London’s top 10 in summer

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
4
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
10
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
7
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
3
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
10
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
10
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
75 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
101st/457
Top 30%
continent
Europe
country
UK
Length of time
1-2 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$160 (typically $50 - $260)
Time of year visited
July
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Big city Bustling restaurants River Experience
All Tags
Art Bridges Christian site Cool neighbourhoods Gardens Market Museums Palaces Partying / Lash Restaurant recommendations Skyscrapers Theatre UNESCO world heritage site
Wow Factor
Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100.
⭐⭐⭐

Summary

London is one of the world’s premier cities with just about every level of sophistication you could ask for.   World famous sites such as the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London; world-class restaurants, mix of high end and atmospheric shopping and entertainment venues; vast parks which give you the opportunity to break away from the mayhem; and, of course, the mania that surround the Royal Family and their residences.

 

Its right up there with the likes of Paris, Rome, New York, Beijing and Rio de Janeiro as giant cities with world-famous attractions, their own vibes that act like countries on their own, and thoroughly justifying a tourist visit from anywhere you travel in the world.

 

It does though have two main downsides. Firstly, just how intensely tourist conveyor-belt it can be across so many of the main sites and, with that, how hard it can be to escape this into a genuine London vibe.  Secondly, unfortunately, the infamous UK weather which can warp an amazing experience into a bit of a damp squib.  It’s for these reasons that London misses out on a top Wow score.

 

But, it’s still an incredible city to visit and I’ve listed below my advice on 2 main tips to maximise the chance of a great stay; a list of what I would see as 5 must-dos on a weekend visit and 5 great to sees for new visitors; and a few more quirky personal favourites outside of the main stuff.

 

London - Big Ben in blue sky background

 

Note – I’m English, so naturally can be a bit biased, but that is probably balanced out by coming from the North and being anti-London!  But, also I don’t tend to take photos of tourist sites in London after living there for several years.  So, very unusually, this travel entry does not include my own photos.

Table of Contents

Top 2 Tips to make a London visit Wow

Top Tip #1 – balance the famous sites with the less famous

 

London can be exhausting if you pinball from one famous site to the next.  Sure, you’ll have got the photos and ticked some boxes, but you won’t have experienced any of the real city, which is just as interesting as the famous stuff and moves London from a Wow ⭐️ experience to a Wow Wow ⭐️⭐️ one.

 

I’ve listed above that you should visit London’s many great parks, walk along the Thames, visit the markets and go for an outdoor beer garden lunch.  That should do it, but also consider heading to one of the more classically London neighbourhoods such as Marylebone, Greenwich or Richmond.  That will hit the Wow Wow ⭐️⭐️ if combined with the famous sites.

 

View of the London Eye from Green Park - a great example of how you can quickly escape the main tourist crowds.  The sheer number of parks make London largely unique among major world cities

View of the London Eye from Green Park – a great example of how you can quickly escape the main tourist crowds.  The sheer number of parks make London largely unique among major world cities

 

Top Tip #2 – go in summer

 

The weather is key for London.  Not only because so many of the activities are outside so you want to avoid the classically British cold, grey, damp drizzle, but also because people’s attitudes change dramatically in London in the summer.  As a fellow Englishman, I can’t tell you just how excited we Brits get when there is even the slightest glimmer of sun and warmth – it feels like we are Gollum exiting his long cave and has suddenly found the ring – our enthusiasm spikes, we rush to the parks and generally are just a different beast to the house-bound, grumpy trolls that we are for the rest of the year.  So, even though it’s busy, try to go in late spring, summer or early autumn.

5 Must-dos and 5 Great-to-dos for a first time London visit

thames2-aspect-ratio-900-675

#1 Must do - walk along the River Thames to see many of London's key sights. Whilst there are some sights that don't sit on the river, many do and there is something just lovely about wandering along the river past the Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Tate Modern, Borough Market, Globe, Saint Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. It's the main tip I'd give for a London visit

Buckingham-palace-aspect-ratio-900-675

#2 Must do - Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard. There's something just so quintessentially English and London about the whole event as you look down the Mall, see the palace, the cavalry, the soldiers, and then wander through the nearby beautiful Hyde Park

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#3 Must do - go and see one of the West End Shows and head out into Soho for a drink afterwards. London's West End has some of the world's most famous productions, but its also the wandering around before / after in what is London's main going out area that is the real highlight and will give you that buzzing feeling you've heard so much about with this city

big-ben-aspect-ratio-900-675

#4 Must do - The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and nearby Westminster Abbey. Some of the most famous sites in the world and all super close together. Hearing the bell ring whilst looking on to the Houses of Parliament from Westminster Bridge will definitely tick that first-timer London box

park2-aspect-ratio-900-675

#5 Must do - visit one of London's many parks. The connected Hyde Park, Green Park and St James Park make the most sense to visit as they are close to Buckingham Palace and the House of Parliament, and are beautiful. But, my other tip is Regent's Park, which is probably the most elaborate, formal and truly Victorian of all of London's parks

market-aspect-ratio-900-675

#6 Great to do - visit one of London's many food markets. My main recommendation is Borough Market next to London Bridge which has hundreds of food stalls as well as plenty of standard restaurants all around the sides. Its location makes it a great choice. The other recommendation is Leadenhall Market that sits right in the middle of the City of London (the Financial District) and is a gorgeous covered arcade within walking distance to the Thames and to St Paul's Cathedral

beer-garden-aspect-ratio-900-675

#7 Great to do - lunch in one of the beer gardens or traditional London pubs. There are many dotted all across central London, but my tip is The Stag by Hamstead Heath which is has bands playing in the outside courtyard, right next to the park for views over London and does a wicked Sunday Roast

greenwich-2-aspect-ratio-900-675

#8 Great to do - Greenwich. Greenwich is slightly further out from the standard central attractions (a 20min subway ride), but is one of the highlights of London in my opinion. You have two UNESCO World Heritage sites - Greenwich Observatory (source of Greenwich Mean Time) with its incredible views across London and the magnificent Old Royal Naval College; the Cutty Sark ship (a surprisingly engaging thing to see); and generally the beautiful village itself with its buzzing market

Tower-of-London-tckets-aspect-ratio-900-675

#9 Great to do - Tower of London and Tower Bridge. The Tower of London represented the gateway through the Thames to the city and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Take the tour with the Beefeater Tower Guards to see the history and then walk along the Thames to see nearby Tower Bridge

picaddily-aspect-ratio-900-675

#10 Great to do - Covent Garden and Piccadilly Circus. Explore Covent Garden's entertainment area with its performers, shops and general bluster as you wander through the various levels and then make your way for a short 10min walk to Piccadilly Circus for all the lights. Its super busy though

More personal quirky recommendations for London

Eating out – there are just so many places to go and eat out in London, but my tops recommendations are:

    • Borough Market as mentioned above
    • Brick Lane for a huge variety of curry restaurants (and actually some super bars)
    • Charlotte Street for a street almost entirely focused on restaurants and all in a very central location
    • China Town which is also very central
    • Northcote Road next to Clapham in South London with a street full of restaurants and a non-touristy feel

 

Events – there are always superb events being held in London, either major sporting events like Premiership football, Rugby Internationals, Wimbledon; concerts from some of the world’s most famous entertainers; or festivals like the Notting Hill Carnival.  Keep an eye out for them as they can really make the trip.

 

Skyscrapers and the City of London – you might notice in London that there are relatively few skyscrapers, something that is almost unique for such a big and wealthy city and is quite deliberate.  But, should you be keen for them, I’d really recommend The City of London financial district (rather than Canary Wharf in the east).  Start off at Bank tube station and make your way via the tight streets to Leadenhall Market, a bizarre old arcade within the skyscrapers, and then up Liverpool Street to Spitalfields Market, a site in London with its own history to fascinate you.

 

Two neighbourhoods on opposite ends of the river:

Greenwich – nestled further downriver that most of the main sites in London, Greenwich is a wonderful mini town within a city with beautiful green riverside views and a host top attractions on its own.  Definitely worth a visit and for further details on a trip to Greenwich (highly recommend), see this individual travel entry – A day in Greenwich, London.

Richmond – similarly, Richmond offers a mini town within a town but is to the west and has more of a home counties / rural vibe than Greenwich. Go for slower pace, a wide arch in the river river widens, and where the city starts to feel more like a backdrop than the main event. It’s still unmistakably London – red buses, pubs, joggers – but with space to breathe.  Wander along the river and for the pubs and be sure to catch the view across the river from the Richmond Hill Hotel.

 

Greenwich Market - part of a village within a city and a great way to get a different London vibe

Greenwich Market – part of a village within a city and a great way to get a different London vibe

Experiences Nearby

Wow Factor Score Two scores: first is the wow factor which ranges from ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️, and a separate category for the truly "gash". The second is the more analytical travel experience score, which considers 6 varied criteria to give an overall score out of 100. LowHigh
  • Elite, unmissable
  • World-class, downsides
  • Meets the Wow Factor
  • Worth it
  • Meh
  • Gash

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences - from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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