London, UK: A Short Travel Guide

London is England's capital and sits on the banks of the River Thames in the southeast of the United Kingdom. This bustling city blends ancient sites with modern architecture, including world-renowned sights like the Big Ben. But as one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, London’s magic goes far beyond its iconic landmarks. Whether it’s your first visit or your tenth, London promises endless exploration. In this travel guide, we share our top things to do in London as well as great places to stay, eat, and drink.

View from the Shard

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Check out our video about London to see the best things to do through our camera!

Best Things To Do In London

• West End Shopping (Oxford St, Bond St, Regent St & Covent Garden Market) & Entertainment (Book a musical!)

• Walk Regent’s Canal from Camden to Little Venice in Paddington

• Visit a museum (Our favorites: Tate Modern, Science Museum, the Natural History Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Frameless Immersive Art Experience)

• Get a view over the city (The Shard and Sky Garden are good options!)

• Visit the Tower of London (take a free beefeater tour inside!)

• Explore Shoreditch

• Get inside St. Paul’s Cathedral

• Visit the Greenwich Prime Meridian (Get a Royal Museums Greenwich Pass if you want to visit other museums in the area)

• Explore the food & pub scene

• Stroll around Notting Hill (Portobello Road Market)

• Relax at the Royal Parks of London (our favorites include Hyde Park, Greenwich Park & Regent's Park with Primrose Hill)

• Warner Bros. Studio Tour (Get tickets in advance with transportation included!)

• Indulge in London’s food markets (Borough Market, Camden Market & Pop Brixton are our favorites)

• Explore the Westminster highlights (Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square & Buckingham Palace) - Book a tour to learn all about it

• Walk or cruise along the River Thames

Download our Google Map with all the places to go, eat, drink, and stay here.

Tower Bridge

Places To Stay In London

Check the Underground Map to decide where to stay:

• Finsbury Park: Argyle Apart Hotel ($$ - where we stayed): nice little studio rooms with comfy bed and everything you need. Close to the underground and train station!

• Notting Hill/Paddington: Kensington Gardens Hotel ($): budget hotel in a very nice area

• King's Cross: The Gyle ($$): located in a prime location near King's Cross Station, this hotel has clean rooms with great facilities

• Farringdon: YOTEL London City ($$$ - also stayed there once): great location, small but very modern and tech-savvy rooms. Breakfast is great!

• Shoreditch: The Hoxton ($$$ - also stayed there once): fancy hotel in a hip area with great amenities
  

St Paul's Cathedral

Places To Eat And Drink In London

Afternoon tea:

• Claridge's Restaurant in the hotel

• Harrod's Tea Room

• Mariage Freres (Covent Garden)

• The Wolseley (Green Park)
  

Coffee

• Athenian Bakery (Finsbury Park)

• GAIL's Bakery (multiple locations)

• Monmouth Coffee Company (multiple locations)

• Prufrock Coffee (Farringdon)

• Redemption Roasters (multiple locations)

• WatchHouse (multiple locations)

Ethnic & British cuisine:

• 14 Hills modern European restaurant (Fen Court)

• BAO Taiwanese bun house (Soho)

• Barrafina tapas bar (Soho)

• Brasserie Zedel French cuisine (Piccadilly Circus)

• Burger & Lobster (Mayfair & multiple locations)

• chaiiwala coffee & Indian lunch (Knightsbridge)

• Chet's Thai-American fusion (Shepherd's Bush)

• City Spice Indian cuisine (Brick Lane - Shoreditch)

• Darwin Brasserie (SkyGarden)

• De Nadas Empanadas (Shoreditch)

• Dishoom Indian restaurant (Shoreditch / Covent Garden)

• Fat Hippo hamburgers (Soho)

• Honest Burgers (Oxford Circus)

• Hoppers Sri Lankan restaurant (Soho / Marylebone / King's Cross)

• Kolamba - Sri Lankan Restaurant (Soho)

• Korean Dinner Party (Soho)

• Manteca Italian Restaurant (Shoreditch)

• Marugame Udon (Spitalfields)

• MotherMash pies (Soho)

• Osteria Napoletana (Notting Hill)

• Padella Italian restaurant (Southwark)

• Pedro's Wine Bar & Tapas

• Pizza Pilgrims (Soho)

• Rosa's Thai Baker Street (Marylebone)

• Roti King Malaysian (Euston)

• Señor Ceviche Peruvian Restaurant (Soho)

• Seoul Bakery (Tottenham Court)

• Smoking Goat Thai restaurant (Shoreditch)

• Sonora Taquería (Stoke Newington)

• Sumi Japanese (Notting Hill)

• Tavernaki Greek Restaurant (Portobello - Notting Hill)

• Wahaca Mexican (Southbank)
  

Food Markets:

• Borough Market

• Camden Market

• Greenwich Market

• Maltby Street Market

• Pop Brixton

Nightlife:

• Egg London Nightclub (King's Cross)

• Electric (Brixton)

• Fabric (Farringdon)

• Rumba Latin club (Piccadilly)

• Salsa Club (Soho)

• XOYO LONDON (Shoreditch)

Pubs:

• Spanish Galleon (Greenwich)

• The Cauldron Harry-Potter themed bar (Dalston)

• The Gipsy Moth (Greenwich)

• The Harp (Covent Garden)

• The Lexington live music (Pentonville)

• The Nags Head (Covent Garden)

• Troubadour live music bar (Earl's Court)

• Ye Olde Mitre (Holborn)

Afternoon tea

Map London UK

Find all the places to go, eat, drink, and stay in London on Google Maps. To follow and save the list, do the following:

1. Tap on the link to open it (click button below)

2. Tap Follow. This list will now be added to the group of lists you follow.

3. Optional: To unfollow a list someone shared with you, tap the list Saved.
   

If you follow the list we made, all our saved places of London will show up in Your Places. The places will also appear as suggested locations in Google Maps.

Save Google Maps Places

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Use These Websites To Save Money On Your Trip To London

• Booking.com for places to stay

• Skyscanner for cheap flights

• GetYourGuide for local tours

• Rentalcars.com for affordable car rentals

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Are you having a hard time planning your trip to London? Get our Interactive Travel Planner to keep it all organized.

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Need more travel inspiration? Check out our other destinations and articles about the UK:

• Scotland travel guide

• Inverness travel guide

• Isle of Skye travel guide

• Edinburgh travel guide

• Gibraltar travel guide