What to Do With Only 3 Days in London
Planning a trip to London any time soon? I’ve got you covered. I’ve put together an itinerary highlighting what to do with only three days in London, which I feel is the perfect amount of time to spend in this charming city. I was so excited to visit this iconic city. Between my obsession with British accents, Great Britain’s flag, and phone booths, I was more than ready to explore. I hope you’re ready for this activity-filled 3-day itinerary because London has a lot to offer!
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An Itinerary for Three Days in London
Day One
Morning – Covent Garden, Lunch at Punch & Judy’s
Spending your morning at the lively Covent Garden market will be a great use of your time. Between all the restaurants, shops, and street performances, you can easily spend a few hours here. I also loved all of the floral arrangements they had on display. My favorite of these was this floral arrangement on a piano. So beautiful!
Where to Eat at Covent Garden: If you’re having trouble deciding which restaurant to eat at in Covent Garden, I highly recommend Punch & Judy’s. You can either have drinks on the deck overlooking the street performances, or you can head downstairs to eat in the tavern-like dining area. If you want some classic fish and chips, this is the perfect place to go.
Afternoon – Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Oxford Circus
Want to find some phone booths and do some shopping? These are the streets you will want to walk down. Piccadilly Circus has been called the Times Square of London. However, I did not find it to be quite as overcrowded or overwhelming as Times Square can be. I found lots of cool shops to walk into throughout this area. I was also loving all the phone booths lined up on sidewalks, approaching multiple of them to get my photo taken once or twice, or twenty times.
Evening – Pub Hopping
One of my favorite things we did during our three days in London was our evening of pub hopping. There was a pub almost everywhere I turned my head in downtown London. After our long day of being on our feet, I was so excited to unwind with drinks that night. Lined with the most darling British flags, Mr. Fogg’s Tavern was exactly what one would imagine when thinking of a British pub. If you only have time for one pub in your schedule, I recommend Mr. Fogg’s Tavern. There are a lot of other pubs nearby if you choose to go pub hopping.
Day Two
Morning – Buckingham Palace and Changing the Guard
After a hearty continental breakfast, if your hotel offers that, it will be time to embark on another day of adventures! As for us, we started our day of exploring off at Buckingham Palace. I was so excited to see where the Queen lived. Although we hadn’t sighted any royals, it was a surreal experience to see this stunning piece of architecture in person.
When Is the Best Time to See the Changing of the Guard?: Unfortunately, the free Changing the Guard event was canceled this day due to rain. Usually, the Changing the Guard occurs every other day at 11 am, as long as weather permits. Make sure to get there early for a close-up view at the front of the gate. Even if you are not present for the Changing the Guard ceremony, Buckingham Palace is still worth seeing. It is fun exploring the grounds surrounding the palace.
Afternoon – Big Ben, Cross the Westminster Bridge, Eat/Drink at Las Iguanas
The biggest disappointment of my trip to London was that Big Ben had scaffolding over it, making it completely unrecognizable. I had plugged the address into my GPS and was confused when we arrived because I hadn’t expected it to have scaffolding over it. It was undergoing construction from 2017 to 2023. If you’re planning on visiting London in 2023 and beyond, then you’re in luck!
After this disappointing realization, we decided to cross Westminster Bridge to explore some more. To add to our disappointment, it started raining. Not wanting to be stuck out in the rain much longer, we began hunting for a place to eat. We ended up stumbling upon the cutest and tastiest Mexican restaurant called Las Iguanas. Luckily, they were having a 2-for-1 cocktail special, which usually lasts all day on Sundays and Mondays and from 12-7 p.m. all other days of the week. We treated ourselves to three cocktails each! Adding onto our splurge of an afternoon, we also had some great appetizers, along with churros and chocolate for dessert. We really went all out at Las Iguanas on this rainy day, which ended up being the best way to spend our day.
Evening – Cahoots! London Bar and ICE BAR London
After relaxing at the hotel for a bit, we headed back out for a few more drinks. I’m sure this trip is beginning to sound like a drinking vacation, but London just has such a cool bar scene, and with only 3 days in London, you’ve got a lot of ground to cover!
1920s Speakeasy in London: If you choose to visit Cahoots!, I can guarantee you will love it. It is decorated to look and feel like a speakeasy in the 1920s. They really went all out to dedicate themselves to this theme. Upon entering, you’ll hear a speaker playing commentary about keeping your arms inside the carriage, etc. Once you enter, you’ll be greeted by a host dressed up in the attire of that time period. The coolest part? The menus are designed to resemble old newspapers! They have regular dining seats, but we chose to sit in the bunkers. These were small, private seats on the sides of the dining room. They are pretty dark, except for the candlelight you are provided with. I absolutely loved this experience! I felt like I was transported back in time. We only ordered drinks, but our waitress also brought us a complimentary bowl of tasty popcorn.
ICE BAR in London: After Cahoots!, we headed to ICE BAR London. I have seen these types of bars in America, but I had never been to one before. Because of the extremely low temps, you are given a heavy winter coat prior to entering and are limited to spending 40 minutes inside. Once inside, you are greeted by the coolest ice sculptures. Our drinks were even served in ice cups! We only got one drink each since it wasn’t the cheapest experience. But I am so thankful we decided to do this.
Day Three
Morning – Explore Notting Hill and Portobello Road Market
I knew that we had to spend our third and final day in London exploring Notting Hill, the adorable district outside of downtown London known for its cute pastel buildings and homes. While exploring, it is asked that you be respectful of those who may live in the houses you are admiring. I found all sorts of cute houses and cars.
There are so many streets to choose from in Notting Hill. It can be overwhelming to choose where to explore. I did lots of research ahead of time to make sure we could find the streets with the cutest houses.
Best Streets to Visit in Notting Hill: Three addresses you will want to plug into your GPS are 27 St. Luke’s Mews, 39 Lancaster Road, and Clarendon Road. These streets have cute houses and adorable surrounding neighborhoods.
While in the Notting Hill area, you also have to explore Portobello Road Market. There are so many interesting shops to explore here, enticing tourists to spend as much or as little time as they want to explore.
Afternoon – Afternoon Tea at Millie’s Lounge
When in London, you absolutely have to go for afternoon tea! I’ve honestly never been a huge tea fan, but I told myself I had to do it for the experience. I stumbled upon the cutest restaurant online and knew I had to make reservations there during our trip. This restaurant is called Millie’s Lounge. There’s a large list of tea flavors to choose from. I chose to go with a sweet flavor, as I figured I might be able to savor it a bit more. Having afternoon tea was so enjoyable! Along with our tea, our waiter brought us sandwiches, scones, and other desserts. He also offered to refill our tea and food whenever we were running low. I’m convinced it’s now my life mission to make sure everyone has afternoon tea in London – it was that much fun. If I ever have the pleasure of returning to London, I will make sure to do this again.
To read more about my experience at Millie’s Lounge, head to my detailed blog post!
Evening – See a Musical
Being the musical theatre obsessor that I am, I was tempted by the various ads I saw for musicals. We stumbled into a ticket shop called Encore Tickets and were able to score fifth-row tickets to see Wicked in the Apollo Victoria Theatre. These tickets only cost about 50 U.S. dollars! The show was Broadway quality but at a much lower price. Wicked is one of my favorite musicals, so you can only imagine that seeing it in London was the perfect way to close out our trip.
After spending only three days in London, I am more than ready for another weekend full of pub hopping, afternoon tea, telephone booths, and watching musicals. As for now, I’m going to close out my blog in the cheesiest way possible: Cheers!
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