Top 5 Things to See and Do in London

1. Visit Big Ben and the House of Parliament

Although you can’t go up the bell tower, you can view this Gothic structure from the street and do tours of Parliament (get there early or you can reserve tickets online). Tours of Parliament cost £25.50 ($33 USD). The best view of the tower is from the opposite side of the river near the London Eye.

2. Visit the Tower of London and Tower Bridge

Built in 1070 by William the Conqueror, the tower was expanded many times over the years. Weapons and armor were made here and all coins were made here until 1810. Now, it houses the famous crown jewels. The Tower of London’s changing of the guard takes place daily at 9:30pm, and it’s free. Tickets to the Tower are £25 ($32.50 USD).

3. See Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace is only open to the public during the summer, but you can join the crowds and watch the changing of the Guard at 11:30am from May until the end of July. Admission to the palace isn’t cheap, however, with tickets costing £49 ($63 USD). You can visit the State Rooms only for £26.50 ($34.50 USD), though.

4. See Westminster Abbey

You can see the tombs of 17 monarchs dating back to Henry III here. Other famous people buried here include Charles Darwin, Sir Issac Newton, Aphra Behn, and Charles Dickens. It costs £21 ($29 USD) if you buy online (£23/$30 USD if buy at the door), but you can visit for free if you go during a service.

5. Hang out in Trafalgar Square

Enjoy the many pristine fountains and look at some of the famous monuments, like Nelson’s Column (a five-meter statue built to honor Admiral Nelson after being the victor in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805). Lots of people just hang out here so it makes for a good place to people watch.

Other Things to See and Do in London

1. Go museum hopping

London has more museums than you could see in one visit, and many of them are free. From the Tate to the City Museum to the National Gallery to the Historical Museum, you’ll be able to spend days here without spending a penny! At the Natural History Museum, you’ll find over 80 million items, including specimens collected by Charles Darwin. It also has a great collection of fossils, making it a fun and educational stop if you’re traveling with kids. The Victoria and Albert Museum (named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) is another favorite of mine. It’s home to over 2,000 works of art covering over 3,000 years of human history.

2. Grab some food in Borough Market

With more food stalls than you can imagine, Borough Market has something for every eater. It is home to some of the best British and international produce and dishes. Come here hungry and leave satisfied. Already ate? Nibble the free samples being given out at most stalls. Open for lunch Mondays and Tuesdays, all day Wednesday-Saturdays and closed on Sundays. The crowds are terrible on Saturdays, but if that’s the only day you can fit it in, I’d go anyway!

3. Take in the theater

London is known for its’ famous theater scene. Attend a show while you’re here and see some of the shows that make London famous. Tickets can be pretty cheap, and something is playing every night (check out TKTS for discounted tickets for shows in the West End). Otherwise, catch a Shakespeare show at The Globe in South London — tickets start from £7 ($10 USD).

4. Stroll along Brick Lane

On Sunday, this little street, and the car park becomes a great place for cheap food. You can get a wide variety of food here, spend the day at the outdoor market, or have some great local curry. It’s a popular place with the locals and has some of the best food in London. This street is also a great place to bring a camera, as its’ walls are basically a gallery for London’s best graffiti artists.

5. Ride the London Eye

The London Eye is basically a 500-feet tall ferris wheel, and it has become the most popular paid-for UK visitor attraction. It’s across the street from Parliament and gives you great views of London, especially on a clear day. But honestly, for £27 ($35 USD), you are better off spending that money on other attractions.

6. Visit the London Dungeon

The London Dungeon calls itself “the world’s most chillingly famous horror attraction.” It covers 2,000 years of London’s gruesome history and is a morbid but interesting museum to see about England’s past. Although you’ll learn about popular torture methods in Old England, to be honest, this place has turned into more of an “amusement park” type attraction. But if you like things like escape rooms and scary boat rides, you’ll enjoy it. Ticket prices start from £24 ($31 USD).

7. See St. Paul’s Cathedral

St. Paul’s is a striking cathedral with a world-famous Dome. Inside you’ll find glittering mosaics and elaborate stone carvings. You can also climb to the Whispering Gallery or higher still to the Stone Gallery or Golden Gallery for panoramic views over surrounding London. Admission is £24 ($31 USD) when you buy online, which is cheaper than the London Eye and with similarly breathtaking views.

8. Explore Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a fun place to just hang out, with lots of quirky stalls, busking musicians, an artsy market, and a selection of unusual pubs and coffee shops. Covent Garden is also walking distance to all the big musicals, so it is a great place to spend a few hours before catching a show. Also, visit Covent Garden Market – it was opened in the 1830s and is another good market to grab a bite to eat at as well as shop at some of the artisan craft stalls here. It’s open Monday to Saturday from 8am-7pm and Sunday 11am-5pm.

9. Go to Shakespeare’s Globe

An integral part of England’s history, the Globe Theatre is a must-see for lovers of Shakespeare. The performances here are considered to be a near-perfect replica of Elizabethan staging practices. You can even sit in front where the groundlings did, for shouting and heckling! The theater is open-roofed, so bundle up in the winter. Tickets start from £7 ($9 USD).

10. Explore Camden Market

This place is home to 1,000+ shops, stalls, cafes, restaurants, bars, buskers, and everything in between. It’s enormously popular and busiest on the weekends, particularly Sunday, drawing crowds all the way from Camden Town. Camden Market is actually composed of many separate markets, so you can literally wander for hours and not see it all.

11. See the Royal Observatory

Since its 17-million USD renovation, this observatory is now divided into two sections. The Northern half is intended for time, whereas the southern half is devoted to astronomy. In the Meridian Courtyard, you can actually stand on either side of the meridian line straddling the two hemispheres of the Earth. The Peter Harrison Planetarium is also housed here. It’s £24 ($31 USD) to visit.

12. Walk around the Strand

In the 12th century, rich noblemen built elegant homes and gardens along the shore (the strand) of the Thames, making it one of the most prestigious places to live — even now. Walk around here, and you’ll be treated to a grand display of wealth and beauty. It was dubbed “the finest street in Europe” by Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in the 19th century. There are a lot of nice little shops and pubs here as well.

13. Drink beer at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese

This old pub has been around since the great fire of 1666 (and there has been a pub at this location since 1538). It’s surprisingly large inside, and in the winter, fireplaces keep pub goers warm. When you step into it, you feel like you’ve actually stepped back in time. Famous literary geniuses like Charles Dickens, R.L. Stevenson, Mark Twain, Oliver Goldsmith, and others used to frequent (and write about) this particular pub.

14. See the Churchill War Rooms

Located beneath the Treasury Building in the Whitehall area of Westminster, the Churchill War Rooms includes the government’s command center during WWII and a museum about the life of Winston Churchill. The centerpiece of the whole place is an interactive table that enables visitors to access digitized material from the Churchill archives. If you are like me and a huge history nerd, this is one of the best attractions in the city and I highly, highly encourage you to visit. It’s worth the price!!! Admission is £22 ($29 USD).

15. Explore Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens

If you’re looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, head to Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens for some reprieve. Hyde Park is the most famous park in London. Originally the private hunting grounds of Henry VII, it opened to the public in 1637 is is a great place to stroll, picnic, or catch one of the many events that are hosted here throughout the year. Kensington Gardens are a Royal Garden of London and is home to the Serpentine Galleries as well as Kensington Palace. The park and the gardens cover almost 250 acres!

16. Take a walking tour

London is a megacity filled with a mega amount of walking tours. From free tours to specialty tours to paid tours to literary tours to quirky tea tours, London has it all – including lots of free tours. Free London Tours and New Europe Walking Tours are some of my favorite companies to go with. If you’re looking for more in-depth and specific tours, check out Take Walks. They have a number of affordable group tours for 15 people or less that last about three hours.

London Travel Guide: Money Saving Tips

London is one of the most expensive countries in the world. But, thanks to free museums, cheap pubs, and hostels, there’s a lot of ways to cut your costs and save money here. You can fill your day with a lot of activities and never spend a pence! Here are my top ways to save money when you visit London:

• Visit all the free museums – Most of the museums in London are free — the Museum of London, the British History Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum are all great. Get your fill of British history without spending a pence! The National Gallery and the Tate Modern are also free and are some of my favorites.
• Buy an Oyster Card – This prepaid card can save you about 50% on each metro. If you plan on using the tube a lot, get this card! If you leave and have extra on the card, they will also refund the balance!
• People watch at the markets – Sunday is market day in London. There’s the Camden Market, the Portobello Market, the Flower Market, and a million more options. People watch, get great photos, and enjoy local London life without spending a dime.
• Watch the changing of the guards – The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is at 11:30am, and the horse guards at Whitehall change at 11:00 am. These are both free and interesting to watch as you take in true British flare.
• Just walk and explore – London is a huge city, and there are beautiful historic buildings all around. I walked for four hours and barely made a dent on the route I was going to take (hence the need to get the Oyster Card.) However, once you walk and get out of the tourist area around the Thames, you’ll get to see London the way the locals do. You can pick up free maps of showing walking routes around the capital from any of London’s tourist information shops.
• Last minute theater tickets – You can get last-minute tickets to the theater from the official booth in Leicester Square. Availability varies every day, so be sure to get there early.
• Attend small theater performances – London is famous for their theatrics. If you don’t want to shell out a lot of money to see The Lion King or Les Miserables, check out smaller shows and comedy nights at theaters like Leicester Square Theater where prices can start at about £10 ($13 USD).
• Skip the cabs – Taxis are incredibly expensive in London and will eat into your budget just by taking them once. I stayed out past when the tube closed one night and the taxi to my hotel was £31 ($40 USD)! If you start taking taxis everywhere, you’ll end up spending hundreds of dollars per day, so keep this in mind.
• Master the night bus – In London, the tube closes around 12:30am. To avoid taking expensive taxis, make sure you get a map of the night bus routes so you can get back to your hotel/hostel on the cheap. These buses go all over the city and into the suburbs. You can also use your Oyster card on these buses. In fact, buses are always the cheapest public transportation option!
• Take a free walking tour – London, like any big city in Europe, has a wide array of free walking tours given throughout the city. For a historical view of the city, try New Europe, and for off the beaten path tours, try Free Tours by Foot.
• Get the Taste Card – Another great way to save money is to get the Taste Card. This diner’s club card offers 50% discounts on thousands of restaurants as well as two-for-one specials. It can really pay off, especially on those nice meals you’ll want to have. You can only live on fish and chips for so long.
• Get the London Pass – If you get the London Pass, you can enjoy access to 80+ London attractions like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. A one-day pass is £75 ($98 USD), a two-day pass is £99 ($129 USD), and a three-day pass is £125 ($163 USD). You can also get a six-day pass for £169 ($168 USD). This pass makes for good savings, and you’re planning on doing a ton of sightseeing!
• Visit all the free museums – Most of the museums in London are free — the Museum of London, the British History Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum are all great. Get your fill of British history without spending a pence! The National Gallery and the Tate Modern are also free and are some of my favorites.
• Buy an Oyster Card – This prepaid card can save you about 50% on each metro. If you plan on using the tube a lot, get this card! If you leave and have extra on the card, they will also refund the balance!
• People watch at the markets – Sunday is market day in London. There’s the Camden Market, the Portobello Market, the Flower Market, and a million more options. People watch, get great photos, and enjoy local London life without spending a dime.
• Watch the changing of the guards – The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is at 11:30am, and the horse guards at Whitehall change at 11:00 am. These are both free and interesting to watch as you take in true British flare.
• Just walk and explore – London is a huge city, and there are beautiful historic buildings all around. I walked for four hours and barely made a dent on the route I was going to take (hence the need to get the Oyster Card.) However, once you walk and get out of the tourist area around the Thames, you’ll get to see London the way the locals do. You can pick up free maps of showing walking routes around the capital from any of London’s tourist information shops.
• Last minute theater tickets – You can get last-minute tickets to the theater from the official booth in Leicester Square. Availability varies every day, so be sure to get there early.
• Attend small theater performances – London is famous for their theatrics. If you don’t want to shell out a lot of money to see The Lion King or Les Miserables, check out smaller shows and comedy nights at theaters like Leicester Square Theater where prices can start at about £10 ($13 USD).
• Skip the cabs – Taxis are incredibly expensive in London and will eat into your budget just by taking them once. I stayed out past when the tube closed one night and the taxi to my hotel was £31 ($40 USD)! If you start taking taxis everywhere, you’ll end up spending hundreds of dollars per day, so keep this in mind.
• Master the night bus – In London, the tube closes around 12:30am. To avoid taking expensive taxis, make sure you get a map of the night bus routes so you can get back to your hotel/hostel on the cheap. These buses go all over the city and into the suburbs. You can also use your Oyster card on these buses. In fact, buses are always the cheapest public transportation option!
• Take a free walking tour – London, like any big city in Europe, has a wide array of free walking tours given throughout the city. For a historical view of the city, try New Europe, and for off the beaten path tours, try Free Tours by Foot.
• Get the Taste Card – Another great way to save money is to get the Taste Card. This diner’s club card offers 50% discounts on thousands of restaurants as well as two-for-one specials. It can really pay off, especially on those nice meals you’ll want to have. You can only live on fish and chips for so long.
• Get the London Pass – If you get the London Pass, you can enjoy access to 80+ London attractions like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. A one-day pass is £75 ($98 USD), a two-day pass is £99 ($129 USD), and a three-day pass is £125 ($163 USD). You can also get a six-day pass for £169 ($168 USD). This pass makes for good savings, and you’re planning on doing a ton of sightseeing!
• Visit all the free museums – Most of the museums in London are free — the Museum of London, the British History Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum are all great. Get your fill of British history without spending a pence! The National Gallery and the Tate Modern are also free and are some of my favorites.
• Buy an Oyster Card – This prepaid card can save you about 50% on each metro. If you plan on using the tube a lot, get this card! If you leave and have extra on the card, they will also refund the balance!
• People watch at the markets – Sunday is market day in London. There’s the Camden Market, the Portobello Market, the Flower Market, and a million more options. People watch, get great photos, and enjoy local London life without spending a dime.
• Watch the changing of the guards – The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is at 11:30am, and the horse guards at Whitehall change at 11:00 am. These are both free and interesting to watch as you take in true British flare.
• Just walk and explore – London is a huge city, and there are beautiful historic buildings all around. I walked for four hours and barely made a dent on the route I was going to take (hence the need to get the Oyster Card.) However, once you walk and get out of the tourist area around the Thames, you’ll get to see London the way the locals do. You can pick up free maps of showing walking routes around the capital from any of London’s tourist information shops.
• Last minute theater tickets – You can get last-minute tickets to the theater from the official booth in Leicester Square. Availability varies every day, so be sure to get there early.
• Attend small theater performances – London is famous for their theatrics. If you don’t want to shell out a lot of money to see The Lion King or Les Miserables, check out smaller shows and comedy nights at theaters like Leicester Square Theater where prices can start at about £10 ($13 USD).
• Skip the cabs – Taxis are incredibly expensive in London and will eat into your budget just by taking them once. I stayed out past when the tube closed one night and the taxi to my hotel was £31 ($40 USD)! If you start taking taxis everywhere, you’ll end up spending hundreds of dollars per day, so keep this in mind.
• Master the night bus – In London, the tube closes around 12:30am. To avoid taking expensive taxis, make sure you get a map of the night bus routes so you can get back to your hotel/hostel on the cheap. These buses go all over the city and into the suburbs. You can also use your Oyster card on these buses. In fact, buses are always the cheapest public transportation option!
• Take a free walking tour – London, like any big city in Europe, has a wide array of free walking tours given throughout the city. For a historical view of the city, try New Europe, and for off the beaten path tours, try Free Tours by Foot.
• Get the Taste Card – Another great way to save money is to get the Taste Card. This diner’s club card offers 50% discounts on thousands of restaurants as well as two-for-one specials. It can really pay off, especially on those nice meals you’ll want to have. You can only live on fish and chips for so long.
• Get the London Pass – If you get the London Pass, you can enjoy access to 80+ London attractions like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. A one-day pass is £75 ($98 USD), a two-day pass is £99 ($129 USD), and a three-day pass is £125 ($163 USD). You can also get a six-day pass for £169 ($168 USD). This pass makes for good savings, and you’re planning on doing a ton of sightseeing!
• Visit all the free museums – Most of the museums in London are free — the Museum of London, the British History Museum, the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum are all great. Get your fill of British history without spending a pence! The National Gallery and the Tate Modern are also free and are some of my favorites.
• Buy an Oyster Card – This prepaid card can save you about 50% on each metro. If you plan on using the tube a lot, get this card! If you leave and have extra on the card, they will also refund the balance!
• People watch at the markets – Sunday is market day in London. There’s the Camden Market, the Portobello Market, the Flower Market, and a million more options. People watch, get great photos, and enjoy local London life without spending a dime.
• Watch the changing of the guards – The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is at 11:30am, and the horse guards at Whitehall change at 11:00 am. These are both free and interesting to watch as you take in true British flare.
• Just walk and explore – London is a huge city, and there are beautiful historic buildings all around. I walked for four hours and barely made a dent on the route I was going to take (hence the need to get the Oyster Card.) However, once you walk and get out of the tourist area around the Thames, you’ll get to see London the way the locals do. You can pick up free maps of showing walking routes around the capital from any of London’s tourist information shops.
• Last minute theater tickets – You can get last-minute tickets to the theater from the official booth in Leicester Square. Availability varies every day, so be sure to get there early.
• Attend small theater performances – London is famous for their theatrics. If you don’t want to shell out a lot of money to see The Lion King or Les Miserables, check out smaller shows and comedy nights at theaters like Leicester Square Theater where prices can start at about £10 ($13 USD).
• Skip the cabs – Taxis are incredibly expensive in London and will eat into your budget just by taking them once. I stayed out past when the tube closed one night and the taxi to my hotel was £31 ($40 USD)! If you start taking taxis everywhere, you’ll end up spending hundreds of dollars per day, so keep this in mind.
• Master the night bus – In London, the tube closes around 12:30am. To avoid taking expensive taxis, make sure you get a map of the night bus routes so you can get back to your hotel/hostel on the cheap. These buses go all over the city and into the suburbs. You can also use your Oyster card on these buses. In fact, buses are always the cheapest public transportation option!
• Take a free walking tour – London, like any big city in Europe, has a wide array of free walking tours given throughout the city. For a historical view of the city, try New Europe, and for off the beaten path tours, try Free Tours by Foot.
• Get the Taste Card – Another great way to save money is to get the Taste Card. This diner’s club card offers 50% discounts on thousands of restaurants as well as two-for-one specials. It can really pay off, especially on those nice meals you’ll want to have. You can only live on fish and chips for so long.
• Get the London Pass – If you get the London Pass, you can enjoy access to 80+ London attractions like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. A one-day pass is £75 ($98 USD), a two-day pass is £99 ($129 USD), and a three-day pass is £125 ($163 USD). You can also get a six-day pass for £169 ($168 USD). This pass makes for good savings, and you’re planning on doing a ton of sightseeing!

How to Get Around London

London has excellent public transportation transportation, and getting a travel pass is cheaper than buying single tickets all the time. A one-way fare on the tube will cost you £4.90 ($6.35 USD), but getting a Visitor Oyster Card will reduce tariffs to £2.40 ($3.10 USD) per ride. No matter how many trips you take per day, your Oyster Card will cap at £7 ($9.10 USD). This is applicable across all public transit, including buses and trams.

The Visitor Oyster Card costs £5 ($6.50 USD), and then you choose how much credit to add to your card.

The bus system in London also uses the Oyster Card and costs £1.50 ($1.95 USD) per ride. However, a day of unlimited bus or tram-only travel will cost a maximum of £4.50 ($5.85 USD).

The tram system in London works the same way as the bus system, with rides costing £1.50 ($1.95 USD) each direction and a day of unlimited travel costing no more than £4.50/$5.85 USD (on buses and trams only).

Also, you can take unlimited buses or trams for free within one hour of beginning your initial journey.

Bicycle – London’s public bike-sharing program is Santander Cycles, and you can find docking stations all over the city. You can rent a bike from as little as £2 ($2.60 USD). Keep in mind, however, that London isn’t the bike-friendliest city in the world!

Taxis – Taxis are everywhere and cost about £6 ($7.80 USD) per one mile, but the price decreases the further you go. For example, a six-mile journey will cost you around £24 ($31.20 USD) (but more during peak hours). You can also use an app such as “mytaxi” to order your ride. Given how expensive they are, I wouldn’t take one unless absolutely necessary.

Uber - You can use Uber to travel around London. Download the Uber phone app and get a taxi, private car or ride share from your mobile phone. Uber connects you with a driver in minutes. Request, ride and pay via your phone.