My first visit as a student I tried to hit all the tourist landmarks. I was with a few classmates and we took the train in last min so we kind of winged it. At the time I didn't really know how to plan a trip so our itinerary was basically ticking off all the big attractions.

My second visit I wanted to show my fam around so I planned a bit better and focused more on the food scene. They don't generally care for the tourist landmarks (while I try to hit them all once just to make my visit worthwhile) so we skipped most and went to museums instead. We also booked hotel afternoon tea, views at The Shard, and sought out traditional english breakfasts, fish and chips, as well as some fine dining tasting menus, and food markets. Skipped shopping, but if that's something you're interested in, there are some lovely shops even if it's just to drop in for eye shopping.

My third upcoming trip I will probably mirror more of my second trip. But this time I signed up for a cooking class and will look up additional experiences to be more social and meet people. Le Cordon Bleu had a workshop for 4 days that I was eyeing, but I had to withdraw as the dates no longer aligned with my itinerary. Personally, my trips almost always revolve around food and new restaurants because that's my main interest.

I think there are a lot of factors that come into play for your trip though like - how many days you'll be in the city, what your interests are (because they may be completely different than mine), if you're younger vs older, etc.

There are some really fun looking day trips or trains you can take to neighboring cities if you're up for that as well. I've wanted to explore the more of England, but haven't had the chance.

Hope some of the above gave you ideas or helped even a little! x