London is a sprawling, layered capital where free world-class museums sit beside royal palaces, street markets and a restaurant scene pulling from every corner of the former empire. The Underground makes even the far-flung neighbourhoods reachable in twenty minutes.
Good to know
- Get an Oyster card or tap a contactless bank card — cheaper than paper tickets on the Tube and buses.
- Standing on the right on Underground escalators is a genuine social rule.
- Book timed entry for the Tower of London and popular West End shows well in advance.
Eat this
Places the planner can use
Mark places as a must or something to skip. The itinerary is built only from this list; ★ marks the destination’s highlights.
A riverside walk from the London Eye to Tower Bridge, passing London's oldest food market under railway arches.
A slow half-hour rotation in a glass pod, 135 metres above the Thames with views to the Houses of Parliament.
Free contemporary and modern art inside a converted power station, with a top-floor viewing terrace over the Thames.
Free entry to the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon Marbles and artefacts from nearly every civilisation on earth.
A nearly thousand-year-old fortress, prison and palace, with the Crown Jewels on display and Beefeater tours included.
The coronation church of English monarchs since 1066, next to the Gothic Revival seat of Parliament and Big Ben.
A sprawling market of street food stalls, vintage clothing and alternative fashion beside the Regent's Canal.
Pastel-coloured townhouses and Europe's largest antiques street market, busiest and best on a Saturday.
A proper Sunday roast or fish and chips with a pint, in a pub that's been pouring since before the area was fashionable.
London's theatre district, from long-running musicals to new plays — day-of returns and lottery tickets can be cheap.
A riverboat ride to the Prime Meridian line, the historic Cutty Sark clipper and a park view back over Canary Wharf.
The oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world, still an official royal residence, forty minutes from Paddington.