I went to London with one of my childhood friends and it was both of our first trips as working adults, coming roughly 6-8 months after we had started our first jobs out of college. We chose London because of how easy it was to plan and it seemed like a good first trip for us to kick off our adult traveling experience. Due to how easy it was to plan, the endless activities that we had options to do, the amazing food, and the general vibes of a "cleaner New York", we both fell in love with the city and it is probably the best trip I have been on to date when factoring in all of the relevant aspects of traveling.

Day 1: Red-Eye Flight to London

• Subway to JFK and grab dinner at JFK -- we chose to get Buffalo Wild Wings because of the terminal we were in

• Take a red-eye flight at 11:00 PM from JFK to Heathrow, arriving at 10:30 AM

  • Take advantage of the alcohol on international flights and get a couple drinks to sleep on the red-eye

Day 2: First Day of London Exploration + Check in to Hostel

• ​​Take the Heathrow Express train from Heathrow to Paddington station, and then use the tube to get to King's Cross Station

  • The Heathrow Express is the only train ride that won't be covered by the Oyster card

• Walk to Generator and pay for the lockers to leave your stuff while you take a quick walk around and wait for the room to become accessible

  • We stopped at Caffè Tropea in Russell Square to get a quick bite while we waited and then headed back to shower and sit for a few minutes before leaving again

• Hop on one of the buses that circles the city and head towards Trafalgar Square to walk around, see some of the iconic landmarks

• Continue walking through the streets of Covent Garden towards dinner at Nando's

• Walk home after dinner to see more of the streets of London and get an early night in after the jet lag

Day 3: British Museum + Bike Ride + Dishoom + China Town

• Grab breakfast at Noxy Brothers before starting a long day of exploring various parts of the city

• Head to the British Museum to see some of the largest Egyptian and international exhibit showcases

  • We ended up spending quite some time in here, partially to avoid the rain for a morning, but also because of how many interesting things the museum holds

  • This activity is free for everyone, but does require an advance time slot reservation for entry

• Take the Tube to the Marble Arch station and rent a Santander bicycle and take a ride around Hyde Park, passing by Constitution Hill, the Palaces, and ending up in Piccadilly Circus

  • These work the same way as Citi bikes in NYC

  • We ate a quick pesto sandwich at Colicci Hyde Park before starting our bike ride

• Head to Dishoom Covent Garden by 5 PM to be one of the first people in line

  • This is one of the top 5 meals I have eaten in my life; we loved it so much, we ended up going back a couple nights later and the food and drinks are phenomenal

• To digest all the food, head to Carnaby Street in Soho to walk around and see the lights everywhere

• Walk to China town to go to the Opium Bar

  • This bar is hidden behind a green door that looks like it goes to someone's apartment and the only way to tell is that there is a bouncer outside. Very cool speakeasy with great drinks and not too long of a wait

• Walk back to the hostel to see more of the city at night

Day 4: Chelsea Stadium + Phat Phuc + Fuller's Brewery + Poppies

• Grab breakfast from Store Street Espresso and eat on the way to Stamford Bridge

• Head to Chelsea Stadium for a Stamford Bridge tour 

  • Our tour guide was one of the coolest people ever, he mentioned hanging out with a lot of the player's families and being around the organization for years -- very very cool experience

• Take the Tube to Chelsea to go to Phat Phuc Noodle Bar, one of the more famous Vietnamese restaurants in London

• After Phat Phuc Noodle Bar, take the Tube to go to Fuller's Griffin Brewery

  • This is one of London's oldest breweries and one of the cooler activities part of the London Pass, but it does need to be reserved for the time slot

• After the brewery, head to Soho to walk around and shop among the famous stores and hit a happy hour at Be at One

• Eat dinner at Poppies, a classic fish and chips joint that you need to reserve ahead of time

• While walking home, grab donuts from Donutlier, a viral donut store

Day 5: Walking Tour

• Grab breakfast from Costa Coffee, saving appetite for both heavy meals of the day

• Head back to Hyde Park to kick off the 30+ Sights Walking Tour

  • This tour includes Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Portrait Gallery, Big Ben, Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, Globe Theatre, Tate Modern Art Museum, Southwark Cathedral, The Shard, HMS Belfast, Tower Bridge, Tower of London

  • This is also free through the London Pass, but needs to be reserved

  • Similar to the Chelsea tour, our tour guide was awesome and ended up grabbing a beer with us

• Head to the Borough Market to check out the stalls and food and then eat at Padella, a famous pasta restaurant

• Continue to walk around the area, checking out the Tower Bridge and going inside the museum where they house the Kohinoor Diamond

• Stroll back towards Big Ben, London Eye, and take some pictures before grabbing tea at Caffè Concerto while waiting for a dinner reservation at 50 Kalo

• Unfortunately, this night my allergies started to kick in so we went back to the hostel relatively early and ended up getting a long night's sleep

​Day 6: English Breakfast + Mind Palace + Shard

• Start the morning with the first proper breakfast of the trip, eating a classic English breakfast at Halfcup

• Continue to one of the most tourist trap things that London offers, a picture at Platform 9 3/4 for all the Harry Potter fans

  • Because of the lines, this will probably take a while so leave some room on either side

• Head to a mall out in the suburbs for a Sherlock-Holmes themed escape room

  • This ended up being one of those hidden gems in the London Pass that we never thought we would do, but actually ended up really enjoying, even though we could not actually escape in time

• It was a pretty rainy day, so we spent the afternoon walking around and seeing some more neighborhoods before making our way to the Financial District for a rooftop view of London from The Shard

  • This activity is part of the London Pass, but requires a slight additional fee -- in my opinion, it is only worth it if you end up going on a day with nice weather, otherwise you can't really see anything anyway

• We went back to Dishoom for dinner in a different location because we were craving it so much and then walked back to digest all the food

Day 7: Stonehenge + Windsor + Oxford Tour

• ​Wake up early and head to meet up point for all-day tour which covers

  • Stonehenge --> pretty far out of London, but worth going to just to say you have been

  • Windsor Castle --> very pretty and walking through the castle and seeing how royalty lived was pretty cool

  • Oxford College --> interesting to see how international colleges are set up and can meet some students

• Go out at night to see London nightlife

Day 8: Fly back to JFK