48 Hours in Kingston upon Thames: How to Do London Properly (Starting from The Hermes Hotel)

Kingston upon Thames rewards two days properly — Hampton Court Palace, Richmond Park, the Thames Pathway, and a riverside dining scene that most London visitors never find because they don’t know to look this far south-west. Here’s how to do it from The Hermes Hotel on Portsmouth Road.

Day One: The Palace and the River

Morning

Start with coffee from the Nespresso machine in your room, then walk the eight minutes to the Kingston riverside for breakfast at one of the cafés along the Thames. Go early enough to have the river mostly to yourself.

After breakfast, drive or take a river taxi to Hampton Court Palace — fifteen minutes from The Hermes. Allow the full morning: the Tudor Great Hall, the State Apartments, the famous maze, and the 60 acres of formal gardens. The Great Vine, planted in 1768, is in the kitchen garden and still producing grapes. Don’t try to do it in two hours.

Afternoon

Lunch in the Hampton Court village before heading back to Kingston along the Thames Pathway — a 45-minute riverside walk that passes through some of the most beautiful stretches of the Thames in Greater London. It’s the right way to come back from the Palace.

Early Evening

Walk into Kingston town centre (ten minutes) for the Coronation Stone — the stone on which seven Anglo-Saxon kings were crowned between 900 and 978 AD, still sitting in the town centre next to the Guildhall. The kind of historical object that takes a moment to process.

Evening

Dinner at The Canbury Arms on the riverside — the local recommendation that earns its reputation. The riverside setting is better once the day-trippers have gone, and the kitchen handles dinner as well as it handles lunch.

Day Two: The Parks and Richmond

Morning

Drive to Richmond Park (fifteen minutes) before the day gets going. 2,500 acres of ancient woodland and open grassland, around 630 red and fallow deer roaming freely, and the Isabella Plantation for spring visitors. Go early to have the deer mostly to yourself before the dog-walkers and cyclists arrive in numbers.

Late Morning

On the way back from Richmond Park, stop at Bushy Park (ten minutes from The Hermes) — the quieter, lessvisited alternative with its own deer herd and the magnificent 17thcentury Chestnut Avenue. The kind of park that rewards guests who find it over the more famous one.

Afternoon

Walk or drive twenty minutes to Richmond for lunch — Mignonette on Kew Road for a Michelin Bib Gourmand French bistro lunch at exceptional value, or simply explore Richmond town centre and the Richmond riverside, which is among the best-preserved stretches of Thames in south-west London.

Late Afternoon

Walk back along the Thames Pathway from Richmond towards Kingston (around an hour at a comfortable pace) — or drive back and spend the late afternoon in the landscaped gardens at The Hermes before the evening.

Evening

Drive fifteen minutes to Rick Stein in Barnes for dinner — one of the better fish restaurants in south-west London, with a menu that changes with the catch. Book ahead.

Getting There and Away

Kingston station (South Western Railway) is ten minutes on foot from The Hermes — London Waterloo in approximately 30 minutes. Hampton Court station provides direct access to the Palace without a car. Heathrow Airport is approximately 45 minutes via the A316 — making The Hermes one of the more practical riverside hotel stays in south-west London for guests arriving or departing by air.

Plan your stay: view The Hermes Hotel’s rooms. For more on the area, read The Hermes Edit: An Honest Guide to Kingston upon Thames and Where to Eat in Kingston upon Thames.