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

1. Day 1: 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

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Dinner
   • Stay in London
   Day 1 details

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

   Included

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

   Free time: Free until the 4 pm briefing

   Activity: Plan to land by about 1 pm to make the briefing and the boat; later arrivals are met and join the group at dinner.

   

2. Day 2: The Tower at opening, then Spitalfields and the East End

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

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in London
   Day 2 details

   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. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Stay at the Tower longer and skip the East End walk; your guide puts you in a taxi or on the Tube back to the hotel.

   Free time: Free from about 3 pm

   Activity: About 6 km on foot over the day, on cobbles and stone stairs inside the Tower.

   

3. Day 3: Westminster Abbey, the British Museum and a West End night

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

   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in London
   Day 3 details

   Westminster Abbey is closed for sightseeing on Sundays, so this day never falls on one, and we are in the first entry of the day (about 9 or 9:30 am, depending on the day). The Abbey has crowned English monarchs since 1066; inside are the Coronation Chair, the tomb of Elizabeth I and Poets' Corner. 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. 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.

   Included

   • 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

   Easier option: Skip the British Museum and rest at the hotel before the show.

   More active option: Stay on at the British Museum alone after the guided hour; it usually closes at 5 pm (later on Fridays), with last entry a little before, and we confirm the hours with your itinerary.

   Free time: Late afternoon free before the show

   Activity: About 5 km on foot, with standing time in the Abbey and the museum.

   

4. Day 4: Windsor Castle and Eton

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

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in London
   Day 4 details

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

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: Stay in Windsor after lunch and take a later train back with your guide's help instead of walking to Eton.

   More active option: Walk the full Long Walk, about 4 km each way, before the train back.

   Free time: Evening free

   Activity: Windsor Castle usually opens Thursday to Monday outside the summer holidays and closes at short notice for royal events; St George's Chapel is closed to visitors on Sundays. We set the day of the week to suit, and confirm it with your final itinerary.

   

5. Day 5: Bath by train

   London Paddington to Bath Spa by train and back

   • By train
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in London
   Day 5 details

   We leave the hotel early for a direct train from Paddington at about 8 am; it takes about an hour and a half to Bath Spa, through the Thames Valley and the Wiltshire downs, and we sit together in reserved seats. From the station it is a five-minute walk to the Roman Baths, where our entry slot is booked for about 10 am, before the busiest hours. The hot spring still rises here at about 46 degrees; you walk on the Roman pavements around the green Great Bath, see the temple of Sulis Minerva and the gilt bronze head of the goddess. Next door is Bath Abbey, with its stone angels climbing ladders up the west front. 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. There is an hour free before the train back, arriving in London in the early evening.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: After lunch, stay in the centre near the Abbey and the Pump Room instead of walking uphill to the Royal Crescent.

   More active option: Climb the Bath Abbey tower tour, about 200 steps, for the view over the roofs (priced at booking).

   Free time: An hour free in Bath before the train

   Activity: The longest day and the one early start of the week: we leave the hotel at about 7:30 am for the 8 am train. About three hours on the train in total and about 5 km on foot, including the uphill walk to the Royal Crescent.

   

6. Day 6: Cambridge colleges and a punt on the Cam

   London King's Cross to Cambridge by train and back

   • By train
   • Breakfast, lunch and dinner
   • Stay in London
   Day 6 details

   The fast train from King's Cross reaches Cambridge in about 50 minutes, and a short ride takes us to the centre. Your guide walks you through the town and its colleges: the market square, Great St Mary's, the gates of Trinity and the lawns of King's. King's College Chapel, built between 1446 and 1515, has the widest fan-vaulted ceiling in the country and medieval stained glass the length of both walls; we go in as soon as it opens to visitors (its hours change with term and services, so the time is set when we confirm your dates). Then we take a chauffeured punt along the Backs, the stretch of the River Cam behind the colleges, under the Bridge of Sighs and past King's from the water. Lunch is a sit-down meal in town. We take the train back early in the afternoon, so you have a free late afternoon before our farewell dinner together.

   Included

   • 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

   Optional experiences

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

   Easier option: The punt is seated and gentle; skip the college walk after lunch and wait in a cafe on Market Hill.

   More active option: Climb the tower of Great St Mary's, 123 steps, for the view over King's College (priced at booking).

   Free time: Late afternoon free

   Activity: About 5 km on foot on flat streets; stepping into and out of the punt needs a hand from the punter.

   

7. Day 7: A free morning and home

   Your hotel in central London to Heathrow Airport

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Breakfast
   Day 7 details

   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.

   Included

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

   Free time: Morning free until your transfer

   Activity: Any flight time works; for afternoon and evening flights, the morning in London is yours.

Wildlife and weather: Spring and early autumn bring mild days and long light; summer is warm and the busiest, with Windsor open daily and bigger queues at every sight; winter is cold, often grey and dark by about 4 pm, but quieter.

• London6 nights