London, EnglandBy ArrivLast checked
Plan a trip to London
Enormous, and best handled as a set of villages linked by the Tube. Pick two a day. The major museums are free, which changes how you budget a week, because the money that would have gone on tickets goes on dinner and the theatre.
- First-timers
- Families
- Food trips
- Art
Free to run, and you keep editing after. Add who's coming or a pace like “slow mornings” to shape the result.
London at a glance
Most people come for the headline sight, British Museum, and that decides the shape of everything else. Three more stops hold up their end, and you will sleep in South Bank / Southwark, Shoreditch, or Bloomsbury. The month notes say when London earns the airfare, so give it 4 to 7 days and put the whole thing on a map.
- How long
- 4–7 days
- When to go
- May to September has the longest days and the most outdoor life. Bring a jacket. Rain is possible in any month, so daylight matters more than the forecast when you pick dates, and December brings markets with afternoons that end around four.
- Getting around
- Tap a contactless card on the Tube, buses, and Overground, since daily capping makes a travelcard pointless. Walk within neighborhoods, and use the Elizabeth line from Heathrow when you arrive.
What to build the plan around
- 1
British Museum
Free entry, so pick two galleries, because the Egyptian and Assyrian rooms are why most people come.
- 2
Tower of London
Ticketed and worth it, and you should arrive at opening and see the Crown Jewels first, before the queue for that one room builds.
- 3
Borough Market
The best lunch in the city, near London Bridge, though it is closed Sundays and quietest on a weekday morning.
- 4
South Bank walk
From Westminster to Tower Bridge along the river, past the Tate Modern and the Globe, which is about two miles.
Where to stay in London
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- South Bank / Southwark
- Central and riverside, with a walk to Westminster and the Tate, and good transport when you go further. Browse stays in South Bank / Southwark
- Shoreditch
- The best food and bars with cheaper rooms, ten minutes to the City by Overground, though it is noisy at weekends. Browse stays in Shoreditch
- Bloomsbury
- Quiet Georgian squares next to the British Museum, which puts you well placed for King's Cross. Browse stays in Bloomsbury
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Itineraries close to London
London has no itinerary of its own yet. These are the nearest ones, and every stop is already mapped.
London planning questions
- How many days do you need in London?
- Plan on 4 to 7 days, though how you split them matters more than the total. Four days covers the core sights and two neighborhoods. A week lets you add Greenwich, Hampstead, and a day trip to Oxford or Bath, though Bath is the better of those two by some distance.
- What is the best time to visit London?
- May to September has the longest days and the most outdoor life. Bring a jacket. Rain is possible in any month, so daylight matters more than the forecast when you pick dates, and December brings markets with afternoons that end around four.
- Where should I stay in London?
- Depends what you want to be able to reach on foot. South Bank / Southwark: Central and riverside, with a walk to Westminster and the Tate, and good transport when you go further. Shoreditch: The best food and bars with cheaper rooms, ten minutes to the City by Overground, though it is noisy at weekends. Bloomsbury: Quiet Georgian squares next to the British Museum, which puts you well placed for King's Cross. Nightly rate and walking distance pull against each other in all three, so you have to pick the version of that trade you mind least.
- How do you get around London?
- Tap a contactless card on the Tube, buses, and Overground, since daily capping makes a travelcard pointless. Walk within neighborhoods, and use the Elizabeth line from Heathrow when you arrive.
- What should I see first in London?
- Go to British Museum early in the trip, before the days start filling up with things you booked later. Free entry, so pick two galleries, because the Egyptian and Assyrian rooms are why most people come. The other three stops can go in whatever order the map makes easy, since none of them depends on the others.
- Can I build a London itinerary automatically?
- Describe the trip and Arriv builds one. Length, pace, who is coming: that is enough to get a London itinerary of real venues on a map, and every stop is yours to move or delete. Free to run, and an account matters only once you want to keep it.