London is one of the world’s largest and most exciting cities, offering visitors thousands of things to do, including museums, royal palaces, beautiful parks, historical sites, and world-class theater. With all these options, planning a trip to London can be a bit overwhelming, especially for first time visitors. Here’s a 3 days in London itinerary that will help you see the city’s highlights if you have at least 3 days in London.
Bustling, busy and ever humming with the constant buzz of city life, London is a city which is ever changing and always worth a visit. Here’s your ultimate guide and complete itinerary for spending three days in London. I love London for its newness and oldness squashed together, the tall glass buildings surrounded by old cathedrals and tiny Victorian houses next to towering council blocks. I love Christmas in London when the markets and pubs are full, the lights go up, the church bells sing and a centimetre of sleet can bring the transport system to a standstill. I love the summer time when everyone flocks to the parks and you can sit on the Southbank with a beer, gazing across the Thames. Right now especially, I love autumn in London, the frosty dark mornings and fireworks in the park.
When to visit London:
The best time to visit London is during June- September. But, its beautiful all year around.
What to know before you go to London:
The first thing you’ll want to do when you get to London is purchase an Oyster card. They cost £5, but you’ll be able to get the money back when you leave. Oyster cards will save you a lot of money in comparison to purchasing tickets every time you use the tube. However, if you have a contactless card from a British bank, you can use this to tap in and tap out at the same price as oyster cards.
If you are a family of 4(like us), Uber seemed not too bad in London too.
Wear comfortable shoes, carry small umbrellas and start your stay in London.
Where to stay:
London stay can get very expensive, so look for places in Central London where you will be going most of the time. If you stay anywhere too far, you will have to pay for train tickets and uber. So, take that into account.
3 days in London
How to Save Money on Sightseeing in London
London can be an expensive destination for visitors and the costs of a trip here can quickly add up. There are a number of London discount passes you can purchase before your trip to help you save money (and time) at London’s most popular attractions and museums.
Our favorite London discount pass is the London Pass which allows free entry into over 60 of London’s top attractions, including the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and the Shard. The Pass also comes with a free hop-on, hop-off bus ticket and additional discounts on food, shopping, theatre tickets, and tours. You can see a full list of attractions and benefits here.
We’ve used the London Pass on a number of visits and have written an in-depth London Pass review which you can read to help determine if the London Pass would help you save money or time on your trip.
Although London can be expensive, it also has a number of fantastic free attractions including beautiful green parks, historic sites, and world-class museums like the British Museum, National Gallery, and Victoria & Albert Museum. Also be sure to check for special events and festivals that may be happening during your visit.
3 DAYS IN LONDON
Things to see:
Day 1 -Get the feel of the city
Day one of your three days in London is your crash course to life in the UK and it’s all about getting up to speed on those ‘must-see iconic’ London attractions. Much of the day will be spent wandering around Westminster, admiring the Houses of Parliament and catching an up-close and personal view of the London Eye.
Seeing London from the top of a sightseeing bus is a fantastic way to explore the capital. The sightseeing tours are informative, detailing the city’s amazing history, and surprisingly affordable – Megabus have started doing a tour for 1 pound!
We stopped by for breakfast at 8.00 a.m at London Grind. We then started our own walking tour. and tower of london, millineum bridge, tate modern musuem, globe theatre, and borogh market , london eye, westminster abbey, big ben, buckingham plalace, trafalgar square, leisester square, covent garden.
7 Dials, Dishoom
Day 2 – Westminter Abbey, National Gallery
You can decide what you want to go back to seeing in detail. We went to Westminster Abbey and the National Gallery. You could even go to the London Eye if you have little kids. This is a great thing to do in London with kids but is enjoyed by people of all ages. It’s the most popular paid for attraction in the UK, and it is easy to see why – on a clear day you can see the entire city and beyond! You can buy tickets in advance or pay for them on the day. You’ll save time if you purchase them in advance, but you will be locked into a specific time slot. The disadvantage of this is that you won’t know what the weather will be like until the time arrives. You might have heard that London can be a tad rainy, so if it’s wet during your time slot you might not get the best view!
If the eye isn’t your thing, there are plenty of restaurants and bars to enjoy around South bank. This is the heart of London, so you’ll have the chance to enjoy the capital’s vibrant evening scene, with British beer and accents aplenty! Or, if you’re spending 3 days in London with kids or just fancy something different, how about a Jack the Ripper or ghosts in London tour?
Day 3- Museum of London
It’s the last of your 3 days in London! You’ve seen a lot of the city, but there are a few things that shouldn’t be missed on your final day.
I recommend spending the morning browsing the city center and its most famous al-fresco attractions. We decided to visit the most epic museum.
The MUSUEM OF LONDONStep inside the Museum of London for an unforgettable journey through the capital’s turbulent past.
Get a taste for the Museum in the new 360 tour from London & Partners and hear about the Museum’s grisly collection under the rotunda with the City Visitor Trail app.
Check out the video about the Museum ffrom London & Partners as part of ‘The London Story’.
Discover prehistoric London, see how the city changed under Romans and Saxons, wonder at medieval London and examine the tumultuous years when London was ravaged by civil wars, plague and fire.
Then venture into the Galleries of Modern London where you can walk the streets of Victorian London, take a stroll in recreated pleasure gardens and marvel at the magnificent Lord Mayor’s Coach.
The museum is extremely child friendly and has daily programme of activities and events from live music performances and late night viewings for adults to arts and crafts and theatre performances for children.
Download the excellent Street museum app to see the historic London for yourself!
FREE general entry.
Certain exhibitions and events are charged. Certain discounts at the Museum of London may be available for both serving members and veterans of the Armed Forces as part of the City of London’s commitment to fulfilling the Armed Forces Community Covenant.
More things to do:
This 3 day itinerary for London has mentioned all of the London highlights. Of course, there are hundreds of more things that you can do in the city, and depending on your group size and age, you might want to substitute some of these activities for suggested things to do on the London itinerary. Here are some suggestions for more great things to do in London:
- Visit the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum or the Victoria Albert Museum.
- See amazing art at the Tate Modern.
- Explore the British Library.
- Go for a quintessential afternoon tea in Harrods or somewhere similar.
- Visit the quirky neighborhood of Shoreditch (a great nightlife destination)
- Walk around Hyde Park.
- Explore the southern suburb of Greenwich, which is home to the GMT line, Greenwich Market and the Cutty Sark.
- Dine in Chinatown.
- See Neasden Temple, a stunning Hindu place of worship – yes, it’s in London!
- Visit Brixton and see the David Bowie memorial mural.
- Catch a concert at the O2 arena – these should be booked in advance
PLACES TO EAT: We travel to eat.
These are some our favorite places to eat. We did eat a bunch, and not one place was a disappointment.
- London Grind
Vibrant atmosphere! It’s like a coffee house on steroids! My fiancé and I arrived during prime time hours between 9-11am.Great place for brunch/ friends hang out! Get to know this place from Instagram and gave it a shot. I’ve made booking through open table, which takes only less than 5 minute. Wise to make booking as I went there on Sunday morning and it’s super crowded. The employees there are very friendly and gave us good recommendations.
We got the sweet potato Harissa cakes with poached egg (4.5/5), French banana toast with coconut cream (4.7/5), and the breakfast burrito with eggs, sausage, bacon (4/5). (Ratings in bracket). The potato harissa cakes are crispy outside and soft inside, it goes well with the sauce – a great combination of sweet and tint of spiciness. I especially love the coconut cream in the French toast, as the coconut scent really lift up the French toast. It’s nice that they use homemade banana bread as the base of the toast. Breakfast burrito is served with a mayo/ tartar taste sauce.
For drinks, we ordered ice coffee and ice chocolate. It’s was really nice of London grind to be accommodating as there’s only hot chocolate in the menu, they are willing to make ice chocolate for me as it’s a hot day. I loved their ice chocolate as its rich, milky and not too sweet.
2. Borough market
Borough market is very close to London bridge. Lots of multi product shops are here like fruit shops, vegetable shops, flower shops, eating places, souvenir shops, etc. Remains crowded specially on Sundays and holidays. It is mainly multi cousin fast food place and you will find here food verities from various countries. Price of things is on higher side.
Borough Market has a nice atmosphere and a lot going on, which is why it would be a great stop for a group of people traveling together. There’s something to appeal to everyone’s tastes. The one thing it lacks by a wide margin is sufficient seating. If you buy anything other than handheld foods, you’re out of luck. My husband bought a pricey fish and chips lunch from a stall that claimed to have won an award for that dish, but was disappointed. It was mediocre and had been sitting under heat lamps. Not worth paying a premium for.
Get the Fish and Chips here. Definitely have an icecream from Greedy Goat. The breads and meats at other stalls were fresh and tasty, but again, you’re paying a premium for it. Go to the Borough if you want a diverse foodie experience, but accept going in that you won’t find any deals there.
3. Dishoom
I had bookmarked Dishoom as a must visit restaurant before I got to London, I didn’t realize how busy they are and when i passed the branch in Carnaby Street was told that there was a 1 hour wait. I didn’t wait and a friend made a booking for the next day at the Covent Garden branch. The restaurant has a very fancy feel to it inside. We tried the Spicy Lamb Chops, Chicken Tikka, Okra Fries and Garlic Naan. The food was cooked and spiced well and super tasty. We also tried the Gulab Jamun- although tasty, i am not a sweet tooth and found it a little too rich. A must visit
4. Peggy Porchen Cakes
Adorable, tiny little bakery just a few stores down from Dominique Ansel. The most instagrammable Cake shop in the world.
It’s hard to miss the pastel store front covered in flowers here. The store is so tiny inside you may also see a line outside of people waiting to get in. We had just stuffed our faces down the street at Dominique Ansel but there was no way we could walk by this adorable little bakery.
When we arrived there was no line anymore to get in. There are several café tables inside but it is seriously small in here, don’t come with a large group looking for a table (and I mean no more than 3 people). We picked out some macrons, meringues and of course cupcakes to go.
Service was excellent here and everything was packaged perfectly to go. Skip the macrons here (grab them next door) but don’t miss the cupcakes or meringue.
5. Ottolenghi
We’ve been a fans of Ottolenghi’s books for years and we finally made the pilgrimage to London (NOPI also on deck this week). We had incredible service and we did a shared ‘salads’ menu (healthy right!). We chose the dishes that we likely wouldn’t be able to make at home easily. The eggplant is a must. Super tasty, looked fresh (smelled fresh too!). The roasted cauliflower salad was epic. When food can taste so good being cold, it’s a winner in my book. The desserts were top shelf. Recommend 🙂
6. The SHAARD – High tea
When in London, high tea is a must.
Brilliant afternoon tea. The views from the Shard are spectacular. The afternoon tea is all-you-can-eat and the servers are very efficient in bringing you more. Would definitely recommend!
7. Matre Choux
OMG. Best pastries I’ve ever tasted. Yes it’s expensive but the pastry chef is well known and these eclairs will be life changing. I took my first bite of the lemon one and I’m not joking I almost cried. Yes I know that’s crazy. Worth the calories. Worth the money. I can’t wait to go back to London and have 10 of these again. One of my favourite dessert places. Also one of the few places where the taste is as good as the eclairs look. Get there early to make sure you have a good selection of flavours. I’ve tried almost all of them – hazelnut, raspberry pink eclair, and red love eclair were my favourite.
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