This trip was taken with a group of high school students through EF Tours, featuring a package itinerary covering both London and Rome. Since we traveled with a tour company, this blog focuses primarily on what we experienced through that structured itinerary rather than independent planning.
Many of the prices listed here come directly from websites, since several activities were bundled into our tour package. We also didn’t have to worry about navigating transportation because we traveled by coach throughout the trip. There are pros and cons to going with a tour company. Our schedule was tightly packed, but it often shortens the time we can spend at each stop. Given more flexibility, we likely would have stayed longer to explore certain places in greater depth.
The tour included a local guide and a walking city tour, which meant we saw many iconic landmarks. One of the biggest perks was having knowledgeable guides who brought each location to life and were able to answer our questions. Since we had a structured itinerary, we didn’t always have the opportunity to go inside every site.
With that context in mind, this blog reflects what we experienced, what we enjoyed, and what we’d recommend based on the time we had. My Rome blog will cover the second half of the trip.
📍 Google Map Bookmark: Include both London and Rome
🗓️ Itinerary: 3 Days
Click Arrow for Day to Day Itinerary:
Day 1: River Thames Boat Tour, London Eye, Graffiti Tunnel
Day 2: Buckingham Palace, Parliament Square Garden, Westminster Abbey, Saint Paul’s Cathedral, 7 Dials Market, London Dungeon, Hercules
Day 3: Tower of London, Borough Market, Museums
📋 Things to Do:
🎨 Leake Street Arches: Graffiti Tunnel
Located in a pedestrian tunnel beneath Waterloo Station, this graffiti space is within walking distance of the London Eye. It’s a legal street art zone where anyone can create. Bring your own spray paint, find a spot, and get to work. It’s an electric atmosphere that constantly keeps changing.
While we were there, we saw a father teaching his young son (probably around 9–11 years old) how to spray paint. It was a great moment, and surprisingly, one of our students later said this was their favorite part of the trip.
We didn’t have too much time here, but if we were to go back I would want to check out Mamuska! Restaurant and Bar.
The London Eye area offers several attractions we didn’t have time to try, including The Paddington Bear Experience, Shrek’s Adventure London, and SEA LIFE London Aquarium. You can purchase individual tickets or bundle multiple attractions.
Our group chose a combo ticket for the River Thames cruise and the London Eye, costing £49 total.
⛵ River Thames Boat Tours: Adult: £16
This was our first activity in London, and it set the tone perfectly. The 40ish minute cruise offers scenic views as you pass under iconic bridges like London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and Millennium Bridge.
Our guide was both informative and hilarious, making the experience even better. Seeing Tower Bridge from the water alone makes this worth it.
🎡 London Eye: Adult: £33 and up
The London Eye is not to be confused with a ferris wheel. It’s actually an observation wheel. The pods are fully enclosed, climate-controlled, and mounted on the outside of the structure. A full rotation takes about 30 minutes, offering breathtaking views from the heart of London.
Upon doing further research you can book experiences in the Eye such as Spring Afternoon Tea, Champagne, LEGO Botanicals Building Experience, Cupid’s Pod, and Proposal Pod!
💀 London Dungeon: Adult: £25 – £60
The London Dungeon exceeded expectations. It’s not just jump scares it’s an immersive, theatrical journey through 1,000 years of London’s darker history. Each room presents a different story, covering events like the Gunpowder Plot, the Plague, and Jack the Ripper.
The experience ends with a short indoor drop ride. If you’re worried about it, don’t be. This is much milder than the outdoor drops you’d find at an amusement park.
Our students loved it, and it was a great way to make history more engaging and memorable.
⚡ Hercules: Theatre Royal Drury Lane: Tickets from £29.50
London’s West End theater scene rivals NYC’s Broadway. They both have very competitive, world-leading theater scenes with the west end offering historic and smaller venues.
Our group saw Hercules, which was a hit especially with our students being fans of ’90s Disney films. The production modernized the story while keeping its charm. The moving set pieces were impressive, and the Muses absolutely stole the show.
🇬🇧 Historical Locations:
Our guided walking tour covered several major sites. While we didn’t go inside most of them, they’re all within close walking distance.
💂 Parliament Square Garden: Big Ben, West Minster Abbey, Palace of Westminster.
The garden acts as a focal point surrounded by iconic landmarks with a great view. The garden hosts numerous statues of notable leaders. Our tour guide told a tale about Sir Winston Churchill’s statue being electrified to keep pigeons from resting on his head.
⛲ Trafalgar Square: The National Gallery, Nelson’s Column, Lions Statues
Trafalgar Square is surrounded by museums, galleries, cultural spaces, and historic buildings. At its center stands a tall stone column honoring the victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, guarded by four iconic bronze lions.
Interestingly, the sculptor didn’t have a real lion to use as a reference. Instead, he used his greyhound dogs as models to shape the hind legs.
🕍 Saint Paul’s Cathedral: Adult: £27
We didn’t enter the Cathedral, but next time around I would plan to. A ticket includes the Cathedral Floor, Crypt and Dome Galleries. As we were listening to our tour guide I saw people on the outside of the Dome! Being able to to climb the steps, explore the dome, and have panoramic view of the city would be worth it.
👑 Buckingham Palace: Adult: £33.00 and up to £100
There are a few different packages you can purchase to tour Buckingham Palace such as East Wing and Palace Gardens. All tours are guided in small groups on select dates throughout the year. During summer the State Room opens to visitors.
Buckingham Palace is recognized as home of the monarch as well as the backdrop to the Changing of the Guard ceremony. We were happy to have a good weather day for our visit so we caught the changing of the guards. Be sure to plan accordingly and keep track of the weather to catch the change.
Near Buckingham Palace you can visit Clarence House, St. Jame’s Palace, The Guards Museum, and two parks to explore.
🏰 Tower of London: Adult: £37.00
This historic site can easily take a full day to explore, though at least three hours is recommended.
The Tower of London holds: Torture at the Tower, The Crown Jewels, The Ravens, Tower Green, White Tower, St John’s Chapel, Medieval Palace, The Battlements, and Bloody Tower.
During our visit we were able to go through the White Tower, The Crown Jewels and see the Ravens. The lines do get long so plan on prioritizing the collections you want to see and go to them first.
The White Tower is packed with exhibits showcasing Royal Armories, Line of Kings, and home to The Chapel of Saint Join the Evangelist to name a few.
The Crown Jewels have been stored and displayed at the Tower of London since 1661. The collection contains over 23,000 gemstones and showcases items that are still used in royal ceremonies today.
The ravens of the Tower of London are the guardians of the Tower. The legend says the kingdom will fall if the six resident ravens ever leave the fortress. The names of our current Tower ravens are Harris, Jubilee, Poppy, Edgar, Georgie, Chaos, Henry and Poe.
🏛️ Museums Trifecta: Natural History Museum, Science Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum
South Kensington holds the Trifecta of Museums. All three museums offer free general admission and feature extensive collections covering nature, technology, and art. While all of the museums neighbor each other, each one warrants their own dedicated day to explore them at length. It would be tough to see all three, but partial of two is plausible. If you do book tickets in advance you can skip the line.
We took our time in the Natural History Museums, well because of dinosaurs obviously. I was a little upset because majority of them displayed were in the ceiling, but still fun nonetheless.
Other people on the tour opted for the Science Museum. We were told there was a great Star Trek Exhibit at the time.
🍽️ Food Markets:
The Market was our first place in London for lunch and we loved it. There were so many choices to pick and it was a short walk from the London Eye. Looking through my photos I realized I didn’t take any of my food. I guess we were starving.
🌮 Covent Garden: 7 Dials Market:
Since the Southbank Centre Market was a hit our tour guide thought that 7 Dials Market would be a good pit stop for lunch and a brief time shopping. Covent Garden is a shopping and entertainment hub in West End. So you can pick your pleasure, food, plays, musicals, and upscale restaurants.
We went to 7 Dial Market where me and mom thoroughly enjoyed our tacos from Masa Tacos. The tortillas are house made with corn and loaded with your choice of barbados beef, grilled chicken, or portobello mushrooms.
Borough Market was our last spot for lunch and I think we all were a little bit overwhelmed with the crowd and totally awesome food choices. Borough Market has been in it’s current location since 1756 which is ran by a trust on behalf of the community. They celebrate food and drinks made to enjoy the taste, how it makes you feel, and the ability to connect people. Come hungry, you’ll want to try everything.
💭 Final Thoughts:
London exceeded my expectations. From the theater and food markets to the river cruise and immersive attractions like the London Dungeon, there was so much to enjoy.
That said, three days wasn’t nearly enough to fully explore the city. Next time, we’d want to explore London Tower collections we missed, going into West Minster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral, if possible book a tour of Buckingham Palace, and most importantly get tickets to go inside the London Tower Bridge. This was a great introduction to London and by the end of the trip, it ultimately left us wanting more.
Capsule Customs Travel 