London (4)+ Amsterdam(3) this week

[IMATERP]

Laying out our final itinerary for our 8 day trip this week and would appreciate some feedback (must do’s, etc)

Thursday AM - arrive in London
Take tube to Aldgate East (check in hotel)
Walk through White Chapel area to Skygarden (have drink observation of city)
Walk or bus up to Brick Lane area and view sights and have dinner.

Friday - 2 day Hop On Hop Off Big Bus ticket
Tour Bridge with Jewels (inclusive w/HoP On Tx)
River cruise (inclusive w/ Hop On Hop Off Tx)
Catch the changing of Guard

Saturday - Day 2 of Hop On Hop Off Big Bus
11:00a.m. Parliament guided tour

Sunday - 3:00p.m. Baseball Game (Yankees vs Red Sox) @ Olympic Stadium. Bus from hotel takes us right there.

Monday - leave hotel @ 1:00 for 4p.m. Flight to Amsterdam.
Arrive 6:20p.m. City bus or shuttle from Schipol to Hotel

Tuesday AM - Anne Frank House Tour, after that, one hour canal sightseeing cruise.

Wednesday - Museum District

Thursday - late PM flight to US

Is there something of interest that we should do on Sunday morning ?

What about Tuesday afternoon on the port side of Amsterdam?

Your feedback is appreciated.

 

[Bamaman]

It's a shame you don't have a few more days.
We always take the train from Schiphol Airport into the city. Thanks to GoogleMaps where I can learn how to get around a city on public transit prior to arrival. You can always catch a taxi from the Central Station to your hotel.

 

[euro]

Personally, I would skip the baseball game and do a day trip to Salisbury/Stonehenge or Windsor instead on Sunday, but I suspect the game is the main driver behind the trip?

 

[gretah]

Leave time for a long line at Anne Frank house. Ask hotel concierge if there is a way to get a ticket with an entrance time on it. Or perhaps you could join a group tour that has an entrance time.

Have a great time!

 

[brett]

We have done the London HOHO bus a few times.

Our favourite time is later in the day, after rush hour and just prior to the last run. Why? The light is better, traffic and noise is reduced, the bus is less crowded. We enjoyed cruising down the river to Greenwich. On several occasions we encountered long lines for the London Eye. We passed by later in the afternoon and there were no lineups.

After the Parliament tour you might want to cross over a do a quick tour of Westminster Cathedral. If you are interested in history, the Cabinet War Rooms are just across the street and down a block or so (as I recall).

We have been to London multiple times over many years. We always find something new and different to see. Pop into the British Museum for a few hours. Pick floor and browse the exhibits.

 

[Peter]

Be prepared for long lines at the Skygarden, especially at 6:30pm (?) when entrance is free. Or, book dinner at the Darwin Brasserie, and waltz straight past the line as if you were royalty.

 

[IMATERP]

Leave time for a long line at Anne Frank house. Ask hotel concierge if there is a way to get a ticket with an entrance time on it. Or perhaps you could join a group tour that has an entrance time.

Have a great time!

We have tickets for all planned events. Our ticket for the Anne Frank;House is for 9:15 a.m.

 

[IMATERP]

Be prepared for long lines at the Skygarden, especially at 6:30pm (?) when entrance is free. Or, book dinner at the Darwin Brasserie, and waltz straight past the line as if you were royalty.

Peter, we have obtained our free tickets for 4pm to the Skygarden.

 

[IMATERP]

Personally, I would skip the baseball game and do a day trip to Salisbury/Stonehenge or Windsor instead on Sunday, but I suspect the game is the main driver behind the trip?

Actually, we booked the trip last September. We found out a few months ago that there was a MLB inaugural game and decided to attend. It’s only 3 or 4 hours of our day.

I’ll save Windsor for another time. Possibly in conjunction with a Transatlantic Cruise.

 

[mageedge]

Most London museums open around10 a.m. on Sundays and are always worth the time. For an interesting change try the Sir John Soane's Museum - set in his old London town house it contains a varied collection acquired by a notable 19th century London gentleman when Britannia ruled the waves and such gentlemen could acquire items like the sarcophagus of Seti 1 with either money or "persuasion".

 

[brett]

Last time in London our son took us on a day visit to Bletchley Park museum. It was the site of the WW2 codebreakers. I really enjoyed it. The train took us within a short walking distance of the estate.

Truth be told you could spend a month in London and not see or experience everything there is to see and do.

 

[Scuba]

Last time in London our son took us on a day visit to Bletchley Park museum. It was the site of the WW2 codebreakers. I really enjoyed it. The train took us within a short walking distance of the estate.

Truth be told you could spend a month in London and not see or experience everything there is to see and do.

This sounds interesting! We spent months there years ago when I had a job that required frequent long trips to the UK but didn’t make it there.

 

[DrRoy]

In May we were in London for 5 days and we visited:
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
St. Paul's Cathedral
Victoria and Albert Museum
Churchill's War Rooms
Greenwich
Windsor Castle
Westminster Abbey

We would have gone to the British Museum but we had been there before.

 

[brett]

We like to go to the British Museum for a few hours at a time. It makes for a nice break.

Last time we did clocks, timepieces. Time before was Egypt.

It is a wonderful, fascinating place.

When we have gone in the past we always keep an alternative indoor option in mind as a substitute for an an outdoor activity if the rain sets it.

We went to the Ann Frank house years ago. It was OK, we did not have to wait however I would not wait for any length of time to gain admission.