I’ve decided to start a new mini-series on how to group your visits to various London sites into manageable portions. I’ve had several rounds of American guests come to visit and find that I’m consistently recommending the same tourism strategies, so let’s get started with a bigun’ that knocks out the bulk of the must-see quintessential London sites.
My suggested Thames Circuit can be picked up at any point and followed clockwise or counter-clockwise with different options along the way…doesn’t really matter to me; it’s your choice! For sake of illustration, however, I will start at Westminster Tube Station.
As you emerge from the Tube, you will be greeted by the most familiar London site ever—Big Ben (well, it’s actually the massive bell that’s inside the clock tower that’s nicknamed Big Ben). Extending beside and behind Big Ben are the houses of Parliament, and if you want to take this opportunity to duck over and see Westminster Abbey as well, by all means go for it. It charges admission, but surely provides a compelling atmosphere and history (and Jeremy Irons is downright delightful to listen to as your audioguide).
Crossing Westminster Bridge will take you to the South Bank, where you can visit the Aquarium, Movieum, or the unmissable London Eye. Continuing Westward along the South Bank will give you a pleasant vantage of the cityscape and river. Eventually, you’ll find yourself approaching the Tate Modern art museum and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre—if it’s the arts that take your fancy, wander through the Tate or take a tour to learn about the original Globe Theatre (or even catch an actual performance in the open-air there as Shakespeare would have intended).
You can continue on from here or perhaps dash across the Millenium Bridge to view St. Paul’s Cathedral up close if its striking image across the water has been tempting you up to this point—its dome continues to tower above the surrounding buildings. Otherwise, continuing on along the South Bank will ultimately bring into view the Tower Bridge (the one that many confuse with London Bridge), another renowned symbol of London. Crossing the bridge here will deliver you unto the gates of the Tower of London, in which you can view the Crown Jewels and medieval weaponry as well as follow a Beefeater tour of the grounds of this former site of 
imprisonment, torture, and execution, including where Ann Boleyn was beheaded. Just beyond the Tower is a small park atop Tower Hill itself, where the Tower’s prisoners were executed for all to see (and near which you can catch the Tube to your next destination of choice via the Tower Hill station). If you are in no particular rush at this point, you might want to pop into the Hung, Drawn, & Quartered pub if you’re feeling a bit peckish/thirsty or linger at the Tube station for the evening Jack the Ripper tour to explore more of East London and its sordid past.
Related posts:
- London Literacy
- God Save the Queen!
- Living in London – From Fine Print to the Finest of Printing
- What to Do With an Extra Day in London?
- London Locals: Our Favorite London Finds
[...] Blog « London Bundle – The Thames Circuit [...]
[...] is the first of my London Bundles that ventures out into the neighborhoods outside the City, yet still considered fairly [...]
[...] anyway. At any rate, when visit or move to London, an inevitable walk you must take is along the River Thames in the city’s center. As you walk along London’s Southbank, the striking component of [...]
[...] or glass of wine. It is also situated just next door to the recreation of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and is in within pleasant walking distance of Tower Bridge, which you can cross to the Tower itself [...]
[...] To suppress rebellion among the native citizenry, the Normans construct new fortresses, the most famous of which is known to all of us who have ever lived or visited London as the Tower of London. (Many who visit the Tower today are usually surprised when they first see it—the name implies something literally towering overhead and not the low, sprawling fortress this site evolved into. The fact is, when the White Tower at the center of this complex was erected, it was the tallest building in all of London, its height accentuated by its location atop one of the city’s hills, Tower Hill.) [...]
[...] visiting London for the first time, so I usually refer them to my London Bundles blog series (the Thames Circuit and Government Grouping hitting most of the big and more obvious London tourist attractions), but [...]
[...] visited London before, you are likely most acquainted with the major sites to behold in its historic center. Even though the London homes and offices in many films and TV shows depict windows overlooking [...]
[...] service was held at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and you can see a memorial to him inside Westminster Abbey. Another locale where I particularly like to pay homage to the great man is The Churchill Arms pub [...]
[...] best bet at seeing one of these royal guards up close is at the Tower of London. There, they not only stand guard, but actually live in the Tower with their families! No kidding! [...]