What to do in London in 2 hours?

cazziebo

I have a business contact/friend coming from California to London on Thursday on a short stopover and we have a spare 2 hours between meetings in the afternoon.

What's the best way to spend this so he can see as much as possible? I'm thinking London Eye or a bus tour.

is the River Cruise worth doing? I see you can combine tickets for the Cruise and Eye

johnnyreggae

Two hours is not enough for most 'rides' - which part of London do you need to begin & end

dorsetlady67

Best way of seeing London in 2 hrs is definatley on foot.
You can cover more area & they will get to actualy see & feel the people/streets of London that you wont get on the London eye or cruise or topless bus,them sort of things are ok for tourists that are here for a bit longer than 2hrs.
Depening on where in London I recommend Covent garden,trafalar square,china town etc

PlutoinCapricorn

I was in central London today, and the buses were diverted and spent a lot of time unable to move. The tour buses were stuck!

The suggested circular walk is a good idea: Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Chinatown, Covent Garden, down to the river, across Waterloo Bridge, along the South Bank to Westminster Bridge, across the bridge to Big Ben ...

prowla

A stroll from the Houses of Parliament up Whitehall past Downing Street to Trafalgar Square would pretty much cover the 2 hours. You could maybe slot in a left turn onto The Mall but probably wouldn't make it to Buckingham Palace.

But depending upon the weather you will either get rained on or be baking hot.

Alternatively you could try taking tea at a hotel.

cazziebo

thank you!

I'm meeting him from a meeting in Victoria and then heading over to a lunch meeting with him at Tower Hill. We'll be free from 2pm until around 4.30 when he'll have to head out Heathrow for a flight.

I'll take your advice and stick to walking. We can go look around the Tower area, maybe St Paul's, Katherine Docks and then head over to Westminster for Parliament and a quick look at Buckingham Palace before delivering him to Green Park for Piccadilly Line to Heathrow.

thanks again - no matter the question, this board always has an answer.

p00hsticks

cazziebo wrote: »

thank you!

I'm meeting him from a meeting in Victoria and then heading over to a lunch meeting with him at Tower Hill. We'll be free from 2pm until around 4.30 when he'll have to head out Heathrow for a flight.

Tower Bridge is due to open at 2pm and 2.30 that day, which he might find interesting - you'll get a good view from the river embankment behind the Tower.

http://www.towerbridge.org.uk/TBE/EN/BridgeLiftTimes/

Sharon87

cazziebo wrote: »

thank you!

I'm meeting him from a meeting in Victoria and then heading over to a lunch meeting with him at Tower Hill. We'll be free from 2pm until around 4.30 when he'll have to head out Heathrow for a flight.

I'll take your advice and stick to walking. We can go look around the Tower area, maybe St Paul's, Katherine Docks and then head over to Westminster for Parliament and a quick look at Buckingham Palace before delivering him to Green Park for Piccadilly Line to Heathrow.

thanks again - no matter the question, this board always has an answer.

I doubt you'll have time for all of that. Maybe if you constantly walked, but you want to have some time to view where you're at. I've looked at the route and it's just under 5 miles, which you coulk walk in 2 hours, but it'd be quite tiring, and that's constantly walking. I'd decide which ones you'd like to do and do them ones, and maybe have a nice drink somewhere too, by the river's always nice.

discplayer

Sharon87 wrote: »

I doubt you'll have time for all of that. Maybe if you constantly walked, but you want to have some time to view where you're at. I've looked at the route and it's just under 5 miles, which you coulk walk in 2 hours, but it'd be quite tiring, and that's constantly walking. I'd decide which ones you'd like to do and do them ones, and maybe have a nice drink somewhere too, by the river's always nice.

That's a good point, not sure if the OP meant get a tube to Westminster.

A tube from Tower Hill to Westminster should help so long as there's not too much loitering.

If time get off at Embankment not Westminster to walk the very short distance along the river to Westminster Bridge with the Eye and County Hall's facade opposite and Parliament appearing ahead.

Walk around Parliament Sq, by the Abbey then up to St James Park tube for the airport with a single island platform change at Hammersmith.

p00hsticks

discplayer wrote: »

A tube from Tower Hill to Westminster should help so long as there's not too much loitering.

Or better still from a sight seeing perspective - get a Thames Clipper from the Tower pier (Having delayed to watch the bridge open as per my previous post) to Embankment, which will cover a few of the sights (Globe, St Pauls, Tate Modern, Eye, Houses of Parliament) but should be quicker than walking and in the dry

unsure

Most foreign visitors are pretty impressed by the Tower of London...and if you are already in Tower Hill it's just a stones throw to 1,000 years of history. Alternately cross the Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern (don't have to go in, though theres a nice restaurant and coffee shop with great views over the river and skyline). Walk along the past Globe Theatre at Bankside onto Southbank and National Theatre, National Film Theatre,Hayward Gallery, Royal Festival Hall to the London Eye. Take pre-booked ride. That would do it. Otherwise start at Trafalgar Square, walk up the Mall to Buckingham Palace, across Green Park (optional coffee stop) and down Horseguards parade to Whitehall/Downing St, through Parliament Square and cross river to London Eye for pre-booked ride. If it's raining scrub all of above and take him gift shopping to either Harrods, Liberty's or Hamleys (actually several US friends consider a trip to Marks and Sparks an obligatory part of a trip to the UK-- others crave a visit to a "real British pub" or an Indian meal).

Might be worth asking him what he likes to do - if he likes art or museums it's a doddle! London can cater for most tastes.