From Chaucer to Dickens, Shakespeare to Virginia Woolf, London has provided inspiration (and a home) to some of the English language's greatest writers. Follow in their illustrious footsteps on this short walking tour. Start: Tube to Euston or King's Cross. 1. British LibraryThe…
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London Attractions
London Attractions
Our pick of London attractions reads like the world's best history lesson. Decipher the Rosetta Stone's ancient hieroglyphics, try not to lose your head at Henry VIII's London pile, and bring yourself back to the future with cutting-edge Tate Modern art installations.
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Historic Site
18 Stafford Terrace
You'll step back into the days of Queen Victoria when you visit this terrace house, which has remained unchanged for well over a century. Built in the late 1860s, the five-story brick structure was the home of Linley Sambourne, a legendary cartoonist for Punch magazine. In the…West London
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Landmark
Albert Memorial
Albert, Queen Victoria’s German-born husband (and, um, first cousin), was a passionate supporter of the arts who piloted Britain from one dazzling creative triumph to another. But when he died suddenly of typhoid (some say Crohn’s disease) in 1861 at age 42, the devastated queen… -
Landmark
All-Hallows-by-the-Tower
All-Hallows-by-the-Tower is just down the road from (and provides elevated views over) the Tower of London. When the first church was built here in the 7th century, the site had already been in use for several centuries. You can see Roman, Saxon, and medieval remains at its small… -
Historic home
Apsley House
This is how you’d be rewarded if you became a colonial war hero: You’d get Hyde Park as a backyard. In 1815, Arthur Wellesley defeated Napoleon and became the Duke of Wellington, and later prime minister. The mansion, still in the family (they maintain private rooms), was filled with… -
Observatory
ArcelorMittal Orbit
This 114.5m-tall (376ft.) vertical scribble, a publicity exercise by a steel concern that is now failing, has observation decks at 76m (249 ft.) and 80m (262 ft.), but it barely matters when there’s not much to look at. It originally overlooked the Olympics, but with the torch and… -
Museum
Bank of England Museum
The intermittently compelling tale of the B of E is recounted in appealingly patronizing but generous detail, accompanied by plenty of antiques from the vaults. That’s fine if you understand finance, but most people lose the plot pretty quickly. Along the way are some fun oddities,… -
The Performing Arts
Barbican Centre
Standing fortress-like on the fringe of the City of London, the Barbican is the largest art and exhibition complex in Western Europe. Roomy and comfortable, it's the perfect setting for enjoying music and theatre, and is the permanent home address of the London Symphony Orchestra, as… -
Park/Garden
Battersea Park & Zoo
Often overlooked in lists of London's best parks, this vast patch of woodland, lakes, and lawns on the southern bank of the Thames is the equal of any of its siblings in the center. Formerly known as Battersea Fields, the park was laid out between 1852 and 1858 on an old dueling…Southwest London
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Tour
Big Bus Tours
Like its competition, it offers three circuitous routes, although two of them (Red and Blue) cover much of the same ground and narration is frequently prerecorded (it’s live on Red, recorded on Blue) with out-of-date information. It doesn’t matter at which of the 50-odd stops you get… -
Tour
Brit Movie Tours
Most of the tour companies try their hand at Harry Potter and/or James Bond circuits now, but this outfit specializes in movies, filming locations, and cinema history—its excursion exclusively about romantic comedies like Love Actually and Notting Hill is a particular hoot. A… -
Museum
Brunel Museum
Although the engineering contributions of Marc Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel are commonly taken for granted, here they’re given their due. With the help of a shield system they invented, these pioneers executed the first tunnel to be built under a navigable river.… -
Palace
Buckingham Palace
If you were to fall asleep tonight and wake up inside one of the State Rooms, you’d never guess where you were. Is it opulent? No question. But if gilding, teardrop chandeliers, 18th-century portraits, and ceremonial halls could ever be considered standard-issue, Buckingham Palace is… -
Historic Site
Burgh House
This Queen Anne home (1703) in the center of Hampstead village was the residence of the daughter and son-in-law of Rudyard Kipling (who often visited). It now plays host to a busy cultural program with various events organized here throughout the year, including local art…North London
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Historic Site
Carlyle's House
Thomas Carlyle was one of the foremost historians of the 19th century, generally credited with having originated the "Great Man" theory of history, which posits that the flow of human achievement can be traced back to decisions made by just a few elevated individuals or "geniuses."…Southwest London
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Air Travel
Changing the Guard
I’m only telling you this because I love you: Changing the Guard, sometimes called Guard Mounting, is an underwhelming use of 40 minutes of your time. Arrive at Buckingham Palace at least 45 minutes ahead if you don’t want to face the backs of other tourists—Buckingham Palace sells a…Green Park
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Attraction
Chelsea Physic Garden
Founded in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries, this is the second-oldest surviving botanical garden in England. Sir Hans Sloane, doctor to King George II, required the apothecaries of the Empire to develop 50 plant species a year for presentation to the Royal Society. The…Southwest London
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Museum/Historic Site
Churchill War Rooms
One of London’s most fascinating museums is the secret command center used by Winston Churchill and his staff during the most harrowing moments of World War II, when it looked like England might become German. We regard the period with nostalgia, but a staggering 30,000 civilians… -
Tour
City Cruises
When you take a standard trip on these generously glasssided and -topped boats, live narrators point out details of interest. The “Red Rover” ticket allows you to hop on and off all day. Boats, which have cafe-bars, depart every 40 min., generally between 9am and 9pm, from four… -
Landmark
City Hall
Adjacent to Tower Bridge, across the water from the Tower of London, the Norman Foster-designed City Hall is the eco-friendly home of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. Its strange, leaning-back design -- as if it's scared of the water -- has made the steel-and-glass egg…South Bank
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Tour
City of London Guided Walks
The government that oversees the Square Mile of the oldest part of London gives written and performance-based exams to the experts who lead its excellent weekly tours. The experience is less theatrical and denser with facts than what London Walks (see below) generally provides,… -
Tour
City of Westminster Guides
Westminster, the area of London west of the City that includes the theater district, also contracts officially tested guides to lead tours there. Advance booking isn’t required, but tours sometimes only go in summer. Tours are 1 1/2 to 2 hours; locations vary. -
Landmark
Cleopatra’s Needle
Cleopatra’s Needles—which Cleopatra had nothing to do with—were erected in Heliopolis, Egypt, around 1450 b.c., and inscriptions were added 200 years later. The Romans moved the granite spires to Alexandria, where they were toppled and buried in the sand, preserving them until the… -
Historic Site
Cutty Sark
The only clipper ship left in the world was launched in 1869; by the end of its 52-year career, it had traveled the equivalent of to the moon and back, carrying cargos including tea, wool, and furniture. By the sunset of its sailing life, it was a decrepit old thing, renamed… -
Museum
Dennis Severs’ House
This 1724 town house was dragged down by a declining neighborhood until the 1970s, when eccentric Californian Dennis Severs purchased it for a pittance, dressed it with antiques, and delighted the intelligentsia with this amusingly pretentious imagination odyssey—he called it “Still… -
Landmark
Diana Memorial Fountain
In July 2004, the queen came to Hyde Park, probably grudgingly, to open an unusual gated fountain designed to conjure the memory of the mother of her grandchildren and a longtime thorn in her side, Princess Diana. As designed by American architect Kathryn Gustafson, this graceful,… -
Tour
Dotmaker Tours
Dotmaker’s clever weekend walks delve into offbeat topics such as chimneys, tunnels, the story of sounds like St Paul’s bells, where the city dumps its rubbish, and where London’s past geniuses have found their inspiration. One tour is designed around taking moments to people-watch… -
Historic home
Dr Johnson’s House
A rare surviving middleclass home from the 18th century (built in 1700), this slouching and brickfaced abode happens to be that of famous lexicographer Samuel Johnson, who lived here from 1748 to 1759. If you’re hoping to learn a lot about him, you’ll have to spring for a book in the… -
Museum
Dulwich Picture Gallery
A 15-min. train ride from Victoria and an 8-min. walk lands you in a pretty villagelike enclave of South London, where a leafy stroll acclimates one to contemplation and appreciation. Here you’ll find one of the world’s most vital collections of Old Master paintings of the 1600s and… -
Tour
Eating London Tours
I recommend this 3 1/2-hour, stuff-yourself-silly walking romp though some of the greatest victuals in the East End. You’ll get to try eight tastings of flavors that are truly East End and not faked for tourists, from fish and chips to Brick Lane curry to Beigel Bake salt beef to a… -
Historic home
Eltham Palace and Gardens
Eltham (ell-tum) was once a palace on the level of importance with Hampton Court or Greenwich—Henry VIII was a boy here. Time was not kind to the grounds, though, and by the 1920s, Stephen and Virginia Courtauld, a wealthy childless couple, bought the Tudor ruin to rebuild into an… -
Park/Garden
Epping Forest
Mostly because its soil is unsuitable for farming, for a millennium this remained a semi-virgin woodland—it’s the best place to get a feel for what Britain was like before humans denuded its land. It’s the largest open space in London, 6,000 acres, 12 miles long by 2 1/2 miles wide,… -
Museum
Florence Nightingale Museum
You probably don’t know much about her now, but spend 45 minutes in this small and well-designed biographical museum (on the grounds of the hospital with which she worked) and you’ll brim with newfound respect for this consequential person—as a founder of sensible nursing practices,…South Bank
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Tours
Footprints of London
For walks with sharper focus than standard ones. Truly passionate, accredited guides with a depth of knowledge both own and operate this company, and they come up with topics that are much more diverse and surprising than rivals’: hidden maritime artifacts, neighborhood explorations… -
Factory Tour
Fuller’s Brewery Tours
Beer has been made on this Thameside property in West London since the 1600s, and Fuller’s has been in charge of the brewing since 1845. Now this steampunk-feeling brick complex supplies some 380 pubs with its products, particularly its popular London Pride. They refuse to move to… -
Museum
Garden Museum
Here, in a deconsecrated church (the tower, which you can climb, dates to 1377), you’ll find artifacts and academic respect paid to the greatest gardeners of Britaindom, including John Tradescant the Elder, a green thumb and seed pioneer who himself was planted in the churchyard in…Lambeth
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Tour
Golden Tours Open Top Bus Tours
The discount option. Golden Tours is one of the big machines in town, offering every permutation of bus tour and day-trip excursion you can imagine. None are particularly special, but they get the job done at low-ish prices, which means crowds. Its main product is a system of routes… -
Tour
Greenwich Guided Walks
Like London, Greenwich operates its own official tours with carefully vetted guides. There are usually two basic 90min. tours daily (around noon and 2:15pm, but check ahead) from the Greenwich Tourist Information Centre (Discover Greenwich) taking in the main sights plus the Royal… -
Park/Garden
Greenwich Park
Decently sized (74 hectares/183 acres), it was once a deer preserve maintained for royal amusement; a herd of them still have 5 hectares (13 acres) at their disposal. It’s been a Royal Park since the 15th century, although the boundary wasn’t formally defined until the early 1600s… -
Historic Site
Guildhall & Guildhall Art Gallery
The headquarters of the City of London Corporation, the administrative body that has overseen the City's affairs for the past 800 years, the Guildhall's original medieval framework has endured significant repairs following the 1666 Great Fire and World War II (as well as the addition…The City
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Historic
HMS Belfast
It’s as if the powerful 1938 warship, upon being retired from service in 1965, was motored straight to this dock and opened to visitors the next day. Nearly everything, down to the checked flooring and decaying cables, is exactly as it was, making the boat a fascinating snapshot of…$ -
Park/Garden
Hampstead Heath
Some 7 million visitors a year come to the 320-hectare (791-acre) Heath, in northwest London, to walk on the grass, get enveloped by thick woods, and take in the view from the magnificent Pergola, a beguiling overgrown Edwardian garden and a true London secret. The Heath is a… -
Palace
Hampton Court Palace
A 35-min. commuter train ride from the center of town, Hampton Court looks like the ideal palace because it defined the ideal. The rambling redbrick mansion was a center for royal life from 1525 to 1737, its forest of chimneys standing regally in 24 hectares (59 acres) of achingly… -
Historic home/museum
Handel & Hendrix Museum
Here’s a pleasant Messiah complex. This Mayfair building, the German-born composer’s home from 1723 (he was its first tenant) to his death in 1759, has lived many lives—before the museum’s 2001 opening, conservators chipped 28 layers of paint off the interior walls to uncover the… -
Hayward Gallery
Hidden on a back rampart of the vital nonprofit Southbank Centre, it hosts terrific blockbuster shows, which have included Ansel Adams, Roy Lichtenstein, 1920s Surrealism, and a 60-artist panorama of modern African art. Always modern, never staid, and a recent multi-year renovation… -
Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery
A stone's throw east of Hampstead Heath, this beautiful cemetery is laid out around a huge 300-year-old cedar tree and is laced with serpentine pathways. The cemetery was so popular and fashionable in the Victorian era that it was extended on the other side of Swain's Lane in 1857.…North London
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Park/Garden
Holland Park
The former estate of Holland House, a 17th-century Jacobean mansion that's now home to the capital's best-situated YHA hostel, the park has an authentic aristocratic air, with manicured lawns, flower beds, and a Japanese water garden, complete with huge, colorful carp and a small…West London
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Historic home
Home of Charles Darwin—Down House
Charles Darwin made one of history’s most important voyages, but once back in England, he barely left his home here in the idyllic parish village of Downe. Upstairs you’ll find out about the man and his life (did you know the scientist who theorized about mutation married his own… -
Museum
Horniman Museum
A rich Victorian dilettante collected crazy stuff from all over the world, and rather than let it gather dust, he built a museum in South London. This repository of some 350,000 items has since blossomed into a wild educational ride, with something for everyone, particularly… -
Landmark
Horse Guards
North of Downing Street, on the site of the guard house of Whitehall Palace (which burned down in 1698) stands the 18th-century Horse Guards building, the headquarters of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, a combination of the oldest and most senior regiments in the British Army…Southwest London
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House of Illustration
This gallery-cum-museum is dedicated to the art of illustration—sometimes the children’s book kind (world-famous Roald Dahl illustrator Quentin Blake is on the board), sometimes the magazine kind, always well-selected. You’ll find two changing exhibitions at a time plus a fantastic… -
Landmark
Houses of Parliament
In olden days, England’s rich overlords got together at the king’s house, Westminster Palace, to figure out how to manage their peasants. Over time, the king was forced out of the proceedings and most of the Palace burned down. What remains is constructed to express the might of… -
Museum
Hunterian Museum
This ghoulish exhibition at the Royal College of Surgeons, now 2 centuries old, chronicles the life’s work of John Hunter (1728–93), who elevated surgery from something your barber dabbled in to something a saw-wielding, germ-spreading scientist would, ahem, undertake. It’s a macabre… -
Park/Garden
Hyde Park & Kensington Gardens
Bordered by Mayfair, Bayswater, and Kensington, these two conjoined areas are the largest park in the middle of the city. Hyde Park is home to a meandering lake called the Serpentine, the famous Speakers’ Corner, and the Diana Fountain. The most famous promenade is Rotten Row,… -
Observatory
IFS Cloud Cable Car
Opened for the Olympics as a Thames crossing between the ExCeL convention center and the O2 dome, it’s an enclosed, 10-person gondola (you’ll share with strangers) with (barely audible) recorded commentary that shuttles between two places most tourists never go. It’s too far from the… -
Museum
Imperial War Museum London
One of London’s unexpectedly gripping museums has a deceptive name. It’s not just for military buffs, and it’s no gun-fondling armory, even if there is a Spitfire hanging from the rafters. Instead of merely showcasing heavy implements of death, which it does, this museum—the latest… -
Historic Site
Jewel Tower
Built around 1365, it’s one of only two remnants left from the 1834 fire that ravaged the Royal Palace of Westminster. Quiet and easily overlooked, this three-level stone tower, once a moatside storehouse for Edward III’s treasures, has walls so thick it was later considered an ideal… -
Historic Site
Keats House
The poet lived here for only 2 years, but that was approximately two-fifths of his creative life; he died of tuberculosis in Rome at the age of 25 (in 1821). Keats wrote some of his most celebrated works in Hampstead, including Ode on a Grecian Urn and Ode to a Nightingale. His…Hampstead
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Palace
Kensington Palace
Most people know it as the place where Lady Diana raised Princes William and Harry with Prince Charles from 1984 to 1996, but now it’s where Prince William, Kate, George, Charlotte, and Louis live when they’re in town. (No, you won’t find their toothbrushes in the bathroom.) It has… -
Historic home
Kenwood
Bask in a country-house high without leaving the city. Kenwood is a sublime 18th-century job by Robert Adam with a sigh-inducing southern view across Hampstead Heath, from within the green embrace of 112 acres. Inside, the walls are hung with paintings that would be the envy of the… -
Palace
Kew Palace and Queen Charlotte’s Cottage
Remember George III? He’s the dilettante ruler who, during his reign from 1760 to 1820, lost the American colonies and went crazy from suspected porphyria: See the movie The Madness of King George for the tragic tale. Kew Palace is where he spent his childhood and later went insane,… -
Observation Ride
Lift 109
Londoners are excited about the recent redevelopment of the Battersea Power Station because it’s a giant, gorgeous landmark of industrial Art Deco on a prime riverfront lot that’s been abandoned for most of their lifetimes. But it’s turned out to be a big indoor mall surrounded by…Battersea
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Ride
London Eye
The Eye was erected in 1999 as the Millennium Wheel, and like many temporary vantage points, it became such a sensation—and a money-spinner—that it was made permanent. It rises above everything in this part of the city—at 135m/443 ft. high, it’s 1 1/2 times taller than the Statue of… -
Historic Site/Ruins
London Mithraeum
It’s so beautifully produced that you won’t realize until you’re back out on the street how slight the whole thing was. In the middle 3rd century, Romans built a temple to Mithraism, a male-only religion now lost to time. The foundational ruins of the temple were lost, too, until…The City
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Aquarium
London Sea Life Aquarium
Sure, it’s fun to see sharks under your feet and penguins on a faux floe. But sorry Charlie, the truth is there is nothing here you can’t see at other fish zoos. There are more than three dozen other locations worldwide by Sea Life, the McDonald’s of fish tanks, and this one feels as… -
Museum
London Transport Museum
Try to imagine London without its wheeled icons: the red double-decker bus, the black taxi, and the Tube, which are the best of their kind in the world and a draw for visitors. In Covent Garden’s soaring cast-iron-and-glass 1871 flower-selling hall (Eliza Doolittle would have bought… -
Tour
London Walks
Undoubtedly one of the city’s best tourist services, London Walks’ tour list is inspiring. On weekdays, there are often more than a dozen choices, and on weekends, nearly 25, which means that if you ever find yourself with a few hours to kill, you can always find instant occupation.… -
Zoo/Aquarium
London Zoo
When London Zoo -- one of the finest big city zoos in the world -- was founded back in 1820, it was purely for the purposes of scientific research. The public were only admitted, almost as an afterthought, a couple of decades later. They clearly liked what they saw, and soon a trip…North London
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Museum
Madame Tussauds
Have you ever heard of Katrina Kaif? Zoe and Alfie? Jessica Ennis-Hill? If your answer is no, you won’t get much joy out of this ferociously priced, miserably crowded wax trap. The execution of its doppelgangers, which you can usually touch (Harry is behind ropes, girls), is… -
Religious
Mandir
The breathtakingly pretty, many-pinnacled Mandir in northwest London is the largest Hindu temple outside of India. This fabulous concoction was completed in 1995, after some 5,500 tons of Italian Carrara marble and Bulgarian limestone were carved in India and assembled by volunteers.… -
Historic Site
Maritime Greenwich
Situated on a picturesque slope of the south bank of the Thames, Greenwich once was home to Greenwich Palace, where both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I were born. The last part of the palace to be constructed, The Queen’s House (1616, Inigo Jones, still stands, but most of the grounds… -
Tour
Marx Walks
It’s often forgotten that Karl Marx fled Prussia and lived in the U.K. for nearly 40 years, where dire conditions shaped everything he wrote, taught, and thought about revolution and the rights of man, which other leaders seized upon for their own uses. This excursion, fine for… -
Tour
MegaSightseeing.com
Spawned by cheap coach line Megabus, it’s cheap and cheerful: as little as £1 when booked ahead. For that, you get a one-way, 2-hr. loop around town on an open-topped blue double-decker with three stops (Park Lane, the London Eye, and the Tower of London). Narration is recorded—one… -
Tour
Muggle Tours
Although it’s based on a mass-appeal trend, it’s worthy. This well-assembled tour dispenses reams of Harry Potter trivia, from the books to the movies and locations from the movies. Groups of 20 start at London Bridge, near Borough Market, and wind up in Leicester Square. Because so… -
Museum
Museum of London Docklands
If you dig the head-spinning Museum of London, here’s a similarly lush, ultimately redeeming treatment to life in London’s East End. Many of the city’s other museums would have you believe that London was always a genteel bastion of graceful gentlemen. This place tells the real story… -
Museum
Museum of the Home
This investigation of the home was installed in a place constructed for people who didn’t have one: a U-shaped line of 14 dignified brick houses built in 1714 to house indigent ironworkers. Inside is a walk-through of the history of typical dwellings, which the museum calls Rooms… -
Museum
National Gallery
When the bells of St Martin-in-the-Fields peal each morning at 10am, the doors promptly open on one of the world’s greatest artistic fireworks shows—each famous picture follows an equally famous picture. Few museums can compete with the strongest, widest collection of Western… -
Museum
Natural History Museum
The commodious NHM, which attracts 4.4 million visitors a year (mostly families, and by far the most of the three big South Ken museums), is good for several hours’ wander, but you’ll have plenty of company. In all ways, it’s a zoo. You get a hall of dinosaur bones, a taxidermist’s… -
Landmark
No 10 Downing Street
A snatched glimpse through the railings at the end of the street is as much as you're likely to see these days of the country's most powerful address — No. 10 Downing Street, home of whoever happens to be the current prime minister. The second-most powerful person in the land, the…Southwest London
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Historic Site
Old Royal Naval College
This 1696 neoclassical complex, primarily the work of Christopher Wren, is mostly used by a university but offers two main sights: the Painted Hall and the Chapel. The Painted Hall, fresh off a major conservation, is adorned with 40,000 square feet of incredible paintings by Sir… -
Museum
Postal Museum & Mail Rail
In an industrial patch of Central London no tourist usually wanders into, you can now find two new, well-done attractions in one, and both are perfect for kids. The first holds exhibits about the social history of mail delivery in the country, from origins (Henry VIII was once the… -
Park/Garden
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
A dearth of trees and a usual bracing wind make this feel a lot like a theme park in which all of the attractions were torn down. Locals mostly love it because they remember when it was an industrial wasteland. The Pringle-shaped Aquatics Centre and Velopark make for striking… -
Museum
Ragged School Museum
The Victorians weren’t very nice people. Although in 1883, as many as 60,000 families lived in a single room, church-run schools still charged a penny a week and had a dress code, and the many kids who couldn’t manage ended up on the street. Thomas Bernardo was headed for missionary…East London
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Park/Garden
Richmond Park
The biggest and wildest park, if you have the time, is 30 minutes from Waterloo station, in Richmond, which was once a distinct village but has been absorbed and yuppified by the greater city. It’s more than a park—it’s a habitat: 2,500 deliriously green acres brimming with herds of… -
Tour
Routemaster Heritage Bus 15
Just outside St. Paul's cathedral, you can board one of the great moving icons of London, the number 15, a shiny red, open-backed Routemaster bus, which runs every 15 minutes as part of a heritage service. It is one of only two remaining London bus lines where old-fashioned… -
Museum
Royal Academy of Arts
Britain’s first art school, founded in 1768, relocated here to Burlington House, a Palladian-style mansion away from Piccadilly’s fumes (plus a few bars and an exclusive restaurant, The Keeper’s House). In 2018, it completed a renovation that connected an adjacent building, linked it… -
Landmark
Royal Albert Hall
In addition to being a great concert venue, the Royal Albert is also one of London’s great landmarks, and you don’t need a seat to enjoy it. Conceived by Queen Victoria’s husband Albert, it opened in 1871, a decade after his death from typhoid (Vicky was so distraught that she didn’t… -
Park/Garden
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The 121-hectare (300-acre) gardens, with many expansive lawns, earned a spot on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2003. As you’d expect, the glasshouses are world-class—there are 2,000 varieties of plants, many descended from specimens collected in the earliest days of… -
Historic Site
Royal Hospital Chelsea
Next to the National Army Museum, this grand old institution was founded as a home for veterans by King Charles II in 1682, and completed by Sir Christopher Wren 10 years later. It consists of a main block containing the hall and the chapel, flanked by east and west wings. There's…Southwest London
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Saatchi Gallery
This landmark, the only resident in the three-story, 6,500-sq.-m (70,000-sq.-ft.) former Royal Military Asylum building (1801) in Chelsea, used to be unmissable for avant garde contemporary art; now exhibitions are too often shills for luxury brands (Hermés, Rolls-Royce). Only commit… -
Historic Site
Samuel Johnson's House
Poet, lexicographer, critic, biographer, and above all, quotation machine, Dr. Samuel Johnson lived in this Queen Anne house between 1748 and 1759. It was here that he compiled his famous dictionary -- not as is commonly supposed the first of the English language, but certainly the…The City
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Museum
Science Museum
It’s really two museums, one old-fashioned and one progressive, that have been grafted together and embellished with a few tacky gimmicks and blatant corporate propaganda, but it’s a firm family favorite, attracting 3.4 million visits in 2015. So many interesting exhibitions are on… -
Zoo/Aquarium
Sealife London Aquarium
One of the largest aquariums in Europe, this South Bank attraction boasts 350 species of fish, including everything from British freshwater species to brightly colored tropical clownfish. The tanks are ordered geographically, so you can observe the bountiful riches of the coral reefs…South Bank
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Serpentine Gallery
Just southwest of the Serpentine , from which it takes its name, Kensington Gardens' Serpentine Gallery is one of London's leading contemporary art spaces -- not to mention a good place to retire to should the British weather curtail your plans for a day of sunbathing or boating. It…West London
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Landmark
Shakespeare’s Globe
A painstaking re-creation of an outdoor Elizabethan theater, it tends to bewitch fans of history and theater, but it can put all others to sleep. Arrive early since the timed 40-min. tours fill up. Get a bad time, and you’ll be stuck waiting for far too long in the UnderGlobe, a… -
Museum
Sir John Soane’s Museum
A doorman will politely request that you deposit your bags. With good reason: These two town houses on the north side of Lincoln’s Inn Fields (fresh off a £7-million expansion that opened up closed rooms) are so overloaded with furniture, paintings, architectural decoration, and… -
Landmark
Somerset House
Until around a decade ago, most of this grand riverside building was closed to the public. Since its construction in the late 18th century as a replacement for an earlier Tudor palace, it had served primarily as offices, providing working space for a variety of government…West End
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Religious Site
Southwark Cathedral
The courtyard at Southwark Cathedral, set back from the Thames, is a particularly welcoming patch of green in the built-up environs of London Bridge. There's been a church on this site since the 7th century. The current version is medieval (with a few 19th-century additions), and was…South Bank
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Landmark
Speakers’ Corner
Near the northeast corner of Hyde Park, where Edgware Road meets Bayswater Road, Londoners of yore congregated for public executions. By the early 1800s, the gathered crowds were jeering at hangings instead of cheering them, and the locale’s reputation for public outcry became… -
Historic home
Spencer House
Currently owned by Rothschilds banking company, which hosts diplomatic and corporate events here, this lush home is the only surviving London mansion with an intact 18th-century interior; tours let you see the ground floor and a portion of the first floor. The house was begun in 1756… -
Park/Garden
St James’s Park
The easternmost segment of the contiguous quartet of parks that runs east from Kensington Gardens, it was laid out by James I in 1603 and Buckingham Palace redeveloped it a century later. Its little pond, St James’s Park Lake, hosts ducks and other waterfowl. The Russian ambassador… -
Park/Garden
St. James's Park
With its scenic central pond, tended flowerbeds, and picnic-friendly lawns, it's difficult to believe that this Royal Park was once a swamp near a leper colony. Today it's as elegant a green space as London can muster, and one of the best places in the center of town to watch…West End
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Religious Site
St. James's Piccadilly
This late 17th-century Anglican church doesn't so much provide a respite from the bustle and commerce of Piccadilly, as form a vibrant part of it. A market is held in the churchyard every day except Monday (it's antiques on Tuesday and general arts and crafts from Wednesday to…West End
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Religious Site
St. Martin-in-the-Fields
Although its setting at the edge of one of London's busiest squares makes the church's name seem almost willfully ironic, St. Martin's was indeed surrounded by fields when first founded in the 13th century. But these had already long gone by the time the current grand 18th-century…West End
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Historic Site
St. Mary-le-Bow
To be a "true Cockney," you must be born within the sound of St. Mary-le-Bow's (otherwise known as the "Cockney Church") bells. First erected around 1,000 years' ago, it was rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire and again, in the style of Wren, after World War II. -
Religious Site
St. Paul's Church
A much more modest affair than the great cathedral that shares its name, this 17th-century Inigo-Jones-designed building occupies the western edge of Covent Garden. It's often referred to as the "actors' church," because of its long association with the local theatrical community --…West End
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Historic Site
St. Paul’s Cathedral
The old St Paul’s, with its magnificent spire, stood on this site for 600 years before it was claimed by 1666’s Great Fire. It was so beloved that when Sir Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild London’s greatest house of worship, he tried to outdo the original, devoting 40… -
Tour
Take Walks
This company operates in several cities worldwide, but in London, it shines via special access and innovative offerings that make for an intelligent replacement for tour buses. These include the exploration of Parliament, which go into spaces most groups can’t, and the walk of famous… -
Museum
Tate Britain
Tourists often wonder about the difference between the Tate Modern and this, its sister upstream on the Thames. Well, the Modern is for contemporary art of any origin, and the Britain, besides its calmer and more civilized affect, is mostly for British-made art made after 1500. Its… -
Museum
Tate Modern
In 2000, Bankside’s most reviled eyesore, a bleak power station—steely and cavernous, a cathedral to the soulless machinery of industry—was ingeniously converted into the national contemporary art collection of pieces made since 1900. Now it’s a temple to the machinery of the art… -
Landmark
Thames Barrier Visitor Centre
People forget that London floods. Parliament has been under water, and in 1953, surges killed 307 people in the U.K. At least, London used to flood. The Thames Barrier is the city’s primary defense against it, comprised of ten 20m (66-ft.) steel-and-concrete gates that can be raised… -
Tour
Thames Clippers
Thames Clippers runs a year-round fleet of catamarans between the London Eye Pier and North Greenwich Pier, stopping at Embankment Pier, Bankside Pier, Tower Millennium Pier, Canary Wharf Pier, and Greenwich Pier, among others. Services run every 20 to 30 minutes for most of the day;… -
Historic Site
The Banqueting House
The storied palace of Whitehall was home to some of England’s flashiest characters, including Henry VIII. In a wrenching loss for art and architecture—to say nothing of bowling heritage, since Henry had an alley installed—it burned down in 1698. But if you had to pick just one room… -
Historic home
The Benjamin Franklin House
The only surviving residence of the portly politico is a sort of architectural preserve. Shocker: Franklin lived in this boarding house by the Thames for nearly 16 years, without his wife—he was here for the Boston Tea Party, the enactment of the Stamp Act, and his invention of the… -
Museum
The British Library
One of the planet’s most precious collections of books, maps, and manuscripts, the British Library holds approximately 150 million items and adds 3 million each year, so when it puts the cream (about 200 items) on display, you will be positively astounded. The Treasures of the… -
Museum
The British Museum
Founded in 1753 and first opened in 1759 in a converted mansion, the British Museum is as much a monument to great craftsmanship as it is to the piracy carried out by 18th- and 19th-century Englishmen who, on their trips abroad, plundered whatever goodies they could find and then… -
Museum
The Charles Dickens Museum
Although Dickens moved around a lot, his last remaining London home, which he rented for £80 a year when he was 30, is now his testament. A museum since 1925, and restored to a period look in 2012 (when the attic and kitchen were opened for the first time), these four floors don’t… -
Historic Site
The Charterhouse
Once you enter this oncepowerful vestige of Medieval England, opened in 2017 after being off limits since 1348, it’s hard to believe you’re still in Modern London. These ancient collected quads and halls have been a monastery, mansion, school, hospital, home for the poor, and burial… -
Tour
The Classic Tour
If you don’t have all day, this 75-min. whirlwind of the major sites gives you as much style as possible in a limited window of time: You ride on a modified double-decker 1960s Routemaster bus— for decades the standard for commuting Londoners—as a somewhat hammy guide gives you the… -
Museum
The Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery
Art historians consider it one of the most prestigious collections on Earth, but alas, you cannot visit this year. It’s undergoing a £50-million renovation until 2020. Somerset House (www.somersethouse.org.uk), its home, was once a naval complex and later was where Londoners came to… -
Museum
The Design Museum
Newly relocated to a cavernous landmark modernist building in Kensington, the Design Museum is where you’ll find the cool kids of current style and architecture waxing esoteric about their thought processes in themed exhibitions. The top floor balcony celebrates everyday objects… -
Museum
The Fan Museum
This is as niche as museums get, but it’s classy and it truly has the best of what it claims to honor—some 4,000 artful specimens, many of them precious, going back a millennium. Fans were necessities in the centuries before air-conditioning, when flames generated constant heat and…Nearby Places
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Museum
The Foundling Museum
Small but devastating, it tracks the history of the Foundling Hospital, which took in thousands of orphans between 1739 and 1953. This was a period in which kids were treated like rubbish: For example, in 1802 a law was passed limiting the time children could work in mills—to 12… -
Historic home
The Freud Museum
In a hilly Hampstead neighborhood of spacious brick-faced homes, Sigmund Freud, having just fled the Nazis, spent the last year of his life here. His daughter Anna, herself a noted figure in psychoanalysis, lived on in the same house until her own death in 1982. Sigmund’s study and… -
Museum
The Golden Hinde
Tucked into one of the few remaining slips that enabled ships to unload in Southwark (another is Hay’s Galleria, downstream by the HMS Belfast, now a boutique shopping area), is a 1:1 replica of Sir Francis Drake’s square-rigged Tudor galleon, which circumnavigated the world from… -
Park/Garden
The Green Park
The area south of Mayfair between Hyde Park and St James’s Park was once a burial ground for lepers, but now is a simple expanse of meadows and light copses of trees. It doesn’t have much to offer except pastoral views, and most visitors find themselves crossing it instead of… -
Museum
The Household Cavalry Museum
Along Whitehall, where guards try mightily to ignore buffoonish tourists who try to get them to crack a smile, this tiny museum pays soporific tribute to the martial ceremonies of the Queen’s Life Guard. You might see troopers groom horses through a glass partition or regard cases of… -
Museum
The King's Gallery
Every monarch inherits the mother of all art collections—one million items including 7,000 paintings, 30,000 watercolors, and half a million prints, to say nothing of sculpture, furniture, and jewelry—but it was the late Queen Elizabeth who decided to show many of them to the public.… -
Landmark
The London Dungeon
Avoid it like the plague. This sophomoric gross-out, with locations in 10 cities, sops up overflow from the London Eye. Costumed actors bray at you as you’re led through darkness from set to set, each representing a period of English history as a 13-year-old boy might define them.… -
Museum
The London Museum
Important note: The Museum of London is closed until 2026 for relocation.This repository’s miraculous cache of rarities from everyday life has been going in one form or another since 1823 and its collection would do credit to the greatest national museums of any land. But in December… -
Zoo
The London Zoo
Yes, it has an esteemed history going back to 1828 as a menagerie for members of the Zoological Society of London. It’s just that it’s ultimately only a zoo, and a smallish one at that, with few large animals. Sumatran tigers, baby penguins, and a newly renovated monkey aviary are… -
Landmark
The Monument
Back in 1677, it was the tallest thing (61m/200 ft.) in town and it made people gasp. Today, it’s hemmed in by personality-free glass buildings. The Monument was erected to commemorate the destruction of the city by the Great Fire in 1666. Its height also represents the distance east… -
Museum
The National Maritime Museum
Don’t be put off by the topic. The world’s largest maritime museum is extraordinarily kid-friendly, brimming with buzzy set-piece toys such as steering simulators and a giant play area that looks like a world map. So it’s not as, ahem, dry as most would expect. Because so much of… -
Museum
The National Portrait Gallery
On paper, the concept of a portrait gallery sounds like Field Trip Hell. But actually, you’ll be surprised how the best works capture the sparkle of life behind these charismatic shapers of history. Here, the names from your high school textbook flower into flesh-and-blood people,… -
Museum
The Old Operating Theatre Museum & Herb Garret
In the mid-1800s, before general anesthesia, St Thomas’ Hospital used the attic of a neighboring church as a space where surgeries, mostly amputations and other quick-hit procedures, could be conducted where students could watch but other patients couldn’t hear the agonized screams.… -
Tour
The Original Tour London Sightseeing
Tours, conducted on open-top coaches, are covered for 24 hr. with a ticket, so you can go around five times if your feet hurt. You can catch the bus (three interconnecting circuits that supply solid coverage of the main sights) at any of the 80-odd stops on the routes, but most… -
Museum
The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archeology
Britain made a lot of mistakes when it comes to Egypt, and not just with Suez. Almost as soon as “explorers” could break into ancient tombs, they would lose track of thousands of things they discovered or leave poor information about how they found it. Since the 1800s, University… -
Historic home
The Queen’s House
Viewed from the river and framed by the newer Old Royal Naval College, the Queen’s House enjoys as elegant a setting as a building could wish for. Inigo Jones took 22 years to come up with a then-revolutionary Palladian-style summer retreat for Charles I’s wife, Henrietta Maria. It… -
Park/Garden
The Regent’s Park
It’s the people’s park (195 hectares/487 acres), best for sunning, strolling grassy expanses—it can take a half-hour to cross it—and darting into the bohemian neighborhoods that fringe it. Once a hunting ground, it was very nearly turned into a development for the buddies of Prince… -
Museum
The Royal London Hospital Museum
The Royal London Hospital has been central to London life since 1740, when it was established—supported by donations—to help the desperate condition of the poor. That history has put a lot of cool material in its hodgepodge archive, including letters by unfairly forgotten hero nurse…East London
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Museum
The Royal Mews
Most visitors pop in to what amounts to the queen’s garage in about 15 minutes. You’ll see stables fit for a you-know-who (they barely smell at all) and Her Majesty’s Rolls-Royces (many of which, at Prince Charles’s behest, run on green fuels). You’ll also overdose on learning about… -
Historic Site
The Royal Observatory
Commanding a terrific view from the hill in Greenwich Park, with the towers of Canary Wharf spread out in its lap, the Observatory is yet another creation of Christopher Wren (from 1675), and the place from which time zones emanate. Historically the Empire’s most important site for… -
Museum
The Sherlock Holmes Museum
Set up a house as if it were really the home of a fictional character, prop up some shabby mannequins, and then charge tourists to see it. That’s the scheme and it has worked for years, so well there’s often a line and it recently hiked prices 50 percent. -
Church
The Temple Church
For 900 years, this remarkable little sanctum has been a cradle for legal and religious liberties around the world. The oldest part, the Round, was built in 1185 by Knights from the Crusades. Back then, they were considered the good guys, so when befuddled King John ran afoul of his… -
Historic Site
The Tower of London
Every morning at 9am, a military guard escorts the keys to the Tower and its huge wooden doors yawn open again for outsiders. It’s the most famous castle in the world, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a symbol of not just London, but also of a millennium of English history. Less a… -
Museum
The Wallace Collection
A little bit V&A (decorative arts and furniture), a little bit National Gallery (paintings and portraits), but with a boutique French flair, the Wallace celebrates fine living in an extravagant 19th-century city mansion, the former Hertford House. Rooms drip with chandeliers,… -
The Performing Arts
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Drury Lane is one of London's oldest and most prestigious theatres, crammed with tradition -- not all of it respectable. This, the fourth theatre on the site, dates from 1812; the first was built in 1663. Nearly every star of London theatre has taken the stage here at some time. It… -
Landmark
Tower Bridge Exhibition
In the late 1800s, there was no bolder display of a country’s technological prowess than a spectacular bridge; consider the Brooklyn Bridge or the Firth of Forth Bridge. This exhibit celebrates one such triumph, Tower Bridge. You may wonder: How did such a monument survive the Blitz… -
Landmark
Tower of London
On a sunny summer afternoon, the Tower, one of the best-preserved medieval castles in the world, can be a cheerful buzzing place, filled with happy swarms of tourists being entertained by costumed actors and historically themed events. At such times it can be easy to forget that…The City
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Landmark
Trafalgar Square
London is a city full of landmark squares. Without a doubt, the best known is Trafalgar Square, which has been significantly remodeled over the past decade, with parts pedestrianized and most of the former swarms of pigeons sent on their way. It boasts numerous landmarks, including… -
Tour
Unseen Tours
London is more than kings, art, and canned tall tales. See it from a raw angle, and plumb its modern issues, on a walk guided by homeless and former homeless residents. Walks go on five different routes—around Shoreditch, Brick Lane, Covent Garden, London Bridge, and Camden/Primrose… -
Tour
Up at the O2
Built on a toxic peninsula wasteland on the Thames in the 1990s, the Millennium Dome was conceived as a showplace for what turned out to be a poorly attended turn-of-the-century exposition. It’s supported by a dozen 100m-tall yellow towers, one for each hour on the clock, in honor of… -
Museum
V&A
If it was pretty, well-made, or valuable, the British Empire wanted to possess it. As a decorative arts repository, the Victoria & Albert, occupying a haughty High Victorian edifice (it was endowed by the proceeds from the first world’s fair, the Great Exhibition of 1851), is… -
Park/Garden
Victoria Park
This was the largest and finest open space in East London when it opened in 1845, the capital’s first public park. Bordered by canals and divided in two by Grove Road, it covers an area of just under 87 hectares (220 acres) and contains two lakes, formal gardens, sports facilities,… -
Observatory
View from the Shard
In 2013 the Shard, the tallest building in Europe (but not even in the top 50 worldwide), added an extremely expensive observation deck with timed tickets—sunset sells out ahead of time, but if you come during the day, you can come back after dark on the same ticket. The jagged… -
Museum
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London—The Making of Harry Potter
London’s most popular new family outing is like a DVD extra feature that comes to life; it’s a full day out, and as gripping as the fine museums can be. On the very lot where the eight movies of history’s most successful film franchise were shot, it seems that every set, prop,… -
Museum
Wellcome Collection
Once upon a time, there was a very strange Midwestern pharmacist named Henry Wellcome. Henry got very wealthy and developed a taste for hoarding medical oddities, such as Napoleon’s toothbrush, hair from George III, oil paintings of childbirth, and Japanese sex toys. When he died, he… -
Landmark
Wellington Arch
When it was finished in 1830, it was intended as a triumphal entry to central London (Marble Arch, at Hyde Park’s northern corner, was originally Queen Victoria’s triumphal entry to Buckingham Palace). Now it’s the equivalent of a shrug. Minor anecdotes of its relocation and the… -
Historic Site
Westminster Abbey
If you have to pick just one church to see in London—nay, one church in the entire world—this is the one. The echoes of history are mind-blowing: The current building dates from the 1200s, but it was part of a monastery dating to at least 960. Every English monarch since 1066 has… -
Religious Site
Westminster Cathedral
This spectacular brick-and-stone church (1903) is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church in Britain. Adorned in retro-Byzantine style, it's massive: 108m (354 ft.) long and 47m (154 ft.) wide. One hundred different marbles compose the richly decorated interior, and mosaics…Southwest London
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Whitechapel Gallery
Since 1901, the Whitechapel has reliably led the development of new artistic movements. In 1939, it brought to Britain Picasso’s newly painted Guernica as part of an exhibition protesting the then-current Spanish Civil War. Later it introduced Jackson Pollock’s abstracts. There’s… -
Park/Garden
Wimbledon Common
It's a little way out from London's center, but Wimbledon easily boasts a day's worth of attractions, making it well worth the trip. From Wimbledon Tube/train/tram station, you emerge into a rather generic stretch of suburban high street. Turn right out of the station, however, and… -
Museum
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum
Most of us can’t get into the tournament (see “Netting Wimbledon Tickets,”), and there’s an 11-year waiting list to become a member to the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, the official name of Wimbledon. But for us, there’s still something worth seeing the rest of the… -
Museum
Young V&A
The awesome V&A Museum chronicles kid-dom through the ages in this location (once called the Museum of Childhood), pulling from a considerable archive of toys, clothing, dollhouses, books, teddy bears, and games. Objects are placed at kids’ eye-level with simplified descriptions.… -
Landmark
“Eros”
When he finished his legendary fountain in the middle of Piccadilly Circus in 1893, sculptor Alfred Gilbert thought the playful maritime-themed sculptures on its base would be celebrated. Audiences have minds of their own. They responded to the archer god on top. But they even got…
London Shopping
Battle Oxford Street's crowds for high-street fashion at Top Shop, buy designer labels on Bond Street and pick up a smart tailored suit from Richard James on Savile Row. Find chic boutiques in peaceful Chelsea. Camden Passage is best for antiques on Wednesday, Saturday is saved for gourmet Borough Market, and u ...
Battle Oxford Street's crowds for high-street fashion at Top Shop, buy designer labels on Bond Street and pick up a smart tailored suit from Richard James on Savile Row. Find chic boutiques in peaceful Chelsea. Camden Passage is best for antiques on Wednesday, Saturday is saved for gourmet Borough Market, and up-and-coming designers sell new fashions in Spitalfields Market on Sunday. Most shops open Monday to Saturday 9.30am-6.30pm (until 8pm Thursday) and Sunday 11am-5pm.
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Food
A. Gold
English food has been a punchline for so long that even the British were starting to believe the reputation. A. Gold looks longstanding because of its vintage fittings, but it’s actually a newcomer. It peddles country comfort food that you can’t even find at the English… -
Antiques
After Noah
More like an upscale junk shop with restoration chops, it makes its name on vintage toys, crockery, bathroom fittings, cheerful celluloid jewelry, and wooden desks and bedsteads (sadly, those are too large to get home). -
Clothing
Albam
Unusually, this men’s boutique seeks out well-constructed, honest clothing (most made in the U.K.), but doesn’t mark it up by insane factors. Although its prices are similar to those of high-casual chain stores, the store has a following among guys because its clothing lasts so long. -
Clothing
Arket
Scandinavian-simple, ethically sourced, it aims a little higher in style and substance than its corporate cousin, H&M. This clean-and-casual newcomer does homewares, too. -
Clothing
Atika
Atika, once called Blitz, has crowned itself Europe’s largest vintage shop, a boast I cannot authenticate, but it’s true that within its 6,000 square feet, you’ll be spoilt for choice. -
Antiques
Bermondsey Market
The earlier you come, the more you’ll find at this weekly event that yields some of the city’s broadest inventory (a trove of Edwardian and Victorian ephemera), plus some stuff that probably fell off a lorry. It kicks off at 6am Fridays, and is history by 2pm. -
Berwick Street Market
Good for: The last daily street market in the West End, dating to the crowded days of the 1840s, is now being produced by developers. Gone are the Cockney calls, in are the overpriced baked goods and Apple Pay—convenient, but false. Also check out: The gourmand-pleasing specialty… -
Clothing
Beyond Retro
A one-stop for classic items (jeans, jackets, boots, and other casuals), it’s a haunt of the poor and stylish, who can put together an off-margin look without overdrawing. There’s a branch in Soho (58–59 Great Marlborough St., W1; same phone; Tube: Oxford Circus), but this is the… -
Antiques
Blue Mantle
For dream renovations back home, the largest antique fireplace showroom in the world salvages the good stuff with warm English touches when developers knock down classic buildings—which is happening more than we like. -
Perfume & Cosmetics
Boots
Do I dare suggest you patronize the ubiquitous High Street brand that has devoured all other drugstores? Yes, I certainly do. Something like 80 percent of fragrance sales in the U.K. are conducted over Boots’ counters, and the chain’s endless 3-for-2 promotions almost always include… -
Brick Lane Markets
Good for: The Vintage Market (Thurs–Sun, clothes), Backyard Market (Sat–Sun, crafts), Boiler House (Sat–Sun, food), and Tea Rooms (Sat–Sun, antiques). As you can see, Sundays are a banner day: UpMarket for trendy fashions, antiques, food stalls, and Spitalfields Market are also in… -
Brixton Market
Good for: Exotic produce, spices, halal meats, music from soul to reggae and hip-hop. Also check out: Brixton Village, stalls selling African and Caribbean clothes, foods, and housewares. Check its calendar for the theme of the day. -
Clothing
Browns
Some 100 designers, all of them for higher-end purchasers, fill these five connected shops at the top of Mayfair. For 4 decades, it’s been a marketplace for upscale women, but increasingly, it’s pitching to a younger and more casual set. -
Clothing
Burberry Factory Outlet
Although its East London location is charmless, light on men’s, and somewhat laborious to reach, it’s worth it for overstock prices that dip 30 to 70 percent lower than what’s on sale in the brand’s high-end stores—still expensive, but a lot less than the usual damage. -
Camden Markets
Good for: A rambling warren of 700 stalls for vintage wear, sunglasses, leather, goth gear, and fast foods, partly in a canal-side setting, and favored by tourists. Between the Lock Market, the Market Hall, the Horse Stables, and Camden Lock Village across the street, the crowds are… -
Antiques
Camden Passage
Plenty of tourists swing through the booths, so bargains aren’t always easy to come by. Still, shimmering examples of china, silverware, cocktail shakers, military medals, coins, and countless other hand-me-downs overflow the cases. Despite the name, it’s in Islington. -
Chapel Market
Good for: Cheese, dumplings, meat pies, toiletries—a real catch-all working-class market that actually feeds workaday Londoners. Also check out: The antithesis of a market, the gleaming Angel Central mall, dominates the eastern end of the street; it’s New London versus Old London. -
Housewares
Conran Shop
Gorgeous, contemporary, smartly selected pieces made Conran’s name in housewares; its flagship store is a master class in elegant urban furnishings and desirable home accessories. Its building is just as worthy: the 1911 Art Nouveau headquarters of the Michelin Tire Company, coated… -
Clothing
Cordings
Britain’s top manufacturer of Wellington boots, which were invented for the first Duke of Wellington, can be found at this well-heeled and very English emporium of field clothing, suits, waistcoats, tweeds, and knitwear that cost a pretty pound. It has traded here since 1877. -
Food
Cundall and Garcia
English food has been a punch line for so long that even the British were starting to believe the reputation. A. Gold looks longstanding because of its vintage fittings, but is actually a newcomer. It peddles country comfort food that you can’t even find at the English supermarkets… -
Food
Dark Sugars Cocoa House
Sublime handmade chocolates and truffles (gin and lime, stem ginger and honey, and more) sourced from a family farm in Ghana are the addictive wares at this Brick Lane success story. The golden “pearl” orbs containing smooth hazelnut nougat are delicate and divine, and the shop makes… -
Books
Daunt Books
Lined with oak galleries and lit by a long, central skylight, Daunt prides itself on its travel collection, which is located down a groaning wooden staircase. Everything is arranged by the country it’s about—Third Reich histories under Germany, Tolstoy under Russia. It’s no slouch in… -
Clothing
Diverse
Diverse spotlights white-hot labels, many of which go on to greatness. Clothes tend toward arty, which is to say interesting but not irresistible. -
Clothing
Dover Street Market
A high-minded multidesigner concept, heavy on pretentious industrial architecture, is supported by couture (all of Comme des Garçons’ lines) fused with multimedia art installations. -
Clothing
Eleven Paris
After 16 stores in France and 8 in Paris, in 2013 the French rocker brand hit London, bringing with it its smart-aleck tees and natty casual wear with a sophisticated urban edge. Next target: the U.S.A. -
Department store
Fortnum & Mason
So venerable is this vendor, which began life in 1707 as the candle maker to Queen Anne, that in 1922 archaeologist Howard Carter used empty F&M boxes to tote home the treasures of King Tut’s tomb. The quintessentially British, modestly sized department store, which has a focus… -
Books
Foyles
In business since 1903, this institution has thus far navigated the onslaught of high rents and low readership. After the 1999 death of its off-putting and tyrannical owner, the store was once again passed to the next generation of the Foyle family, and it finally caught up with… -
Clothing
Gap
Don’t laugh: For some reason, its inventory is different from the baggy junk clothing it offers in North America. It’s still affordable and non-challenging, but it fits better. It’s worth a look. -
Antiques
Grays
Not the place to go if you’re looking for the lowest deal (it’s in Mayfair), but it’s definitely a source for variety. There are some 200 vendors, many experts registered in the official antiques societies, split among two buildings, selling everything from Victorian jewelry to toys… -
Greenwich Markets
Good for: 40 stalls of antiques (Tues, Thurs, Fri), plus crafts, honeys, breads, and cakes under a historic market roof. Also check out: The cafes lining the covered Craft Market. -
Clothing
H&M
The Swedish chain is an international byword for flashy and of-the-moment clothing bargains. It’s where the fashion conscious can find astoundingly cheap outfits—they won’t last more than a season or two, of course. This main store, on the corner of Oxford and Regent streets, has the… -
Housewares
Habitat
Consider it not for furniture but for its cheerful linens, kitchen tools, and bath fabrics. In pursuit of this department store’s mandate (set by founder Sir Terence Conran) to bring high design to the masses at affordable prices, A-list artists (Tracey Emin, Manolo Blahnik) have… -
Toys
Hamleys
Remote-control helicopters in your hair, magicians at your elbow, rugrats at your knees. This high-octane toy store is run by a gaggle of cheerful young floor staff, themselves kids at heart, who giddily demonstrate the latest toys. The experience will send you into sensory overload.… -
Department store
Harrods
Now owned by the Qatari royal family’s financiers, a miraculous holdover from the golden age of shopping has been retooled into a bombastic mall appealing largely to free-spending out-of-towners. Few London-born people bother with it, yet it thrives, proof of just how awash with… -
Department store
Harvey Nichols
The shallow anti-heroines Patsy and Edina of Absolutely Fabulous spoke of it with the same breathless reverence most people reserve for deities. You’ll need the income of a god to afford a single thread of Harvey Nick’s women’s and men’s fashions, and although the British-owned store… -
Books
Hatchards
Although the Duke of Wellington and the queen herself are counted among its customers, Hatchards, the oldest bookseller in the city (1797), is noted for its signed first editions, as well as for its famous shoplifters: An 18-year-old Noël Coward was apprehended as he stuffed a… -
Housewares
Heal’s
A stalwart since 1810, but not stuffy like one, Heal’s (like Liberty), was instrumental in forwarding the Arts and Crafts movement in England. Its furniture and housewares, which are usually defined by chic shapes, have proven so influential that in 1978 it donated its archive to the… -
Clothing
Herbert Johnson
This hatter, in business since 1889, made Indiana Jones’ famous fedora, called The Poet Hat, for Steven Spielberg in 1980. That’s so awesome, not much more needs to be said, except that it can make a cool hat for you, too. -
Food
Hope and Greenwood
A contemporary evocation of an old-fashioned confectionery, with striped wallpaper, a back wall gleaming with glass jars filled with goodies, and wooden tables piled high with addictive soft Terrific Toffees, Salt Caramel Popcorn, boiled sweets, and lavender-and-geranium truffles. -
Books
Housmans Booksellers
London supports a vibrant protest community—don’t forget this is where Karl Marx fashioned his views that changed the world—and since 1945, the city’s preeminent store for radical books has been Housmans. You’re not going to find most of the stuff here published back home. Wednesdays… -
Books
Ian Allan
This rather masculine boutique is big on trains (a British obsession), wars (a British specialty), and history (a British necessity). -
Clothing
Jack Wills
"Fabulously British,” it brags, but this line still comes off a bit like American Eagle Goes to Eton. It goes for a sporty prep school look with rugby shirts, tweeds, cute striped trunks, and brightly hued jumpers. It has expanded internationally, but here’s the three-story flagship. -
Clothing
James Smith & Sons
This shop out of time, hung from the outside with old-style high Victorian lettering, is rattling the rafters inside with handmade umbrellas and walking sticks. That’s all it makes, as it has done since 1830, so you can imagine the wonders: handles of hazelnut wood, ebony, buffalo… -
Clothing
Jimmy Choo
The legendary Malaysian cobbler started his luxe line in 1996 with a fashion editor from the British edition of Vogue. In London, his home base, he owns a three-level flagship store. -
Department store
John Lewis
Every Englishman knows that if you want a sound deal,you go here, where there’s a price guarantee; it employs an army of people to scout for the lowest prices in the area, which it matches. That may sound like the gimmick of a low-rent wannabe, but John Lewis, established in 1864, is… -
Clothing
Joules
Tongue-in-cheek, summery British clothing in whites and brights for a jaunty day out (especially for women). -
Antiques
LASSCo
From stained glass to paneling and faucets to wood flooring, you’ll get an incredible selection of fittings and furniture rescued from museums, churches, pubs, and homes at LASSCo (the London Architectural Salvage and Supply Company). -
Housewares
Labour and Wait
The most expensive dustpan you’ll ever own will be the envy of dirt everywhere. This store’s gorgeously designed kitchenware, bathroom items, gardening tools, and stationery—from vintage enamel to new sculptural metalwork—will put some chic into your chores. Even its location, an… -
Leadenhall Market
Good for: The shops are high-end and the cafes always packed with suited City workers, but what a locale! The glorious wrought iron-and-glass canopy (1882), once shelter for a meat market, is an architectural treasure. In the first Harry Potter film, this is where The Leaky Cauldron… -
Food
Leather Lane Market
Good for: Local flavor. Hot and ready-to-eat food, be it Jewish (latkes, salt beef), Mexican (burritos), or universal (salads); sweat suits and skirts, jeans. Also check out: Ye Olde Mitre pub, a street away. -
Clothing
Levisons
In an old storefront with the vintage smell of bygone closets, find early-era men’s jackets and suits you could only locate in England—Harris tweeds, school uniforms, tailored peacoats. The stock changes weekly. In fact, all of Cheshire Street is lined with boutiques for unusual… -
Department store
Liberty
Founded in 1875, Liberty made its name (and earned some mockery) as an importer of Asian art and as a major proponent of Art Nouveau style. Now its focus is distinctly British. The timber-and-plaster wing looks Tudor, but is actually a 1924 revival constructed from the salvaged… -
Clothing
Lock & Co.
Exquisitely crafted classic British hats (Panamas and bowlers, for men, women, and kids, too) are made by this hatter dating to 1765. Their hats have been favored by Wilde, Churchill, Prince Charles, Oddjob from Goldfinger, and even the queen—it tailors the inside of her crowns. -
Food
Maltby Street Market
Good for: Refugee vendors from overrun Borough Market decamped to here, south of the Tower Bridge, and they share railway vaults with an antiques salvage company. Shuffle along gathering gorgeous flavors such as pork with sweet chili jam, mugs of horseradished Bloody Marys, and… -
Clothing
Mango
Take the cream of high fashion and make it accessible for the typical English young woman—that’s the formula at this slightly upmarket label, which does well when you want your look to be colorful, casual, and maybe even beachy. -
Department store
Marks & Spencer
The beloved M&S is the country’s favorite midlevel department store for good-looking clothing staples. Its own-brand looks, once shoddy and ill-fitting, have been re-envisioned as affordable riffs on well-tailored fashions, and it sells the go-to suit for many a young man… -
Clothing
Misan
Uncover a wealth of unique fabrics at this well-regarded Soho showcase and stock up on beautiful stuff you won’t find imported at home. -
Clothing
Monsoon
One of the favored High Street brands for women, Monsoon’s outfits are for independent dressers who favor bright hues and aren’t afraid of a few embellishments. It also does good eveningwear. -
Perfume & Cosmetics
Neal’s Yard Remedies
At the forefront of Britain’s powerful green movement, this shop supplies beauty aids, holistic treatments, massage oils, and even make-your-own-cosmetics ingredients, all cruelty-free, clear of toxins, and naturally formulated. Its products—London’s answer to the New York beauty… -
Clothing
New Look
Another reliable and very successful High Street chain, New Look does a huge amount of cute casual wear fashionably and cheaply. Its specialty is women’s clothes, but it does a few men’s, and it captures trends without going overboard. -
Clothing
Nick Tentis
This London-born men’s designer (favored by Eddie Redmayne and Martin Freeman) revitalizes the Savile Row neighborhood’s fusty looks with ready-to-wear suits in youthful, Mod-culture cuts and modern, sometimes daring, fabrics. -
Shoes
Office
The H&M of footwear rips off designer styles cheaply but effectively. You’ll find it everywhere in town, but one of the most convenient locations is here, in the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden. Office’s major competition Schuh, found around town, mostly stocks other brands… -
Clothing
Old Hat
I say, old chap, what happened to all the tweed coats and bowler hats the British men were famous for wearing? They’re gathering dust here, where classic British fashion, if that’s the term, can be found for cheap. -
Old Spitalfields Market
Good for: Up-and-coming designers and artists, prepared world food, handmade housewares, jewelry, vintage posters. It’s the most gentrified market in town, and especially on Saturdays, there are one-of-a-kind clothing items, not all of them affordable. Sit-down restaurants surround… -
Clothing
Opening Ceremony
The first European outpost of the American marketplace that promotes the most promising local artists, the shop sells a variety of British designers, new and established, cult favorites and its own house label, in a mix that appeals to a fashion-obsessed crowd. -
Stationery
Paperchase
Paperchase does for stationery what Habitat does for chairs and tables: imbues them with infectious style, bold colors, and wit. Its journal selection is incomparable. Starting in summer, stock up on holiday cards, not only because they’re much cheaper in the U.K. than abroad, but… -
Discount store
Paul Smith Sale Shop
The pricey London designer clears out his warehouse of last season’s collection, mostly for men, at prices that can be up to 75% off. It’s on a back street south of Oxford Street. -
Perfume & Cosmetics
Penhaligon’s
I don’t enjoy the mental image of Prince Charles lighting a Lily of the Valley candle and anointing his body with English Fern eau de toilette, but the fact is that Penhaligon’s, established in 1870, is listed as an official supplier of “toilet requisites” to the Prince of Wales, so… -
Books
Persephone Books
Persephone rediscovers and reprints works by forgotten mid-20th-century writers, most of them female—it was responsible for reintroducing Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, which then became a movie. The shop, on a street brimming with other boutiques, is charming. -
Clothing
Philip Treacy
If you’re invited to Ascot, it would be churlish not to be seen in one of Philip Treacy’s world-famous designs in haute couture hats, bonnets, or fascinators. If you’re not, you’re welcome to go home with a £1,200 white elephant. -
Housewares
Pitfield London
Funky and smart homewares and kitchenwares that are, as the kids say, “carefully edited.” This means they’re often one-offs or artist-made (bamboo cups and plates, for example) or hard-to-find (vintage Bakelite radios). Find it here and no one will have anything like it back home. -
Portobello Road Market
Good for: Antiques, hot foods, jewelry, vintage clothes, tourist tat by the ton. Overcrowded and overrated, but thanks to the movies, it’s not going anywhere. Also check out: The packed pubs along the route; the galleries and antiques shops in the storefronts, where prices can be… -
Clothing
Primark
The most intense, most crowded, most oppressive store on Oxford Street roils with young families stuffing baskets with cheap-as-chips fashionable outfits, shoes, luggage, and outrageously lowballed accessories. Unfortunately, we’re also talking about a clientele that discards… -
Clothing
River Island
Another of the popular, affordable women’s High Street fashion brands, River Island is headquartered in West London and designs most of its wares in-house. Dresses are affordable, shoes are cool, leather jackets well-cut, and there’s a kid’s line. In 2013, Rihanna tried her hand at… -
Riverside Walk Market
Good for: Tables of used books, maps, lithographs, and wood engravings. Also check out: Lower Marsh Market on Lower Marsh between Westminster Bridge and Baylis roads (south of Waterloo station), a classic produce market. -
Clothing
Rokit
Because it’s been cool for longer than many of its competitors have been in business, Rokit has a following. Probably the largest collection in the city, it sells retro and vintage threads, shoes, and accessories that are funky and hipster-prone, from 1950s industrial uniforms to… -
Stationery
Ryman Stationery
If you’re into office supplies (admit it—it’s time to come out of the supply closet), the ubiquitous chain, which makes an appearance on almost every busy U.K. shopping street, is a good place to stock up on hard-to-find English-size A4 paper, clamp binders (not common in the U.S.),… -
Department store
Selfridges
Selfridges fills the real-life role in London life that many tourists think Harrods does; aside from Harrods’ olive drab sacks, no shopping bag speaks louder about your shopping preferences than a canary yellow screamer from Selfridges. It’s unquestionably the better of the two… -
Stationery
Smythson of Bond Street
In addition to a line of leather journals, organizers, and handbags, this firm, now in its 14th decade, does stationery impeccably. The queen, a one-woman thank-you note industry, buys her paper here. The cotton-fiber content is probably higher than in your bedsheets. -
Books
Stanfords
Marvelous since 1901, Stanfords trades in globetrotting goodness, from guides to narratives to fiction with a worldview. Should you accidentally leave your map in your hotel room, beeline to the basement; the floor there is covered with an oversized reproduction of the London A–Z map… -
Clothing
The Goodhood Store
Consummately East End, the clothing and “life store” products sold in this popular, half-serious two-story emporium are all about what it means to feel cool. Don a faux-vintage T-shirt printed with inscrutable gibberish, carry home a “The Masses are Asses” mug for your latte, and… -
Food
The Savanna
For a taste of the colonies, try biltong or droëwors, two flavorful jerkies made of local beef, which are tossed back like potato chips back in South Africa. SAvanna will also sell you antipodean candy (Lunch Bar), groceries, and sodas—the Stoney ginger beer curls your toes. There… -
Clothing
Topshop
At this 8,361-sq.-m (90,000-sq.-ft.) store, the range of accessories is dizzying—you can even get tattooed or pierced if you’re so inclined. It’s not just women, either, because the incorporated Topman is crammed with deal seekers, too, and its colorful socks are legion and fun.… -
Truman Markets
Good for: The Vintage Market (Fri–Sun, clothes), Backyard Market (Sat–Sun, crafts), Boiler House (Sat–Sun, food), and Tea Rooms (Sat–Sun, antiques). On Sundays, UpMarket does trendy fashions and food. Also check out: The Beigel Bake for London’s version of a bagel. -
Food
Twinings
Does this tea boutique rely on tourist traffic? Definitely. But it’s still steeped in tradition, having taken over from a coffee shop in this narrow, portrait-lined location in 1706. Here you can sample, taste, mix-and-match, and savor the leaf in all its varieties—or just peruse its… -
Clothing
Uniqlo
Savvy, huge, cheap, and of unexpectedly low prices like H&M and Zara, the Japan-based, rapidly multiplying megastore is another staple on any sensible Oxford Street shopping spree. It does jeans and tops extremely well, but it’s also known for cool socks and sweaters, though its… -
Walthamstow Market
Good for: 450 non-touristy stalls selling everything from knockoff clothes to food to Chinese-made batteries—it’s the longest market street in Europe. Also check out: You may not have the energy to see much else in this multicultural neighborhood, since the market is a kilometer long. -
Books
Waterstones
In a location opened in 1936 as Simpson’s clothiers—the Art Deco model for Grace Brothers in the saucy Britcom Are You Being Served? (the show’s creator was a clerk)—this branch of the giant chain is now Europe’s largest bookshop. Even if Waterstones is a Big Gorilla of bookselling,… -
Souvenirs
We Built This City
For a souvenir you could only find in London, this colorful boutique stocks art, gifts, and collectibles designed by some 250 local artists, with an emphasis on British themes and this street’s rock history. -
Clothing
World’s End
For a few years in the 1970s, Vivienne Westwood’s shop was the coolest place on the planet. The clock at this guerilla boutique still runs backwards, but London’s punk heyday is long over, and Westwood went from rebel to royalty. Never mind the bargains—her Anglomania label is a…
London Nightlife
London nightlife has it all, from star-studded West End theatre to opera in Covent Garden, from decadent cocktail bars like Loungelover in Hoxton to traditional pubs everywhere. Hit the dancefloor at world-famous nightclubs like Fabric or sample 24-hour London in action-packed Soho. Choose high design or old-wo ...
London nightlife has it all, from star-studded West End theatre to opera in Covent Garden, from decadent cocktail bars like Loungelover in Hoxton to traditional pubs everywhere. Hit the dancefloor at world-famous nightclubs like Fabric or sample 24-hour London in action-packed Soho. Choose high design or old-world charm, glitz or grunge, as the mood takes you. Everywhere is now smoke-free. Most pubs close at 11pm, bars often open until 2pm, many clubs until 6am.
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12 Bar Club
In 2015, development forced the longstanding club from its postage stamp–size Soho space despite pleas from 25,000 fans including The Who’s Pete Townshend. Now it’s in Islington, but you’ll still find a range of music, indie pop to heavy metal, in a clean and professionally run… -
Almeida Theatre
The inviting Almeida, which has its own contemporary pub, sticks to its guns, mounting intelligent plays (some new, some unfairly forgotten, many new) without much regard for pushback—2014 saw American Psycho, the musical—and people liked it. The resulting experience is often… -
Comedy Clubs
Amused Moose
Screen comics Ricky Gervais, Dave Gorman, and Mackenzie Crook have all performed here. Its banner show is its Saturday night showcase at the Soho pub Moonlighting—big-name comics like Eddie Izzard or Stephen Merchant sometimes appear here without a peep of advance word to test out… -
BFI Southbank
The programming of the British Film Institute (BFI) is mind-bogglingly broad and savvy, from classics to mainstream to historic—more than 1,000 titles a year. For example, on a day in a recent July, its three screens unspooled a retrospective of Indian director Satyajit Ray, Alfred… -
Borderline
A Soho institution since 1992, this modest (capacity 275) basement space, which was recently renovated to install much-needed AC, books country, folk, Britpop, and blues. Cheap beer, young crowd. Fridays are Bedrock (£4), an indie night featuring DJs “who still accept requests and… -
Classical
Cadogan Hall
With 900 seats, the onetime Christian Scientist church is now the home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and, in summer, the BBC Proms, which books it during the summer for its chamber music as a supplement to its concerts at Royal Albert Hall. -
Comedy Clubs
Canal Café Theatre
This cluttered, candle-lit room puts on more than a dozen shows a week, including some sketch and improv outings. The big draw is “NewsRevue” (www.newsrevue.com) a weekly send-up of current events running since 1979 that holds the Guinness record for the longest-running live comedy… -
Gay & Lesbian Bars
Central Station
For those who like it sexually charged, no other large space in the city can compete. Three floors plus a roof terrace and a drag cabaret mean there can be events of various spiciness going on at once, so it’s essential to check its schedule beforehand. Fetish nights aren’t the only… -
Coronet
One of the oldest movie houses in London was built as a small variety house in 1898. In 2004, it was sold to an area church. History buffs despaired of losing this fine institution, done up in rich reds and woods, until the church revealed that it intended to spruce it up and… -
Dingwalls
An ever-popular house of rock, folk, and acoustic guitar since 1973, this former industrial space by Camden Lock grants audiences the dignity of seating and tables for enjoying the music, which has included Mumford and Sons, Jello Biafra, and Foo Fighters. -
Donmar Warehouse
You can’t often snag a last-minute ticket to the 250-seat house without standing in line for returns. Its productions, mostly limited runs of vividly reconceived revivals, are edgy and buzzy. Past coups for this comfortably converted brewery warehouse include the Cabaret revival that… -
Comedy Clubs
Downstairs at the King’s Head
It may appear to be an iffy hole in the wall, but in fact it’s an admired (and affordable) haunt for well-known comedians who want to try out new stuff. The best value is “Comedy Try Out Night” Thursdays, when 16 new acts appear. -
Dublin Castle
Any bar that proclaims itself the birthplace of the ’70s ditty band Madness would not on the surface seem to be a place you’d want to enter without prior insobriety. But it has street cred. It was the first bar in London to win a late liquor license from the government, so it became… -
Electric Ballroom
One of those dicey, utilitarian halls that never loses the lingering smell of old beer, it has hosted the likes of Sid Vicious, The Clash, and Garbage. Steel yourself for a weeklong roster of punk, goth, industrial, glam, hardcore, metal, and other genres whose aficionados are… -
Opera
English National Opera
With the Royal Opera entrenched as the country’s premium company, the ENO at the London Coliseum (1904) is the progressive one that angles for younger audiences. Tightening purse strings have made it slimmer and more crowd-pleasing; its 2016 revival of Glenn Close in Sunset Blvd.… -
Gay & Lesbian Bars
G-A-Y
Once renowned for their literary prowess and symbolic subterfuge in hinting at their sexuality, London’s homosexuals have allowed their wit to become somewhat less nimble. The unimaginatively named G-A-Y is about partying, cruising, and dancing. The main event is the Saturday night… -
Green Note
Much of London nightlife is mired in dance music and the illusion of luxury, while this welcoming vegetarian cafe/bar books acoustic live gigs, from folk to jazz, roots to singer-songwriters. Softened by pillows and upholstered seating, it’s a laid-back scene, and food prices are… -
Hackney Empire
One of London’s greatest and most ornate old houses (1901) was where, once upon a time, you could catch Charlie Chaplin as a vaudeville act. The slate still presents the best of variety, but with an urban, multicultural twist: kids’ shows, opera, comedy acts like British… -
Hen & Chickens
Frequent comedy bookings as well as strong writing presented by a resident company, Unrestricted View. -
Jazz
Jazz Café
The prime Camden venue for “names” keeps the music going to 2am, usually in the form of acts (jazz, soul, bluesy vocalists, from Adele to Winehouse) seen up close. Converted from a bank and renovated with Deco touches in 2016, there are both cabaret tables and an upstairs gallery… -
Comedy Clubs
Jongleurs
There are more than a dozen locations around the U.K., and so while it brings in some names and tickets aren’t hard to get, it also brings in a less discerning clientele (think bachelorette parties and crummy food). -
Performing Arts Venue
King’s Place
The relatively new development behind King’s Cross has become the city’s most versatile, exciting venue, with spaces for multiple galleries, chamber groups, and orchestras. It has some bright ideas to keep programming fresh; regular festivals for global music and opera and 50… -
Nightclub
Koko
Favored by visiting indie bands, in its first life as the Camden Palace this 1,500-place, multileveled space saw performances by Charlie Chaplin. In the ’70s and ’80s, it became an epicenter for pop—The Eurythmics, Boy George, and Wham! played their earliest gigs here, and it’s where… -
Gay & Lesbian Bars
Ku Bar
A manageably sized, young-skewing, three-level lounge is the place you go when you don’t want a scene but you wouldn’t mind being served by the shirtless part-time porn stars who work here. It’s open until 3am. -
Landor Theatre
Basically just a large room seating about 60, this space specializes in palatable musicals, cabaret, and comedy. -
Lyric Hammersmith
Riding high after the 2014 opening of a £16.5 million expansion, its core may look like a fusty Victorian jewel-box theater, but you’ll find spectacular stuff—a mix of multimedia-based shows, avant garde experiments, and an annual Christmas show to write home about. Its kids’ shows… -
Menier Chocolate Factory
In an intimate setting among exposed beams and cast iron columns, converted you-know-what from the 1870s, is where some of the city’s hottest musical revivals have been mounted. Its Sunday in the Park with George and A Little Night Music transferred to the West End and later to… -
Old Red Lion
The very pubby ORL hires its 60-seat space to a variety of aspiring producers and hosts the occasional comedy night. -
Old Vic
The fruits of Kevin Spacey’s late stewardship largely revitalized the venerable company, and upon his departure in 2015, he was feted by the city’s arts community. Hitmaking director Matthew Warchus (Matilda) is now in charge, and celebrities like Vanessa Redgrave, Kim Cattrall,… -
Phoenix Cinema
Thought to be the oldest purpose-built cinema in the U.K., it was constructed as the Premier Electric Theatre in 1910; by 1985, despite its handsome Edwardian barrel-vault ceiling, it was nose-to-nose with the wrecker’s ball before fans (including director Mike Leigh) rallied. It… -
Jazz
Pizza Express Live
Unlikely as it is for a chain restaurant, it hosts lunchtime and night concerts in its on-site jazz club by respected acts such as Jamie Cullum, Norah Jones, and Roy Haynes. Even Amy Winehouse played here. -
Comedy Clubs
Pleasance Theatre Islington
With two spaces squeezed into a former wood warehouse, it has stronger ties than most to Edinburgh; it operates the Scottish festival’s chief comedy venue and it starts previewing entrants in the spring. -
Jazz
Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
Since the 1960s, it has been the standard bearer in London for stylish, American-style jazz, and it honors a long tradition of pairing visiting U.S. greats with local acts. But the old dive got ritzy. After a £2.1-million renovation, the 255-seater began charging prices in the £45… -
Roundhouse
Located in a rehabbed 1846 locomotive shed, it picks up on the maverick spirit of neighboring Camden with a frisky lineup of innovative creations such as musical dramas and spectaculars, many of them given a crowd-pleasing, dance-inflected, shock-to-the-system twist. In the 1960s, it… -
Performing Arts Venue
Royal Albert Hall
Imposing, ornate, and adored by music lovers worldwide, it’s one of the few performance arenas on earth where, once they have performed there, artists can truly claim to have made it. During the summer, the storied BBC Promenade Concerts (the Proms) fill this historic, 5,200-seat… -
Royal Court Theatre
The preeminent writer’s theater, it has fought censorship and unveiled international brilliance for so long that it’s now a preeminent actor’s theater as well. On the east side of jaunty Sloane Square, it devotes a hefty portion of its schedule to important premieres by the likes of… -
Royal National Theatre
The government-subsidized powerhouse people simply call The National is the country’s, and possibly the world’s, most noted showpiece for top-flight drama and classical acting. Laurence Olivier was its first director, and the tradition of world-class performances has been… -
Performing Arts Venue
Royal Opera House
Opera fans don’t need to be reminded of the role the ROH plays on the world scene, but outsiders might be surprised at how inviting and attractive its terrace and cafe are. The main house, which is shared by the equally prestigious Royal Opera and Royal Ballet, is supplemented with… -
Gay & Lesbian Bars
Royal Vauxhall Tavern
In 2013, a biography revealed that Diana, Princess of Wales, once secretly attended this gay drag landmark dressed as a man. That gives you an idea of its heft in British culture, as well as the fact that anything goes. There are three shows a night, all transgressive. -
Sadler’s Wells
Sadler’s Wells has been a part of the fabric of London life for so long (since 1683) that its current two-house home, dating to 1998, is actually the sixth. You can turn to this Islington establishment to catch some of the world’s greatest companies in movement- or rhythm-based… -
Nightclub
Scala
When it was a cinema, Stanley Kubrick shut it down for screening A Clockwork Orange without permission. Good thing he did, or this 1920 theater might not have been reborn as a pleasing place to catch an acoustic or lyrical band. Its three levels give nearly everyone a good view of… -
Gay & Lesbian Bars
She Soho
She’s one of London’s only 7-days-a-week lesbian bars, and given that there aren’t too many part-time girl bars, either, it attracts a wide spectrum of types—even tagalong men. -
Soho Theatre
The Soho functions like an one-building arts festival; it casts a wide net in looking for the latest voices in theater, comedy, and cabaret. On weekend days, come for kids’ shows. -
Southbank Centre
Like the Barbican, it’s a bleak canvas-colored slab architects don’t know quite how to fix. It was conceived as a postwar pick-me-up, but age was not kind; despite a peerless Thames location, it’s got a reputation as a forbidding architectural scowl that looks more like a pile of… -
Classical
St Martin-in-the-Fields
Right in the thick of Trafalgar Square, this handsome church’s evening candlelight concerts and lunchtime performances are London traditions. It’s non-fussy with clean acoustics. -
Nightclub
The 100 Club
Many decades have passed since it was a prime hangout for U.S. servicemen homesick for the jazzy sounds of Glenn Miller and his colleagues. In 1976, after passing through an R&B and jazz period that had Louis Armstrong puckering up for audiences, it sponsored the world’s first… -
The Barbican Centre
In the 1950s, earnest but misguided city fathers turned their attentions toward redeveloping a bombed-out crater. The end result was a haltingly forbidding, mixed-use residential/business concrete complex that took more than 20 years to finish. They optimistically planned for lively… -
The Betsey Trotwood
An adorable, wood-floored Victorian pub on three levels that hosts funk, comedy, and a few singer-songwriters a month—such as Jason Mraz early in his career. -
The Bush Theatre
The Bush, which for more than 40 years has created a formidable output from new writers, started as a pub theater and in 2011, thanks to a lifesaving campaign that rallied support from the likes of Judi Dench and Daniel Radcliffe, got its own facility in a disused Victorian library.… -
The Camden Assembly
Launch pad for a thousand indie bands, some that actually ended up soaring (Coldplay, Blur, and the like), The Camden Assembly is a dark, intimate bar/performance space with a good mix of students, musicians, and old-time locals. Beware the sometimes overzealous moshers. When the… -
Comedy Clubs
The Comedy Store
The 400-seat space was created in 1979 in imitation of clubs popular in New York but wound up pioneering the distinctly British alternative movement that elevated Jennifer Saunders, Eddie Izzard, and Ben Elton to fame. On Wednesdays and Sundays, improv comics (including Whose Line Is… -
The Electric Cinema
One of the world’s great screens: Leather seats are softer and deeper than anything you have at home, and each one is equipped with a footstool, table, and a wine basket—it’s a luxurious, romantic way to pass a few hours. The bar in the back of the house sells everything you need,… -
The Etcetera Theatre
Odd, challenging fare (sometimes several different shows a night) in its very small black box. -
The King’s Head
Alums include Kenneth Branagh, Clive Owen, Joanna Lumley, Ben Kingsley, Juliet Stevenson, Hugh Grant, and John Hurt in their younger, braver, poorer days. -
The O2
The £789-million boondoggle on the Thames in East London, is a dome the volume of ten St Paul’s. It’s where the gargantuan acts from Dolly to Gaga to Kylie to Monty Python appear, packing in their own religious followings, in a 20,000-place arena (ladies, there are 550 toilets for… -
The Unicorn Theatre
A children’s theater that caters to kids without suffering from a debilitating case of preciousness, it runs at least two productions, one for each of its theater spaces. Some are script-based and some sensory-based for younger kids and kids with autism. Many are designed to expose… -
The Water Rats
If you’re not a headbanger, its singer-songwriters may appeal more than Camden’s squalling pubs. Bob Dylan made his U.K. debut in the back room in 1963, Oasis braved London audiences for the first time here in 1994, and Katy Perry played its cramped stage before arenas. A recent… -
Gay & Lesbian Bars
The Yard
On weekends, all the cute jock types are here, cramming the courtyard-like space, or watching the action from the Loft lounge area upstairs. Weekdays, it’s more subdued and a place for the after-work crowd, but it’s always straight-friendly. -
Classical
Wigmore Hall
Opened in 1901 as a recital hall for the Bechstein piano showroom that was next door, it was seized (along with the company) as enemy property in World War I. A nasty start, but today the hall, notable for a bombastic Arts and Crafts cupola over the stage, is known for ideal… -
Gay & Lesbian Bars
XXL London
London’s biggest dance night for “bears” (for the uninitiated, those are men who would never dream of shaving their chests like the young “twinks” do), it’s colossal beyond belief. Its arched-ceilinged dance floor—actually you’re in vaults beneath a railway—gets super sweaty, which… -
Young Vic
Spry and in top form, it programs a mixed bag of sturdy plays, conversational touchstones, edgy musicals (The Scottsboro Boys), and affordable opera, then stands back and hopes for frisson. It often achieves it, and if it fails, it doesn’t dally long, since it has three theaters…
More To Do in London
Active Pursuits in London
Alfresco Ice Skating Outdoor ice rinks are a relatively recent addition to the winter city, and it's fair to say that Londoners have taken to them like ducks to frozen water -- which is to say enthusiastically, if not always gracefully. The king of the rinks remains the original, in…
Architectural Highlights in London
London's Best "Bird's-Eye" Views The London Eye is the most obvious of the attractions offering a "bird's eye" view of the capital, but it's by no means the only vantage point. For centuries before the Eye was built, St. Paul's Cathedral has been letting Londoners willing to climb…
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More To Do in London
Attractions on the Outskirts in London
Tempting as it is to restrict yourself solely to attractions in the heart of the city, you'd be missing out on some of London's finest treasures. Beyond the heartland are fabulous parks and gardens, vast royal palaces, and quirky little museums and galleries well worth taking the…
Best Attractions in London
British Museum: Some of the most astounding treasures of the classical world are housed in one overwhelmingly glorious neoclassical building. British Library: The finest and rarest books on the planet, plus the Magna Carta, are laid open for your eyes. Churchill War Rooms: A…
