3-Day London Itinerary
If you want to enjoy your stay in London to the fullest, check out our three-day itinerary, taking in the most important sights in the city. Find out what to see in London!
If you’re visiting Europe and would like to stop over in London, but only have a few days to spare, you need not worry, as with our three-day itinerary, which includes the city’s top attractions, you’ll be able to make the most of your stay.
The best idea is to check the opening hours of London’s different landmarks before traveling since these can vary depending on the season and day of the week. This is absolutely necessary if you want to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, as it doesn’t take place every day during winter. Based on this, you can alter the order of the first two days of your visit.
If you're not too keen on walking, you can always buy tickets for the London sightseeing bus.
Day 1
What better way to start sightseeing in London, than going to see the Changing of the Guard ceremony! Before witnessing the renowned ceremony, start the day in Hyde Park, one of the most famous parks in the city and one of the closest places to Buckingham Palace. We recommend starting the visit before 10 am at the Marble Arch subway stop and taking a walk through the park to its southern end, at Wellington Arch.
Through the adjoining Green Park, you'll reach Buckingham Palace, in front of which you'll have to wait patiently until 11:30 am for the beginning of the famous Changing of the Guard ceremony (before attending don't forget to check the ceremony schedule).
After the Changing of the Guard, make your way through the "lungs of central London," St James's Park, and you'll reach Westminster Abbey. A visit to the abbey will take you a little more than 2 hours, but it's well worth the time invested.
For your convenience, you can buy tickets for Westminster Abbey here.
When you leave the abbey, head towards the River Thames, where you will spot the city’s main symbols; Big Ben and Westminster Palace.
Crossing Westminster Bridge, you’ll arrive at the London Eye, where you can enjoy the best views of the city. Before going up, you can stop for a quick bite to eat nearby.
For your convenience, you can buy tickets for the London Eye here.
After visiting the wheel it’ll be too late to see any other attractions, so we suggest heading to Knightsbridge on the tube and walking to Harrods, a world-famous department store and a great place to spend a couple of hours.
Piccadilly offers an excellent range of places for dinner. Since you have to get up early the next day, try not to stay out too late!
Day 2
We shall begin the day at the Tower of London. Since the visit will take you most of the morning, we recommend getting there as early as possible.
You can buy Tower of London skip-the-line tickets here.
After getting to know the secrets of the Tower of London, you'll have to cross Tower Bridge to get to the south bank of the Thames. If you want to take advantage of this moment to visit Tower Bridge, you can buy tickets here to avoid the queues.
On the right-hand side, you'll see the extravagant figurehead of London's City Hall, and, a little further on, you'll see the impressive warship HMS Belfast.
When you arrive at the London Bridge tube station, take the underground to Camden Town and discover one of London’s most striking and authentic neighbourhoods. Camden Town is an area with plenty of shops and stalls, where you’ll also find international street food stands.
Take the tube to Goodge Street and you’ll get to the British Museum, one of the world’s most famous museums. Some of the top attractions are the Rosetta Stone, the Nereid Monument and the section on Egypt.
Finishing with the cultural part of the day, it's time to visit two of the most important shopping streets that are also packed with restaurants and theatres; Oxford Street and Regent Street. Firstly, head to Oxford Street and then to Regent Street and you’ll finally get to Piccadilly Circus, one of London’s best-known squares.
You can have dinner in this area or if you like Asian cuisine, head to Chinatown, which is close by and has a unique atmosphere. Here, you’ll find dozens of authentic Chinese restaurants.
Day 3
The last day in the UK’s leading city starts at 10 am with a visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral, located close to St. Paul’s tube station, where you can visit the crypt and climb the dome.
You can buy skip-the-queue tickets for the Cathedral here.
Head back to the tube station and get off at Charing Cross until you arrive at Trafalgar Square, one of London’s most distinguished squares. After wandering around and taking a few photos, head to the neoclassical building that looks onto Trafalgar Square. This is the National Gallery, one of the UK’s most important and well-known museums that houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings.
After visiting the museum, head northeast on foot till you get to the charming neighbourhood of Covent Garden, an area full of shops, theatres and restaurants, where you’ll easily find a restaurant of your liking and spend the rest of the afternoon until you have to head to the airport.
If you want to book a transfer to the airport so that you don't have to worry about anything, you can do so by following this link:
Staying for More than 3 Days?
If you’re staying in London for over three days, there are an infinite number of other places to see and visit. We recommend going to The Old Operating Theatre, the oldest emergency room in Europe, the renowned Madame Tussauds wax museum, the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare’s fame grew as a playwright and actor, or one of the world’s most important war museums, the Imperial War Museum.
London is a city with infinite attractions and things to see, so it's almost impossible to get bored. You'll have a harder time deciding what to do during your stay! If you find yourself with more time in London, it's never a bad time for a delightful cruise down the River Thames.
Our top picks for river cruises are this Thames Hop On Hop Off River Cruise or this Thames Sunset Sightseeing Cruise.
If you're a Harry Potter fan, we recommend booking this Harry Potter walking tour and this Warner Bros. London Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter.
If you have even more days to spend in the city, you can take a look at the best day trips from London:
