What to do in London
London is the perfect weekend getaway! It has everything: cute streets, beautiful museums, a lot of shops and amazing food. London can be very busy and overwhelming, but I like to share some tips for your perfect stay
How to get to London
London is easily connected by trains from Paris, Amsterdam, and Brussels but also has 6 airports.
If you arrive by train, you arrive at the beautiful St Pancras station (the Harry Potter train station) right in the center of London. The airports are all on the outside of the city, with Heathrow being the biggest one. Find the best flight through Skyscanner.
Getting around London
The best way to explore London is using the subway (tube). You can buy an Oyster card and put money it through the different terminals. You can also use a contactless card or mobile phone to make contactless payments when checking in and out. There is a cap on the amount of money you will pay if you travel multiple times a day, which is £8,10 per day (of £40,70 for the week).
Where to stay in London?
We stayed at The Tower Hotel where our room had a partial view of the Tower Bridge. We opted for a room with breakfast that offered a full English breakfast and a variety of bread, pastries, yogurt, and muesli. Coffee and tea were served at the table.
Another great option is The Shoreditch Inn. This little hotel is located in a cute neighborhood with many cute pubs and restaurants. The rooms are pretty big and clean. You can choose from 3 complimentary breakfasts (no buffet).
Do you prefer to stay in a hostel during your visit to London? Safestay Holland Park is one of the best hostels in London.
Things to do in London
If you want to see a lot of London quickly, taking a bus tour is the way to go. And during Christmas time, there even is a special bus tour to admire the beautiful Christmas lights. You can get on and off the bus at different parts of the city.
If you want to visit more than 3 paid attractions, buying a city pass can be cheaper. With the Go City Pass you can choose between a pass for x number of attractions or x number of days. You can find all the information here.
See Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
The Houses of Parliament (or Palace of Westminster) with Big Ben is the iconic view of London. If you want to learn more about the Parliament, you can book a guided tour.
There is also a possibility to see the House of Lords chamber at work. You can find more information here.
See the Tower Bridge
Another popular landmark of London is the Tower bridge. It got his name because of its location next to the Tower of London.
Watch the changing of the guard
A few times a week at 11 am you can go to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. We were there well in advance and had a good spot but it was so busy.
Do a food tour
Foodies will be very happy in London: so many food markets and delicious food. It can be overwhelming to decide what to try; so a food tour is perfect for that. Secret Food Tours offers 5 different food tours throughout London. You can learn more here.
Watch London from the London Eye
To have a nice view over London you can take a ride on the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the Thames. The view over London is amazing and if you buy tickets in advance, you don’t have to wait long in line.
Visit the London Dungeon
If you want to learn more about the dark history of London (think Jack the Ripper), a visit to the London Dungeon is a must. You can easily book your tickets in advance online. There is a nice variation in the story and the acting is amazing! I was happy with my boyfriend by my side.
Go to Hamleys
Hamleys is the oldest and largest toy shop in the world and can be found on Regent Street. Seven stories of toys will keep you busy for a while, especially when you have kids 🙂
Go to the British Museum
A lot of museums are free in London, a nice idea to do when it is raining. But you still need to book a ticket in advance if you don’t want to wait in line outside. The British Museum has an amazing collection of mummies, African art, The Rosetta Stone, and Greek statues.
Visit the Natural History Museum
Also, the Natural History Museum is free to visit. It is best to book a free ticket in advance to avoid standing in line. Keep in mind that it can be very busy here, especially at the dinosaur exhibit. There are also several paid exhibitions: to find out which ones, you can visit the website of the museum.
Take a boat tour on the River Thames
A boat tour is a fun way to see the city from a different point of view. There are a lot of options like a normal 1h boat tour, a speedboat tour, an afternoon tea cruise, or a dinner cruise.
Have high tea
When in London, and you have time, you must have a high or afternoon tea. Some numerous hotels and restaurants offer this. We did one at the St James Hotel and it was delicious. The pastries were all very beautifully made. We were stuffed at the end. One downside was that we were there alone, making it slightly uncomfortable.
Visit the Tower of London
The Tower of London is a castle on the bank of the River Thames and is most famous for its crown jewels. The Tower has played a very important role in the history of England: controlling the Tower equals controlling the country. It had numerous functions over the years: armory, treasury, menagerie, public record office, and the home of the Crown Jewels of England.
Of course, you can see the Crown Jewels but there are a lot of other exhibitions that tell you more about the history of the tower and London. Tickets are best bought online in advance because it can get busy, especially in high season.
Wander the streets and parks
There are so many beautiful streets and parks in London. Although using the underground is the fastest way to explore London, wandering the streets gets you to see some parts you wouldn’t see normally.
More things to do in London
There are of course more things to do in London. These are the things that are still on our list:
- Harry Potter Studio Tour
- Admire the view from Sky Garden (limited free tickets per day)
- Westminster Abbey
- St. Paul’s Cathedral
- Borough Market
- Visit Canary Wharf
- Visit Notting Hill
- See the Royal Exchange
- Tate Modern
In need of some good places to eat while in London? Check this out.
If you plan to combine a visit to London with a visit to Paris, check out this blog.
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The Natural History Museum is so impressive! I’m not a science person at all, but I loved the place, and, like you said, it’s great that all museums are free. You should definitely check it out next time you’re in London.
We were planning on going there but the line outside was so long, we decided to skip it. But next time, we will go for sure
I can thoroughly recommend the British Museum. Been there three or four times, so far. It is part of humanity’s heritage, and I’d go again in a flash.
My number one tip would be to get an Oyster Card. I got one on my first visit in 2005 and I keep it topped up. Seeing London from the top deck of one of those iconic London buses is a buzz. I don’t need the canned commentary of a far more expensive HOHO bus. And if I want to get somewhere in a hurry, there’s the Tube. Oyster automatically selects the best far for you at the time, and caps it off at a reasonable price for the day.
Or just walk. There’s a tonne of things to see and discoveries to make. You won’t get tired of London before your holiday runs out!
Next time we will probably buy an Oyster card, because we will definitely go back one day. Because we haven’t seen it all yet 🙂
Enjoyed this post. We also passed on the Natural History Museum – the lines were so long. We headed to the V & A instead.