London ideas for a one day trip

I have a constant stream of people visiting me in London, so I've heard lots of feedback.  Much of it depends on how adventurous and well-traveled your guests are.  If they are more comfortable with structure, then I'd suggest the Original London Tour, but only the Yellow line with the live guide, it's much better.  It departs on Whitcomb St. near Piccadilly Circus by the McDonald's.  It's only about a couple hours round trip and gives a great overview and visual perspective of London, and I always learn something new about London each time, even as a resident.  Then maybe something will perk their interest and they can be spontaneous about what to visit. 
http://www.theoriginaltour.com/tour-information/tour-routes.htm

If they are more into walking, I highly recommend London Walks Tours.  You just pick and topic and show up.  It's also a couple hours.  I've gone on most of them over my years here and really enjoy them.
http://www.walks.com/

If they are more independent, I recommend the No. 6 bus.  Catch it in Covent Garden on the Strand and hot off at sights along the way, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, shopping on Regent and Oxford St, Marble Arch (Speaker's Corner and Hyde Park), Edgware Road and mid-eastern eateries and shisha, Church Street Market, Maida Vale (Clifton Road high street) and Little Venice.  They can get off at Warwick Avenue and walk around the canals there.  This is a good combination of seeing a large variety of both touristy and local things.   End up at one of the pubs in Maida Vale like the Prince Alfred, Warrington, or Warwick Castle.

If they have time for just one museum, the British Museum seems to appeal to everyone and no one is ever let down.  Plus, there are some good pubs around there that will impress like the Princess Louise and Museum Pub.

If they are more edgy: maybe Hackney (like Broadway Market in Dalston), Deptford, Smithfields, Camden Town.  If they are more mild: Sloan Square, Marylebone, Notting Hill. 

The Thames Clipper is a good way to see the sights along the Thames easily and fairly inexpensively. 

Something non touristy in London?  That's tough to be honest because there are tourists everywhere.  Maybe get on the Tube, get out of Zone 1, pick a stop and explore the high street.  If you want to see a real cross-section of London, the Wembley IKEA at Brent Cross will do the trick.    Kidding aside, maybe some of the areas around Hampstead would fill the bill.  They're appealing and not as many tourists...usually. 

Have fun.  I love visitors.  It always allows me to rekindle my love for London by seeing it through their eyes, even if I've become a bit jaded over time. 
 

There's no shame in loving a good bag, or five.  I've got a fantastic leather bag that was not cheap and will last forever, and part of me feels like I should be content with that, but another part covets those satchels like nobody's business. 


I've only got an hour between trains!  But the next time I get to London for fun, I might take a closer look.  I try to get to London at least once a year, and explore a different area each time.  There's so much in a city, and if you try to do too much at once, you don't get a real experience of anything.  That's why I'm not a huge fan of the hop on hop off buses.  DH and I did that in Dublin, and I hardly remember anything of what we saw.  It was information overkill.  I'd always suggest choosing one or two things per day that you really want to do, and not worry about the rest.  Of course, if these are people who are never going to get to London ever again, they may think the most is the best .

Well, I think I had some sort of breakdown about them, but I use one everyday as a laptop bag and I've had my green one forever and it looks brand new.

I always think picking an "area" is a really good way to do it, like say Shoreditch or Southbank or whatever, I'm obsessed with Maltby street Market at the moment
I really hate the London tour buses, the weather just isn't suited to them, it's either freezing or raining or boiling and you just see the tops of everything.

Very much depends on what your idea of a good time is I think. I absolutely can't stand covent garden but people always want to see it. The other side (where I live) is perfectly pleasant and has some nice shops, but it's no more than an hour of walking around, China Town is pretty close though, and you could walk up into Soho.

Are you coming in via Kings Cross? You should go to Kerb street food market for some eats

I do like the hop on and off bus tours as well, for the shear fact you can get around to loads and if you're not familiar with a city, can do it 'easily'.
Depends on what they're into though.

I am a huge geek and I always recommend going up Tower Bridge for the engineering and view. 

I tried one of the on-and-off London bus tours last autumn for the first time when I had overseas visitors. Honestly? I didn't like it. Yes, we saw lots of places, but we didn't really get a feel for much of it. I preferred the days when we just went to one place and had a full day in one spot, really getting to know it.

I suppose it depends on what sort of people you'll be showing round. Some people love a tour bus.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I recommended a few of my guests to take the bus tour that everyone keeps talking about, it looks decent and it's supposed to be a bit warmer this weekend!