How do you plan your sightseeing?

[kristengingera]

When you get into a new city how do you plan your days? Do you make a list of the sites you want to see or just kind of wander around until you see something interesting? For all you experienced travels, what is a reasonable amount of sights to see in one day?

I am a very detailed planner and the way I was planning on doing it was I made lists of the sites I must, would like to see and could pass on. I then split them among the number of days that I would be spending in the city.

London, 3 days

Day 1
Natural History Museum
Tate Modern

Day 2
Monument
Tower of London
Tower Bridge
Globe Theater

Day 3
Westminister Abbey
Buckingham Palace
Trafalgar Square
National Gallery

I also tried to keep them all together in the relatively same area. Does this seem to much to do in one day? I wish I could let go a little bit and go with the flow but it's just not in me

[madamtrashheap]

Hello type-A!!!

First of all, I wouldn't wait until I arrived in the new city to plan my sightseeing/activities, so good that you've done some research on what interests you in the places you're going to visit. And approaching it from a "vicinity" aspect is a good way too - no need to trek from one end of the city to the other only to turn around and go back the same way for the next sight! However, some cities are easier to traverse than others (better transport options, smaller, etc) and on certain days some places are closed (esp Mondays for Museums in Europe) so it depends on where you are as to how to tackle it.

With the places you've chosen in each country, look on the corresponding website (eg Louvre in Paris www.louvre.fr Vatican Museums in Rome/Vatican City www.vatican.va ) for their opening times/days to help you plan your course. There have been a few Posts of late about how to plan visits and what to see in order in cities (esp on London, Paris, Rome) so have a look through the Boards and see what other advice has already been dispensed.

And although you say you like to plan everything, release your grip a little and allow for the sheer joy of wandering aimlessly in a city (well, maybe pick a spot to walk to, but enjoy the view on the way!) as sometimes this method of travel gleans more than too-rigid planning.

Your plans for London look fine - don't forget that some of these sights are spectacular at night too (Trafalgar Square, Tower Bridge, Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus) when they are lit up. If you're not sure of the other cites, let us know.

Happy list-writing!

[herrbert]

Yes, you need to add an evening at the Southbank, to see the houses of parliament illuminated, it's beautiful.