Guest post by Lavinia Griffin
A truly global city, full of history and rich in culture, London is Britain’s top travel destination. In 2017, an estimated 19.8 million tourists visited London. London has something for everyone, from family days out for the kids, to romantic getaways for couples, to adventures for solo travellers. There’s so much to see and do in London, it would take a lifetime to cover it all–as Samuel Johnson said, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” If you only have a day, not a lifetime, to explore London, follow these four tips for a fun day out!
1) Choose your priorities
The best way to make the most of a short trip to London is to pick 1-3 must-see “priority” sights that you don’t want to miss. These are the places where you don’t mind queuing and paying for admission because they are the sights you wouldn’t want to leave London without seeing. Depending on your tastes, that might be touring museums and landmarks, shopping in Knightsbridge, catching a West End play, or going on a Thames river cruise.
2) Do your research
When you’ve decided on your must-see London sights, make sure to check their hours, ticketing and other relevant information. Museums might be closed or have different hours on specific weekdays. The British Museum has extended evening hours on Fridays, for instance. Look into the busiest peak visiting times, as well, so you can avoid long queues and crowds.
3) Get familiar with Transport for London
Knowing your way around can greatly increase your enjoyment of London and can help you to see more sights. Everyone knows the world-famous London Underground, but one of the biggest mistakes tourists make is relying too much on the Tube for short journeys. If you’re only going one or two stops, check the map–it might be quicker and easier to just walk! Bus routes can also sometimes be more direct than Tube journeys that would require changing lines. Riding on the top of a red double-decker is a classic London experience, and you’ll get to see more of the city than you would in the Underground trains, too! If you’re interested in cruising on the Thames, try the River Bus for an affordable option with frequent services from Westminster Pier.
4) Plan out your food
London has an absolutely staggering range of restaurants, pubs and cafes. It can be overwhelming, and when you’re hungry and busy with sightseeing, it’s easy to go for a quick and reliable option, like one of the ubiquitous fast-food chains. If you take a little time to plan your meals in advance, however, you can enjoy delicious, authentic local London cuisine for the same price as the chains. CAMRA pub listings are a great way to find authentic pub grub. Check out the restaurants around your must-see destinations ahead of your visit, so you won’t have far to go after a long day of sightseeing.
What tips do you have for a fun day out in London?
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Learn more about Lavinia Griffin
Lavinia is a travel & lifestyle blogger residing in the UK. She’s been to a lot of European and Asian countries and mainly writes from experience to provide authentic and useful tips to her readers and followers. When she’s not blogging, Lavinia spends her time taking care of her 7 and 5-year-old boys.
Juggling her tasks as a mother, blogger, and travel-junkie makes her life all the more exciting.
I know that a lot of people try to promote the “just show up without a plan and see where the day takes you” mentality, but if I have a limited amount of time in a location, I like to have a plan. These are great tips, and I especially love the idea of getting accustomed with transit options before arriving. Sometimes figuring out how the bus and metro systems work to get around can eat up a lot of your time!
Yes, I totally agree. Food choices in London can be overwhelming. Thus, it is very important to do some research.
Same goes for places to visit. Setting priorities is a must because there is just so much to see and do.
Can’t second the idea of doing your research on London enough! Crucial. What you say about opening times is definitely true, even down to remembering that in the UK larger shops have can only open for 6 hours on a Sunday by law. Crowds at the British Museum can be crazy, so the extended opening times would be a nice save too. Oh and another tip would be the app ‘too good to go’ which allows you to buy cheap fresh food at the end of the day that would otherwise be thrown away 🙂
London is indeed magnificent! I’ve lived there for a year and tried to explore as much as I could, but still there is still, so much more that I didn’t see/do!
I agree about doing the prior research. There are some tourist passes that are available other than the well known London Pass. Pre-booking travel tickets esp., for day trips outside of London works out cheaper is done earlier. Without research you’ll end up spending much!
Totally agree with your tips to plan ahead, and I think that’s a good tip while traveling anywhere on a time crunch, but especially larger cities like London. I like to save the destinations I have in mind on my Google Maps, so when I’m walking around, I can see when I’m near one of the attractions I want to visit. Great tips!!
London has got lots to see and to do. I would make a plan if I visit there. I would like to have a high-tea there, so a plan is a mist as I know it is not so easy to find a good one and sometime a reservation is also required. Once we went to a place we knew already, but it was full…had to wait for a while until it was quite late to be our turn.
First, it’s good to hear tips from locals. You can’t go wrong with their info. I haven’t been to London, but I found it helpful about making the top 3 priorities to see in the city. Then search everything about it, so we won’t leave London without seeing them. Info about transportation is really great as well, and it relates to your must-see places in London.
Great tips! Researching your destination is perhaps the most important one of them. When you know what you want to see and plan it right, you can make the most out of your short time. Also, getting familiar with public transportation will help a lot.
I visited London almost a decade ago and since it was my first ever international trip, I was really lost! I did almost none of things you’ve recommended before, since I was a newbie at travelling. No research, no shortlisting of places I wanted to go to and I just landed up there, relying on some people I knew who already lived there. I, obviously, regret that now because there are so many places I could’ve gone to but didn’t only because I didn’t do my research and didn’t know about their existence!