Free sights, experiences, and activities in London, England

Raising your pinkies at a proper British afternoon tea in London (preferably with scones)

My favorite things to see and do in London

All about how I select lodgings for this site

The Savoy is one of London’s grandest hotels, a Thameside Art Deco monument where Monet painted and the Queen was crowned

Of all London's boutique inns, this Chelsea hotel succeeds the best at leaving behind the aura of impersonal hotel to create instead a cozy private home feel—with discreet hotel comforts—in a building from the 1800s

Riding the famous double-decker buses of London

The play's the thing... to do at Shakespeare's Globe, a faithful recreation of a genuine Elizabethan theater in the round.

The Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum in the underground bunker from which Britain waged World War II

Free concerts, performances, plays, and lectures in London

A collection of the English language's greatest books and manuscripts, from Beowulf to Beatles lyrics by way of the Magna Carta, Shakespeare, James Joyce, and more

Spend a day in Greenwich, a Thameside village on London's eastern outskirts by which the world sets it clocks, with a rich maritime history, stellar little museums, and the Prime Meridian

A chain of fantastic Japanese noodle houses in London

A gloriously funky hotel just off Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, London

Luxury apartments 100 meters from St. Paul's Cathedral

A staunchly traditional British restaurant

A great Indian restaurant with a wonderfully funky decor in the Mayfair district of London

This Old World, clubby Mayfair hotel with a residential ambiance is consistently lauded for its service, food, and ambiance

Like staying at your own private upper crust St. James's club

One of London's most bespoke luxury hotels, directly behind Buckingham Palace

Quite possible the greatest museum gift store on the planet—perfect for souvenir and holiday shopping

Set your watch by the actual Greenwich Mean Time clock, straddle the Prime Meridian line that divides the eastern and western hemispheres, and tour the fascinating little museum about it all

Tours offering insight to the history and culture of London

Fantastic modern art museum in a massive former power plant, with blockbuster exhibitions and a fab gift shop and bookstore

The history of London Town from prehistoric times to the 21C, told in artifacts, scale models, archaeological finds, photographs, and paintings

A wonderful (and cheap) Belgian restaurant in London's Covent Garden

Favorite Southwark pub filled with cozy snugs and literary associations just a block from Shakespeare's Globe

A 17th century pub and National Trust Landmark, set on the ground floor of an old coaching inn

A 16th century pub on Hampstead Heath that inspired Keats, Dickens, and Stoker

Breakfast at London's Fox & Anchor pub comes with a pint of Guinness and the company of the slaughterhouse workers

The Leonard links four 18C Marlyebone townhouses for a British atmosphere with an Imperial touch

A cozy, moderate hotel in the Little Venice area of Maida Vale

This classy Mayfair hotel has been popular with writers since 1937 and hosts one of London's most traditional afternoon teas

The Pelham is an oasis of tranquility in a busy road hub in South Kensington, mere steps from a Tube stop and blocks from the shopping of Brompton Road

London's iconic exclamation point, the clock tower housing Big Ben, sprouts from the honey-hued complex of be-spired 1840 buildings where British Parliament meets (and you can attend sessions)

A vast park in North London, with lovely views, wooded rambles, swimming ponds, cozy pubs, and Old Master art in a genteel manor house

Fantastic, small, bit-of-everything museum—ancient Roman and Egyptian sculptures; paintings by Turner, Reynolds, and Hogarth; architectural remnants and Cantonese furniture—all crammed into the formerly private home of an eclectic collector

A fabulous, inexpensive lunch spot atop tombstones in the crypt of St. Martin-in-the-Fields church on Trafalgar Square

A great-value Indian restaurant in London's Bloomsbury

The granddaddy of hip and trendy hostels in London

A rambling, 150-year-old Greenwich pub with decent grub, Dickens associations, and a small terrace overlooking the Thames

A great (and inexpensive) Indian restaurant in the City of London

A cozy and friendly moderate Covent Garden hotel on a pedestrian street

Basic, bland motel with a great location—and attached to one of London's most historic pubs where Shakespeare once drank

Hostels, B&B's, apartments, farm stays, castles, university dorms, campgrounds...there are so many of these budget options I needed to create a whole separate section on this website just to fit them all in