In honor of this Saturday’s royal wedding (I’m so excited!) I’m sharing the itinerary and pictures from the London trip that Ted and I took a few years back. We only had two full days in the UK since we were on a whirl wind European tour (see my other posts on Paris & Rome) but managed to fit a lot into a short amount of time.  Read on to see how you can tackle a lot of the UK in just two days. Fun fact: our trip included a visit to Windsor Castle,  which is where Prince Harry and Meghan will tie the knot!

Day 1

MORNING

Tower of London Tour

The Tower of London has seen so many of Britain’s historic events. Built in 1066 it sits on the River Thames and is also home to the Queen’s crown jewels (if that interests you). From the site you get a great view of Tower Bridge, which most folks confuse with London Bridge. Ted and I did the full historic tour since we’re history nerds. We bought tickets beforehand to save time and beat the lines.

Trafalgar Square

After the Tower of London tour, walk along the river or take the Underground to Trafalgar Square. This is where you will start your grand tour of London’s most famous sites (Big Ben, Parliament, Westminster Abbey) that are conveniently clustered together. After walking around this area you will get an appreciation for London’s architecture and urban design. Each corner you turn will reveal and iconic city landmark.

Walk the grounds of Parliament & Big Ben

If we had more time we would have taken tours of the interior but just seeing Big Ben and the iconic architecture of Parliament was incredible. From this area you can also get another pretty view of the River Thames and the famous London Eye.

AFTERNOON

Visit Buckingham Palace

If you’re a The Crown lover like me seeing Buckingham Palace will be a highlight of your trip. Pose in front of the famous gilded gates and if you have time book an inside tour !

Take a stroll around Hyde Park & Kensington Palace

One of the things I love most about London is its large public parks. The parks are remnants of old royal hunting grounds and today are enjoyed by all Londoners. It will probably take you about an hour to walk through this park (it’s huge!). While there make sure you take some time to explore the grounds of Kensington Palace . Maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of Kate with baby Prince Louis trolling around.

EVENING

Westminster Abbey

If you can time it right (it’s at 5pm / 17:00) take the opportunity to sit in on a free choir service in Westminster Abbey (Evensong). Ted and I loved hearing the beautiful performance echo into the centuries old church.  It’s the site of many famous royal weddings (I still remember watching Will & Kate tie the knot here) as well as the final resting place for most of Britain’s famous kings.

Day 

Ted and I debated whether or not we should stay around London the whole time we were in the UK. But we also really wanted to see Britain’s famous countryside. So on day two we opted to take a whirlwind inclusive day trip with Premium Tours that took us to some of the UK’s most famous and iconic places: Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, & Bath.

This was one of the best day trips we have ever taken. We literally saw so much in a short period of time and had such a blast. We splurged a bit on this day trip but it was worth every penny.

MORNING

Windsor Castle

We were able to take a full tour of the castle and cathedral (which houses the remains of the famous Henry the VIII!). The castle still operates as a royal residence and I still can’t forget how green and well-manicured the grounds were. It’s so fun to look back at these pics and be able to envision where Prince Harry & Meghan Markle will be saying ‘I Do’ this weekend

Stonehenge

After Windsor castle we drove out to the ancient remains of Stonehenge. It was incredible to see this site and also interesting that you can see it from the highway. I always thought this was an isolated and remote site, but no, it sits just off a busy road !

AFTERNOON

Lunch

With this tour our lunch was included and we stopped at a little inn in a town where they had filmed scenes from my favorite movie Pride & Prejudice. You can imagine my excitement and I think I took about 1,000 pictures just at this small, picturesque British village.

Bath & Sally Lunn’s

After lunch we drove over to Bath. If you’re an Jane Austen fan like me you’ll know this is a famous location in so many famous stories like Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. While here we strolled the cute city and also had a proper British tea in the famous Sally Lunn’s – Britain’s longest operating tea shop. (since 1680!)

EVENING

We spent the early evening driving back to London – so if you’re not tuckered out from the jam packed day you can find some time for a nice dinner or maybe even a show!

So that was our whirlwind tour of the UK – its admittedly intense and exhausting but if you’re motivated to see the sites like we were you’ll be so happy and have unforgettable memories.

For those of you who’ve been to the UK – what are you favorite things to do?!