Trip highlights
- 1British Museum before 10am
- 2Borough Market on Saturday
- 3Notting Hill and Portobello Road
- 4Thames Southbank walk at dusk
- 5Day trip to Oxford or Stonehenge
Daily spend
Where you're going
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In pictures
Photos: Unsplash
Day-by-day plan
Arrival & Central London
Thursday, July 1
Est. spend
$120
per person
🌅 Morning
Arrive — Heathrow or Gatwick
Heathrow Airport / Gatwick Airport
Take the Elizabeth Line from Heathrow to central London (35 minutes, £12.70). From Gatwick, the Gatwick Express to Victoria takes 30 minutes (£22). Buy an Oyster card at any station.
The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) from Heathrow is far superior to the Heathrow Express — same journey time, a third of the price.
☀️ Afternoon
St James's Park and the Mall
St James's Park, Westminster
London's most central park runs between Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade. Free, flat, beautiful, and always full of pelicans who've been residents since 1664.
The pelicans are fed at 2:30pm daily — get close but don't touch.
Westminster & Parliament Square walk
Parliament Square, Westminster
Westminster Abbey exterior, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben (almost always scaffolded — manage expectations), and Westminster Bridge. Iconic, worth ticking off Day 1.
Westminster Abbey entry is expensive (£30). Save it for another day or skip — the exterior and Poets' Corner glimpse through the door is free.
🌙 Evening
Covent Garden evening
Covent Garden, WC2E
The piazza hosts street performers until late. Surrounding streets have good mid-range restaurants and the Balthazar brasserie for a proper first London dinner.
The actual Covent Garden Market building has better restaurants than the piazza food stalls. Try Dishoom for Indian food — queue expected but worth it.
🍽️ Meals
Airport breakfast
Various · $15
Pret a Manger
British/Sandwiches · $12 · The UK version is genuinely good — coffee and sandwiches far above average.
Dishoom Covent Garden
Indian · $45 · Best Indian food in London. The black dal alone is worth the queue.
Museums & Bloomsbury
Friday, July 2
Est. spend
$150
per person
🌅 Morning
British Museum — before the crowds
Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, WC1B 3DG
One of the world's great museums and entirely free. The Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, Egyptian mummies, and the Great Court are the must-sees. Arrive at 10am opening.
The audio guide (£7) for the Highlights tour is genuinely excellent. Skip it if you prefer to wander. Never skip the Lewis Chessmen (Room 40).
☀️ Afternoon
Bloomsbury neighbourhood walk
Bloomsbury, WC1
The literary neighbourhood — Virginia Woolf lived here, the Bloomsbury Group met here, and the garden squares are some of London's prettiest. Walk Bedford Square and Fitzroy Square.
Sir John Soane's Museum
13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A 3BP
The personal collection of architect John Soane — crammed into three Georgian townhouses. Hogarth's original Rake's Progress paintings, Egyptian sarcophagus, and architectural models. Free.
One of London's great secrets. The picture room has paintings on hinged panels that open to reveal more behind. A guide usually demonstrates.
🌙 Evening
Soho dinner and evening
Soho, W1
Soho remains London's best dining and bar neighbourhood — Berwick Street for the old market remnant, Dean Street for cocktail bars, and Old Compton Street for the evening crowd.
Bar Américain at Brasserie Zédel (Sherwood St) — full cocktails in an Art Deco basement for half the price of comparable bars.
🍽️ Meals
Attendant Coffee, Fitzrovia
Coffee/British · $15 · Coffee shop in a converted Victorian men's public toilet — genuinely great coffee.
Museum café or packed lunch
Various · $15 · The BM café is overpriced. Walk to nearby Lamb's Conduit Street for better options.
Brasserie Zédel, Soho
French · $45 · Grand Parisian brasserie in a subterranean Art Deco room. Steak frites, wine, the works — London prices for Paris quality.
Borough Market, Southbank & Tate Modern
Saturday, July 3
Est. spend
$95
per person
🌅 Morning
Borough Market
8 Southwark St, London SE1 1TL
London's oldest food market (1000+ years) and still the best. Arrive hungry — Neal's Yard cheese, Bread Ahead doughnuts, Monmouth Coffee, wild mushroom arancini, and fresh oysters from Shellseekers.
Thursday–Saturday only. Go by 11am before the post-lunch crowds. The best bite is the Kappacasein toasted cheese sandwich — queue is always worth it.
Southwark Cathedral
London Bridge, SE1 9DA
Right next to Borough Market — medieval cathedral almost entirely overlooked. The Shakespeare Memorial Window and John Harvard Chapel are beautiful, and entry is free.
☀️ Afternoon
Tate Modern
Bankside, SE1 9TG
Permanent collection is free and covers the history of modern art — Picasso, Rothko, Bourgeois, and the permanent Turbine Hall installations. Allow 2 hours minimum.
The top-floor bar has a free panoramic view over the Thames and St Paul's. Go to the bar level even if you don't drink — the view is remarkable.
Southbank walk to Tower Bridge
South Bank, SE1
Walk east along the Thames from Tate Modern through Bankside — Shakespeare's Globe, the Clink Prison Museum, Southwark Cathedral, and London Bridge to Tower Bridge.
Tower Bridge glass walkway is £14.40 and genuinely vertiginous — worth it if you like heights.
🌙 Evening
Bermondsey Street dinner
Bermondsey Street, SE1
The most underrated restaurant street in London — José tapas bar, Zucca Italian, and Hutong at the Shard for knockout views.
José (104 Bermondsey Street) — tiny standing tapas bar. Best in London. No reservations. Go at 6pm before it fills.
🍽️ Meals
Monmouth Coffee + pastry
Coffee/British · $10 · Best coffee in London. Borough Market branch.
Borough Market food
Various · $30 · Graze across multiple stalls — this is the meal of the week.
José, Bermondsey
Spanish tapas · $45 · Small plates and sherry. Don't miss croquetas and anchovy toast.
Notting Hill & West London
Sunday, July 4
Est. spend
$120
per person
🌅 Morning
Portobello Road Market
Portobello Road, Notting Hill, W11
The antiques section (Fridays and Saturdays, Notting Hill end) is world-famous — silver, vintage jewellery, maps, and curiosities. The fruit market runs Monday–Saturday.
Saturdays are the antiques market and the busiest. If you're coming for antiques, arrive before 10am when dealers are still setting up and willing to deal.
Notting Hill neighbourhood
Notting Hill, W11
Walk the pastel-coloured houses of Pembridge Crescent and Pembridge Villas — the real Notting Hill that didn't feature in the film but is more beautiful than the parts that did.
☀️ Afternoon
Hyde Park and the Serpentine
Hyde Park, W2
340 acres of royal park — the Serpentine lake, the Albert Memorial (underrated), and in summer the Serpentine Pavilion (a different architect every year, free to enter).
Hire a rowing boat on the Serpentine (£15/hour) — one of the nicest things to do in London on a summer afternoon.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, SW7 2RL
The world's greatest decorative arts museum — fashion, jewellery, textiles, furniture, ceramics, and silver across 145 galleries. The Cast Courts alone are astonishing. Free.
The café in the Victorian refreshment rooms (the original museum café, 1860s) is the most beautiful café in London. Have tea here.
🌙 Evening
Chelsea and King's Road
King's Road, Chelsea, SW3
The original punk street, now much gentrified but still good for browsing and the Duke of York Square food market on Saturdays.
The Colbert at Sloane Square — Parisian café brasserie, excellent people-watching, good steak.
🍽️ Meals
Lisboa Patisserie, Notting Hill
Portuguese · $8 · London's best pastel de nata — flaky, custardy, and still warm. Goldborne Road.
V&A café
British · $20 · Eat in the original Victorian refreshment rooms — worth it for the room alone.
The Colbert, Sloane Square
French · $55
Day Trip — Oxford
Monday, July 5
Est. spend
$180
per person
🌅 Morning
Train to Oxford
London Paddington → Oxford Station
Oxford is 1 hour from London Paddington by fast train. Trains run every 15–30 minutes. Buy tickets in advance online for the cheapest fares.
Book the first train (7:30–8am) to beat the tourist crowds. Return ticket is always better value.
Oxford University colleges
Oxford City Centre, OX1
Bodleian Library (exterior free, tours £14), Christ Church (entry £16, Harry Potter hall), and Magdalen College gardens (£10) are the highlights. Most colleges charge small entry.
Christ Church meadow is free and stunning. The dining hall scene in Harry Potter was filmed here. Arrive when it opens to avoid group tours.
☀️ Afternoon
Punt on the Cherwell River
Magdalen Bridge Boathouse, OX1 4AU
Hire a flat-bottomed punt and pole yourself along the Cherwell through Magdalen College grounds and Christ Church Meadow. Quintessentially Oxford.
Tipping the punt into the river is a rite of passage. Sit lower than you think is necessary.
Ashmolean Museum
Beaumont St, Oxford, OX1 2PH
Britain's oldest public museum (1683) — free, excellent, and criminally underrated. The Alfred Jewel, Raphael drawings, and the Powhatan mantle are highlights.
🌙 Evening
Oxford pub evening — The Turf Tavern
4-5 Bath Pl, Oxford, OX1 3SU
Hidden down an alley, reached only through a passage — the Turf Tavern is 13th century and where Bill Clinton 'did not inhale'. Great ales, good food, outdoor yards.
Eagle and Child (Bird and Baby) on St Giles' Street is where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien met to read their work aloud. Two different pub pilgrimages.
Return train to London
Oxford Station → London Paddington
Last trains run until around 11pm. Buy return in advance.
🍽️ Meals
Train station coffee
British · $8
The Covered Market, Oxford
Various · $18 · Victorian market hall with independent food stalls, bakeries, and coffee.
The Turf Tavern
British pub · $28 · Pork belly, ox cheek — proper British pub food done well.
East London — Shoreditch & Spitalfields
Tuesday, July 6
Est. spend
$160
per person
🌅 Morning
Columbia Road Flower Market
Columbia Road, Bethnal Green, E2 7RG
Sunday only — one of London's greatest street experiences. A single road of flower stalls with traders calling their prices in cockney. Arrive before 9am.
Sunday only, 8am–2pm. The cafés on the street have excellent coffee. Impossible to buy bad flowers here.
Spitalfields Market and Old Street
Spitalfields, E1
The historic market (now arts/antiques and food on weekends) and surrounding streets — Brick Lane for bagels and vintage shops, Redchurch Street for independent boutiques.
Beigel Bake (159 Brick Lane) — open 24 hours since 1974, best salt beef bagel in London for £3.80.
☀️ Afternoon
Shoreditch street art walk
Shoreditch High Street, E1
The best concentration of street art in London — Shoreditch High Street, Brick Lane, and the surrounding streets. Banksy, ROA, and hundreds of international artists.
The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane hosts markets, galleries, and pop-up events every weekend.
🌙 Evening
Shoreditch dinner and cocktails
Shoreditch, E1/E2
Shoreditch has London's best cocktail bars — Callooh Callay (hidden Alice in Wonderland bar), Nightjar (1920s speakeasy), and restaurants like Brat and Smoking Goat.
Brat restaurant (Redchurch Street) — Turbot on charcoal grill. Exceptional. Book weeks ahead.
🍽️ Meals
Beigel Bake, Brick Lane
Jewish/British · $5 · Salt beef bagel with mustard — the definitive £4 breakfast.
Spitalfields Market stalls
Various · $18 · Good Korean, Ethiopian, and Middle Eastern stalls on weekends.
Brat, Shoreditch
British/Basque · $65 · Worth every penny. The whole turbot is the move.
Final Morning & Departure
Wednesday, July 7
Est. spend
$90
per person
🌅 Morning
Natural History Museum
Cromwell Rd, South Kensington, SW7 5BD
Free, world-class, and the most beautiful building in London (Romanesque terracotta, 1880). The blue whale skeleton, Diplodocus cast, and Vault gemstone collection.
The geology section (Darwin Centre) is often quiet. The Hope the Blue Whale in the central hall is the most photographed object in London.
Final lunch — Kensington or airport
Kensington, W8
Heathrow is 35 minutes on the Elizabeth Line from Paddington. Allow 3 hours before departure.
Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food at Heathrow T5 is genuinely good airport food — worth a reservation if flying from T5.
☀️ Afternoon
Depart to Heathrow
London Paddington → Heathrow Airport
Elizabeth Line from Paddington — direct to all Heathrow terminals. 35 minutes.
Load any remaining Oyster card balance — you can get a refund at any tube station ticket machine.
🍽️ Meals
South Ken café
British · $15 · Daquise (Thurloe St) — Polish café open since 1947, exceptional beetroot soup and coffee.
Final lunch in London
British · $25
Before you go
📅 Best time to visit
May–September for reliable daylight and outdoor events. October–April is quieter with lower hotel prices. December has excellent Christmas markets.
🛂 Visas
EU/EEA citizens need a valid passport to enter the UK post-Brexit — no visa required for stays under 6 months. US, Canadian, Australian, NZ citizens: visa-free up to 6 months. Check UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) for your nationality.
💱 Currency
British Pounds (GBP). Cards accepted almost everywhere — contactless is universal and expected. Cash is rarely needed except for markets and some independent shops. Avoid Forex desks at airports; use Wise or Revolut for best exchange rates.
🆘 Emergency numbers
police: 999
ambulance: 999
💬 Things you won't find in a guidebook
- Stand on the right on escalators — if you're not walking, hold the right. Londoners take this seriously.
- The tube is not always fastest — walking between adjacent stops is often quicker. Use Google Maps' walking option.
- Free museums are genuinely world-class in London. Budget accordingly — save money on entry, spend it on food.
- Oyster card daily cap means you can't overpay on a single day regardless of how many journeys you make.
- Pubs have fixed closing times (11pm most nights, midnight Fridays/Saturdays). Last orders is 10:45pm.
- Black cabs (taxis) can be hailed on the street — they're licensed and metered. Uber also works well.
- Weather can change in an hour — always carry a light jacket. Even in summer.
One thing worth not skipping
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