London Weekend Break

Weekend checklist – planning

If you are thinking of taking a weekend break, your check list is not so much one of things that you need to take with you on your trip, but more one of ideas, thoughts and plans that you need to finalise before your visit.

A weekend is a very short period of time and, if you fail to plan in advance, you may waste more time deciding what to do, what kind of attractions interest you and how to get to them, than you will actually spend doing the things that count. Different people visit London at different times of the year and for different reasons, so it is always a good idea to decide what you want to do and see before you arrive.

Spending time planning in advance will make your trip more successful and allow you to do more in the comparatively short period of time available to you over the course of a weekend break.

Here are some thoughts to consider in deciding what to do.

Are you a family wanting to show your children the historic sights like the Tower of London and educational attractions like the Planetarium or the Natural History or Science Museums. Do you need interesting, attention holding activities and lots of variation.

Are you a couple spending a weekend away to celebrate a birthday or Anniversary. Is eating out an important part of the break and do you want a special event, show or exhibition to be the highlight of your weekend in London.

Do you want a themed break built around culture, West End shows, or gallery and museum visits. Do you want to pack a lot into your break and immerse yourself in some aspect or characteristic of the city.

Ultimately, the reason for you break will probably determine what you want to see and do and help you set an agenda or list of places to see and things to do.

Split days into daytime and night time activities

If you are open to ideas, then one good way to make your plans is to start by splitting each day into daylight and night time hours. Continued below .....

The evenings are fairly easy to plan because firstly, you need to eat and secondly, most of the more famous daytime attractions will be during this period. Eating in a restaurant and taking in a show (from which there are many to choose from) should adequately fill your evening, but there are bars, clubs (i.e. Jazz etc) and nightclubs to consider. If you want to take in a show it is also highly advisable to book your tickets in advance

What to do during the day offers a near limitless selection of options. One of the best ways to plan, particularly if you like the idea of sampling a bit of everything, is to divide your day into sections and spends each of those sections in a different district or attraction hub. Each of these areas will have a number of tourist highlights that you can get to on foot before using the tube, bus or taxi to move on to another.

Also try to give yourself some bad weather options in the event of wet days. As a starting point, take a look at this list of sightseeing attractions page for some ideas of which historic buildings, museums, shopping areas and other attractions are found in London. You may also want to check out any special events, seasonal exhibitions or festivals that take place during different times of the year.

Finally, put your thoughts and ideas down on paper and make sure that you are not intending to try and do too much in the time that you have. Look at how you will get to your chosen visitor sights (e.g. on foot, tube or bus) and consider things like sightseeing tours and a London pass.