London
London is one of the world's most expensive cities, and its greatest museums cost nothing. The British Museum and both Tates are free, with the West End and the South Bank a walk apart.
London in a nutshell
London: what to expect
We looked at how travellers actually plan London on Stippl, across 79,000+ planned stops in the city.
London is worth more nights than most people first give it, because so much of it is free. The British Museum, the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery and both Tates charge nothing to enter, the South Bank path runs from Tower Bridge to Tate Modern past Shakespeare's Globe, and a West End show is a few streets from Covent Garden. Most travellers give London 2 nights on Stippl, and three to five covers the landmark core.
The plans split London into two different visits. 14.4% of London stops planned on Stippl carry no bed at all, the arrival or the last night of a wider European route. At the other end, 27.4% of London stops run to four nights or more, which is London as the holiday itself rather than the door into Britain.
Plan the day trips before the hotel, since Oxford, Bath and York are what a London trip actually gets paired with. Windsor, Cambridge and Brighton are an hour or less by train, and Greenwich is a river boat away. Book timed tickets for the paid sights before you fly and tap a contactless card on the Tube. Skip London if a cheap bed is the priority, because the room is the one cost here that cannot be engineered away, and do not treat it as the stepping stone to the Highlands: Scotland is planned from Edinburgh.
Plan London in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the appWho London is for
First-timers in Britain
London opens most of the British trips it appears on, and the landmarks line the Thames close enough to walk between.
Museum-goers on a budget
The British Museum, the V&A, the Natural History and Science museums, the National Gallery and both Tates are all free to enter.
Theatre-goers
The West End packs dozens of theatres into a few streets around Covent Garden and Soho, a walk from most central beds.
Families
Free museums, parks and playgrounds carry a whole day without a ticket, and timed-entry tickets keep the paid sights workable with children.
Long-weekenders
Two or three nights covers the core, and most travellers give London 2 nights on Stippl.
Long-haul arrivals
Heathrow is the country's main long-haul gateway, so London is the natural first stop after a long flight into Britain.
Maybe not for you: anyone whose trip is really about Scotland, since London trips reach the Highlands less often than an average British trip; and budget travellers who need cheap beds, because free museums do not offset the price of a room.
The best time to visit London
Spring
March to May
March is the driest month of the year and the parks turn green through April. By May the evenings are long and the summer crowds have not arrived.
Summer
June to August
The warmest and fullest months, with the longest queues at the paid sights. Rain still comes, in short showers rather than washed-out days.
Autumn
September to November
September is warm without the peak crowds and one of the best months to come. October is the wettest of the year and November is dark until the Christmas lights.
Winter
December to February
Cold rather than freezing, dark by late afternoon and the cheapest season for West End seats. December is the busy exception.
- June is the month most travellers plan London for on Stippl, ahead of July and August. The early summer rooms go first, so a June trip is booked like a peak one, and September is the calmer warm month for the same weather.
- December is a second London season rather than a trough. 9.0% of London trips on Stippl start in December, for the Christmas lights, markets and pantomime from late November, so book theatre seats and central rooms as early as for summer.
- Timed slots now apply to the big free sights as well as the paid ones. Book the British Museum and the London Eye for a set time rather than turning up, and take the free Sky Garden slots as soon as they are released, weeks ahead.
Add your London dates and we'll flag the weather
Stippl shows the season, crowds and prices for every stop on your route.
Describe your trip, get a London itinerary in seconds
Everything in this guide is already in Stippl. Tell the planner how long you have and what you like: it builds the route, the days and the travel times, and you edit whatever you want.
Things to do in London
The British Museum
Free to enter, like the V&A, the National Gallery and both Tates, but it now runs timed entry, so book a slot before you go rather than queueing.
Changing of the Guard
Free to watch outside Buckingham Palace at 11:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, weather permitting. Arrive well before eleven for a place at the railings.
The South Bank on foot
Walk the river from Tower Bridge to Tate Modern past Shakespeare's Globe and the BFI, one continuous path with most of the landmarks on it. Finish at Borough Market.
A West End show
The theatres sit within a few streets of Covent Garden. Buy same-day seats at the TKTS booth on Leicester Square for around half price, or pick a midweek matinee.
Sky Garden
A free indoor viewpoint at the top of a City tower, where the View from the Shard costs €37 to €60. Book online; the free slots are released weeks ahead.
Greenwich by river boat
Take the Thames Clipper, part of the transport network, to the Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian. It is a half-day out of the centre.
The neighbourhoods of London
Covent Garden
Piazza, theatres, street performers
A restored market piazza with the Royal Opera House, street performers and theatres on every side, unashamedly touristy. For first-timers who want the West End and the shortest walks.
The shortest walks in London, and the highest prices and the most street noise.
Soho
Neon grid, late and loud
A compact grid where Michelin-starred rooms back onto dive bars, with Chinatown next door. For night owls and food-led trips who plan to be out late.
The best evenings in the centre, but loud until late and priced to match.
South Bank
Riverside walk, culture
The pedestrian corridor between Westminster and Tower bridges, with Tate Modern, the Globe and Borough Market in Southwark behind it. For walkers who want the river sights on foot.
The river sights on foot, and a bridge to cross for the West End.
Shoreditch
Street art, markets, late nights
The old industrial East End turned creative quarter, with street art, vintage markets and the Brick Lane curry houses. For younger travellers who want food and nightlife over the sights.
Lower prices and the best nightlife, but longer on the Tube to the landmarks.
Bloomsbury & King's Cross
Garden squares, bookshops, stations
Georgian garden squares around the British Museum and the university, with King's Cross regenerated alongside. For budget travellers and anyone arriving by Eurostar at St Pancras.
Budget beds and the best rail links, but a Tube ride to the river.
Kensington & South Kensington
Victorian, genteel, museum row
Elegant Victorian streets holding the V&A, the Natural History and the Science museums side by side. For families and museum-led trips that want a quieter base.
Three free museums at the door, and a Tube ride to the West End.
See every London neighbourhood on one map
Save the areas you like and Stippl plots your days so you're not crossing the city twice.
Where to stay in London
Stay in Covent Garden or on the South Bank for a first visit: the theatres, the river and most of the landmarks are on foot. Most travellers give London 2 nights on Stippl, and you will use the Tube wherever you sleep, so a room near a zone 1 to 3 station matters more than a central postcode. The bed is the one London cost you cannot avoid.
Covent Garden
Boutique and four-star hotels around the piazza, €350 to €580 a double, with few budget options.
Soho
Design hotels and small rooms above the restaurants, €150 to €350 a double.
South Bank
Mid-range chain hotels along the river and in Southwark, €120 to €300 a double.
Shoreditch
Hostels from €20 a bed and design hotels from €120 a double, cheaper than the West End.
Bloomsbury & King's Cross
Hostels from €18 a bed and two-star doubles from €60, the cheapest central beds.
Kensington & South Kensington
Townhouse hotels and mid-range doubles, €120 to €350, quiet after dark.
What to eat in London
The best-known food market in the city
Street food from every continent beside vintage stalls
Curry houses and Sunday markets in the East End
A sit-down institution, priced from casual to very expensive
Supermarket sandwich, snack and drink for a fixed price
Discover food spots in Stippl
Find restaurants and markets on the map, save them to your itinerary, works offline too.
London customs and what not to do
Stand on the right
On Tube escalators the right side is for standing and the left for walking, and blocking the left at rush hour draws open irritation.
Let people off first
At Tube and bus doors, stand aside until everyone getting off is out, then board; pushing in against the flow is read as rude.
Check the bill for service
A 12.5% service charge is often added to London restaurant bills; where it is not, 10 to 15% is normal, and nothing at the bar.
Queues are taken seriously
Jumping a queue at a bus stop, a bar or an attraction is read as plainly rude, whatever the rush.
Check maps off the pavement
Phone snatching from the hand is the defining street crime for visitors, so step into a doorway to check the map rather than walking with it out.
Do
- Tap in and out with the same contactless card on every journey
- Book timed slots for the big museums, including the free ones
- Step into a doorway before checking your phone
- Walk between neighbouring Tube stops; they are often minutes apart
Don't
- Stand on the left side of a Tube escalator
- Walk through the centre holding your phone out
- Add a tip on top of a service charge already on the bill
- Buy a paper Tube ticket; contactless costs less
What a London trip costs
Track what you actually spend
Set a daily budget per country and log expenses in any currency while you travel.
Fun facts about London
The Tube opened in 1863 and is the world's oldest metro. Despite the name, more than half of the London Underground network actually runs above ground.
The British Museum holds around eight million objects. It is one of seven national museums in London that charge nothing to enter, along with the V&A and both Tates.
The City of London covers roughly one square mile. It is a financial district with its own governance, inside the far larger metropolis that shares its name.
A Roman amphitheatre lies beneath the Guildhall in the City of London. It is a trace of Londinium, the Roman town the city has grown out of over about two thousand years.
Green Park has no flower beds, by legend because of Charles II. The story goes that he was caught picking flowers there for his mistress, and the park is lawns and trees.
One of the clocks at St Paul's Cathedral was destroyed by wartime bombing. It was deliberately never replaced, and the gap has stayed ever since the Second World War.
London gets less rain in a year than Rome or New York. It falls across many small showers instead, with October the wettest month and March the driest.
Local tips for London
Tap a card, not a ticket
A contactless bank card, phone or watch caps the day at €10 (£8.90) in zones 1 to 2, the same as an Oyster card. Paper tickets cost more; tap in and out every journey.
One card per person
The cap works per card, so one card tapped for a whole family charges adult fares for the children. Many children travel free; buy a child ticket where one applies.
Walk between Tube stops
Central London is walkable in ways the Tube map hides. Neighbouring stations are often minutes apart on foot, and Tower Bridge to Tate Modern is a short riverside walk.
Keep the phone in a pocket
Phones are snatched from the hand on busy pavements, at crossings and outside stations, at record levels. Step into a doorway to read the map instead of walking with it.
Take the Tube from Heathrow
The Piccadilly line reaches the centre in about fifty minutes for €6.90 (£5.90), and the Elizabeth line takes thirty to forty-five minutes for about €18 (£15.50).
How long to stay
Most travellers give London 2 nights on Stippl, and three to five covers the landmark core with a day trip to Oxford or Bath.
London questions, answered
Because London is two different trips. 14.4% of London stops planned on Stippl carry no bed at all, while 27.4% run to four nights or more. The short ones are arrivals and departures on a wider European route; the long ones are London as the holiday, with day trips out to Oxford, Bath and Windsor.
About two in three: 65.96% of the United Kingdom trips people build on Stippl include London, and it opens most of them. That makes London the door rather than the whole trip, so decide early whether the rest of the route heads west to Bath, north to York or across to Paris.
Most travellers give London 2 nights on Stippl, usually at the start of a longer Britain route because Heathrow is the long-haul door. Lay the route out in Stippl with London first and the day trips as separate days, then show it to people who have been, in subreddits like r/london or the Facebook groups. Say how you travel when you ask.
You can, but a London trip reaches Fort William, Inverness or Skye less often than an average British trip does. The Highlands are planned from Edinburgh or Glasgow, four and a half hours north by train, so give Scotland its own week rather than squeezing it onto the end of a London break.
Usually not. It is priced by the day, it leaves out some of the most-wanted attractions, the London Eye among them, and the museums most visitors come for are already free. Buy timed tickets for the two or three paid sights you actually want, and book them online before you arrive.
Phone snatching. London is otherwise a safe city by the standards of large capitals, but phones taken from the hand on busy pavements, at crossings and outside stations are at record levels. Stop somewhere deliberate to check the map, and keep the phone in a pocket while you walk.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Plan London in Stippl
Day-by-day planning, stays and budget in one app, with every place from this guide already on the map.
Download the app