Destinations & ItinerariesBy Clever Tourists · Published · Last updated
Four to five days. We spent 8 days in London in November 2023, a week at the start of our England trip and a night at the end, and that was more than most first visits need. Three days covers the core on foot: Westminster and the river, St Paul's and the City, and one of the big free museums. A fourth day adds the Tower of London and the East End, and a fifth gets you out to Greenwich, Hampstead Heath or Kew. Beyond that, you are into day trips such as Bath or Oxford, or simply a slower pace.
• 2 days: Westminster, the South Bank and Trafalgar Square on day one; St Paul's, the Millennium Bridge and Tate Modern on day two. No time for a proper museum visit.
• 3 days: the core, as in our 3 days in London itinerary: one day per area, plus the British Museum or the V&A.
• 4 days: add the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Spitalfields and Brick Lane.
• 5 days: add Greenwich by riverboat, Hampstead Heath or Kew Gardens. This is what we would recommend for a first trip.
• 6 to 8 days: what we had. Room for markets on the right day, more museums, theatre, and a day trip out of town.
The centre is smaller than the map suggests: Westminster to St Paul's is about an hour's walk along the river. What eats time is the museums, which are free and too large for one visit each.
Day 1, Westminster, the river and the West End. Westminster Abbey early, the Palace of Westminster from the South Bank, then the Embankment to Trafalgar Square and an afternoon in the National Gallery. Soho or Chinatown for dinner. See our London guide for the Horse Guards change around 11am (10am on Sundays).
Day 2, St Paul's, the City and Bankside. The dome climb at opening, 528 steps to the Golden Gallery, then across the Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern and along the river to Borough Market.
Day 3, one big museum and the quiet streets. The British Museum or the V&A in the morning with a plan for two or three galleries, then Bloomsbury's squares, Cecil Court's bookshops and whichever market is trading that day.
Day 4, the Tower and the East End. The Tower of London and Tower Bridge, then Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane.
Day 5, out of the centre. Greenwich by riverboat for the Royal Observatory and the meridian, Hampstead Heath for the skyline from Parliament Hill, or Kew Gardens for the glasshouses. All three are inside the pay-as-you-go zones.
We were in London from 14 to 21 November and again on 2 December. November is the start of the low season: the summer queues have gone, the plane trees along the Embankment turn, and the museum and theatre seasons are in full swing. The cost is daylight. The clocks go back in late October, so sunset falls from about 4:30pm early in the month to before 4pm by the end, and highs are around 10°C.
Plan each day with the outdoor sights in the morning and the museums from mid-afternoon. The upside is the Christmas lights: Regent Street's light up from 5 November in 2026, with the other West End displays following through the month.
Our 3 days in London guide has a season-by-season breakdown if you are choosing when to go.
Walk the centre and use the Tube or buses to cross town. Tap in and out with a contactless card or phone: it charges the same fares as an Oyster card and caps automatically, at £8.90 (≈ $11.9) a day for Zones 1–2 in 2026. Details, plus Heathrow options, are in our Oyster vs contactless guide.
The other big saving is the museums. The British Museum, the National Gallery, Tate Modern, the V&A and the Natural History Museum are free, which leaves the budget for the paid sights worth paying for: Westminster Abbey, the Tower and the St Paul's dome.
Where to stay: Covent Garden or Westminster for walking to the sights, Bloomsbury for quiet near the British Museum, Southwark for the river and lower prices. US travellers need an ETA (£20 (≈ $27) since April 2026) before flying; see do I need a visa for the UK.
London was the start and end of our 19-day England route, with Bath, the Cotswolds edge, Warwickshire, the Peak District and the Mendips in between. If you have a week or more in England, give London 4 or 5 days and spend the rest outside it.
From London, Bath is about 1.5 hours by train from Paddington, which makes it a long day trip, but we gave it 3 nights and would again.
For a first visit, yes, if you walk it: Westminster and the West End, St Paul's and Bankside, and one big free museum. You will miss the Tower of London and anything outside the centre.
No. Days 4 and 5 add the Tower of London and the East End, then Greenwich, Hampstead Heath or Kew. We spent 8 days and still had things left.
It is a good low-season month: fewer crowds, autumn colour and the Christmas lights from early November. The catch is short days, with sunset around 4pm, and highs around 10°C.
Four or five days in London plus two or three in Bath. Bath is about 1.5 hours by train from Paddington, so it can be a day trip, but we stayed three nights.
Not usually. A contactless card or phone pays the same fares and caps at £8.90 (≈ $11.9) a day for Zones 1–2 in 2026. Oyster mainly helps if your card charges foreign transaction fees.
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