4 days in London - things to do - itinerary

London is one of the world’s most dynamic and cosmopolitan cities, yet it remains a place of pageantry and tradition. Get a taste of that tradition as you are escorted through the city by a member of our team. You will get an overview tour of London's most iconic royal sites, hop aboard the London Eye for a bird's-eye view of the city and spend half a day visiting Windsor Castle.

DAY 1 : LONDON

You will be welcomed at Heathrow airport by a member of our team as you exit customs, and will transfer to your hotel, with assistance during check-in.

DAY 2 : LONDON

Our guide help you find your bearings with a half-day orientation tour of London. Drive past sites such as the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square. Get a spectacular panorama of the city on the London Eye, the world's largest cantilevered observation wheel, located on the South Bank of the Thames River. 

DAY 3 : WINDSOR DAY TRIP

Travel west out of London with your guide and private vehicle to visit Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. With a history spanning nearly 1,000 years, it was the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II and her preferred weekend home. Subject to opening restrictions, you may see the State Apartments, St. George's Chapel and Queen Mary's Dolls' House. The castle ramparts offer excellent views of Eton College.

DAY 4 : LONDON

Today is at your leisure, but here are things we would suggest you do:

Tate Modern

London’s art scene was revolutionised by the opening of Tate Modern in 2000, housed within the vast former Bankside Power Station. After a visit, I like to take the 15-minute trip along the Thames aboard the Tate Boat to Tate Britain, London’s principal collection of British art, which contains major works by Turner, Constable and Gainsborough, as well as those by contemporary masters such as Henry Moore and Francis Bacon.

Floris

One of our favorite London shops is Floris, a bespoke perfume store and an invaluable source of gifts for women. Sometimes I also indulge in the "No. 89" aftershave, the preferred fragrance of James Bond.

Daunt Books

London’s independent bookshops have found life difficult in the age of Amazon. Fortunately, many remain in business, though doubtless with their profit margins reduced.

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is in the West End, London’s main theatre and entertainment area. Tourists fill its elegant, car-free Piazza, home to fashion stores, crafts at the Apple Market and the Royal Opera House. Street entertainers perform by 17th-century St. Paul’s Church, and the London Transport Museum houses vintage vehicles.

DAY 5 : DEPART LONDON

Meet your driver and guide and transfer in the comfort of your private luxury vehicle to Heathrow airport, where you will be assisted with check-in.

You are our Priority

We never just ask "Where?" or "When?" - we will be determined to understand the experience you desire and curate that itinerary just for You.

Through our extensive network, we are able to offer many additional benefits, such as room upgrades, late check out, unique venues and personalised itineraries.

Our services are free with no hidden costs or membership fees.

Contact us for further information - discover@allworldjourneys.com

GALWAY, IRELAND

GALWAY, IRELAND 2020’s European Capital of Culture

This year, Ireland’s effervescent west-coast city will throw its arms open wide to the world as it becomes the 2020 European Capital of Culture.

With its glut of traditional pubs spilling out jaunty bodhrán and fiddle music, the bohemian city has spent 2019 testing new community heritage and arts projects, such as pop-up culture cafés and funambulism (tightrope-walking) workshops. But the best is yet to come, with some terrific events being rolled out across Galway’s pubs, hubs and beaches, including new artworks by David Best (of Burning Man fame) and a series of intimate readings of Homer’s Odyssey (using Emily Wilson’s English translation, the first by a woman) on Galway’s blustery beaches. Margaret Atwood will also take part in the city’s International Women’s Day celebrations in March.

Galway’s designation as a 2018 European Region of Gastronomy has already cemented it as a fizzing foodie hub. The brilliantly beardy JP McMahon is Galway’s most high-profile chef, earning the city its first Michelin star in 2012. He’s also the man behind the annual Food on the Edge symposium to explore the future of food – next taking place in late October 2019 – which draws in big names such as Nathan Outlaw and Skye Gyngell. The ambitiously modern Loam has joined McMahon’s 24-cover Aniar as one of only two Michelin-starred joints in the city, but it’s what’s happening away from the notebooks of the Michelin inspectors that’s most exciting.

Galway is home to the world’s longest-running oyster festival (65 years of shucking so far), which also sees the World Oyster Opening Championships whip up competitive fervour among shellfish enthusiasts. You’ll find local Dooncastle and Flaggy Shore oysters (as well as natural wines and exquisite seaweed shortbread) served up at McMahon’s latest terroir-based opening, Tartare. And in nearby Burren, an hour away from the city, a raft of local producers are really bolstering Galway’s gourmet credentials, with a focus on fish-smoking, cheese-making and small-batch brewing (and look out for Burren wildflower honey at Galway’s Saturday market, too).

Unsurprisingly, the city – which is also a mid-point stop along the glorious 1550-mile Wild Atlantic Way driving route – will welcome a clutch of new hotel openings this year.

I’ve been going to Galway my whole life and would highly recommend. With my extensive network I’m able to offer stunning itineraries, bespoke tours and the finest hotels.

Contact me mail - discover@allworldjourneys.com

4 days in London - things to do - itinerary

London is one of the world’s most dynamic and cosmopolitan cities, yet it remains a place of pageantry and tradition. Get a taste of that tradition as you are escorted through the city by a member of our team. You will get an overview tour of London's most iconic royal sites, hop aboard the London Eye for a bird's-eye view of the city and spend half a day visiting Windsor Castle.

DAY 1 : LONDON

You will be welcomed at Heathrow airport by a member of our team as you exit customs, and will transfer to your hotel, with assistance during check-in.

DAY 2 : LONDON

Our guide help you find your bearings with a half-day orientation tour of London. Drive past sites such as the Tower of London, St. Paul's Cathedral, Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Tower Bridge, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square. Get a spectacular panorama of the city on the London Eye, the world's largest cantilevered observation wheel, located on the South Bank of the Thames River. 

DAY 3 : WINDSOR DAY TRIP

Travel west out of London with your guide and private vehicle to visit Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. With a history spanning nearly 1,000 years, it was the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II and her preferred weekend home. Subject to opening restrictions, you may see the State Apartments, St. George's Chapel and Queen Mary's Dolls' House. The castle ramparts offer excellent views of Eton College.

DAY 4 : LONDON

Today is at your leisure, but here are things we would suggest you do:

Tate Modern

London’s art scene was revolutionised by the opening of Tate Modern in 2000, housed within the vast former Bankside Power Station. After a visit, I like to take the 15-minute trip along the Thames aboard the Tate Boat to Tate Britain, London’s principal collection of British art, which contains major works by Turner, Constable and Gainsborough, as well as those by contemporary masters such as Henry Moore and Francis Bacon.

Floris

One of our favorite London shops is Floris, a bespoke perfume store and an invaluable source of gifts for women. Sometimes I also indulge in the "No. 89" aftershave, the preferred fragrance of James Bond.

Daunt Books

London’s independent bookshops have found life difficult in the age of Amazon. Fortunately, many remain in business, though doubtless with their profit margins reduced.

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is in the West End, London’s main theatre and entertainment area. Tourists fill its elegant, car-free Piazza, home to fashion stores, crafts at the Apple Market and the Royal Opera House. Street entertainers perform by 17th-century St. Paul’s Church, and the London Transport Museum houses vintage vehicles.

DAY 5 : DEPART LONDON

Meet your driver and guide and transfer in the comfort of your private luxury vehicle to Heathrow airport, where you will be assisted with check-in.

You are our Priority

We never just ask "Where?" or "When?" - we will be determined to understand the experience you desire and curate that itinerary just for You.

Through our extensive network, we are able to offer many additional benefits, such as room upgrades, late check out, unique venues and personalised itineraries.

Our services are free with no hidden costs or membership fees.

Contact us for further information - discover@allworldjourneys.com

Thinking of visiting Italy?

Arguably Europe’s most enticing country, Italy charms visitors with irresistible food, awesome architecture, diverse scenery and unparalleled art. In fact, it's so packed with possibilities it can almost overwhelm.

If you’ve not visited before you could well wonder what to see? Where to go? How to travel? Here’s everything you need to know to get the absolute utmost out of your first-time Italy trip.

Short on time? Start with the big three: Rome, Florence and Venice. A week is (just) enough to enjoy the country’s headline acts.

The glories of Rome
A day: Rome wasn’t built in one, and you certainly can’t see it in one. Instead allow at least two, preferably three. That’s time to take in the spectacular Colosseum, the 2000-year-old Pantheon, the palace ruins of the Palatino, sacred St Peter's and the art-filled Vatican Museums. Trot up the Spanish Steps, toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, shop in narrow lanes and indulge in prime people watching.

Florence and Tuscany: art and wine
Two days in Florence sees you cherry-picking the incomparable art in the Uffizi gallery, delighting in the frescoes in the Duomo and pondering the anatomy of Michelangelo's David. It also allows for shopping on the ultra-chic Via de' Tornabuoni and an aperitivo (pre-dinner drink) or two in locals' favourite Piazza della Signoria.

Check into one of the idyllic rural farmhouses in Chianti and spend time exploring a land where vine trellises snake along rolling hills with Romanesque churches sheltering in their folds. Wineries lie everywhere. At extraordinary Antinori, for example, the high quality of the wine is matched by high-tech architectural innovation. A day trip to gorgeously Gothic Siena sees you marvelling at the Italian ability to turn buildings into art.

Bewitching Venice
To enjoy unique, utterly exquisite Venice, allow a few days. Glide down the Grand Canal, by gondola or vaporetto (water bus), tour the grand Palazzo Ducale, gape at the treasure-filled Basilica di San Marco and run out of camera space snapping the extraordinary array of Venetian architecture. There'll also be time to join the locals shopping at Rialto Market, tuck into cicheti (Venetian tapas) and get a little lost amid the 400 bridges and 150 canals.

Best of the rest

Got time to prolong your Italian love affair? With a couple of weeks at your disposal you can add on a few of these other dolce vita delights.

Seductive Naples; extraordinary Pompeii
Gritty and not always pretty, Naples demands to be seen. Come here for an anarchic zest for life, a Unesco-recognised historic core, Greco-Roman artefacts in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, and the Neapolitan Baroque Certosa e Museo di San Martino. Then day-trip it to Pompeii for ruined cityscapes, and to Mt Vesuvius to gaze into a live volcano and across a wide blue bay.

Style and beauty in Milan and the Lakes
For big-city style and legendary landscapes, head to Italy’s northwest. A day in Milan opens up a grand Gothic Duomo (cathedral), Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper and world-class opera at La Scala. A short train ride away, belle époque Lake Maggiore harbours the beguiling Borromean Islands, specks of rock crowned by ornate palaces and extravagant gardens. Or spend a few days at glamorous Lake Como revelling in lake-lapped cocktail bars, sumptuous villas, vintage speedboat trips and the snowy-mountains-meets-azure-water scenery.

Cinque Terre's harbours and hills
In Cinque Terre National Park terraced vineyards cling to sheer hills traversed by improbably steep hiking trails, and villages flow down to tiny harbours lined with restaurants and bars. Ferries and a rattling rural train link the five villages. Allow two to four days to hit the walking trails, swim in the sea, soak up the atmosphere and re-charge.

Eating and drinking

The diversity of regional cuisine alone is worth travelling to Italy for. Bistecca alla fiorentina (Florence's iconic T-bone steak); creamy Po plains risotto; olive oil and lemon-laced grilled fish on Elba; espresso and sweet treats in Naples' backstreets bars; fresh-from-the-wood-oven pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice) in Rome. And as for sampling Brunello, Chianti, Prosecco, Montepulciano and Soave wines in historic cellars and in restaurants just yards from the vines – that’s an experience that lingers for life.

Where to stay

All World Journeys can assist you with all your needs, from luxury hotels, mountain huts, monasteries, hip hostels, family-run hotels, antiques-packed palazzos, secluded villas and remote farmhouses framed by vines and complete with pools.