30 Best Things to Do in London

London has a booking problem, although nobody warns you about it. Half the best things to do in London need a timed slot bought weeks ahead, while the other half you can walk into for nothing. Get that split wrong, then you lose a day queueing.

So this guide is built around booking. All 30 entries below carry a price, plus a straight answer on whether you need to reserve ahead or can simply turn up. Ready to book London attraction tickets now? Start there, then come back for the planning.

What you will find: the full 30, a book-ahead cheat sheet, free museums, West End theatre, day trips to Stonehenge and Windsor, real costs, transport caps, and a 2-day and 3-day itinerary. Every price here is the published starting point rather than a quote, since London prices move about.

30 things to do in London at a glance

Skim this, pick your eight, then dig into the detail below. The booking column is the one that actually matters.

Eleven of those thirty cost nothing at all. That is the bit people miss about London, and it is why the city rewards planning more than most.

What to book ahead, and what you can turn up to

This is the section that usually saves your trip. London splits cleanly into three groups, so learn the split and the rest gets easy.

What needs booking in advance in London? The Harry Potter studio tour and Buckingham Palace State Rooms are the two that genuinely sell out, while popular West End shows go the same way for weekend performances. Everything else is usually fine a few days out.

One more rule worth following. Book the timed things first, then build the free stuff around the gaps, because free museums are open all day and the slots are not.

You can book London tickets across attractions in one place, and the London combo tickets usually beat buying separately when you are doing three or more paid sights.

Royal London: palaces, the Abbey and the Crown Jewels

Four of the city’s headline sights sit within a short walk of each other, therefore this is the easiest full day in London to plan.

1. Tower of London and the Crown Jewels

Adult entry is £38, although it is £41.80 once you add the optional 10 per cent donation. Children aged 5 to 15 pay £19, while under-5s go free and seniors and students pay £30.30. Allow three hours at minimum, since the Crown Jewels queue alone eats forty minutes at peak.

There is no re-entry on a standard ticket, so do not pop out for lunch. Book Tower of London tickets with Crown Jewels, or take the London Eye, Thames cruise and Tower of London combo if you want three in one booking.

2. Westminster Abbey

A thousand years of coronations, plus the burial place of seventeen monarchs too. Paid entry during the day, although Evensong is free and unticketed, at 3pm on Sundays and 5pm Monday to Saturday. Turn up an hour early for that, then you get in without paying a penny.

Book Westminster Abbey tickets for the daytime visit, since walk-up queues build fast after 10am.

3. Buckingham Palace State Rooms

The State Rooms open to visitors in summer, usually from July into September, plus selected dates at other times of year. Tickets go on sale months ahead and the good slots vanish, therefore this is the single thing to book first. Buckingham Palace tickets are worth locking in as soon as your dates are fixed.

4. St Paul’s Cathedral

From around USD 34.82, though the dome climb is really the point. 528 steps to the Golden Gallery, so you pass the Whispering Gallery and Stone Gallery on the way up. Closed to sightseers on Sundays, because it is a working cathedral. Book St Paul’s Cathedral tickets.

5. Tower Bridge and the Engine Rooms

The glass floor walkway sits 42 metres above the Thames, and the Victorian engine rooms below explain how the thing still lifts. Cheap by London standards, and rarely sold out either. Tower Bridge tickets take two minutes to sort.

London from above: the Eye, the Shard and the free views

Three paid viewpoints, then two free ones. Honestly, the free ones are better value, although they need booking just as much.

Sky Garden opens 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday, then 11am to 9pm at weekends and bank holidays. Arrive thirty minutes before your slot, since the security line is real. Horizon 22 runs 10am to 6pm on weekdays, while closing at 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday.

Which London viewpoint is best? Sky Garden if you want it free and lush, The Shard if you want the highest paid view, and the London Eye if you want the classic postcard. The View from The Shard tickets and London Eye tickets both book instantly, while the London Eye and Thames cruise combo saves a step. More options sit in our London observation decks range.

Harry Potter in London, and the tour that sells out

The Warner Bros. Studio Tour is the most commonly missed booking in London, so take this bit seriously.

9. Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, The Making of Harry Potter

• Adult £58.50, child aged 5 to 15 £47.00, then a family ticket at £188 for 2026 dates. That family price saves about £23 against four singles.
• Under-4s are free, although they still need a ticket booked.
• Tickets carry a 30-minute timeslot, so you may enter at any point inside it. After that the tour is self-guided, with no time limit.
• Average visit is around three and a half hours, so do not schedule anything tight afterwards.
• Getting there: a direct train from London Euston to Watford Junction, roughly 20 minutes, since Oyster is valid. The shuttle bus from the station is included in your ticket.
• Driving is free to park, whereas Priority Parking costs £10 and must be pre-booked.
• Once a slot sells out, nothing is held back. Changing your date later costs a £10 admin fee and depends on availability.

In short, book this the day your London dates are confirmed. Book the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, or take the morning tour with hotel transfers if you would rather not deal with trains.

10. Platform 9¾ and the free Potter trail

The trolley at King’s Cross costs nothing, and it sits out at all hours too. A photographer works 9am to 9pm daily and lends you a house scarf, then the photos are sold next door at the Harry Potter Shop, open 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday.

Free filming locations worth walking between, since they cost nothing: Leadenhall Market, which played Diagon Alley, plus Millennium Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Westminster station and Scenes in the Square at Leicester Square. The House of MinaLima gallery on Wardour Street is free too, open daily 11am to 6.45pm.

11. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

The Palace Theatre two-part play, now usually performed in a single day. Cursed Child tickets are worth booking early, since weekend performances go first.

West End theatre: which show, and when to book

London has more running musicals than anywhere, and picking is harder than booking. So here is the honest split by who you are travelling with.

When should you book West End tickets? Two to three months out for weekend performances of the big shows, although midweek seats often appear a fortnight ahead. Matinees are usually cheaper, so take a Wednesday afternoon if your schedule allows.

Browse the full London musicals range, plus London plays and theatrical concerts if a musical is not your thing. The Lion King tickets, Hamilton tickets, Les Misérables tickets, Phantom of the Opera tickets, Matilda tickets, ABBA Voyage tickets and The Devil Wears Prada tickets are all bookable direct.

Free things to do in London, including the best museums

London’s national museums charge nothing, which still surprises visitors. Eleven of our thirty cost zero, so you could fill two full days from this list without spending anything on entry.

Beyond museums, the free list runs long too. Sky Garden and Horizon 22, both free, for the views. Then Borough Market, open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm. Camden Market daily 10am to 7pm, Portobello Road daily 8am to 7pm, and Columbia Road Flower Market on Sundays 8am to 3pm.

Then there is Evensong at Westminster Abbey, Richmond Park, Primrose Hill at sunset, and the Changing of the Guard. More ideas sit on Visit London’s free things list, which the city keeps current.

On the Thames: cruises, bridges and Greenwich

The river is the cheapest way to see London properly, since it doubles as transport. So treat a cruise as sightseeing plus a journey, rather than an extra.

• A London dinner cruise on the River Thames covers dinner and the floodlit skyline in one booking, so it works well on an arrival evening.
• Greenwich sits at the end of the river route, and the London dinner cruises range has shorter sightseeing options too.
• The Royal Museums Greenwich Day Pass starts around USD 45.54, since it covers the Royal Observatory, Cutty Sark and the Maritime Museum.
• Standing on the Prime Meridian is the obvious photo, although the view back at Canary Wharf from the hill is the better one.
• Tower Bridge, Millennium Bridge and the South Bank walk are all free, though they connect most of the paid sights anyway.

Our London cruises range covers sightseeing, lunch and dinner sailings, so pick by the time of day you have spare.

Immersive, dark and offbeat London

Once the big sights are done, this is where London gets interesting. All four below are easy bookings, although none of them sell out the way the Potter tour does.

28. Frameless

Four immersive galleries off Marble Arch, when the paintings start moving around you. Frameless London tickets are timed, so pick a slot. Our full Frameless guide has prices and timings in detail.

29. Jack the Ripper tour and museum

The Whitechapel walking tour runs after dark, which is rather the point. The museum itself starts around USD 18.75. Jack the Ripper haunted London tour and Jack the Ripper Museum tickets book separately.

30. The Clink Prison Museum

From about USD 13.39, built on the site of England’s oldest prison, and genuinely grim in the right way too. Twenty minutes from Borough Market, so easy to pair. The Clink Prison Museum tickets.

Also worth your time

London Transport Museum in Covent Garden is better than it sounds, especially with children. The full London immersive experiences and London walking tours ranges cover the rest.

London with kids

Strong city for this, and not only because the museums are free.

• The Natural History Museum, Science Museum and V&A sit within one block in South Kensington, so a rainy day solves itself.
• SEA LIFE London Aquarium sits next to the London Eye, therefore the two pair naturally.
• Madame Tussauds London works best for ages eight and up, since younger children lose interest quickly.
• LEGOLAND Windsor Resort starts around USD 49.55, so treat it as a full day trip from London.
• Matilda the Musical suits ages six and up, whereas The Lion King works a little younger.
• Under-11s travel free on the Tube and trains when with a fare-paying adult, and 11 to 15-year-olds get 50 per cent off with the Young Visitor Discount.
• Platform 9¾ costs nothing, although the queue in school holidays is long.

Our London theme parks range covers LEGOLAND and Chessington, which starts around USD 37.50.

Day trips: Stonehenge, Windsor, Bath and Oxford

London sits within a couple of hours of a surprising amount, so one day out of three or four is usually worth giving up.

A word of warning, though, on the three-stop day trip. It is a long coach day, roughly twelve hours door to door, therefore it suits people with one spare day rather than people who hate coaches.

Book the Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor tour from London, or take Stonehenge admission with transfers for the shorter version. The full London day trips range has more.

What a London trip actually costs

Two adults, three days, before flights. Indicative rather than quoted, although close enough to budget against.

That budget column is not a fantasy, incidentally. It assumes free museums, Sky Garden, the parks and one paid sight, since London genuinely supports that. Where the money goes when you let it: theatre, plus the big-ticket attractions.

Looking for the cheap version? Our London specials and deals page carries whatever is discounted at the time.

Getting around London, and the daily fare cap

No need to buy a travelcard, though. Tap in with contactless or Oyster, then the system caps what you pay automatically.

So three Tube journeys in a day costs the same as six, because the cap kicks in. Buses are cheaper still, and the bus cap is £5.25 whatever you do.

Contactless and Oyster charge identical fares, basically. Still, if your bank adds a foreign transaction fee on every tap, an Oyster card works out cheaper despite the deposit. Under-11s ride free with a paying adult, while 11 to 15-year-olds get half price for fourteen days with the Young Visitor Discount.

Best time to visit London

There is no bad month, although there is definitely a cheap one and a crowded one.

When is the best time to visit London? Late April to early June, or September, since you get workable weather without August prices. December is its own thing, because the Christmas markets and lights are genuinely good, although hotels know it.

One practical note. London is indoors-friendly, therefore rain matters less here than in most cities. Pack a layer, book a museum, then carry on.

A 2-day and 3-day London itinerary

Built around geography rather than interests, since that is the only way the Tube map works in your favour.

Two days, highlights only

Three days, with the studio tour

Keep days one and two as above, then hand day three to Harry Potter. Euston to Watford Junction takes twenty minutes, the tour runs three and a half hours, so you are back in central London by late afternoon with time for Covent Garden.

Not a Potter household? Swap day three for Greenwich by river, or the Stonehenge and Windsor coach trip instead.

Mistakes first-time visitors make

• Leaving the Warner Bros. Studio Tour until you arrive. By then it has gone.
• Buying single Tube tickets, when the daily cap does the job for you.
• Visiting St Paul’s on a Sunday, since it closes to sightseers.
• Pairing South Kensington museums with the Tower on the same day, since they sit at opposite ends of the city.
• Turning up at Sky Garden without a slot, because entry is free yet still ticketed.
• Assuming the free museums are small, when the British Museum alone swallows half a day.
• Booking a West End matinee and an evening show on the same day, then eating neither lunch nor dinner.
• Forgetting the Tower has no re-entry, so lunch has to happen before or after.
• Underestimating walking distances along the river, which look shorter on a map than they feel.

Is the London Pass worth it?

Depends entirely on your pace, so do the sum rather than taking anyone’s word for it.

• It pays off when you are doing three or more paid attractions a day, every day of the pass.
• It does not pay off when you plan a relaxed trip, or when your list leans on the free museums.
• It never pays off for a theatre-heavy trip, since West End tickets are not included.
• Combo tickets often beat a pass for shorter stays, therefore check those first.

Our London combo tickets are the simpler route for a two or three-day trip, while the full things to do in London range lets you price your own list before committing. Browse London landmarks, London museums and London tours to compare.

Frequently asked questions

More on visiting London