London: yeah,
Tower of London is pretty cool. Very famous for lots of reasons, and interesting all by itself. And it’s a (small) castle in the middle of the city. There are walls from roman times around there; take a quick peek at them…even a chunk near Tower Gate Underground/Tube Station.
I’d take the “see the sites” tourist bus very first day just so you get an understanding of what is where. It should be 24 hour off and on ticket so you can stop at a few places too.
Don’t get day passes for the underground. Get 10 ticket Underground pass—or something like that. They tend to be valid for 1 hour on any direction. Or they USED to be.
British Museum is amazing…mummies, elgin marbles etc. Make sure if you go there you have some relevance. Get a brochure from entrance way, or read up a bit in a guidebook or whatever.
And yes, bring a guidebook with you.
Trafalgar square is just north of Westminster. (The first is famous open space; the second is Parliament building that overlooks the River Thames). Between the two is prime minister’s “office”/street. Interesting 15 min walk. But on north side of Trafalger Square is a museum…free normally but donate like 2 pounds each. Just inside are many of the world’s greatest paintings from the impressionists etc. etc. Just walk around 15 mins to be awed.
Charing Cross road comes off of Trafalgar square. There are pubs along there. These pubs are quoted in the song from Spirit of the West “We stayed in the bars along Charing Cross Road”
http://www.lyricstime.com/spirit-of-the-west-home-for-a-rest-lyrics.html
Check if there is a moving opening while you’re in town as Charring Cross has Leicester Square come off it. And that is where the openings (like LA) happen. If star watching is your thing.
Pubs tend to have great curries. And lots of good beers on tap.
Lots more tips about travelling to London, England if you want, just ask a few comments and I’ll try to load ‘em up.