London Travel Guide
Weather, best time to visit, and the best food, culture, nature and activities.
Typical prices
- Budget meal£14.00≈ $18.55
- Mid-range meal£35.00≈ $46.36
- Cappuccino£3.50≈ $4.64
- Domestic beer£6.00≈ $7.95
- Taxi (per km)£3.00≈ $3.97
- Public transport ticket£2.80≈ $3.71
- Museum entry£0.00≈ $0.00
- Mid-range hotel (night)£180.00≈ $238.45
Food & Drink
- Dishoom Covent GardenIndian · $$
A Bombay-café-style restaurant serving bacon naan rolls and black daal, inspired by Irani cafes.
- St. JOHNBritish · $$$
The Smithfield restaurant that pioneered nose-to-tail British cooking, famous for its roast bone marrow.
- Borough Market food stallsMarket food · $
A historic food market under railway arches near London Bridge with stalls like Kappacasein for grilled cheese toasties.
- SketchFrench fine dining · $$$$
A Mayfair restaurant famous for its pink Gallery room and afternoon tea in a Georgian townhouse.
- PadellaItalian · $$
A small Borough Market pasta bar with a queue out the door for its pici cacio e pepe.
- The Golden ChippyBritish · $
A well-regarded traditional fish and chip shop in Poplar loved by locals.
- Franco MancaItalian · $$
A sourdough pizza chain that started in Brixton Market, known for slow-fermented dough.
- The LedburyModern European · $$$$
A two-Michelin-star Notting Hill restaurant known for its refined modern European tasting menu.
- Ronnie Scott's
London's most famous jazz club in Soho, hosting international jazz musicians since 1959.
- Fabric
A landmark superclub near Farringdon known for its bass-heavy sound system and techno nights.
- The Nightjar
A speakeasy-style cocktail bar in Shoreditch with live jazz and inventive drinks menus.
- Ministry of Sound
An iconic Elephant and Castle nightclub that helped define UK dance music culture.
Culture & History
- British Museum
A world-spanning collection including the Rosetta Stone and Parthenon Marbles, free to enter in Bloomsbury.
- Tate Modern
A contemporary art museum in a converted power station on the Thames, holding works by Rothko and Warhol.
- Natural History Museum
A Romanesque building in South Kensington famous for its dinosaur skeletons and blue whale model.
- National Gallery
A Trafalgar Square gallery holding Van Gogh's Sunflowers and works spanning the 13th to 19th centuries.
- Victoria and Albert Museum
The world's largest museum of applied and decorative arts, from fashion to sculpture, in South Kensington.
- Tower of London
A medieval fortress on the Thames housing the Crown Jewels and centuries of royal history.
- BFI Southbank
The British Film Institute's flagship cinema on the South Bank, showing classics, retrospectives, and festival premieres.
- Electric Cinema Portobello
One of Britain's oldest working cinemas, known for its leather armchairs and footstools on Portobello Road.
- Notting Hill Carnival
Europe's largest street festival, celebrating Caribbean culture with parades, sound systems, and food across Notting Hill.
- Wimbledon Championships
The world's oldest tennis tournament, held at the All England Club with Henman Hill screening matches outside.
- Trooping the Colour
The monarch's official birthday parade with military bands marching down The Mall to Buckingham Palace.
Active & Fun
- Third Space Soho
A premium fitness club with extensive equipment, classes, spa, and rooftop running track.
- London Fields Lido
A heated 50-metre outdoor pool in Hackney, open year-round and popular in summer.
- Serpentine Lido
An open-water swimming spot in Hyde Park's Serpentine lake with a summer lido section.
- Chessington World of Adventures
A theme park and zoo combination on the edge of London with rides and animal enclosures.