An insider’s guide to the top things to do in London, including the best London museums, art galleries, sightseeing spots and free places to visit, as well as insider tips for top London attractions from the Tate Modern to the London Eye – and the best hotels within walking distance, in Westminster, the City, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, St Paul’s, South Kensington and on the South Bank.
Buckingham Palace & Changing of the Guard
Buckingham Palace opens up its Sèvres-china-stuffed, gold-leaf-adorned State Rooms to the public from July to October each year. Expect priceless Rubens paintings, a piano Queen Victoria played, 350 clocks and even the odd secret door. Get a ticket that includes access to the Royal Mews, where the coach that has been used for every coronation since George IV in 1820 is on display. That said, many visitors are happy to settle for watching the Changing of the Guard outside the palace, a free event which typically happens four days a week at 11am (check exact timings in advance).
Insider tip: Sign up to the Palace newsletter for updates about exclusive tours that might even include a glass of champagne, and keep an eye out on the website for exhibitions and special events aimed at children. Multimedia guides are free (there’s even one especially for young ones); ask on the way in.
Contact: Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA (0303 123 7300; royalcollection.org.uk)
Nearest underground station: Victoria, Green Park and Hyde Park Corner
Where to stay
The Goring
Belgravia, London, England
From
£
378
The Nadler Victoria
Victoria, London, England
Rooms are impressively compact: behind what appears to be a nondescript wardrobe is a magically well-equipped kitchenette, complete with microwave, fridge, Nespresso machine and sink with built-in Brita filter.
From
£
134
Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences
Victoria, London, England
From
£
300
The Rubens at the Palace London
Victoria, London, England
From
£
180
Wesminster Abbey
One of the most famous churches in the world, with 1,000 years of history. This is where William the Conqueror and Queen Elizabeth II were crowned and William and Kate exchanged vows. The Gothic edifice, all echoey cloisters, mosaic-encrusted chambers and martyrs carved into the stonework, hosted the funeral of Princess Diana and is the burial ground of everyone from Geoffrey Chaucer to Oliver Cromwell.
Insider tip: It gets exceptionally crowded so arrive before 10am. Quieter corners to seek out are the extraordinary 13th-century octagonal Chapter House with the oldest door in London and rare medieval sculptures, and the Pyx Chamber, which used to be a royal treasury and has an altar that predates the Reformation.
Contact: 20 Deans Yard, Westminster, London SW1P 3PA (0303 123 7300; westminster-abbey.org)
Nearest underground station: Westminster and St James’s Park
Credit:
2013 WESTMINSTER ABBEY
Where to stay
Conrad London St James
Victoria, London, England
From
£
212
St. Ermin’s Hotel
Victoria, London, England
From
£
202
St Paul’s Cathedral
Prince Charles once remarked that the skyscrapers that surround the second-largest dome in the world are “like a basketball team standing shoulder-to-shoulder between you and the Mona Lisa”. The gentle, swollen shadow of Sir Christopher Wren’s 17th-century Renaissance masterpiece does seem all the more exceptional set against the City’s spiky, vertigiousness skyline. Don’t miss the Whispering Gallery where you can hear someone 112 feet away, the Golden Gallery with views over the Thames to Shakespeare’s Globe and the tombs of Ethelred the Unready, Alexander Fleming and James Barry.
Insider tip: Buy tickets online for a year of free entry, and try and time your visit so you finish up in time for the 5pm choral evensong. The crowds have also normally died down a bit by then.
Contact: St. Paul’s Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD (020 7246 8350; stpauls.co.uk)
Nearest underground station: St Paul’s
Credit:
Graham Lacdao/Graham Lacdao
Where to stay
The Zetter Townhouse, Clerkenwell
The City, London, England
From
£
243
Z City
The City, London, England
From
£
60
Tate Modern
Controversial and unmissable in equal measure. Entry to the collections is also free (exhibitions are charged). Visitors will find the country’s most important modern art collection in the vast former power station (think everything from Picasso to Lichtenstein), as well as the London’s latest must-see exhibition, often headlined by art colossuses like Anish Kapoor and Ai Weiwei.
Insider tip: End your visit with a nosey around The Tanks, arguably the gallery’s most experimental outpost – the place to come for creepy video installations and kooky performative art. Oh, and don’t miss the chocolate shop.
Contact: Bankside, London SE1 9TG (020 7887 8888; tate.org.uk)
Nearest underground station: Southwark and Blackfriars
Credit:
LEON NEAL,
Where to stay
Sea Containers London
South Bank, London, England
From
£
168
Hilton London Bankside
Waterloo, London, England
From
£
127
The Shard
A noble glass spire that embodies the energy and ambition of London’s financial district, or Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund petrodollars mutated into thousand-foot dalek with a head that’s been subjected to a dodgy pencil sharpener? Wherever you stand on the architecture, London’s highest viewing platform has become one of the city’s most popular attractions.
Insider tip: The skydeck transforms into a garden in summer, so worth bearing in mind for a sunny day. Yoga classes, silent discos and even artefact-handling collaborations with museums take place on a regular basis. Check the website for details on the latest events.
Contact: 32 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG (0844 499 7111; the-shard.com)
Nearest underground station: London Bridge
Credit:
G-FONNE PHOTOGRAPHY/GREG FONNE
Where to stay
Shangri-La at The Shard
London Bridge, London, England
From
£
405
London Bridge Hotel
London Bridge, London, England
From
£
148
Big Ben
The world’s most famous clock, which features in the film Mary Poppins, on the label of HP sauce and on every London postcard ever made. It is worthy of its nickname (technically it’s called Elizabeth Tower; the main bell inside is Big Ben) – the edifice scales 96 metres, with minute hands over four metres long. The only way to visit the tower is to apply as a British resident in writing to one’s MP. However, the clock is undergoing renovation and tours are currently not taking place. That shouldn’t stop people from expressing interest in a visit after the works are complete. In the meantime it remains one of London’s most popular monuments for a selfie; #bigben has at least two-and-a-half million Instagram posts.
Insider tip: Watch out for whether the clock face is illuminated; this means Parliament is in session.
Contact: Westminster, London SW1A 0AA (020 7219 4272; parliament.uk)
Nearest underground station: Westminster
Credit:
Javen – Fotolia
Where to stay
The Royal Horseguards
Charing Cross, London, England
From
£
182
Sofitel London St James
Piccadilly, London, England
From
£
285
Tower Bridge
London Bridge may have a nursery rhyme named after it but Tower Bridge pips it as a tourist attraction; the formidable Victorian Gothic edifice raised from steel, Cornish granite and Devonshire stone is not just a river Thames icon but also a fun day out in its own right. Visitors can hang out in the glass-floored high-level walkway 140ft above the water, and explore the Victorian engine rooms with its original furnaces and steam engines.
Insider tip: There are yoga lessons on the glass walkway every Wednesday at 7:30am. It’s a bit slippery so bring a good mat.
Contact: Tower Bridge Road, London SE1 2UP (020 7403 3761; towerbridge.org.uk)
Nearest tube station: Tower Hill and London Bridge
where to stay
The Lalit London
London Bridge, London, England
From
£
178
citizenM Tower of London
The City, London, England
citizenM prides itself on having everything you need and nothing you don’t. So, while there’s no gym or pool, there is a coffee-bar at the entrance, six iMacs to borrow, a canteen-style restaurant that’s open 24/7, and a top-floor living-space
From
£
114
Natural History Museum
A favourite with children and no wonder with the first T-rex fossil ever found and the skull of a triceratops. Be sure to whizz into the Minerals gallery to see the 1,400-pound iron meteorite that fell in Argentina in 1783 and the species that inspired the mermaid legends in the Mammals room.
Insider tip: Watch out for the Dino Snores overnight stays at the museum, where visitors get to camp out under the museum’s famed blue whale skeleton, eat edible insects and explore the exhibitions after hours. Both adult and children’s nights available.
Contact: Cromwell Road, Kensington, London SW7 5BD (020 7942 5511; nhm.ac.uk)
Nearest tube station: Gloucester Road and South Kensington
Credit:
AFP or Licensors/YUI MOK
where to stay
The Ampersand Hotel
Kensington, London, England
From
£
223
Number Sixteen
Kensington, London, England
From
£
294
London Eye
This 443ft ‘ferris wheel’ with air-conditioned passenger capsules (32 to represent the 32 boroughs of London) offers some of the best panoramas of the city. Rotations last about 30 minutes, and the wheel rotates 26 cm per second, which is actually not as slow as it might seem – three times that of the average tortoise.
Insider tip: There is no capsule number 13 because of superstition; instead the final capsule is number 33. Luxury add-ons like champagne and chocolate are available. Queues are busiest at the weekends, on bank holidays and school holidays. Try midweek after 4.30pm for a sunset experience and fewer crowds.
Contact: Lambeth, London SE1 7PB (0871 781 3000; londoneye.com)
Nearest tube station:Waterloo
WHERE TO STAY
London Marriott Hotel County Hall
South Bank, London, England
From
£
241
Park Plaza County Hall
Waterloo, London, England
From
£
138
Victoria and Albert Museum
Alexander McQueen gowns rub alongside sandals from Ancient Egypt in Fashion Room 410. You’ll also find everything from 500-year-old Persian carpets to Japanese Tokugawa suits of armour and furniture made for Marie Antoinette in Britain’s leading art and design museum.
Insider tip: An authentic Victorian Afternoon Tea is served in the historic Morris Room every Sunday at 3pm. Expect nasturtium flowers served on pumpernickel bread and gooseberry tarts. Free themed tours happen daily. Check the website for more details.
Contact: Cromwell Road, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL (020 7942 2000; vam.ac.uk)
Nearest tube: South Kensington and Gloucester Road
Credit:
COPYRIGHT JAMES MEDCRAFT 2013/JAMES MEDCRAFT
where to stay
The Gore
Kensington, London, England
From
£
167