London travel guide: free museums, markets and the Thames
London is large, so the best three days stay in a few neighborhoods instead of chasing everything. The big museums are free, the Tube and Elizabeth line reach nearly everything, and only a handful of things need booking: the Tower of London, the Sky Garden and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. Book those first, then leave the rest loose.
The short answer
- First trip
- Stay around Covent Garden or Soho, give it three days, and book the Tower of London before you fly. Most visitors from Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia also need a £20 Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before they travel.
- Where to stay
- Covent Garden or Soho for a first visit, South Kensington for museums and quiet streets, Southwark for the river and Borough Market.
- How many days
- Three days covers the main sights. Four adds Greenwich or a day trip. London rewards a second visit more than a longer first one.
- Best time to go
- Late May to September is the warmest and brightest, with July the warmest month. October and November are the wettest. June and September are mild and avoid the peak of the school holidays.
- Book ahead
- The Tower of London, the Sky Garden (free, but ticketed) and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour. Popular West End shows sell out weeks ahead, and the TKTS booth sells same-day tickets.
- From the airport
- From Heathrow the Elizabeth line takes under 40 minutes to central London. The Gatwick Express reaches Victoria in 30 minutes, and the Stansted Express reaches Liverpool Street in 48.
Where to stay in London, in brief
Covent Garden and Soho
first visits, theater and restaurants
The middle of the West End: the National Gallery and Trafalgar Square are about ten to fifteen minutes on foot, and the Elizabeth line runs from Tottenham Court Road. It suits a first visit when you want to walk everywhere. The catch is noise on Friday and Saturday nights, so ask for a room away from the street.
South Kensington
museums, parks and quiet streets
The Natural History Museum, the V&A and the Science Museum are a few minutes' walk from each other, and a subway links the Tube station to them. Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens are a short walk north. The Piccadilly line runs here direct from Heathrow, but you need a Tube ride to reach the West End or the City.
Bloomsbury and King's Cross
the British Museum, trains and Eurostar
Bloomsbury has the British Museum and quiet squares, and King's Cross and St Pancras are a short ride on the Piccadilly line, one stop from Russell Square. St Pancras is the London end of the Eurostar, and King's Cross has the trains to Cambridge. Evenings are calmer than in Soho, with fewer late-night places.
Southwark and the South Bank
the river, Tate Modern and Borough Market
Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and Borough Market are strung along the river within about a 20 minute walk. London Bridge station, next to the market, has Jubilee and Northern line trains and Thameslink to Gatwick. Borough Market is closed on Mondays.
Paddington and Marylebone
Heathrow arrivals and trains west
Paddington has the Heathrow Express, which reaches the airport in 15 minutes, as well as the Elizabeth line and trains to Oxford and Bath. Marylebone High Street is a calm place for coffee and shops, with Hyde Park within walking distance. The big sights are a Tube ride away.
Shoreditch and the East End
nightlife, street food and markets
Younger and louder, around Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Hackney, with curry houses, street food and Broadway Market at the weekend. Liverpool Street station has the Elizabeth line and the Stansted Express. Expect a Tube or bus ride to most of the big sights.
Things to do in London
British Museum
Free to enter, open daily 10:00 to 17:00 and until 20:30 on Fridays. Pick two or three galleries, such as the Rosetta Stone and the Parthenon sculptures, rather than the whole building.
A free ticket is recommended, but walk-ups are accepted
Tower of London
The Crown Jewels, the White Tower and the battlements fill most of a morning. Yeoman Warder tours are included in the ticket, run through the day and can't be booked in advance, so join one early.
2 to 4 weeks ahead, longer for weekends and school holidays
Westminster Abbey and Parliament Square
The Abbey is a working church, so sightseeing hours change and it can close at short notice: check the day's hours before you go. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament look best from Westminster Bridge and Parliament Square.
Buy a ticket online a few days ahead
National Gallery
Free, open daily 10:00 to 18:00 and until 21:00 on Fridays. Some rooms are closed during building work, so check the floorplan for the paintings you came to see.
A free ticket is optional and gives fast-track entry
St Paul's Cathedral
A sightseeing ticket covers the cathedral floor and the Dome, with the view over the City from the top. Sightseeing runs Monday to Saturday from 08:30, with last entry around 16:00, and 16:15 for the Dome.
A day or two ahead, online
Tate Modern and the South Bank
The collection is free, and the building is open until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays and 18:00 the rest of the week. Walk the river from Tate Modern past Shakespeare's Globe to Borough Market.
Natural History Museum
Free, open daily 10:00 to 17:50 with last entry at 17:30. Weekends and school holidays can mean a queue at the door, which a free booked ticket avoids.
A free ticket is optional
Tower Bridge Exhibition
Cross the bridge on foot for free, then pay to walk the high-level walkways, with their glass floors, and see the Victorian engine rooms.
Tickets open up to 8 weeks ahead
Sky Garden
A free garden and viewing gallery at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, with a one hour limit on each visit. You need a ticket, and walk-ins are possible only if there is space, and not after 5pm on weekdays.
Free tickets open three weeks ahead
Greenwich
The Royal Observatory has the Prime Meridian line, but it closes for refurbishment on 2 November 2026, so check before you plan around it. The National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House are free, and you can reach them by DLR, by train from London Bridge or by river boat.
Booking is recommended at the free museums
A West End show
The official TKTS booth on the south side of Leicester Square sells same-day and advance tickets, Monday to Saturday from 10:30 to 18:00 and on Sundays from 11:00 to 16:00. Online same-day tickets appear on the Official London Theatre site at 00:01 each day.
Weeks ahead for the biggest shows
What to book before you go
These sell out. Most of the rest of London can be decided on the day.
Every tour and ticket in London, and which to pick- Tower of London2 to 4 weeks ahead, longer for weekends and school holidays
Tickets are sold for set dates and time slots, and many sell out in advance.
- Sky GardenThree weeks ahead, when slots open
Entry is free, but you need a ticket, and each visit is limited to one hour.
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour LondonSeveral weeks ahead
Tickets must be booked in advance, and the tour is outside central London, so allow most of a day.
- West End showsWeeks ahead for the biggest shows
For everything else, the TKTS booth in Leicester Square sells same-day tickets.
What to skip in London
- Dinner on Leicester Square
The restaurants on the square and around Piccadilly Circus cater to passing trade. Walk five or ten minutes to Soho or Seven Dials, where more of the restaurants depend on regulars.
- Paying a third party for free entry
The British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the Tate Modern collection and the Sky Garden are free. Book only on their own sites, and apply for your ETA only on GOV.UK, because other websites may charge more.
- Taxis and cars from the airport
Road traffic into central London is slow, and the trains are not: the Heathrow Express, Elizabeth line, Gatwick Express and Stansted Express reach central stations in 15 to 48 minutes. Take a train unless you have heavy luggage or a very early or late flight.
Best time to visit London
Late May to September is the warmest and brightest time to visit. In the Met Office's long-term figures for Heathrow, July is the warmest month, with an average high of about 24°C and around 218 hours of sunshine. June and September are mild enough to walk all day, and September falls after the school holidays.
October and November are the wettest months, at about 65 and 67 mm of rain, and December has only about 55 hours of sunshine in the whole month. Winter highs are around 8 to 9°C, so plan indoor days around the free museums, the theaters and the pubs. Weekends and school holidays are the busiest times at the big museums, so book the Tower of London first and keep the free ones for walk-up days.
- From Heathrow airportThe Elizabeth line reaches Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon and Liverpool Street in under 40 minutes. The Heathrow Express runs non-stop to Paddington in 15 minutes, every 15 minutes. The Piccadilly line takes under an hour, runs through Leicester Square and King's Cross, and is the cheapest.
- From Gatwick and StanstedThe Gatwick Express runs non-stop to Victoria in 30 minutes, twice an hour, and Thameslink trains serve Farringdon, St Pancras and London Bridge. The Stansted Express reaches Liverpool Street in 48 minutes, every 15 minutes through the day.
- Tube, buses and the Elizabeth lineTap a contactless card or phone at the start and end of each Tube, DLR, Overground and Elizabeth line journey, and once on boarding a bus. Fares are capped each day and each week, as long as you use the same card or device every time. A Visitor Oyster card is the alternative.
- At nightThe Night Tube runs all night on Fridays and Saturdays on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines, every 10 or 20 minutes depending on the station. On other nights, use the night buses.
London in three days: a first-time itinerary
- Day 1
Westminster and the West End. Start at Westminster Abbey when it opens, then see Parliament Square and Big Ben, and walk through St James's Park to Buckingham Palace. Continue to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery, which is free and open until 21:00 on Fridays. Finish in Covent Garden or Soho, with a West End show if you booked one.
- Day 2
The Tower and the river. Book the Tower of London for the morning and join a Yeoman Warder tour, then cross Tower Bridge on foot. Have lunch at Borough Market (closed Mondays), walk the river to Tate Modern, and cross the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's, which is closed to sightseers on Sundays. Book the Sky Garden for the end of the day if you got a slot.
- Day 3
The museums. Be at the British Museum for 10:00 and choose two or three galleries. After lunch, take the Piccadilly line from Russell Square to South Kensington for the Natural History Museum, which stays open until 17:50, and finish in Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens. For a river day instead, go to Greenwich, but check the Royal Observatory's closing date first.
Day trips from London
- WindsorWindsor Castle is about an hour away. Take the Elizabeth line or a Great Western train from Paddington to Slough and change for the 6 minute shuttle, or a direct train from Waterloo. Check the castle's opening days on the Royal Collection Trust site first.
- OxfordGreat Western runs two fast trains an hour from Paddington, taking about an hour, and Chiltern runs two an hour from Marylebone. Allow a full day for the colleges, the Bodleian Library and the museums.
- CambridgeTrains leave King's Cross about three times an hour and take around an hour or a little less. Punting on the Cam, King's College Chapel and the Fitzwilliam Museum fill a day.
- BathDirect Great Western trains from Paddington take about an hour and a half. The Roman Baths and the Georgian streets are walkable from the station, so a day is enough.
London: questions people ask
How many days do you need in London?
Three days covers the main sights without rushing. Two days works if you stay in one area a day, and four lets you add Greenwich or a day trip. London is large, so a week is better spent in fewer neighborhoods than on a longer list.
Where is the best place to stay in London for a first visit?
Covent Garden or Soho put the West End, the National Gallery and the Elizabeth line within walking distance. South Kensington suits museum days and quiet streets, and Southwark suits the river and Borough Market. Choose the area that matches what you plan to do most.
When is the best time to visit London?
Late May to September is the warmest and brightest, and September falls after the school holidays. October and November are the wettest months. Winter is cold and dark early, but the museums, theaters and pubs carry on as normal.
Do you need an ETA to visit London?
Most visitors from Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, which costs £20, lasts two years or until your passport expires, and allows stays of up to six months at a time. British and Irish citizens do not need one. Apply only on GOV.UK or the UK ETA app, and at least three working days before you travel.
How do you get from Heathrow to central London?
The Elizabeth line takes under 40 minutes to Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon or Liverpool Street. The Heathrow Express takes 15 minutes to Paddington, and the Piccadilly line takes under an hour and costs least. Pick the one that stops nearest where you are staying.
Which London attractions are free?
The British Museum, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Tate Modern collection are free, and so is the Sky Garden, which needs a ticket. The Tower of London, St Paul's and the Tower Bridge Exhibition charge, and so do special exhibitions.
How do you pay for the Tube and buses in London?
Tap a contactless card or phone on the reader for the Tube, DLR, Overground, Elizabeth line and buses. Fares are capped each day and each week, provided you use the same card or device every time. A Visitor Oyster card is the alternative.
What should you book before a trip to London?
The Tower of London, the Sky Garden's free tickets, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and any big West End show are the ones that need planning. The free museums take walk-ups, though a free ticket is recommended at the British Museum.