London Travel Guide: How To Plan Your Trip

London is a city of contrasts. Turn a corner from the grandeur of Buckingham Palace and you’ll find a quiet café overlooking the Thames; spend the afternoon in the hush of the National Gallery and the evening watching Soho come alive after dark.

It’s my favourite city in the world, and one of the few places where almost any kind of trip works. Whether you want bold and busy or the kind of trip where you blend into the crowd and watch the world go by, London can do both.

This guide covers the practical side of planning a trip alongside the inspiration – from which neighbourhood to base yourself in, to how the fare system actually works, to what to do with three days versus ten.

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👀 London at a glance

🗺️ London map

Use the interactive map below to see where all the places, restaurants and hotels mentioned in this guide are located.

🇬🇧 Why visit London?

Few cities pack in this much variety. World-class museums (many of them free), some of the best restaurants and theatre in the world, and green space enough to escape the crowds all sit within a single, well-connected city.

It’s also an easy base for exploring the rest of the country. The Cotswolds, Bath, Cambridge and the coast are all within a couple of hours by train, so a London trip can just as easily be the start of a longer UK itinerary as a destination in itself.

🧳 Planning your London trip

⏰ How long do you need in London

A long weekend (2-3 days) is enough to cover the essentials – Westminster, the South Bank and one or two neighbourhoods – though you’ll be moving quickly.

4-5 days is the sweet spot for first-timers: time for the major sights, a good wander through a couple of neighbourhoods, and a day trip if you fancy one.

A week or more lets you slow down, explore further out (Greenwich, Notting Hill, Hampstead), and fit in two or three day trips without feeling rushed.

📍 Where should you base yourself

🎭 Covent Garden, Soho and the West End are the most central choice, walkable to the theatres, restaurants and major sights, though also the busiest and most expensive.

🎡 South Bank and Waterloo put you close to the London Eye, Tate Modern and the Shard, with an easy walk across the river into the City and West End – a good middle ground for first-timers.

🖼️ Kensington and South Kensington suit museum lovers and quieter evenings, within walking distance of the Natural History, Science and V&A museums and Hyde Park.

📚 Marylebone and Bloomsbury are central but calmer than Soho, with good mid-range hotel options and easy access to Regent’s Park and the British Museum.

💃 Shoreditch and Hoxton are the pick for nightlife, markets and a younger, more independent food scene, a short ride from central London rather than in the thick of it.

🌸 Notting Hill is a pretty, residential choice that suits couples and repeat visitors, with Portobello Road on your doorstep.

🍃 Greenwich trades a little central convenience for more space and a slower pace, with the river, the Cutty Sark and Greenwich Park all close by – a good option for families.

👣 Sample trip styles for different travellers

💂 First-time visitors: Westminster, the South Bank and Covent Garden cover most of the big names in a few days.

🖼️ Culture and museum lovers: base yourself in Kensington or Bloomsbury for the V&A, Natural History Museum, British Museum, Tate Modern and Tate Britain.

😋 Foodies: Borough Market, Shoreditch and Soho for casual eating, Mayfair and St James’s for the Michelin end of things.

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Families: Greenwich or the South Bank, for the London Eye, the Aquarium, Greenwich Park and easy river transport.

🪩 Nightlife: Shoreditch, Soho and Dalston for bars and live music that run late.

🥂 A luxury trip: Mayfair and Knightsbridge, for five-star hotels, fine dining and Harrods and Harvey Nichols on your doorstep.

✈️ How to get to London

🛬 By air

London is served by five airports, and which one you land at can shape your first hour in the city.

Heathrow is the main hub. The Elizabeth line runs to Zone 1 stations including Paddington, Bond Street and Liverpool Street in around 35-45 minutes for £15.50. While the Heathrow Express reaches Paddington in 15 minutes for £26 (or £10 if booked 30+ days ahead).

Gatwick connects to Victoria via the Gatwick Express in around 30 minutes, from £19.90 booked online.

Stansted reaches Liverpool Street via the Stansted Express in about 50 minutes, from £20.70.

Luton pairs a short DART shuttle with the Luton Airport Express train to St Pancras, taking around 35 minutes in total for about £14.90. 

London City, the smallest, closest and my personal favourite, connects to Bank via the DLR in around 22 minutes for £3-3.70.

🚆 By train

Eurostar runs directly into St Pancras International from Paris (around 2 hours 15 minutes), Brussels (around 2 hours) and Amsterdam (around 4 hours), making London an easy add-on to a European trip.

🚌 By coach

National Express and Flixbus both run budget coach services into Victoria Coach Station from across the UK and Europe – slower than the train, but useful if you’re travelling on a tight budget.

🚖 How to get around London

🚇 The Tube and Overground

The quickest way to cross London is the Underground, with fares based on zones (central London is Zone 1, expanding outward to Zone 6).

A single Zone 1 fare costs £3.10 at peak times and £3.00 off-peak, but almost everyone is better off tapping in with contactless or an Oyster card and letting the daily cap take over – £8.90 for Zone 1–2, rising to £16.30 for Zone 1–6.

Contactless is the simpler option for most visitors, since it skips topping up a card altogether.

🚌 Buses

London’s red buses are slower than the Tube but a good way to see the city while you travel, and are covered by the same daily cap.

There’s no need to buy a separate ticket – just tap the same contactless card or Oyster.

🚶‍♀️ Walking

Central London is more compact than it looks on the Tube map, and several “different” Tube stops are a 10-15 minute walk apart.

Walking between nearby stations often beats waiting for a train, especially at peak times.

🚕 Taxis and ride-hailing

Black cabs are metered, with a minimum fare of £4.40 and a typical short central journey costing £12-19. Uber and other ride-hailing apps are widely used and usually cheaper, though traffic can make journeys slower than the Tube at busy times.

🛥️ River bus and cycling

Thames Clippers river buses run between piers including Westminster, the Tower and Greenwich, from £6.20 a journey, and make for a scenic alternative to the Tube on a nice day.

Santander Cycles docking stations are dotted across the city, with a day pass costing £3.50 for unlimited 60-minute rides.

📍 Where to stay in London

Mayfair and Knightsbridge

London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, home to the grandest hotels, private members’ clubs and designer shopping.

Some of my favourite hotel picks include:

• The Dorchester – a Park Lane icon with a pool, spa and views over Hyde Park.
• Claridge’s – the art deco grande dame of Mayfair, for old-school glamour.
• Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park – a Knightsbridge landmark with exemplary service and a spa built around a two-hour English Rose massage.

Soho and Piccadilly

The most central, walkable base, right in among the theatres, restaurants and nightlife.

Some of my favourite hotel picks include:

• Ham Yard Hotel – a Kit Kemp-designed hotel with its own bowling alley, spa and rooftop terrace, tucked just off Piccadilly Circus.
• Mimi’s Hotel Soho – a smaller, more affordable option a short walk from Leicester Square.
• Hotel Café Royal – a five-star landmark on Regent Street with its own Akasha Spa.

Marylebone and Fitzrovia

Central but calmer than Soho, with Regent’s Park, Oxford Street and the British Museum all within reach.

Some of my favourite hotel picks include:

• The Langham – one of London’s grand Victorian hotels, with an indoor pool, the Chuan Spa and the Palm Court restaurant.
• Dorset Square Hotel – a smaller, elegant townhouse hotel overlooking a private garden square.
• Charlotte Street Hotel – a Kit Kemp design classic in Fitzrovia, a short walk from the West End.

Shoreditch, Aldgate and Southwark

The best bases for markets, independent restaurants and a livelier, more creative scene, a short ride from the West End.

Some of my favourite hotel picks include:

• The Hoxton, Shoreditch – the original, design-led Hoxton hotel with a lobby bar that doubles as a local hangout.
• Leman Locke – an aparthotel in Aldgate with studio and one-bedroom suites, useful if you want a kitchenette.
• The Hoxton, Southwark – a sister property near the South Bank, the Shard and Borough Market.

Covent Garden, Aldwych and the South Bank

A good middle ground between the West End and the river, within walking distance of the Strand, Covent Garden and the South Bank’s big attractions.

Some of my favourite hotel picks include:

• Corinthia London – a Whitehall icon with the ESPA Life spa, one of the most talked-about in the city.
• One Aldwych – contemporary and art-filled, with spa treatments available Wednesday to Sunday.
• Sea Containers London – a design-led riverside hotel on the South Bank with 1920s cruise-liner styling and its own Agua Spa.

Best hotels in London

London has a seriously impressive roster of luxury hotels, offering some of the best hospitality in the world. But there are also plenty of boutique an design-led options, alongside more budget-friendly choices too.

Although this is London, so expect to spend a fair few pennies!

See also: best luxury hotels in London, best spa hotels in London, London hotels with rooftop pools and best London hotels for solo travellers.

😋 Where to eat and drink in London

London is one of the best-served cities in the world for eating out, with 88 Michelin-starred restaurants (including six with the top three-star rating) at one end and some of the best casual and neighbourhood food in Europe at the other.

Here’s where to start, split into restaurants, afternoon tea, cafés and bars.

🍽️ Restaurants

Mayfair holds the richest concentration of fine dining, but some of London’s best meals are far more casual than the Michelin Guide might suggest.

👉 For a full rundown, see my guides to the best Michelin star restaurants in London and best Michelin star Indian restaurants in London.

🫖 Afternoon tea

A quintessentially British tradition, and one of the easiest ways to fit a bit of grandeur into an afternoon between sightseeing.

See my full guide to the best afternoon teas in London for more.

☕ Cafés

For coffee and cake between sights, these are the places worth building a stop around rather than just passing.

💡 Insider tip: If you want something more unusual, The Attendant in Fitzrovia is a coffee shop built inside a converted Victorian public toilet – the original urinals are still part of the décor.

🥂 Bars

From grand hotel bars to something more theatrical, London’s drinking scene is as varied as its food.

🏰 Top things to do in London

A full breakdown of each of these deserves its own post, so here’s the short version.

🏰 Iconic landmarks and attractions

🏙️ View from The Shard – the highest observation deck in Western Europe, at 310m, London’s tallest building.

👑 Westminster Abbey – a thousand years of coronations, royal weddings and history under one Gothic roof.

⛪ St Paul’s Cathedral – Wren’s masterpiece, with a dome you can climb for sweeping views over the City.

🌉 Tower Bridge – walk the high-level glass-floor walkway suspended above the Thames.

🏰 Tower of London – home to the Crown Jewels, and nearly a thousand years of royal and grisly history.

🔭 Royal Observatory Greenwich – stand on the Prime Meridian line and see where GMT began.

🫅 Kensington Palace – a working royal residence, with afternoon tea served in the Orangery.

👉 Read my guide to top tourist attractions in London.

🖼️ Museums and galleries

🦕 Natural History Museum – free, and one of the most spectacular museum buildings in the world.

🖼️ The National Gallery – free, Trafalgar Square, seven centuries of European painting.

🎭 V&A Museum – free, the world’s largest museum of design and applied arts.

🪖 Imperial War Museum – free, and one of the most moving museum visits in London.

🎨 Tate Britain and Tate Modern – British art and international modern art, both free to enter.

🏛️ London Museum (formerly Museum of London) – free, telling the city’s story from Roman settlement to global capital.

🗺️ Neighbourhoods to explore

🕺 Soho – nightlife, theatre and some of the best people-watching in the city.

🛍️ Notting Hill – pastel townhouses and the Portobello Road antiques and food market.

🕰️ Greenwich – maritime history, the Cutty Sark and the Painted Hall’s “Britain’s Sistine Chapel” ceiling.

🍻 Shoreditch – street art, independent restaurants and East London’s creative energy.

🍃 Hampstead – village charm, the Heath, and some of the best views over the city skyline.

💎 Hidden gems

🏝️ Eel Pie Island – a small, quirky Thames island community in Twickenham.

🌼 Pergola and Hill Garden – a secret Edwardian raised walkway near Hampstead Heath.

🌸 Kyoto Garden, Holland Park – a peaceful Japanese garden, complete with resident peacocks.

⛪ St Dunstan in the East – a bombed City church reclaimed by ivy and now a public garden.

🚇 Hidden London tours – disused Tube stations, wartime tunnels and platforms frozen in time.

🎩 The Magic Circle – regular magic shows plus a museum, in the society’s own London home.

👉 See the full guide to quirky things to do in London for more.

💂 Iconic London experiences

🎭 See a West End show

🫖 Have afternoon tea somewhere suitably grand

🚤 Take a Thames river cruise at sunset

🧺 Wander a market – Borough for food, Columbia Road for flowers on a Sunday

🍖 Have a Sunday roast at a classic pub

🌆 Watch the sunset from the Sky Garden or the Shard

⛸️ Go ice skating at Somerset House or Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland in December

🚣 Go kayaking on the Thames, paddling past the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye

💂 Watch the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

🚌 Ride a red double-decker bus, ideally on the top deck, front seat

🖼️ Spend a free afternoon in a world-class museum – the Natural History Museum or the National Gallery are both excellent starting points

🕵️ Track down a Talking Statue and scan the code to hear its story

👉 For more inspiration, have a read of my ultimate UK bucket list.

🚂 Day trips from London

London’s train network makes it easy to combine a city trip with somewhere completely different for a day.

• Windsor – around 35 minutes from Paddington, for Windsor Castle and a walk along the Thames.
• Oxford – around an hour from Paddington or Marylebone, for the university colleges and the Bodleian Library.
• Cambridge – around an hour to an hour and a quarter from King’s Cross, for punting and college architecture.
• Bath – around 1 hour 30 from Paddington, for the Roman Baths and Georgian streets.
• Canterbury – around an hour from St Pancras, for the cathedral and a compact, walkable old town.
• Brighton – around an hour from Victoria or St Pancras, for the seafront and the Lanes.
• The Cotswolds – around 1 hour 30 to Moreton-in-Marsh, for honey-coloured villages and countryside walks.

👉 Read my the guide to day trips from London by train for more options.

📅 Best time to visit London

🌸 Spring (March – May) – Mild weather and the city’s parks and blossom trees at their best, plus the Chelsea Flower Show in late May. Good for sightseeing before the summer crowds arrive.

☀️ Summer (June – August) – Warm, long days and the busiest season, with Wimbledon (late June to mid-July), the BBC Proms (mid-July to early September) and Notting Hill Carnival (August bank holiday weekend). Book accommodation and tickets well ahead.

🍂 Autumn (September – November) – Cooler weather and thinner crowds, with the parks turning golden and the museums and galleries coming into their own on wetter days.

❄️ Winter (December – February) – Christmas markets, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park and ice skating at Somerset House make December magical. Read my guide to Christmas in London for the complete rundown. Though January and February are quieter and colder, they are the best time for lower prices and shorter queues. 

💰 London travel costs

💷 Accommodation: £80-130 (budget), £180-280 (mid-range), £400-750+ (luxury) per night.

🍽️ Food: £12-25 for a casual meal, £30-55 mid-range, £75-150+ for fine dining.

🎟️ Attractions: Many major museums are free; paid attractions like the Tower of London run £30-35.

🚇 Transport: £8.90 a day for Zone 1-2 travel on the cap.

🍺 A pint: £5.50-7.50, depending on the area.

🎭 A West End show: Varies widely, but TKTS in Leicester Square offers same-day discounted tickets.

Most visitors should budget £80-140 a day for a shoestring trip, £170-300 for a comfortable mid-range trip, or £320-600+ for a luxury one, excluding flights.

🏨 Accommodation in London: what to expect

Central London hotel rooms, especially in older buildings, tend to be smaller than you’d get for the same money elsewhere in the UK, and air conditioning isn’t always guaranteed outside of the newer hotels.

Always check which Tube zone a hotel is in before booking – “London” listings can be a 40-minute journey from the centre.

Prices rise sharply around major events like Wimbledon, the Notting Hill Carnival and Christmas, so book well ahead if your trip lines up with one of these.

Historic hotels often come with quirks – smaller lifts, uneven floors, older bathrooms – that are part of the charm rather than a flaw.

🤦 Common mistakes to avoid in London

🗺️ Trying to see too much in one day. Zone 1 sights look close together on the map but journeys between them add up – plan two or three areas a day, not five.

🏨 Booking a hotel too far out. A cheaper room in Zone 3 or 4 can cost you an hour a day in travel time – factor that into whether it’s really a saving.

🎭 Not booking popular shows and attractions ahead. West End shows, the London Eye and the Tower of London all sell out at peak times, especially summer and December.

🚶 Standing on the left on escalators. It’s a real source of local irritation – stand right, walk left.

🚕 Taking a black cab for a short journey. They’re metered and can add up fast; the Tube, bus or a short walk is usually quicker and always cheaper.

🏛️ Assuming everything costs money. Most of London’s best museums – the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum and more – are free to enter.

🇺🇸 Visiting London from the US

London is one of the most connected cities in the world for transatlantic travel. There are direct flights from dozens of US cities – New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Washington DC among many others all have non-stop routes into Heathrow, with several also reaching Gatwick directly.

You won’t need a car here – the Tube, buses and walking cover the city far better than driving would. So there’s no need to worry about adjusting to driving on the left during your time in London itself (that only matters if you’re heading off to explore the wider UK by car afterwards).

Two small but easy-to-miss practicalities: the UK uses three-pin Type G plugs at 230V, different from the US, so pack an adapter; and tipping is more modest than you’re likely used to at home – see the FAQ below for the detail.

❓ FAQs about visiting London

Which are the best London neighbourhoods to stay in?

Soho and Covent Garden are best for a central, walkable trip with nightlife on your doorstep. Shoreditch suits a younger, more independent crowd, Kensington is quieter and museum-focused, and Notting Hill is a pretty, residential choice for couples.

Is London a good destination for solo travellers?

Yes – it’s a large city, but a well-connected and welcoming one where you’re unlikely to feel out of place. Stick to central or well-known neighbourhoods, particularly at night, and read more about the best London hotels for solo travellers.

Is London a safe city to visit?

London is generally very safe, but as in any major city, stay aware of your belongings. Pickpocketing and phone snatching are common, particularly on public transport and around busy tourist areas, so keep your phone out of sight when you’re not using it.

Do I need cash, or is contactless enough?

Contactless is accepted almost everywhere in London, including on all TfL transport, and many smaller businesses no longer take cash at all. It’s worth carrying a small amount for the rare exception, but you won’t need much.

Can I drink the tap water in London?

Yes, tap water is safe to drink throughout London and the rest of the UK.

How many Michelin star restaurants are there in London?

London has 88 Michelin-starred restaurants as of the 2026 guide, including six with the top three-star rating. Take a look at my pick of the best Michelin star restaurants in London.

What are the best day trips from London?

The Cotswolds is one of my favourites, along with Bath, Oxford and Cambridge if you’d like a different city for the day. For the coast, Brighton and Camber Sands are both easy train journeys. 

Read my ultimate guide to the best day trips from London by train.

Do I need to tip in London?

Tipping isn’t compulsory, but 10-15% is customary in restaurants if a service charge hasn’t already been added to the bill (it usually is) – always check before adding extra. Tipping isn’t expected in taxis, though rounding up is common.

📝 Planning the rest of your London trip

London rewards a bit of planning, but it doesn’t need to be complicated: pick a neighbourhood or two to base yourself in, book the big-ticket shows and attractions ahead, and leave room to wander somewhere you hadn’t planned. Whatever your trip looks like, the city has a way of pulling you back for another visit.

You may also like:

• 20 top tourist attractions in London
• 20 quirky and unusual things to do in London
• 20 amazing day trips from London by train
• Best Michelin star restaurants in London
• Best luxury hotels in London