City guide
London is a river with neighbourhoods attached: royal Westminster and the museum West End on the north bank, the South Bank's theatres and markets facing them, the old City and its Tower downstream, and whole other towns — Kensington, Camden, Greenwich — inside the same Tube map. Nobody sees London in one trip; the honest plan is one bank, one quarter, one museum per day, and the river or the Tube stitching them together. Start where the postcards are, stay for the parts that are not.
Not listed here: opening hours, prices, closures and events. They change, so check them before you go.
22 places across 7 areas. Every fact links to its source.
Westminster & Whitehall
The Gothic Revival palace on the Thames, with Big Ben — properly the Elizabeth Tower — at its north end. London's most recognisable riverfront silhouette, best read from Westminster Bridge.
Outdoors · Best in the morning · 20–40 min (estimate)
Westminster & Whitehall
The coronation church since 1066, and the burial place of monarchs, poets and scientists — Newton's tomb a few steps from Darwin's. Royal London in one building.
Indoors · Best in the morning · 60–90 min (estimate)
Westminster & Whitehall
The monarch's London residence, fronted by the Victoria Memorial and backed by St James's Park — pelicans, flowerbeds and the classic walk down The Mall.
Outdoors · Best in the morning · 45–75 min (estimate)
West End & Bloomsbury
The vast museum of world history in Bloomsbury — the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and two million years under a glass-roofed court. Free, enormous, and impossible in one visit; pick a civilisation.
Indoors · Best in daytime · 120–240 min (estimate)
The City & Tower
The Norman fortress that has been palace, prison and jewel house — the Crown Jewels still live here, guarded by Beefeaters and ravens. Go at opening; the vault queue grows teeth by noon.
Indoors & outdoors · Best in the morning · 120–180 min (estimate)
The City & Tower
The Victorian bascule bridge in Gothic dress beside the Tower — walk the high walkways for the glass-floor view of the river you just crossed.
Indoors & outdoors · Best in daytime · 45–75 min (estimate)
The City & Tower
Wren's domed cathedral, survivor of the Blitz and anchor of the City skyline. Climb to the Golden Gallery for the view its dome gives everyone else.
Indoors · Best in daytime · 60–105 min (estimate)
South Bank & Bankside
The 135-metre observation wheel on the South Bank, facing Parliament across the river. One slow rotation gives you the whole map you are about to walk.
Outdoors · Best at sunset · 45–75 min (estimate)
South Bank & Bankside
The 310-metre glass spike at London Bridge — the viewing platform near its top looks down the Thames in both directions at once.
Indoors & outdoors · Best at sunset · 45–75 min (estimate)
Kensington & Hyde Park
The cathedral of nature in South Kensington — dinosaurs, a blue whale suspended over the great hall, and terracotta animals climbing the walls. Families queue for a reason.
Indoors · Best in daytime · 120–180 min (estimate)
Greenwich
The hilltop observatory where the Prime Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time begin — stand with a foot in each hemisphere, then take the park view back over the river.
Indoors & outdoors · Best in daytime · 60–105 min (estimate)
Greenwich
The last surviving tea clipper, raised in a glass sea beside the Thames — you can walk under her hull. Greenwich's riverfront front door.
Indoors & outdoors · Best in daytime · 45–75 min (estimate)
None of them is “the best”. Each one gives up something to get something else.
The first-day river line: Parliament and the Abbey on the north bank, across to the Eye, then the whole South Bank east — Tate, market, Shard.
Simple rules over the places on this page. Nothing is generated, and every change says why.
Schematic map, not for navigation. Use “Open in maps” for directions.
All times are estimates.
The Gothic Revival palace on the Thames, with Big Ben — properly the Elizabeth Tower — at its north end. London's most recognisable riverfront silhouette, best read from Westminster Bridge.
About 5 min by walking
The coronation church since 1066, and the burial place of monarchs, poets and scientists — Newton's tomb a few steps from Darwin's. Royal London in one building.
About 8 min by MTR
The 135-metre observation wheel on the South Bank, facing Parliament across the river. One slow rotation gives you the whole map you are about to walk.
About 22 min by walking
The power-station museum of modern art in Bankside, joined to St Paul's by the Millennium Bridge. The riverside walk around it — book stalls, skateboarders, buskers — is a sight in itself.
About 12 min by walking
London's oldest food market under the railway arches by London Bridge — produce stalls, street-food queues and a century of wholesale trade. Come hungry, graze slowly.
About 6 min by walking
The 310-metre glass spike at London Bridge — the viewing platform near its top looks down the Thames in both directions at once.
Before you decide
May to September gives the longest days and the best odds of park weather. December trades daylight for the festive city — lights, markets and pantomime season. Rain is a year-round possibility rather than a season, so the museum spine matters in every month.
Fits neighbourhood collectors — royal river one day, a market quarter the next, a museum day when it rains — who like a city too big to finish. Still choosing vs Paris? /compare/paris-vs-london.
This page shows places and day routes. To decide whether London fits you — against alternatives — add your origin, dates, budget, and what matters.
We only list facts that stay true. These change too often to show without a live source:
