London Itinerary 2024

If you want to store your luggage for the day consider a left luggage service like Excess Baggage Co located at the Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports and most rail stations. Pay for a few hours or for days. Also available in Edinburgh and Glasgow. (Also check Stasher.com who provide information on select left luggage locations around the world.

Taste of London Food Festival is held in early June each year. It is "five days of fun-fuelled feasting in London’s iconic Regent’s Park." It brings together restaurants and chefs from around London.

Globe Theatre tour and play. London Walks also does a "Shakespeare's London" tour: every Mon and Sat at 10:00am. ( Cannon Street)

Leighton House. Home of Lord Leighton especially showing the design of various rooms based on influences from his foreign travels. 12 Holland Park Road, London W14 8LZ. Wed-Mon 10:00-17:30

Westminster Abbey
Opens at 9:30 - be there early or it will be crowded! Buy tickets online ahead. London Walks has a Westminster Abbey Tour every Monday and Saturday (tour cost includes Abbey entry ticket). Grinling Gibbons: marble monument for Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, located in the south choir aisle. ( Westminster Station)

The British Museum. (Good afternoon tea!) Also try the Museum Tavern opposite the B.M. - very good pub, 49 Great Russell St. Open Sat-Thur 10:00-17:30, Fri 10:00-20:30. Use Rick Steves audio guide for tour! London Walks does a tour every Wed at 14:00. ( Holborn or Tottenham Court Road) 

Kenwood House, Hampstead Lane, Hampstead, Greater London (i.e., north London). Vermeer’s The Guitar Player (also Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Gainsborough, Reynolds, van Dyck, Turner & Boucher). Open daily 10:00-17:00 ( Golders Green or Archway - Northern line, then bus 210)

Sir John Sloane's Museum - a quirky museum, according to Rick Steves, that also is usually not busy. Free entry and no pre-booking. Wed-Sun 10:00-17:00 ( Holborn - Central and Piccadilly lines)

Tate Britain gallery, Millbank St. See The Boyhood of Raleigh by Millais, and Saint Eulalia by Waterhouse and others. ( Pimlico)

Sambourne House, 18 Stafford Terrace. A unique example of a Victorian townhouse with almost all furniture and fittings untouched since the late 1890s. ( High Street Kensington)

Lord's Guided tour 1½ hrs (starts in MCC museum) Times: M-F 12:00 & 14:00. S&S 10:00, 12:00, 14:00 ( St John's Wood - Jubilee line; Warwick Avenue; and Baker Street) map

Cabinet War Rooms, Churchill's WWII underground offices used during the Blitz. Open daily 9:30-18:00. ( St. James or Westminster) map

Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road. Times: 10:00-18:00 daily. ( Lambeth North - Bakerloo line)

Victoria & Albert Museum. Hours: Sat-Thur 10:00-17:45; Fri 10:00-22:00. London Walks does a V&A Museum Tour every Fri at 10:45am. ( South Kensington) map

Sherlock Holmes Museum, 221b Baker St. ( Baker Street) 

Grinling Gibbons:
St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Paul's Churchyard ( St. Paul's, Central line)
Hampton Court Palace (see Day Trips from London below)
Church of St Michael Paternoster Royal, College Hill ( Cannon Street, Circle and District lines)
Church of St. James, 197 Piccadilly ( Piccadilly Circus, Piccadilly and Bakerloo lines)

Banqueting House. Designed by Inigo Jones and site of the beheading of Charles I in 1649 at the end of the English Civil War. Charles had commissioned Rubens to paint the exquisite ceiling which is still on view today. ( Westminster, Embankment or Charing Cross) map

London Walks has dozens of guided walks around London. They cover everything from historical tours to those related to popular cultural. They also have inside tours of museums and other public venues. They more recently added walks located outside of London.
The walks are a good deal, starting as low as £15 and usually lasting 2 hours. They are available every day throughout the year except Christmas Day. Some interesting ones to check out:
The Famous Square Mile - every Sunday and Thursday
In the Footsteps of Sherlock Holmes - every Sunday
Westminster at War - every Sunday
Shakespeare's and Dickens' Old City - every Sunday and Tuesday
Westminster Abbey Tour - every Monday and Saturday.

Shopping

Check out leather goods at Ettinger, 215 Putney Bridge Road, London ( East Putney)

Check out accessories at Turnbull & Asser, 71-72 Jermyn St, St. James's, London ( Green Park)

Portobello Road Market - one of the oldest markets for buying everything from antiques and collectables to vintage clothes and bric-a-brac. See also VisitLondon's article on Best London Markets. ( Ladbrooke Grove - Hammersmith and City lines.)

Restaurants
See my London restaurant page here.

Borough Market
From Clarissa Dickson Wright's video, History of British Food, the Borough Market in south-east London has great fresh (and old-fashioned) seafood to sample: welks, winkles, prawns, jellied eel, etc. 8 Southwark St. ( London Bridge)

Day Trips from London:

Bletchley Park (by rail from Euston Station to Bletchley)

Chartwell House, Mapleton Road, Westerham, Kent. Daily 11:00-16:00 ( Sevenoaks or Oxsted, then taxi to Chartwell, or No. 246 London bus from Bromley South Station ( Bromley South) to Chartwell)

Hampton Court Palace. Mon-Sun 10:00-17:30 (by rail from Waterloo to  Hampton Court) Be sure to see the Hampton Court Maze.

Windsor Castle. Royal palace, also near Eton. Advanced purchase of tickets recommended. Hours 10:00-15:00 (Nov-Feb); 10:00-16:00 (Mar-Oct). (by rail from Paddington to Windsor & Eton Riverside)
The Royal Windsor Steam Express is a steam train that runs from Victoria Station to Windsor. This is a special trip with first and standard class and with a dining option. Book well in advance — it is very popular. ( Victoria)

Leeds Castle is a Tudor style castle south-west of London. Lots of sites, exhibits and tours to enjoy. ( Bearsted; take taxi or coach run by Spot Travel to the castle)

Accommodation

See my London accommodation page here.