Things to do in London: a practical guide for first-time visitors

By TicketGlide Editorial Team · Facts checked October 11, 2026 · How we research and review

London’s big sights sit in a few walkable clusters along the Thames: Westminster, the South Bank, the City and the Tower, with the museums of Bloomsbury and South Kensington a short Tube ride away. Many of the best are free, including the British Museum, the Natural History Museum and the V&A. Pay with a contactless card on the Tube and buses, and book only the handful of things that sell out.

Book these before you go

  • Warner Bros. Studio Tour (Harry Potter): advance tickets only, none at the door
  • Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum: sold out to 31 December; January–March 2027 goes on sale on 21 October
  • Sky Garden: free tickets are released every Monday, three weeks ahead
  • Churchill War Rooms: timed slots sell out

Top 10 things to do in London

Ranked for a first visit. Four of the ten are free; for the others we name the one ticket or tour we would book. Prices checked on 11 October 2026.

Guide price · checked October 11, 2026

Finding experiences…

  1. 1Tower of London and the Crown Jewels

    3 hours or more£38 onlineBook ahead

    A royal palace, fortress and prison with the Crown Jewels inside. Your ticket includes a Yeoman Warder (Beefeater) tour, which runs about every 45 minutes from 10am. There is no fast track, so go to the Jewel House first: its queue peaks between 12pm and 3pm and can reach 90 minutes on busy days.

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  2. 2British Museum

    2–3 hoursFreeFree

    Free, with a free timed ticket recommended for busy days, and open until 8:30pm on Fridays. The Bayeux Tapestry is here until 11 July 2027 with a separate ticket (adults from £25, under-16s free); every date to 31 December 2026 is sold out, and January to March 2027 goes on sale on 21 October.

  3. 3Westminster Abbey

    1.5–2 hours£32Buy on the day

    Coronation church and resting place of monarchs, poets and scientists. Sightseeing ends at 3:30pm on weekdays and 3pm on Saturdays, and Sundays are for worship only. Services are always free: Evensong is the way to hear the Abbey on a Sunday, though it is not a tour and photography is not allowed.

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  4. 4Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace

    11am, Monday, Wednesday and FridayFreeFree

    The full Guard change takes place at 11am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, not every day; check the official calendar for your dates. A guided walk helps you see the parade along its route instead of standing in one crowd. The palace State Rooms open only in summer: 2026 has ended, and 2027 tickets go on sale in November.

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  5. 5The Thames by boat to Greenwich

    Half a dayCruise from £17.20Buy on the day

    A sightseeing cruise from Westminster passes Parliament, St Paul’s, the Tower and Tower Bridge on the way to Greenwich. The Uber Boat commuter service also takes contactless cards, but daily Tube caps do not apply to boats. In Greenwich, the National Maritime Museum is free and the Cutty Sark is open; the Royal Observatory closes from 2 November 2026 for refurbishment.

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  6. 6Natural History Museum, V&A and Science Museum

    Half a dayFreeFree

    Three free national museums side by side in South Kensington, linked to the Tube by a pedestrian subway. The Natural History Museum recommends a free ticket to guarantee entry and is quietest on weekday afternoons; the V&A needs no booking and stays open until 10pm on Fridays; the Science Museum asks you to book a free ticket.

  7. 7St Paul’s Cathedral and free City viewpoints

    2 hours£27 (with the dome)Buy on the day

    The £27 ticket includes all three dome galleries: 257 steps to the Whispering Gallery and 528 to the Golden Gallery, with no lift. Normal sightseeing runs Monday to Saturday. The three dome galleries also open on Sundays from 15 March to 25 October 2026; check the official calendar for your date. Evensong is free, with times listed in the cathedral calendar. Nearby, Sky Garden and Horizon 22 are free viewpoints if you book a slot.

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  8. 8A West End show

    EveningSame-day deals up to 50% offBuy on the day

    The Official London Theatre Ticket Booth (TKTS) on the south side of Leicester Square sells same-day deals of up to 50% off, also online from 12:01am. The look-alike booths around the square are not official. The biggest hits are rarely discounted, so book those ahead.

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  9. 9Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter

    About 3.5 hours plus travelPackages from £95Book ahead

    The sets, costumes and props, 20 miles north-west of London. Tickets are sold in advance only (adults £58.50 in 2026) and weekends and holidays sell out. On your own, take a train from Euston to Watford Junction (about 20 minutes, contactless accepted) and the included shuttle bus. Packages with transport from London usually have a longer cancellation deadline than other tours, so check it on the card.

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  10. 10Day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath

    Full dayTours from £79Book ahead

    Three classic sights in one long day, which is hard to do by public transport. Windsor Castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so check what is included on your date. If you only want one place, Bath is about 1 hour 20 minutes by train from Paddington, and Windsor has direct trains from Waterloo.

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Where available, you can reserve now and pay later. Payment dates and eligibility depend on the experience and the options shown at checkout.

London itinerary for 1, 2 or 3 days

Spend each day in one part of the city: Westminster and the South Bank, then the City and the Tower, then the museums.

Not on the map (outside the city): Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter, Day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath.

Day 1: Westminster, the palace and the South Bank

  • Morning: Westminster Abbey when it opens at 9:30am, or the Churchill War Rooms.
  • 11am on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday: Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
  • Afternoon: cross Westminster Bridge and walk the South Bank past the London Eye to Tate Modern (free) and Borough Market (closed on Mondays).
  • Evening: a West End show.

Day 2: the Tower, Tower Bridge and the river

  • Morning: the Tower of London at opening, Crown Jewels first.
  • Midday: Tower Bridge’s glass walkways (£18), or watch a bridge lift from outside for free.
  • Afternoon: a boat from Tower Pier to Greenwich, or St Paul’s Cathedral and a free viewpoint at Sky Garden or Horizon 22.

Day 3: the museums

  • Morning: the British Museum, then lunch around Covent Garden.
  • Afternoon: South Kensington for the Natural History Museum and the V&A; the V&A is open until 10pm on Fridays.

With more time

Add the Harry Potter studio tour, a day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath or Oxford, or Kew Gardens, where tickets cost £10 on Tuesdays until 29 December 2026.

When to visit London and what to book ahead

London is busy all year; plan for summer crowds or short winter days, and book the few things that sell out.

  • Summer (June–September): the peak season, with average highs around 24°C in July and the highest hotel prices.
  • Autumn: October and November are the wettest months, so pack an umbrella.
  • Winter: average highs around 8°C in January, and only about 7 hours 50 minutes of daylight in late December.
  • Rain is possible in any month; the museums are the best plan B.
ExperienceWhen to bookWhy
Warner Bros. Studio TourWeeks aheadTickets are sold in advance only, and weekends and holidays sell out.
Bayeux Tapestry, British MuseumWhen booking opensSold out to 31 December 2026; January–March 2027 on sale on 21 October.
Sky GardenThree weeks aheadFree tickets are released every Monday for a week three weeks later.
Churchill War RoomsBefore the dayTimed entry slots sell out.
Tower of LondonOnline, before the dayThere is no fast track, and Historic Royal Palaces recommends booking online.
Hit West End showsAheadThe biggest shows are rarely discounted on the day.
British Museum, Natural History MuseumOptional free ticketGuarantees entry at busy times.
Westminster AbbeyOptionalNo booking fee either way; closed to sightseers on Sundays.

Christmas and New Year

  • Hyde Park Winter Wonderland runs from 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.
  • No TfL services run on Christmas Day (Friday 25 December 2026), so plan to walk or book a taxi.
  • The New Year’s Eve fireworks are ticketed. 2026 tickets have not been announced yet; in 2024 the first tickets went on sale on 18 October.

Changes this autumn

  • The Royal Observatory in Greenwich closes from 2 November 2026 for refurbishment.
  • Bus fares rise to £1.85 a journey on 1 November 2026, with a daily bus cap of £5.55.
  • Hogwarts in the Snow runs at the Harry Potter studio tour from 14 November 2026 to 17 January 2027.

Free museums, viewpoints and other ways to save in London

London’s national museums are free, and a contactless card caps what you spend on the Tube and buses each day.

Free things to do

  • National museums: the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, V&A and Science Museum. Special exhibitions charge.
  • Free viewpoints: Sky Garden and Horizon 22, both bookable online.
  • Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace, 11am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
  • Choral Evensong at Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral, and the eight Royal Parks.
  • A Tower Bridge lift, watched from outside; lift times are published online.
  • In Greenwich, the National Maritime Museum and the Queen’s House.

Ways to save

  • Tap the same contactless card or phone every time: Zones 1–2 cap at £8.90 a day and £44.70 from Monday to Sunday.
  • You do not need a Visitor Oyster card, which costs a £10.50 fee and has the same caps as contactless.
  • Up to four children under 11 travel free on the Tube with a paying adult, and under-11s ride buses free.
  • A sightseeing pass pays off only if you visit about three paid sights a day; Westminster Abbey has no Sunday sightseeing, and St Paul’s normally offers it Monday to Saturday, with separate Sunday dome openings through 25 October 2026.
  • Kew Gardens costs £10 on Tuesdays until 29 December 2026.
  • Restaurants often add a 12.5% service charge, so check the bill before tipping; you do not tip at the bar in pubs.

Getting around London: from the airports, by Tube and by bus

Use a contactless card or phone for every Tube, bus and train journey in London; you do not need to buy a ticket.

From the airports

  • Heathrow: the Elizabeth line costs £15.50 to central London (under 40 minutes), the Piccadilly line £5.90 (about 50 minutes) and the Heathrow Express £26 on the day to Paddington (about 15 minutes; from £10 if booked well ahead). A taxi costs about £70–120.
  • Gatwick: Gatwick Express runs non-stop to Victoria in about 30 minutes, and Thameslink to London Bridge and St Pancras; contactless works to London.
  • Stansted: the Stansted Express takes about 48 minutes to Liverpool Street; Oyster is not accepted, and advance fares start at £9.90.
  • Luton: the DART shuttle to Luton Airport Parkway, then about 22 minutes by fast train to St Pancras.

The Tube and buses

  • A Zone 1 Tube journey costs £3.10 at peak times and £3.00 off-peak, and the daily cap stops you paying more.
  • Buses cost £1.75 a journey (£1.85 from 1 November 2026), with unlimited bus changes within an hour; buses do not take cash.
  • The Night Tube runs on Friday and Saturday nights on the Victoria and Jubilee lines and most of the Central, Northern and Piccadilly lines.

Driving

  • Do not drive into the centre: the Congestion Charge is £18 a day, and older vehicles also pay the £12.50 ULEZ charge.

London with kids, on a rainy day or as a couple

Dinosaurs and Beefeaters for children, museums and a show when it rains, and a view or Evensong for two.

With kids

  • The Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, both free (the Science Museum’s Wonderlab costs extra).
  • The Tower of London and its Yeoman Warder tour.
  • Changing the Guard, and the Harry Potter studio tour for fans.

On a rainy day

  • The British Museum, the V&A and the National Gallery.
  • The Churchill War Rooms, underground beneath Westminster.
  • A matinee in the West End.

For couples

  • Sky Garden at sunset: it stays open until 9pm at weekends.
  • Choral Evensong at St Paul’s or Westminster Abbey.
  • A West End show, or a day trip to Bath.

London tours and tickets by type

Browse every bookable option by type, with live prices and availability for your dates.

Frequently asked questions about visiting London

How many days do you need in London?

Three days covers Westminster, the Tower and the main museums. With five, add a day trip such as Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath, and the Harry Potter studio tour or Greenwich.

Where should I stay in London for sightseeing?

Covent Garden, Westminster or the South Bank put you within walking distance of most sights; Bloomsbury is quieter and close to the British Museum.

What is the cheapest way to get from Heathrow to central London?

The Piccadilly line, at £5.90 and about 50 minutes. The Elizabeth line is faster at £15.50, and the Heathrow Express costs £26 on the day.

Can I use my credit card on the London Underground?

Yes. Contactless cards and phones work on the Tube, buses, the Elizabeth line and most trains in London, with the same daily and weekly caps as Oyster: £8.90 a day in Zones 1–2.

Which London museums are free?

The national museums, including the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, V&A and Science Museum. Special exhibitions charge.

When is Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace?

The full ceremony is at 11am on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Dates can change, so check the Household Division calendar before you go.

Can you visit inside Buckingham Palace?

Only in summer. The State Rooms opened from 9 July to 27 September in 2026 (adults £33 booked ahead); 2027 tickets go on sale in November.

Do I need to book the Tower of London in advance?

It is recommended: tickets are sold on the day only if available, and there is no fast track. Adults pay £38 online.

Is the London Pass worth it?

Only if you will visit about three paid sights a day. Westminster Abbey has no Sunday sightseeing. St Paul’s normally offers sightseeing Monday to Saturday, with separate Sunday dome openings through 25 October 2026. Many of London’s best museums are free anyway.

Do you tip in London?

Restaurants often add a 12.5% service charge; if not, 10–15% is usual for table service. You do not tip at the bar in pubs, and for taxis people round up or add about 5–10%.

Is public transport running on Christmas Day?

No. TfL runs no services on 25 December, and most National Rail services stop too.

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Sources

We checked the facts on this page against these sources on October 11, 2026. Prices and times can change, so confirm them when you book.

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Things to Do in London: Top 10 & Tips (2026) | TicketGlide