London is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of almost 9 million. It is also one of the top tourist destinations in the world. So what drives all these people to this amazing city? Well, lots of stuff to do, of course. So what do you do on your first visit to London? We’ve put together this itinerary for one week in London to help you plan your time wisely.
London’s hustle and bustle is what draws so many visitors. However, this busy city does not lend itself well to the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants traveler. Because of long lines, limited tickets, sometimes strange hours, and travel time, if you don’t plan ahead you can waste a lot of your valuable time in London. And with so many things to do in London, you’ll want to squeeze every minute out of your London itinerary.
Our one week in London itinerary is meant to give you a base point for your London travel planning. It includes all of the main attractions, like the palace, Big Ben and the Tower of London. It also gives you days filled with attractions farther afield, like Kew Gardens, Greenwich and the Harry Potter Studio Tour. So continue reading to see all the things we did in our one week in London, in the more efficient order we wish we would have done them. If you have any questions about your London itinerary, leave them in the comments below and we’ll be happy to help.
Where to Stay
It’s tempting to stay outside of the city to get a cheaper fare. However, the time and money you’ll waste traveling into the city each day isn’t worth it in our opinion. Fares for traveling within the inner circle of London via public transit are less expensive than those fares going outside of town. When you’re choosing a place to stay, make sure to get accommodation that is within the same zone as a majority of the things you’ll be visiting. This is most likely the central zone of London. And this makes getting to things easier and less expensive, especially if you’re using public transit.
Also, if you can find a location that is close to a Tube station, that is even better. It is so nice to get home from a busy day of sightseeing and only have a short walk to your base camp. Plus, the Tube is underground so there is no need to worry about noise.
Other than proximity to central London and the tube stations, it doesn’t really matter where you stay in London. So just look around and try to find a hotel that is a great deal. Consider paying a little bit more for extra perks, like included meals, transportation deals or ticket deals, if they’ll save you money overall.
An average hotel room will cost around $300-400/night. Home rental accommodations are generally less expensive. You’ll find studio apartments for two people for around $180/night. We did stay in a hotel because of the location. However, when we checked out home rentals after the fact, those were amazing too! Check out some unique stays below.
How Long To Stay In London?
London is huge and has tons of things to do. If you’ve never been before, you should stay for at least 4 days. However, staying for 7 days will give you extra time so that you can see and do all of the top things. With 7 days, you’ll still have some time to do a few day trips outside of London. So we’ve put together this itinerary for one week in London. If you don’t have that much time, we’ll give you advice for cutting it down.
London Itinerary – Day by Day
Day 1 – Bus tour and Hyde Park
Arrive at Heathrow for your first day of your one week in London itinerary.
Fight the jet lag and spend your first day relaxing on a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. We did this bus tour, which included a river cruise option. This is a great relaxing way to get your bearings and learn a little bit about everything London has to offer. We love doing hop-on-hop-off bus tours first when we arrive in any big city. They give you a great overview of the city. They also allow you to learn about anything you want to add to your itinerary right away, when you still have options for making adjustments.
When doing your hop-on-hop-off tour on day one, we recommend staying on the bus. You’ll visit a lot of the main attractions throughout the rest of the week so don’t try to fit it all in on day one. The bus tour that we did involved a few different routes. So we rode each route in a loop to get a good overview of the city. Hop off for lunch when you get hungry and then hop back on to finish up your tour.
Once you’ve seen a good portion of the city via the iconic double decker buses, hop off at Hyde Park. Wander this large park. See the parakeets that roam wild in the park. Then, explore Kensington Gardens. When you get tired, head back to your accommodations.
Day 2 – Tower of London and Boat Tour
Spend your morning touring the Tower of London. This includes the Crown Jewels! You’ll definitely want to book tickets for this in advance. We recommend getting there when the tower opens and heading straight to the Crown Jewels. The earlier you check out the jewels, the easier it will be for you to see them at your own pace.
After seeing the crown jewels, explore the Tower of London. This is a fascinating historical attraction bathed in blood and gore. We would definitely recommend doing the Beefeater Tours. These fancily dressed guards give such great tours. Our guide was hilarious and full of strange facts – like did you know those ravens you’re seeing are royal ravens. This is one of the best guided tours I’ve ever done.
After your tour, consider walking across the Tower Bridge to catch the views.
Grab lunch and then head to a hop-on-hop-off boat tour. After seeing London from the bustling streets. Get a different perspective as you view London from the water. There are some really cool things that these tours point out that you never would have noticed from land.
Hop off for dinner. If your boat tour operates later into the evening, it’s worth hopping back on after dark to catch amazing views of London lit up. Lastly, use your boat tour to get you back home for the evening.
Day 3 – Kew and the British Museum
Wake up early in the morning and head to Kew. You can do this trip via public transit very easily. Once you arrive in Kew, head to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Explore Kew gardens for the morning.
Grab lunch in Kew as you head back to the rail station. Kew was our favorite place in England because the people and food here were just wonderful. We bought meat pies from the local butcher shop and these were the BEST things we ate during our one week in London stay.
After lunch, head back into London proper to visit the British Museum. You’ll need the entire afternoon to explore this huge museum. This museum is filled with artifacts from around the world. The main attraction is the Rosetta Stone but there are tons of things to see in this amazing building. You’ll most likely be here until the museum closes as there is so much to see. Then head back to your accommodations, grabbing dinner on the way.
Day 4 – Churchill War Rooms, St Paul’s, Tate Modern and the Sky Garden
First, arrive at the Churchill War Rooms early. Explore these bunkers turned museum for a few hours and learn some interesting history of World War II.
Next, head to St Paul’s Cathedral. Here you’ll want to do an audio or guided tour of the church. St Paul’s is in our top three favorite things to do in London because of this amazing tour. On the tour, you’ll learn so much history. After you’re done with the tour, head to the top of St Paul’s where you’ll get to explore the whispering gallery. Next, head outside where you’ll get to take in the views from the top of St Paul’s dome.
Afterwards, grab some late lunch and head to the Tate Modern. This museum of modern art is worth exploring for a short period. When you’re here, make sure to go upstairs and head outside to view beautiful views of the Thames and St Paul’s.
Next, head to the Sky Garden to take in the views of London. We put Sky Garden into our one week in London itinerary instead of the London Eye. The London Eye is super expensive and often involves waiting in a long line. Sky Garden is something you should book tickets for ahead of time as slot fill up fast. However, it is free and because of the tickets, you generally won’t have to wait very long for a good view. Also, it’s a pretty cool little garden area so that is pretty on it’s own. You can also grab dinner or drinks here and watch the sun set.
Day 5 – Westminster Abbey and Harry Potter Studio Tour
First, head straight to Westminster Abbey in the morning. Get there before Westminster opens and take some great daytime pictures of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
Next, start your Westminster Abbey audio tour. This tour will take a few hours. Have fun exploring Westminster which is basically a big graveyard. Kinda morbid but still cool. If you want to move at your own pace, consider doing an audio tour instead of a guided tour.
Next, start your public transit journey to visit the Warner Bros. Studio Tour and explore the Making of Harry Potter. You’ll definitely want to book your tickets for this ahead of time. You’ll want to grab lunch on the way. Once you arrive, explore the Harry Potter Studios as long as you want.
You’ll most likely get back late at night. So consider grabbing dinner on your return journey or eating at the Studios.
Day 6 – Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Houses of Parliament and a Night Walk
Get an early start this morning and spend your early morning hours exploring St. James’s Park.
Then get to Buckingham Palace in time to see the Changing of the Guard. You’ll want to get here by 10 AM in order to get a good spot for the 11:00 show. During summer months, this happens daily. In the offseason, these happen on an irregular schedule. Check the schedule here. This is super crowded and is one of the top areas for theft so keep an eye on your belongings.
After the Changing of the Guard, consider taking a tour of Buckingham Palace. Tours are not available year round. Check out the tour schedules here and consider purchasing tickets ahead of time if this interests you.
Next, grab lunch on your way to Trafalgar Square. Explore the fun square and consider taking a short amount of time to explore the National Gallery.
Then, head to the Houses of Parliament. If they are in session, you can enter and watch the sessions for free. You may also consider doing an audio tour of the building which will provide a bit more history. The audio tour does have an admission fee and typically takes an hour. Tours are available on a limited schedule so check their website ahead of time.
Next, grab dinner in this area and eat until after dark.
After dinner, explore this area at night. This is one of the prettiest areas at night because all the buildings are lit up. Make sure to check out the night view from Westminster Bridge.
Day 7 – British Library, Greenwich and Covent Garden
Spend your last morning of your one week in London exploring the special collections of the British Library. Here you’ll see a Gutenberg Bible, Shakespeare’s First Folio and more.
Then, consider using a hop-on-hop-off boat or water taxi to get to Greenwich. Here explore the Royal Observatory which includes taking the famous picture straddling the Prime Meridian, which divides the east and west hemispheres.
Next, grab lunch in Greenwich.
Then explore the National Maritime Museum. This provides a history of ships and gives a good overview of British colonialism.
Next, head back to London proper and make your way to the Covent Garden area. This is a good area to do shopping. It’s also super fun to watch the street performers here. Consider getting dinner in this area as it has some great international food.
Optional Evening Additions
This one week in London itinerary leaves your evenings pretty free. Consider filling this up with exploring pubs, London has a lot.
If you’re interested in seeing theatrical performances, make sure to book your tickets ahead of time. Also, if you’re a fan of Shakespeare, consider attending a show at the recreated Globe Theatre.
If your original hop-on-hop-off boat tour doesn’t include an evening portion, consider doing a sunset or dinner time cruise of the Thames.
Want to Adjust the Itinerary
2 days
Don’t visit London in two days. You’ll leave feeling frustrated and like you missed out on so much. However if you insist, spend a day doing a Hop-on-hop-off bus and boat tour. Spend your next day doing your top 2-3 things located in central London. Our top three were the British Museum, St Paul’s and a walking tour.
3 days
If you only have 3 days, we’d recommend doing day 1, day 2 and day 6. While these weren’t our favorite experiences, they’ll definitely give you the opportunity to visit all of the London must-sees.
4 days
In 4 days, follow the itinerary for day 1, day 2 and day 6. On your fourth day visit St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey and The British Museum.
5 days
If you would like to visit London in 5 days, sad as we are to say it, but we’d take out the day trips to Greenwich, Kew and Warner Bros. Studios. While these are all amazing experiences, the time you’ll spend traveling is valuable. So skip these day trips and come back and visit these areas when you explore England – sans London – at a later date.
6 days
If you only have 6 days, just take out day 7. Day 7 is fun but it’s very history loaded and you’ll likely be historied out by the end of your trip.
More time
If you have more time you can add more London activities to your London itinerary.
However, we are not city people and we were a little “citied” out after spending one week in London. So if you’re like us, we’d recommend taking some extra day trips outside of London and seeing more of England. When we put together our top 3 things we did while we visited London, two of them – Kew and Harry Potter Studios – were outside of London. So if you have extra time, fill them with fun day trips which are easy to take with England’s amazing public transit. We wish we would have visited Stonehenge and the Cliffs of Dover. These both take a bit more time to visit but if you have extra days, it’s a great way to spend them
And that wraps up our recommendations for one week in London. We hope this helps you to plan your own trip to this amazing city. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and we’d be happy to help. Or check out our England travel guide for additional information.
Great information! I like how you adjusted the top attractions to visit in London in fewer than 7 days. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks! We had a great time and kept busy (like we like to).
I really enjoyed reading your blog, so amazingly written, please keep on writing blogs like this in future as well.
Thank you so much! It’s great to hear that people enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them 🙂