London
London is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. It is the most populous region, urban zone and metropolitan area in the United Kingdom.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. You can buy our complete London City Guide on Google Play Store.
Most popular places to visit in London are:
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and often extended to refer to the clock and the clock tower. The tower is now officially called the Elizabeth Tower, after being renamed in 2012 (from Clock Tower) to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
The tower holds the largest four-faced chiming clock in the world and is the third-tallest free-standing clock tower. The tower was completed in 1858 and had its 150th anniversary on 31 May 2009, during which celebratory events took place. The tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of the United Kingdom and is often in the establishing shot of films set in London.
Address: Westminster, London SW1A 0AA
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District, Jubilee (Westminster)
Opening Hours: Tower Bridge Exhibition:
Dec - May:
Mon - Fri: 09:15, 11:15, 14:15
From Jun:
Mon - Fri: 09:00, 11:00, 14:00
May - Sep: (Additional Tour)
Tue, Wed, Thu: 16:00
Entrance Fee: Free
Website: www.parliament.uk/bigben
Borough Market
Borough Market is a wholesale and retail food market in Southwark, Central London. It is one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, and sells a large variety of foods from all over the world.
Borough Market has become a fashionable place to buy food. It has been promoted by British television chefs and has been used as a film set. Notable films with scenes filmed in the streets around the market include: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). It also appeared in the Savage Garden music video for Hold Me.
Address: 8 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TL
Reach:
Metro: Jubilee, Northern (London Bridge)
Opening Hours:
Wed - Thu: 10:00 - 17:00
Fri: 10:00 - 18:00
Sat: 08:00 - 17:00
Website: www.boroughmarket.org.uk
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum dedicated to human history and culture. Its permanent collection, numbering some 8 million works, is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence and originates from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginnings to the present.
The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane.
Address: Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
Reach:
Metro: Central, Northern (Tottenham Court Road), Central, Piccadilly (Holborn)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 10:00 - 17:30
Fri: 10:00 - 20:30
Entrance Fee: Free
Website: www.britishmuseum.org
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace is the official London residence and principal workplace of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality.
The Forecourt of Buckingham Palace is used for Changing of the Guard, a major ceremony and tourist attraction (daily during the summer months; every other day during the winter).
Address: Buckingham Palace, London SW1A 1AA
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District, Victoria (Victoria), Circle, District (St. James's Park), Piccadilly (Hyde Park Corner), Jubilee, Piccadilly, Victoria (Green Park)
Opening Hours: The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace
26th Jul - 31st Aug:
Mon - Sun: 09:30 - 19:00
1st Sep - 28th Sep:
Mon - Sun: 09:30 - 18:00
Entrance Fee: The State Rooms, Buckingham Palace
Adults: 24 £
Children (under 17 years): 13.50 £
Children (under 5 years): Free
Website: www.royalcollection.org.uk
London Eye
The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. Also known as the Millennium Wheel, its official name was originally the British Airways London Eye, then the Merlin Entertainments London Eye, and since January 2011, the EDF Energy London Eye.
The entire structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). It is currently Europe's tallest Ferris wheel, the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom.
Address: Riverside Building, County Hall, Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7PB
Reach:
Metro: Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern, Waterloo & City (Waterloo)
Website: www.londoneye.com
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds London is a museum and tourist attraction located in Central London, housed in the former London Planetarium. It is known for recreating life size wax models of celebrities. The attraction houses its famous Chamber of Horrors. It is the first Madame Tussauds set up in 1884 by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud on Marylebone Road.
Address: Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LR
Reach:
Metro: Bakerloo, Circle, Hammersmith, Jubilee, Metropolitan (Baker Street)
Entrance Fee:
Adults: 35 £
Children (3 - 15 years): 30 £
Website: www.madametussauds.com
Museum of London
The Museum of London documents the history of London from prehistoric to modern times. The museum is located on London Wall, close to the Barbican Centre.
The museum comprises a series of chronological galleries containing original artefacts, models, pictures and diagrams, with a strong emphasis on archaeological discoveries, the built city, urban development and London's social and cultural life, with interactive displays and activities for all ages.
Address: 150 London Wall, London EC2Y 5HN
Reach:
Metro: Central (St. Paul's), Circle, Hammersmith, Metropolitan (Barbican)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 10:00 - 18:00
Entrance Fee: Free
Website: www.museumoflondon.org.uk
National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square in London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.
The Gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its collection belongs to the public of the United Kingdom.
It is the fifth most visited art museum in the world.
Address: Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 5DN
Reach:
Metro: Bakerloo, Northern (Charing Cross), Northern, Piccadilly (Leicester Square)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 10:00 - 18:00
Fri: 10:00 - 21:00
Entrance Fee: Free
Website: www.nationalgallery.org.uk
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is a museum exhibiting a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The museum is home to life and earth science specimens comprising some 70 million items within five main collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology.
Address: Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District, Piccadilly (South Kensington)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 10:00 - 17:50
Entrance Fee: Free (Charges for some temporary exhibitions)
Website: www.nhm.ac.uk
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commonly known as the Houses of Parliament after its tenants, the Palace lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames in the City of Westminster, in central London.
The Palace of Westminster has been a Grade I listed building since 1970 and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
Address: Westminster, London SW1A 2PW
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District, Jubilee (Westminster)
Website: www.parliament.uk
Queen Victoria Memorial
The Victoria Memorial is a sculpture dedicated to Queen Victoria, placed at the centre of Queen's Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace.
The Memorial was dedicated in 1911 by George V and his first cousin, Wilhelm II of Germany, the two senior grandsons of Victoria. The sculptor was Sir Thomas Brock. It was completed with the installation of the final bronze statues in 1924.
Address: Victoria Memorial, London
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District, Victoria (Victoria), Circle, District (St. James's Park), Piccadilly (Hyde Park Corner), Jubilee, Piccadilly, Victoria (Green Park)
Opening Hours: Mon - Sun: 05:00 - 00:00
Website: www.royalparks.org.uk
St. Jamess Park
St. James's Park is a 23 hectares (57 acres) park in the City of Westminster, central London – the oldest of the Royal Parks of London. The park lies at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St. James the Less.
St. James's Park is bounded by Buckingham Palace to the west, The Mall and St James's Palace to the North, Horse Guards to the east, and Birdcage Walk to the south.
The park has a small lake, St. James's Park Lake, with two islands, West Island, and Duck Island, which is named for the lake's collection of waterfowl.
Address: The Storeyard, Horse Guards Road, St James's Park, London SW1A 2BJ
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District (St. James's Park), Circle, District, Jubilee (Westminster), Bakerloo, Northern (Charing Cross)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sun: 05:00 - 00:00
Entrance Fee: Free
Website: www.royalparks.org.uk
St. Pauls Church
St Paul's Cathedral, is a Church of England cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London and mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London.
The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London, with its dome, framed by the spires of Wren's City churches, dominating the skyline for 300 years. At 365 feet (111 m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world. In terms of area, St Paul's is the second largest church building in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral.
Address: St. Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8AD
Reach:
Metro: Central (St. Paul's)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 08:30 - 16:00
Entrance Fee:
Adults: 18 £
Children (6 - 17 years): 8 £
Website: www.stpauls.co.uk
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge (built 1886–1894) is a combined bascule and suspension bridge in London which crosses the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, from which it takes its name, and has become an iconic symbol of London.
The bridge is 800 feet (244 m) in length with two towers each 213 feet (65 m) high, built on piers. The central span of 200 feet (61 m) between the towers is split into two equal bascules or leaves, which can be raised to an angle of 86 degrees to allow river traffic to pass.
Address: Tower Bridge, London
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District (Tower Hill)
Opening Hours: Tower Bridge Exhibition:
Apr - Sep: 10:00 - 18:00
Oct - Mar: 09:30 - 17:30
Entrance Fee: Tower Bridge Exhibition and Monument:
Adults: 9.80 £
Children (5 - 15 years): 4.20 £
Children (under 5 years): Free
Website: www.towerbridge.org.uk
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill.
It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the entire castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison although that was not its primary purpose.
A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat.
Address: St Katharines & Wapping, London EC3N 4AB
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District (Tower Hill)
Opening Hours:
1st Mar - 31st Oct:
Tue - Sat: 9:00 - 17:30
Sun - Mon: 10:00 - 17:30
1st Nov - 28th Feb:
Tue - Sat: 9:00 - 16:30
Sun - Mon: 10:00 - 16:30
Entrance Fee:
Adults: 24.80 £
Children (under 16): 11.50 £
Childern (under 5): Free
Website: www.hrp.org.uk
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, built around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. It is situated in the borough of the City of Westminster.
At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of commemorative statues and sculptures in the square. The square is also used for political demonstrations and community gatherings, such as the celebration of New Year's Eve.
Address: Trafalgar Square, Westminster, London WC2N 5DN
Reach:
Metro: Bakerloo, Northern (Charing Cross)
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic, church in
the City of Westminster, London, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.
It is one of the most notable religious buildings in the United Kingdom and is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. The abbey is a Royal Peculiar and between 1540 and 1550 had the status of a cathedral.
Address: 20 Deans Yard, London SW1P 3PA
Reach:
Metro: Circle, District, Jubilee (Westminster), Circle, District (St. James's Park)
Opening Hours:
Mon - Sat: 09:30 - 15:30
Wed: 09:30 - 18:00
Entrance Fee:
Adults: 22 £
Children (11 - 18 years): 9 £
Children (under 11 years): Free
Website: www.westminster-abbey.org