Our trip to London- Favorite Things we did in London, Stonehenge, Windsor, and Bath

We just took an amazing vacation in London, and loved every second of it! We hope to go back! Along with London we also went to Wiltshire to see Stonehenge, Windsor to see the Windsor Castle, Bath, The Cotswolds, and Scotland. Sharing today all the things we saw in London, Wiltshire and Windsor.

Favorite Things we did in London, Stonehenge, Windsor, and Bath-

LONDON-

• Checked into our flat– we really liked where we stayed, it was very charming, we have booked with One Fine Stay in Paris and loved it. This flat we could walk to food places, a corner, a fancy grocery store, walk to the bus tour, and walk a mile to the Natural History Museum.
• Bus Tour– we walked to this from our hotel right after we landed. Highly recommend a bus tour! Granted, I closed my eyes a few times, ok fell asleep, so it was nice after a long overnight flight. I loved all the information they shared and having a quick tour of all the main sites, you can hop on and hop off.
• Market Halls in Victoria– we ate lunch at Butchies, lots of options and nice inside. Walk up and order. 
• Tower of London– we had a tour guide, wouldn’t necessarily recommend that tour. But I was completely fascinated with Yeoman Warder, “The Beefeaters” who live there, I would do a tour with them! I would love to hear more about their life, see where they live etc (there are documentaries too).
• Crown Jewels Tour– honestly not my favorite thing to see, but I still think it’s worth walking through since you are there. It is pretty quick. Finn, our 9 year old, liked it once we referenced the Minions (2015 movie) how they steal the crown jewels. 
• Tower Bridge– loved walking on the tower bridge, make sure to go to the top for a view below. You can also see how they operate the bridge.
• The Ivy– we had lunch at the end of The Tower Bridge (south-west side, opposite of Tower of London) very good and nice inside. I had heard you need reservations, we did not have, but got right in. Sunday Roast and Shepards Pie were both delicious. 
• Piccadilly Circus– Think London’s time square, we just walked through this area on our way to dinner. Lots of souvenir shops and restaurants. 
• Marks & Spencer– Everyone told us to come here and get the Percy Pigs (they some at Target), and Ella even found an expensive dress for a dance!
• Liberty– More of a higher end department store with home furnishings as well, four floors with lots of options! Also fun because Cruella was filmed here!
• Hamleys– One of the largest toy shops in the world, founded in 1881. You know Finn loved shopping in here, the girls even enjoyed it. Finn got a Hand Glider, kept him entertained.
• Soho, Carnaby Street and Heddon Street– We often found ourselves back in these areas for dinner and shopping, lots of options! We ate at Piccolino Mayfair, it was Italian and we really liked it! 
• Westminster Abbey– we did a walking tour that took you through the Abbey, past Big Ben and Buckingham Palace. I really enjoyed seeing inside Westminster Abbey, it was beautiful and so much to see there. I don’t think you need a guided tour, but I would research what to make sure to see in Abbey and facts about it before you go.
• Big Ben– We just looked from the outside, such a neat thing to see and the girls found the perfect spot for a picture in a traditional England phone booth! You can get a tour to walk inside the clock, just plan far ahead because they sell out quickly.
• Kingsley Court– This food court in the SOHO area was nice and had lots of options, the girls and I had Mexican food which was really good. Kevin and Finn had Ramen noodles and loved it!
• Buckingham Palace– we just walked by and saw it from the outside, you can do a guided tour.
• Jelly Cat Fish and Chips at Selfridges– if you have kids, this is a must in my opinion, our 9, 14, and 17 year old all loved it. I did too. You can make a reservation or wait in a 1-2 hour line (what we did). Basically you can only get the exclusive Fish and Chips Jelly Cat’s in this line. When you get to the counter they have you pick your Jelly Cat, like you are ordering food, squeeze lemon, add salt and pepper, wrap in paper and put a custom sticker on it. Also the pins and stickers are extra perks!
• Faros in Oxford– we ate dinner here, very good and nicest staff. It was Italian and they got us right in.
• Natural History Museum– Happy we went here, it was something Finn wanted to do. Free admission. Must see “the iconic Dippy the Diplodocus skeleton, the awe-inspiring blue whale model, the Dinosaur Gallery.”
• Boroughs Market– LOVED this!! All food vendors. Chocolate covered strawberries, Black Pig Sandwich (so good), La Tua Pasta (the girls had Italian here and really liked it), and the Paia (we didn’t try, but lines were long), Humble Crumble (sad we missed this, so many suggested it after). Around the corner there was a gelato place that we liked called Borough Market Gelateria, Finn loved it.
• Portobello Market– Walk up and down the streets of the famous Notting Hill. Saturday is the best day for this, we went on a Monday and it was still great with vendors out, click HERE to see what is featured each day.
• Visit Famous door from Notting Hill– Right off of Portobello Road. The door is a popular spot for tourists, and you’ll likely see others taking pictures there. The second door on the left as you head away from Portobello Road. 280 Westbourne Park Road, London, W11 1EH.
• Bridget Jones Mad about a Boy Walking Tour– we didn’t do this, I found it after we left. I really loved the movie setting and aesthetics of all Bridget Jones movies, but especially loved the house in Mad About a Boy and all the locations, so I would have loved to do this walking tour (but maybe better with my sister who loved it too).
• Visit Paddington Bear house in London- The Brown family home is at 30 Chalcot Crescent in Primrose Hill. We spotted a couple Paddington Bear stuffed animals propped in the windows!
• Windsor Castle– We weren’t able to go through the castle because it was closed, but the grounds and town around the Castle are so charming! Would love to see inside one day! (We hired a driver to take us from London to take us to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Town of Bath, but would have preferred to rent a car and drive on our own to have a little more freedom, it was nice to not worrying about parking or navigating)
• Stonehenge– We loved this! It was a bit of a drive from London, but it was worth it (a few people told us to skip it, since you can’t touch the stones, that wasn’t a big deal to us). We really liked that we were able to walk to the site (1 mile walk) or you can take the bus. Such an amazing feat and so interesting to think about how it was accomplished! Our kids liked it too, Finn especially the ice cream at the end.
• Town of Bath– Must see town, I wish we had more time here, I detailed more below, so many movies and shows were filmed in Bath. Bridgerton (The Royal Crescent, Abbey Green Deli Stand is Modiste Dress Shop in first two seasons), Wonka (2023 version), Les Miserables (the musical used Pulteney Bridge as a filming location).
• Roman Baths in Bath– this was amazing to see! We did the self guided audio tour, it was really good, they even had a kids version that Finn enjoyed. This was fascinating, worth it!
• Beefy Boys in Bath– best burger I have ever had!! Highly recommend it.
• DeVOL Showroom in Bath– I am a BIG fan of this DeVOL Kitchen Cabinet company, they also have a TV series on Magnolia “For the love of kitchens”. I enjoyed walking through their small showroom, fun to see their instagram photos come to life. 
• Shopping in Bath– there are lots of great vintage, antique shops here. Piglet bedding, Green Park Station Market Shopping, Vintage and Antiques Market, which runs on the last Sunday of every month at Green Park Station (sad I missed this!).
• Stay tuned- I will share how we went to The Cotswolds and Scotland after this!

Day 1 in London-

Day 2 in London-

Day 3 in London-

Day 4 in London-

Day 5 in London-