Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · independent travel
London in 3 days
London in 3 days
Three days, one axis each: Westminster, one museum pair, one far trip. Shopping and nightlife are not tacked on the end.
12 min
Guides
The travel journal
From a three-day axis and how to pace museums to Oyster and where to sleep.
Diliff · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · independent travel
First time in London
First time in London
Learn one axis a day. Oyster or a contactless bank card. Last Tubes sit around midnight.
8 min
mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · transit
London Tube
London Tube
Zone 1–2 caps sit beside contactless. Weekend engineering changes routes; check TfL.
9 min
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Guide · where to stay
Where to stay
Where to stay
West End and South Bank suit a first night. South Ken suits museums. The City empties at weekends. Sleep at Kew or Windsor only for that day.
8 min
Diliff · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Royal and churches
Royal and churches
Do not buy the Guard, the Abbey and St Paul's as three paid interiors.
7 min
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Guide · London
How to pace museums
How to pace museums
The British Museum, South Ken and Tate Modern are three mornings. Two wings or two museums.
7 min
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Guide · London
South Bank
South Bank
The terrace does not require a tower. Borough for lunch, one dusk height.
7 min
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Guide · London
Market days
Market days
Portobello and Broadway are Saturday. Columbia Road and the Brick Lane market are Sunday. Borough is Thursday to Saturday.
7 min
Russ London ( talk ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Theatre
Theatre
Pick one show. Covent Garden, the South Bank or the Globe do not share an evening.
7 min
Tristan Surtel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Parks
Parks
Hyde, Regent's, Greenwich, Hampstead, Richmond — one big park a day.
7 min
Peter Trimming · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Greenwich
Greenwich
DLR or Clipper, up to the meridian, market on the way.
7 min
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Guide · London
Kew and Richmond
Kew and Richmond
Kew and Richmond deer are not also Windsor.
7 min
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Guide · London
Rain
Rain
British Museum, National Gallery, Tate, V&A, Transport Museum. Parks wait.
7 min
Jeremy Keith from Brighton & Hove, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
How to eat
How to eat
One named meal: Borough, Rules, a bagel, fish and chips, or the Richmond river. Not a sit-down in every district.
7 min
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Guide · London
Nightlife
Nightlife
Soho, Shoreditch, Fabric or Ministry — one night. Know the last Tube first.
7 min
Thorfinn Stainforth Perspective corrected on 2009-01-03 by Berthold Werner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Family
Family
Natural History, Transport Museum, the Zoo, Kew, Science Museum. One main ground a day.
7 min
mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Viewpoints
Viewpoints
Shard, Eye, Sky Garden, Horizon 22, Parliament Hill, Primrose Hill. One at dusk.
7 min
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Guide · London
Windsor and Hampton
Windsor and Hampton
Each is more than a half-day by train. Do not merge them.
7 min
Thorfinn Stainforth Perspective corrected on 2009-01-03 by Berthold Werner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Step-free and luggage
Step-free and luggage
The South Ken subway, Paddington, King's Cross, London Bridge and Westminster have lifts. Covent Garden does not. Do not change there with luggage.
8 min
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Guide · London
Sunday hours
Sunday hours
On Sunday a church may close the nave in the morning, department stores open late, the East End is flowers and Brick Lane, and City arcades mostly rest.
8 min
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Guide · London
Last Tube
Last Tube
Some lines run all night on Friday and Saturday. On other nights the last train is around midnight. It is the last train at your station, not in the centre.
7 min
Oxyman · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Chelsea
A Chelsea day
The east stretch of King's Road, Saatchi, the Physic Garden. Not also the South Ken three, and not back to Knightsbridge.
7 min
mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Arrival with luggage
Arrival with luggage
From Heathrow, the Elizabeth line to Paddington or the centre. Drop the bags before you go out. Do not make arrival day the Palace plus the Tower.
7 min
Scott Wylie · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Marylebone
Marylebone
The Wallace Collection and the south edge of Regent's Park. This day, not also the Oxford Street department stores.
7 min
Jeremy Keith from Brighton & Hove, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Eating on Bankside
Eating on Bankside
Borough, Tate, the Globe — one line. Lunch is the market. Do not also book a formal room.
7 min
mattbuck ( category ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Guide · London
Contactless
Contactless
The same contactless card or the same device, in and out. Do not mix Oyster and a bank card, or two people's cards.
7 min