heathrow Airport to your hotel in central London, then Westminster Pier to Tower Pier by river boat

• Repas du soir
• Nuit : London
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

Most overnight flights from North America land at Heathrow (LHR) in the morning, and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the hour's drive into central London, about 25 km.

Après-midi

Your room may not be ready until mid-afternoon, so leave your bags, take a walk or rest in the lounge. At about 4 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how the week is paced, how the trains to Windsor, Bath and Cambridge work, and where to eat near the hotel. Then we ride to Westminster Pier and board a river boat heading east. From the water you pass the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, the dome of St Paul's, Shakespeare's Globe and the old warehouses of Bankside before stepping off at Tower Pier under the walls of the Tower, where we start tomorrow.

Soir

We finish with a welcome dinner together at a restaurant near the river.

Compris

• Pick-up at London Heathrow (LHR)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• River boat from Westminster Pier to Tower Pier
• Welcome dinner

The Tower at opening, then Spitalfields and the East End

The Tower of London, then a walk north to Spitalfields and Brick Lane

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : London

Matin

We are at the Tower of London when the gates open (9 am Tuesday to Saturday, 10 am on Sunday and Monday) and go straight to the Jewel House, so you see the Crown Jewels before the queue builds through the morning. Then a Yeoman Warder tour of the walls, Tower Green and the chapel, and time in the White Tower, the stone keep William the Conqueror began in the 1070s, with its royal armour. Walk out onto Tower Bridge for the view along the river and back again.

Après-midi

From the Tower it is a 25 to 30 minute walk north to Spitalfields (or a short Tube ride if you prefer), where we have lunch in the covered Old Spitalfields Market. Afterwards your guide walks the East End with you: Christ Church Spitalfields, the Georgian houses of Fournier Street built for Huguenot silk weavers, and Brick Lane, with its Bangladeshi restaurants, street art and bagel shops. From about 3 pm the rest of the day is free.

Compris

• The Tower of London from opening, with the Crown Jewels and a Yeoman Warder tour
• Walk onto Tower Bridge and back
• Lunch in Old Spitalfields Market
• Guided East End walk: Christ Church Spitalfields, Fournier Street and Brick Lane

Activités en option

• The Tower Bridge walkways and glass floor, priced at booking

Westminster Abbey, the British Museum and a West End night

Westminster Abbey, Whitehall and Trafalgar Square, then the British Museum and the West End

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : London

Après-midi

Outside, we walk Parliament Square and up Whitehall past Downing Street and the Horse Guards to Trafalgar Square, then on to lunch in Covent Garden. In the early afternoon your guide takes you through the highlights of the British Museum, free to enter: the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, the Sutton Hoo helmet and the Lewis Chessmen, under the glass roof of the Great Court.

Soir

You have the late afternoon free to rest, then in the evening we go to a West End show together, with tickets in the price.

Compris

• Westminster Abbey at first entry with your guide
• Walk through Parliament Square, Whitehall and Trafalgar Square
• Lunch in Covent Garden
• The British Museum with your guide
• A West End show ticket

Windsor Castle and Eton

London to Windsor by train, then Eton on foot and back to London

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : London
• En train

Matin

A train from Paddington, changing at Slough, takes about 40 minutes to Windsor, so we are at the castle gates for opening at 10 am, ahead of the coach tours that arrive from late morning. Windsor Castle is still a working royal residence. Your guide leads you through the State Apartments, with their paintings from the Royal Collection, and St George's Chapel, where ten monarchs are buried, among them Henry VIII and Elizabeth II. On the days the Changing of the Guard is held, we time our visit to see it.

Après-midi

After lunch in Windsor we walk across the Thames bridge to Eton, along the High Street to Eton College, founded by Henry VI in 1440, and back. If you want the classic view, walk a stretch of the Long Walk, the tree-lined avenue that runs to the castle.

Soir

We are back in London by about 4 pm and the evening is free.

Compris

• Return train from London to Windsor
• Windsor Castle with your guide: the State Apartments and St George's Chapel
• Lunch in Windsor
• Walk over the Thames to Eton High Street and Eton College

Activités en option

• A guided tour inside Eton College on the days the college runs one, priced at booking

Bath by train

London Paddington to Bath Spa by train and back

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : London
• En train

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in the centre. Afterwards your guide walks you through the Georgian city, listed by UNESCO in 1987: Pulteney Bridge with shops on both sides, the Circus and the sweep of the Royal Crescent.

Soir

There is an hour free before the train back, arriving in London in the early evening.

Compris

• Return train from London Paddington to Bath Spa, with reserved seats
• The Roman Baths at a booked morning entry
• Bath Abbey
• Sit-down lunch in Bath
• Guided walk: Pulteney Bridge, the Circus and the Royal Crescent

Activités en option

• No. 1 Royal Crescent, the furnished Georgian house museum, priced at booking

Cambridge colleges and a punt on the Cam

London King's Cross to Cambridge by train and back

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : London
• En train

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in town.

Soir

We take the train back early in the afternoon, so you have a free late afternoon before our farewell dinner together.

Compris

• Return train from London King's Cross to Cambridge
• Guided walk through central Cambridge and its colleges
• King's College Chapel
• Chauffeured punt along the Backs
• Sit-down lunch in Cambridge
• Farewell dinner in London

Activités en option

• The Fitzwilliam Museum, free to enter, if you stay on and take a later train

A free morning and home

Your hotel in central London to Heathrow Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

The last morning is yours. Sleep in, walk to a park, or go back to whatever you wanted more time with this week: the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square and Tate Modern on Bankside are free to enter and open at 10 am, and the markets of Borough and Covent Garden are busy by late morning. Your guide is at breakfast to help with plans and will check your flight details. Hotel checkout is usually late morning, and the hotel holds your bags until your transfer. Your private transfer to Heathrow (LHR) leaves the hotel about three and a half hours before your flight, which allows an hour for the drive of about 25 km and time to check in. If you are staying on in London, we can arrange extra nights at the same hotel, or you can continue on our ten-day England trip to Oxford, the Cotswolds, Bath, the Lake District and York.

Compris

• Breakfast at the hotel
• Drop-off at London Heathrow (LHR)