London is such a vast, culturally diverse city you could spend months there and not run out of things to see. Unfortunately most of us don’t have months to spend on vacation so here is a five day itinerary adapted from my first visit to London. It covers most of the iconic sights. There are tons of lesser known sites that I am eager to see as well but not knowing when I will be back in London again I wanted to see all of the main tourist spots first. I only had four days on the London portion of my trip but I have added an extra day to use as a flex day so if you miss something on one of the other days you can pick it up on the fifth day. It gives you the freedom to take a little longer at sights that are really speaking to you or breathing room when things get too hectic or go wrong. Stayed completely on schedule? Then use the easy fifth day noted here or visit some of the less popular attractions I haven’t included. Whatever you want.
Please note the days can be done in any order, except Day Five being the catch up day should stay at the end. In fact you will probably have to adjust the order depending on what day you arrive in London. Check the schedule for the Changing to the Guard as it only occurs on certain days (typically Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday but make sure to use the link and double check). Many of the sights you will want to buy tickets in advance so you can secure your preferred time but I would double check times for all sites, too, just in case. The day we originally planned to see Westminster it was closed until afternoon, which would have thrown our whole day off but we saw it and changed the order of our days (Day Two and Day Three swapped spots) so we could see it in the morning as planned.
We took the tube a lot. Basically for anything that was more than a 20 minute walk. Honestly at the end of the day when we were tired we took the tube anytime it would save us some steps. Buy an Oyster Card as soon as you arrive. We bought ours at Heathrow so we could take the Elizabeth Line to our Airbnb. It was so handy not having to buy tickets each time. Just tap in and tap out. Refill as necessary. Best part is it tops out at £8.10 each day so once you have spent that your rides are free the rest of the day. We actually only hit the max one day out of the four but let me tell you once we hit it we were all about taking the underground even if it was just a short walk. In my defense it was the last day of my trip and I was exhausted. Mind the gap.
Day 1
10:00 Head to Buckingham Palace to secure a spot for the Changing of the Guard. If you want to have a front row view of the action inside the courtyard you will need to get there earlier than 10. We chose to view it from the Victoria Memorial and it was perfect. This ceremony has a lot of parts to it. There are different things happening in different places. If you line up along the fence you really can only see what is right in front of you. On the Victoria Memorial you are elevated and have a wider view point so you can see the new guards marching down Spur Road and the old guard moving down the Mall, heading to meet up at Buckingham Palace. They pass around the Victoria Monument on the way in and out. We were there in October so there were less people. It allowed us to actually move around the memorial and really get a good view of each part. The whole ceremony takes about an hour. For me, I am glad I did it. I would feel like I had missed something if I hadn’t. I find it interesting that this huge ceremony takes place so regularly. I won’t be doing it the next time I go to London or probably ever again. It definitely seems like one of those things you have to do once but once is enough, at least for me.
12:00 Catch a bus tour. We did a Hop On Hop Off Bus with one of the big companies but I wouldn’t recommend the one I used. We had a 72 hour ticket, which we used for approximately 2 hours total. We were never able to use the enticing extra tours that were promised, there were long waits for buses and absolutely no customer support so although it was cool to ride in an open top bus, it was not worth the price we paid. Instead I would suggest taking a bus tour that includes afternoon tea. There are a few options out there, Bridget Bakery and Golden Tours are the ones I see most commonly. The price is a little more than the Hop on Hop Off buses but you get Afternoon Tea, which isn’t cheap. It is approximately a 90 minute circuit, covering pretty much the same area as the others but did I mention you get afternoon tea? This would have been a much better option for us, not just because of our bad experience or the fact that I am obsessed with afternoon tea- It would have given us the lay of the land while we had lunch. Very efficient. I will be doing this next time for sure.
14:00 Take the tube to the British Museum and prepare to be overwhelmed. It is huge and stuffed full of so many artifacts. They have some great “trails” outlined on their website. You can also download an app that has commentaries, self guided tours and gallery introductions. There are some guided tours and talks available but they vary according to the time and day you are visiting. All of these will help break it into manageable chunks. Or you can just dive in and start walking, which is what I did. I was lost pretty much the entire time. I made a mad dash at the end to see the Rosetta Stone, which I had missed. I am sure I missed more. The app would have been good to have…The map does give you a list of the top attractions and where to find them but surprisingly the Egyptian mummies are not on this list.
17:00 Make a quick visit to the British Library’s Treasures Gallery. This probably isn’t on everyone’s top attractions list but they have some really cool items. We went to see the Jane Austen manuscript but it wasn’t on display. We did get to see a Lindisfarne Gospel, DaVinci’s journal, Monty Python script, Handel’s Messiah and Beatles lyrics and so much more.
Night: Take the underground to Brick Lane and have dinner at a curry house. Then join a Jack the Ripper Tour in nearby Whitechapel.
Day 2
09:30 Westminster Abbey. Make sure to make reservations a few days in advance so you get an early morning entry time. It is very busy but moves along pretty quickly. They like to keep the flow of people moving through. An audio guide is included in the admission price and gives great information. People have worshiped on this site for over 1000 years. You will see the tombs of Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots, the Coronation Chair, Grave of the Unknown Warrior and so much more. In Scientist’s Corner you can see the memorial of Steven Hawking which reads “Here lies what was mortal of Steven Hawking” which is the English translation of the Latin inscribed on the nearby tomb of Isaac Newton. Don’t forget to stop for a bit in Poet’s Corner, located in the South Transept where some of the greatest writers are buried or commemorated, starting with Geoffrey Chaucer. Shakespeare, Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters are commemorated while the tombs include Charles Dickens and Robert Browning.
11:00 Churchill War Rooms. World War II was run from inside this secret underground bunker. It is set up as it would have been during the war. View the Cabinet Room where Churchill and the heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force would meet and the Map Room The other part of the museum is dedicated to the life of Winston Churchill and everything you could possibly want to know about his career. All of the peaks and valleys. He was one of the first to recognize the dangers of Hitler and fascism. The film, artifacts and interactive displays give you a feeling for the personality and beliefs of the legendary statesman.
13:00 Grab lunch and find a place to picnic in St James’s Park. Take a walk around the lake and enjoy the people and bird watching
14:00 Head to Trafalgar Square and take some pictures with the famous lions and Nelson’s column and then move on to the National Gallery. Think of a pre-20th century painter and chances are they have artwork in the National Gallery. It is a maze of themed rooms and easy to get lost but getting lost in a sea of art isn’t such a bad thing. I am a big fan of Manet and I loved being able to view multiple works next to each other and see the progression of his style over time. One caveat is that it can be easy to miss rooms as you wander. I had to make a mad dash to the Rembrandt room just before we left because I realized I had missed it. One way to avoid this is to take a free hour-long tour on Tuesday-Thursday at 3pm that gives you a taste of what the museum has to offer.
Night: After dinner catch a Candlelight Concert or one of the Crypt Lates at St Martin-in-the-Fields.
Day 3
8:00 Take a stroll through Hyde Park. Stop by Speaker’s Corner to see people on their soapboxes. Definitely more entertaining to see IRL than trolls on the internet. Relax by the Serpentine. Continue on into Kensington Gardens to see the Peter Pan Statue Lady Diana Memorial Park and Sunken Gardens.
10:00 Victoria & Albert Museum. Meant to be a classroom for everyone, this art and design museum showcases thousands of years of creativity in almost every medium. It is massive. Six levels, mostly organized by category instead of time period (ironwork, sculpture, theater & performance, etc). It can be a bit tricky to navigate all of those levels and corridors. Make sure to grab a map. The Cast Courts feature copies of important artworks, like Michelangelo’s David and Trajan’s Column. It is cool to see all of these pieces from all over the world in one place and I spent a lot of time here but if I had realized how much more there was to see I would have moved through these rooms more quickly. Personally I loved the jewelry which showed pieces from ancient times to modern day, Costumes from stage, film and music performances and the locks displayed in the Metalworks collection. There is definitely something for everyone here.
13:00 Afternoon Tea at Ampersand Hotel. This was one of the best experiences of my trip. I chose the Drawing Rooms at Ampersand because it was close to the V&A Museum and had a gluten free option for my companions. Many places have gluten free options but you have to request in advance, I liked that they always offered it. It is a science theme geared toward kids but we had a great time with it and the food was absolutely delicious. This is optional, you can always move on to the next museum but I highly suggest making time at some point on your trip to have a formal afternoon tea somewhere.
14:00 Check out the Natural History Museum. This interactive museum is fun for all ages but especially for kids. Highlights include the Dinosaur Gallery, Earthquake simulation and Meteorites and Earth’s Treasury of gemstones, minerals and rocks. I didn’t get a chance to visit but it is on the top of my list for my next London trip because of the rave reviews I have heard.
17:00 London Eye. Originally I was going to skip this but my niece wanted to do it and my sister is deathly afraid of heights so I went with her and it was awesome! I will admit it was really high (443 ft) and kind of scary. I did a lot of box breathing. But the views were breathtaking. Also we didn’t really have to wait. We booked our time slot online but didn’t do the Fast Track so basically your time slot is when you can get in line. We were lucky and there wasn’t a long line so we were loaded into our capsule after just a couple minutes which was good because I suck at waiting. Overall it was so much better than I expected and one of the highlights of my trip.
Night: Go to dinner and a show in the West End. The options are endless and typically less expensive than a Broadway Show but just as good.
Day 4
9:00 Tower of London. Head straight for the Crown Jewels so you can beat the crowds. The line gets longer and longer as the day progresses. I have mixed feelings about the audio guide. I am a big fan of audio guides and this one had great info but I didn’t like how it was set up. Everything is in tours, which is great if you follow along the routes but you can’t just enter a number and hear the information for a particular room or object if you make your own route. You can search for the room you are in but it isn’t the easiest. There are exhibits on Torture and Imprisonment, Displays of Armor, Beefeaters and more besides.
12:00 Walk across the London Bridge to Borough Market for lunch. Featuring a diverse collection of British and international foods, there is something delicious for everyone.
13:00 Walk across the Millenium Bridge or take the tube to St Paul’s Cathedral. There has been a church on this site for over 1400 years. The current English Baroque structure was completed in the early 1700’s and includes a beautiful neoclassical dome. One of the coolest experiences is climbing the dome to the Whispering Gallery and then climbing another set of stairs to take in great views of London. Since you have come this far go all the way up another bunch of stairs to the Golden Gallery at the top for even more amazing views. I unfortunately could not do any of this because I was recovering from a shattered ankle and stairs are still difficult and painful. Especially coming down which stinks because that is normally the best part of stairs. There is plenty to see without climbing the dome- Nelson and the Duke of Wellington’s tombs, the memorials for Winston Churchill and Florence Nightingale as well as the stunning interior. An audio guide is included in the admission price.
15:00 Tate Modern. A giant collection of modern and contemporary paintings, sculptures and installations from around the world. It is grouped by theme rather than time period or artist but you will find Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, Dali, Pollack, Warhol, amongst others. Unfortunately I didn’t make it here because we simply ran out of time (which is why I included the extra flex day in this itinerary) but this is one of the most popular museums in London and definitely worth a few hours. I look forward to catching it on my next trip.
Night: Dinner at the Swan or somewhere nearby and then see a play at the Globe, preferably Shakespeare. I saw Macbeth. This was the best experience of my entire trip. I enjoy theater but I am not what you would call a theater person although that performance may just convert me. I don’t know if it was seeing Shakespeare being acted out at the Globe, like it was intended to be, or what. It was so incredible, despite the fact the seats are not comfortable, even with a cushion. I really cannot recommend it highly enough.
Day 5
This is where you pick up anything you missed along the way. If by some miracle you fit everything in below is a suggested easy day that is a bit more relaxing than the previous four days or you could always just stroll around the city and see where life takes you.
10:00 Thames cruise from Westminster to Greenwich. I love being on the water. It takes about an hour and you see so much along the way.
11:00 Royal Observatory. Straddle the Prime Meridian. See a show at the Planetarium or just enjoy the grounds.
13:00 Cutty Sark is the last remaining tea clipper and the fastest of its time. You can walk the deck, explore beneath the ship and even have afternoon tea under the hull.
15:00 Head over to Canary Wharf and the Museum of London Docklands. The London Wall location is closed but here you can see the history of how the docks made London the city it is today. Interactive exhibits, films and reconstructions make the story come to life.