What to see in London
London museums, monuments, churches, and other top attractions
By Category
- Ancient site (1)
- Bridge (2)
- Building (8)
- Castle (1)
- Cemetery (1)
- Church (4)
- Cruise (2)
- Culinary experience (2)
- Garden (5)
- Learn (3)
- Library (1)
- Local culture (1)
- Market (5)
- Monument (5)
- Museum (29)
- Notable neighborhood (3)
- Palace (7)
- Park (7)
- Performing Arts (7)
- Pubs (1)
- Scenic ride (2)
- Shop (11)
- Sidetrip (1)
- Square (4)
- Tour (13)
- Viewpoint (2)
- Zoo (1)
By Interest
Suggested ItinerariesNot only is London home to some of the world's greatest museums—the antiquities of the British Museum, the Old Masters of the National Gallery, the contemporary greats in the Tate Modern, the globe-spanning decorative arts in the V&A—but all of those biggies are absolutely free of charge!
On the other hand, they do charge admission to the major churches. Go figure.
One of the greatest museums on the planet, a repository of astounding artifacts from throughout human history all around the globe, from the Rosetta Stone to the Parthenon Marbles to an Easter Island moai and much, much, much more
The ancient Thameside castle at the heart of London, where London began, ravens roam, and Yoeman Warders guard the Crown Jewels
London's great Gothic abbey is packed with the tombs and monuments of British monarchs and some the world's most famous playwrights, poets, scientists, and other notables
England's greatest repository of Old Masters paintings, with works by Leonardo, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Monet, Degas, and more
The Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum in the underground bunker from which Britain waged World War II
London's Royal Residence, from the State Rooms and royal gardens to the Queen's Gallery and the (yawnfest) changing of the guard
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
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
Even if you can't attend a performance, this painstaking replica of an Elizabethan theater in the round is worth a visit just to see it and learn more about the history of British theatre
The 17th century royal palace where Queen Victoria grew up and Prince William and Kate live
The history of London Town from prehistoric times to the 21C, told in artifacts, scale models, archaeological finds, photographs, and paintings
Fantastic modern art museum in a massive former power plant, with blockbuster exhibitions and a fab gift shop and bookstore
The University of London has a spectacular gallery of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings
The world's oldest scientific zoo (as opposed to some royal menagerie) is home to more than 750 species
A relaxing steep slope of tree-spotted greenery good for Frisbee tossing, napping, and picnic pauses in between Greenwich's big sights
A 395-acre park with an Open Air Theatre, zoo, sports pitches, and flower gardens
- Viator.com - Best one-stop shopping site for all sorts of activities, walking tours, bus tours, escorted day trips, and other excursions. It is actually a clearinghouse for many local tour companies and outfitters, and since it gets a bulk-rate deal on pricing (and takes only a token fee for itself), you can actually sometimes book an activity through Viator for less than it would cost to buy the same exact tour from the tour company itself. (I once booked a Dublin pub crawl via Viator and later discovered that I saved about $1.50; also, the tour turned out to be sold-out, and they were turning away the folks in front of me in line, but since I had a pre-booked voucher I got in.)Partner
- Londonwalks.com - Since the 1970s, the gold standard in city walking tours and museum tours—and cheap, to boot. Just meet your guide at the appointed time and place (usually a Tube stop), pay your £10 (students or over 65s are £8; under 15 free), and prepare for a good two hours of amazing cultural insight and historic anecdotes. If you plan on taking three or more walks, buy a "Frequent London Walker" card for £2 from your first guide, then each subsequent walk costs £8. They also run popular excursions outside London for £18. Note that the fee just covers the guided tour; you pay for any admissions (or, for excursions, travel expenses) yourself.
- Contexttravel.com - This bespoke walking tour company doesn't even call its 200 tour leaders "guides." It calls them "docents"—perhaps because most guides are academics and specialists in their fields: history professors, archeologists, PhDs, art historians, artists, etc. Groups are miniscule (often six people maximum), and most docents can be booked for private guiding sessions as well. They aren't always the cheapest tours, but they are invariably the best. People rave about Context.Partner
- City-discovery.com - Chief rival to Viator (though with a less spiffy interface and often sub-par text descriptions), representing many of the same tours (at the same prices). However, it also seems to cover more destinations, especially secondary ones. When it comes down to it, City-Discovery and Viator have maybe 70% the same inventory, but then 30% will be completely different (some Viator has City-Discovery does not, other vice-versa) so it pays to check through the offerings from both.Partner
- Visitlondon - Official tourism information site for London.
- Londonpass - Sightseeing and transport discount pass.Partner
- Londontown.com - Excellent independent tourism office and online guide to London.
- Timeout.com - Premier events, theater, and cultural happenings guide (plus food and drink) for major cities. In the U.K, covers London, Edingburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, and Bristol, and Brighton
- Cityoflondon.gov.uk - The City of London has its own tourism site—and the only sizeable info kiosk in the center of London. they're also the only ones who will answer the phone.
- London Evening Standard - London's top free local paper has good events and restaurant listings
- Where London - This is that events guide and mini-guidebook magazine you get free in mide-range hotels all aroudn the world. Covers the top stuff, and current events, but a distant second to Time Out.
- Visitgreenwich.org.uk - Covering the semi-independent Royal Borough of Greenwich—part of Greater London, but really a (well worthwhile) daytrip in its own right.
Tips
This sightseeing pass (with an optional transport add-on) looks frighteningly pricey at first—but then again, so are many of the top sights it covers, and for many visitors it will save you money.
Also, it lets you skip the ticket lines at a few of the best sights where the queues can be quite long.
There are far more details (and strategies for getting the most out of it) on our London Pass page, but in brief: If you plan to hit at least three of London's major sights in one day (or four over two days)—say, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, a Thames cruise, and Windsor Castle—it will save you money. » more
London is chock-a-block with free sights—including some of the world's top museums. Enjoy! » more
