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The W in London is (map) perfectly located truly at the center of London in Leicester Square - all of the sights, museums and gay nightlife! Check out this overview of the city. If you're ready to go when you arrive - and the weather cooperates - book a London Eye ticket. Explore Buckingham Palace & Westminster area on your way or if not check out one of the many museums. You've got a couple days, so take a look and see what you really might enjoy!
Sights
Allow 1-2 hours: London Eye (map) - 5 min cab, 10 min Tube, 20 minute walk (across the Thames)
- Book when you arrive or the next day, through the W Concierge
- 30 minute ride with picturesque views of the London Skyline
- Open 10am - 9pm everyday
Allow 2-3 hours: Buckingham Palace (map)/Palace of Westminster/Westminster Abbey/Big Ben (map) - 5 min cab, 20 minute walk
- Visit Westminster Abby on Monday, July 7th between 9am - 3pm (most things closed Sunday)
- Check out each of the different parts of the Abbey
- View the surrounding Westminster Palace and Big Ben (inside tours now unavailable)
- View Buckingham Palace nearby, currently closed to the public
- Wander Hyde Park (map) there's even a listed "cruising area" in the SE part - or Green Park (map) and walk by the palace gates
- Also you'll have to pop by 10 Downing Street (map) and walk through Trafalgar Square (map) to complete your government & central London tour!
Allow 1-2 hours: National Gallery (map) - 5 min walk (also on the way to Buckingham & Westminster)
- Visit 10am-6pm (Jul 6 or 7)
- Check out the current exhibits and the "must see" paintings
Allow 1-2 hours: Museum of London (map) - 10-15 min cab, 40 min walk
- Visit 10am-6pm (Jul 6 or 7)
- An "unforgettable journey through the capital's long turbulent past"
Allow 1-2 hours: British Museum (map) - 8 min cab, 15 min walk
- Visit 10am-5:30 pm (Jul 6 or 7)
- "chronicle of Western civilization" has Egyptian mummies, Assyrian lions, and a large hall featuring the best parts of the frieze from Athens' Parthenon
Allow 3-4 hours: Tower of London (map)/Globe Theater (map) - 15 min cab, 25 min subway (20 min walk from Museum of London)
- Let the Beefeaters give you a tour
- Look at this you tube video to get a taste
- Hours 10am - 5:30pm (both days)
- Walk by the Globe Theater afterwards, 20 minute beautiful walk along the Thames
Allow 2 hours: Wimbledon (map) - 30 min cab, 50 min Subway ride
- July 6th is the last day of Wimbledon, so it might be easier to get close to the location on the 7th, however the shops and museum are still inaccessble.
- This is what you will expect to see from outside since is Wimbledon wrapping up.
Nearby Food
- Scoff and Banter (map)- Across Leicester Square at the Radisson Blu - "fusion of modern British and Mediterranean influences " - review & hours
- Kettner's (map) - 5 min walk - "london institution" French cuisine - review & hours
- Hawksmoor Seven Dials (map) - 7 min walk - recommended steak place - review & hours
Bars/Clubs/Parties
- Sunday, July 6: G-A-Y (map) - a few blocks north - Open 12pm - 12am, attend between 8-11p
- Get a flyer for entry later to G-A-Y Late (map) (10 min walk) for more fun after midnight
- Monday, July 7: Popcorn at Heaven (map) - 10 min walk - "Prism" party from 11:30pm - 5am (busy at 1am, last entry at 3:30)
Other bars to drop by for a drink (around 8pm onwards)
- Ku Bar (map) - 5 min walk - Popular club-style, DJ-driven basement bar; youngish crowd; Sunday: Drag night with 8:30pm start time, Monday: DJ from 10pm
- The Yard (map) - 5 min walk - casual bar with two distinctly different spaces, including the outdoor and garden-like Courtyard; Afterwork-crowd (until 1am Monday, until 11:30 on Sunday)
- Tons of other bars if you want to go bar hopping in preppy So-Ho or dirty Vauxhall