Going to London - What should I see?

In May I'll be stopping in London for about 36 hours before moving on to some other places in England. I've never been to London so I'm looking for suggestions on things/places to see. Obviously I won't be there long enough to see EVERYTHING...but what do you recommend for a first timer? Also, is there a fee to see certain museums or locations (ex. the Tower of London)? Would a cab or bus be expensive?





Suggestions on sites to see (and how much cash to bring..!) will be appreciated!Going to London - What should I see?
I know you said that you don't have time to see EVERYTHING, but there really is so much to see in London! Although some people like to see places off the tourist track, I honestly think that some of the best-know tourist spots in London are definitely amongst the best to visit :)





Here are a few of my favourites:





Tower Bridge, The South Bank, The Tower of London, Big Ben/Houses of Parliament, The London Eye, Hyde Park, London Zoo, Buckingham Palace, St. Pauls Cathedral, Canary Wharf, The Square Mile/Bank of England, Trafalgar Square, Regents Park, Tate Modern, The National Gallery, The British Museum, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Harrods/Knightsbridge, The Tube, Piccadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Parliament Hill.





ALL the major art galleries and museums in London, including The Tate Modern, The National Gallery, The Victoria and Albert Museum, The National Portrait Gallery and the British Museum. All of these are excellent and well worth a visit, but in my opinion the British Museum is the best :) Most of the other attractions do have a fee if you want to take a look around inside (eg. St Pauls Cathedral, The London Eye), but the fee is well worth the experience.





Cabs can be quite expensive, but perhaps you could take one trip in one just so you can say that you've experienced a quintessential London icon :) The tubes and buses are excellent value and are very efficient, although in my experience the tube is often the faster of the two, and the most fun to travel in :)





Whatever you choose to see, I really hope you have a great time; after all, London is a great city! :)Going to London - What should I see?
in such a short space of time your best bet would probably to take one of the open top tourist buses ... this would give you a quick overview of the major tourist sights in London ... such as http://www.bigbustours.com/eng/internati鈥?/a> or http://www.theoriginaltour.com/ ... the tickets last 24 hours so you could start in the afternoon of the first day, and do a bit more on the following morning
tower of london, crown jewels, st pauls


westminster abbey, parliament, big ben area


buckingham palace/horse guards/downing street area


covent garden/ strand area


globe theatre and southbank


hampton court palace


portrait gallery