Going to London for 1 week, what is a must see/do??

If you're only going to be in London for one week - barely enough time to even BEGIN to scratch the surface - why would you take a day or two (and let's face it, probably two, given that you need to get there and back, which is one day, and have at least one day on the ground to make it in any way worthwhile) to go to Paris?! Stay in London, and don't waste your time and money on anything else.

Spend a couple of days seeing the usual tourist sights, ie. Westminster, The Tower, St Paul's, etc. Another day or two visiting at least some of the world-class museums and galleries, eg. National Gallery, Tate, Tate Modern, Victoria & Albert Museum, British Museum, etc. Leave a day for just shopping. Maybe do a river cruise and/or a guided bus tour. Add your one day in Wimbledon - that's your week gone, and you didn't do/see anything more than the must-haves, and not even all of them.

For such a short trip, on one day get on a tour bus, that way, you will get to see some of the city.

http://www.hoponhopoffplus.com/?gclid=CIHr19yxl8YC...

Take a river bus down the Thames.

https://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/river/the-river-exper...

On another day, walk. Start at Covent Garden, walk to Leicester Square and then Trafalgar Square, down Pall Mall to Buckingham Palace, stroll through St James' Park down to Parliament Square, across Westminster Bridge then along the South Bank towards the London Eye. Carry on walking or take a tube or bus to Oxford Street for shopping. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes on the way.

there are like as many museums as there are people in greater london, then there is tower bridge, the westminster area including big ben, westminster abbey and the residence of the prime minister, 10 downing street. there is also the london eye. and if you are a fan of urban architecture, the london underground can't be missed. that's only what a german knows, brits can go further into it.

get a London Travel Guide book and a map and find what interests you.

there is Much History in London from The Tower to Churches to a bit of Roman wall.

That rather depends on your interests - what do you want to see?

London has museums, art galleries, parks, restaurants, palaces, churches, shops, and more. I suggest to get the best out of it, you get a guide book.

You should visit St. Paul's Cathedral- it's stunning.

The London Eye, for a birds-eye view of our wonderful city!

https://www.londoneye.com/

You can get information on visiting the "usual" tourist sites in London from almost anh half-decent guide book, or from the London official internet site. Note that most of these are very expensive because London is a very expensive city (about 30% more than any other in the UK for housing, insurance, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, concerts, etc.) and generally the quality of what you get for the money is not 30% better.

www.visitlondon.com

Wimbledon is only worth visiting if you want to watch the tennis. Unless you have a ticket in advance be prepared to queue for a long time, and take a rain hat "just in case". Apart from that it's just a dull (reasonably attractive) middle-class suburban area.

If you are interested in botany, exotic plants and huge Victorian greenhouses then visit the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. You can catch a train to Kew Bridge station (a few minutes walk from the garden) from Waterloo station. This is a good day out, there are good people-feeding facilities at the gardens so you won't be hungry. But like everything in London it's not cheap so allow at least £40 for the day.

www.kew.org

From Westminster Pier (near Cleopatra's Needle on the north bank of the River Thames) you can take a boat trip down river to the Thames Barrier. This is the structure which protects London from flooding when there are particularly high water levels in the North Sea. (note that in English we always put the word "river" before the name of the waterway, not after like they do in the USA).

https://www.gov.uk/the-thames-barrier

www.citycruises.com

If you like all things nautical and are also interested in astronomy and the Prime Meridian then you must visit Greenwich (pronounced Gren-ich). Here there is the National Maritime Museum and the Greenwich Observatory.

This is easily accesible by train from Waterloo East station or on the Underground by Jubilee Line, and also by boat. Eating at Greenwich is easy, good and much cheaper than central London (almost anywhere is!).

A day in Paris is perfectly viable. It's 2 hours from London (and two hours back) through the Channel Tunnel. You must catch the "Eurostar" train from St Pancras International station. The train is fast (186 mph/300 kph) and comfortable (when it's not crowded with noisy children) but you will have to show your passport and put bags through airport-style security scans so allow at least 45 minutes time at the station for that - and for your return journey too.

The Paris terminus is Gare Du Nord, which is (in my opinion) a rather grim, crowded and tatty station. But it is fairly central so you won't waste time getting into Paris centre "where it's all at". Remember that the French currency is Euros so you'll have to buy some before you go (they do take standard credit cards and there are plenty of ATMs if you need more cash). You should have a Paris Metro map and idea of what you want to see and visit before you go so you don't waste time and miss something. Also, you don't want to waste your money on taxis unless you have to (such as it's getting to late for the metro or bus to return to Gare du Nord).

Cost of shopping and attractions in Paris will not be more expensive than London and can often be cheaper (unless you want to waste your money on "designer" stuff, if that's the case then there's no hope for you). The cost of a reasonable lunch in Paris will be about €10-€15 (£8-£12). Don't eat near Notre Dame cathedral, the restaurants there are costly (Note that it is pronounced "Notre Damm", NOT "nOter dAme" like Americans say, the Parisiens will respect you if you get it right).

Look at the Eurostar web site for timetables and fares. If you book in advance you can save a lot compared with "turn up an go" fares. This is also true for most long-distance trains in the UK. An advance purchase standard class day return ticket will be about £130. Meals on the Eurostar train are expensive so take a picnic to eat and just buy your hot tea or coffee from the buffet.

Consider staying overnight in Paris and returning after breakfast the following morning. Very romantic if your have "your lover" with you. But if you only have a week in London that is probably not practical.

www.eurostar.com

Next time you visit England please stay anywhere except London. It is not at all typical of any other place in the United Kingdom and the cost of almost everything is very high. It is also very crowded, much more cosmopolitan and can be dirty (because the visitors are dirty and drop too much litter) and the public transport is expensive (but to be fair, it is very comprehensive and reliable). Air quality is variable due to too many diesel vehicles, but the river is ok.

To see more representatve England you should visit (eg): Bristol, Leeds, Canterbury, Chester, Oxford, York, Bournemouth.

To experrience more of Great Britain you should also include Wales and Scotland so visit (eg): Cardiff, Swansea, St Davids, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fort William, Aberdeen, Perth, Pitlochry.

All of these are better value than London (did I mention that it's extortinately expensive), more attractive, and far more representaive of their countries than the capital. But you'll need a couple of months to do them justice.

no paris.

london takes three weeks all by itself to see well.

Wimbledon ain't worth seeing.

see the itinerary i did for someone else. here: /question/index?qid=20150...

i would begin this lifelong travel with 2 weeks just in london/south england.

i would get a hotel here https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/49/L...

day 1

taxi from heathrow or city bus. make sure your suitcase has rolley wheels. you will get there around noon or 1. bad jet lag will hit about three, so just take a shower and go walk around kingston (shopping/history). see the church and the town square. get something substantial to eat. there is a nice french restaurant by the bridge. admire the swans.

day 2

take the bus to richmond upon thames. see ham house https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ham_House

syon house http://www.hha.org.uk/Property/932/Syon-...

marble hill house http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/ma...

chiswick if you have time http://www.chgt.org.uk/

and kew http://www.hrp.org.uk/KewPalace/

walk the town of richmond (shopping!) and have a nice meal, bus back to kingston

day 3 walk through the deer park or taxi to Hampton court palace. nice dinner across the street.

day 4 stay at the travelodge and take the train daily into central london or move to the premier travel inn in Wimbledon (where there is a direct tube line). i prefer to stay in kingston, rather than wimbledon, because nice areas just outside my door. Wimbledon is rather nasty.

tower of london and crown jewels, roman walls

st pauls

monument and pudding lane

museum of london/roman walls if you have time

day 5

museum of london continued

walk across millenium bridge and see globe theatre, southwark cathedral, (that pub - name?), and anything else that might interest you on that side.

day 6 train to waterloo, walk across bridge, westminster abbey, big ben, (the little castle by the church), westminster hall, #10 downing street, horse guards, walk to st james, clarence house, then to buckingham palace, mews, kensington palace

day 7 overflow.

day 8 train to waterloo, walk across pedestrian bridge to Trafalgar square/charing cross. british musuem, national portrait gallery (history!), lunch in china town.

day 9 leicester square, see a play, have peking duck in china town. covent garden, antiquing, shopping.

day 10 shopping, Harrods, selfridiges, oxford street, covent garden, see the royal ballet.

day 11 train to windsor castle

day 12 rent a car and do downton abbey (highclere castle), and the jane austen area. winchester (major history), stonehenge, salisbury . this might take two days.

day 13. train to hastings/ battle abbey (major history study before you go. watch simon schama's history of britain. he makes this story come alive. ) hever castle if you have time, lewes.

day 14 train to canterbury (study before you go) work in rochester castle if you have time

day 15 train to choose one: (southhampton. medieval merchants house, mary rose, town walls) (or a roman town like st albans/include hatfield house) (or dover castle )

day 16 prepare to go home. mail packages to yourself. i always bring clothes ready for the trash can, discard them there and that makes room in my suitcase for my treasures. it's always books.

day 17-21 overflow / fly.