London Travelers Recommend

Day 1: See London Explore London on a hop-on hop-off bus tour or a private black cab experience, and be sure to visit St Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, the South Bank, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace. Day 2: London Shopping and Touring Harrod’s, Oxford Circus, and Piccadilly Circus are famous for their shops, but for a more local flavour, then visit Portobello Road for its antiques (Saturdays); Borough Market for the great food (Saturday); and Camden Markets with its alternative fashions and hand-made crafts. Don't miss the Tate Modern, the British Museum, the National Gallery, or the Victoria and Albert Museum. Day 3: Day Trips Beyond Head out of the city and explore Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath. Visit Stratford, birthplace of Shakespeare or the famous universities at Oxford and Cambridge. Go even further afield and try haggis in Edinburgh or snails in Paris.

Warmer months mean the British can finally say goodbye to gloomy skies and hello to (at least) slightly warmer weather. There is an array of options available to dig into the culture and history of this iconic destination. One of the best ways for visitors to ensure they hit the sights is by taking a hop-on hop-off double-decker bus tour. It’s an easy-breezy way for travelers to customize a trip to their interests and to explore the streets of London without having to navigate city traffic and roundabouts. Whether you’re interested in seeing Windsor Castle, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace or a tour of the Tower of London and London Bridge, there are plenty of options for visitors looking for the royal treatment. Travelers who prefer to venture outside city limits and delve into England’s historic past can head to iconic Stonehenge or get real-life look at Downton Abbey via a stop at Highclere Castle outside of London.

Vibrant London is host to an array of world-class attractions, from storied museums and elegant cathedrals to opulent castles and UNESCO-listed landmarks. To help you make the most of your time in the British capital, here’s our list of unmissable London experiences and activities.

Britain's favorite period drama Downton Abbey has been taking the world by storm of late, so get your top hats and teacups at the ready, and prepare to get a taste of Edwardian-era England. Highclere Castle The Small-Group 'Downton Abbey' and Highclere Castle Tour from London allows fans to perch on a chaise lounge in the grand salon where the Dowager Countess regales the ladies of the house over cups of tea; browse the 5,650-book library where the Earl of Grantham conducts business with his trusty Labrador Isis at his heels. Bampton Another popular spot for fans is the historic Oxfordshire village of Bampton, better known as its on-screen alter-ego, the fictional Downton Village. This village has a lower profile than Highclere Castle but experiences like the ‘Downton Abbey’ TV Locations Tour of Oxfordshire from London still offer the chance to spot the places Mr. Bates, Tom and Mrs. Patmore frequent on the show.

With so many famous landmarks, world-class museums and famous shopping streets, London is a city that you could spend weeks exploring.Start your day early with breakfast at one of Covent Garden’s atmospheric cafés where you can enjoy some freshly baked pastries while ogling the street performers as they set up shops on the square. From here it’s an easy stroll to Leicester Square, where you can pick up some last minute tickets for a West End show in the evening and hop on one of the open-roofed sightseeing buses which will take you around the main sights – don’t miss a stop off at St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey. Buckingham Palace is sure to be on your list, so time your arrival for the changing of the guards, after which you can enjoy one of London’s impressive Royal parks, with a tour of St. James’s Park and enjoy a picnic lunch by the idyllic lake.

An unmistakable landmark as iconic as it is shrouded in mystery; its no surprise that Stonehenge is one of England’s most captivating tourist attractions and visiting the historic site makes an easy side trip from the capital. An ancient stone circle dating back almost 5,000 years, Stonehenge is located just outside of Salisbury, less than an hour and a half by train from London, but the most popular way to visit is on a guided tour. There are a number of options for Stonehenge Tours from London but to make the most of your time and money, opt for a coach tour or small-group day trip that combines a stop at the sacred site with visits to nearby attractions like the grand Salisbury Cathedral or the medieval village of Lacock. Once you’ve marveled over the magnitude of the 40-ton rocks, thought to have held spiritual or astronomical importance in ancient times, head to the Royal residence of Windsor Castle.

England’s only UNESCO World Heritage listed city, the cobblestone streets and exquisite architecture of Bath make it one of the UK’s most attractive cities and put it firmly at the top of many tourists’ itineraries. Windsor Castle is the largest working castle in the world that is still occupied by monarchy. For over 900 years, since William the Conqueror built a wooden fortress here, this has been a royal home and fortress. Queen Elizabeth spends a month at Easter, a week in June and most weekends at Windsor. This is also where she often hosts State Dinners for international dignitaries and entertains those she has knighted into the Order of the Garter (that's Sir to you and I). St George's Chapel is a working chapel and many royal weddings and funerals have occurred here; the Queen Mother and Henry VIII are buried in the chapel.

Bath is one of the great treasures of Britain and at just 97 miles (156 kilometers) from London, it makes a perfect day trip. Harmony and proportion were of supreme importance to the Georgian architects who determined the current shape of Bath, and they often drew inspiration from classical styles. Luckily outstanding examples were close at hand, with ancient Roman ruins recalling Bath’s age-old reputation as a spa town from which it also derived its name. Nearby Bath Abbey watches over the town center while the Royal Crescent is the largest and most impressive of Bath’s residential crescents, which unfold in elegant arcs of honey-colored stone. Bath is also noted for its literary associations; the Jane Austen Centre celebrates its most famous resident. Numerous other small but fascinating museums cover everything from fashion to astronomy, while the lush green of gorgeous English parks provide outdoor diversion.

There are few places more quintessentially and unashamedly English than Oxford, a city so picturesque that even its nickname, "The City of Dreaming Spires," sounds lifted from a classic romance novel. With its medieval skyline of church spires, cobbled streets snaking through the town center and stately gardens adding a touch of greenery, this is a city that perfectly blends old English charm with modern shopping streets, a cutting-edge arts scene and a buzzing nightlife. A mere 55 miles from London and just an hour train ride away, Oxford is a popular day trip for those looking to escape the hectic pace of the capital.

The city’s latest venture in elevated entertainment is the O2 Skywalk, or ‘Up at The O2’, a 90-minute climb over the famous domed roof of the O2 Arena in Greenwich. The capital’s most sophisticated feat of modern design, The Shard is not only an impressive sight on London’s skyline, but it holds the title of the E.U’s tallest building at a whopping 1,016 feet high. Built in celebration of the new millennium back in 2000, the London Eye is not only the biggest Ferris wheel in, but has fast become one of the capital’s biggest tourist attractions with 3.5 million annual visitors taking to the skies for one of the best views in London. One of London’s principal landmarks, St. Paul’s Cathedral is sure to grace your London itinerary, but make sure you take the 250-step climb up into the viewing galleries of the iconic dome. If money’s no issue, one of the most exhilarating ways to explore London from above is to take a helicopter tour.

Those wanting to learn more about the Cathedral’s illustrious history can head to the nearby Canterbury Tales museum, where Chaucer’s famous characters are brought to life in an entertaining medieval recreation, but there’s more to the city than its most famous building. Spend your free time wandering around the Old Town, visiting sights like the ancient St Martin's Church, the oldest church still in use in the English-speaking world, the tilting 16th Century Sir John Boys' House and the ruins of the Norman-era Canterbury Castle. If you’ve still got time, take a boat trip along the River Stour or stroll through the pretty Dane John Gardens. The quickest way to reach Canterbury is by train (just over 1 hour), but taking a guided Canterbury tour from London means you can combine your visit with nearby sights like the majestic Leeds Castle in Kent or the famous White Cliffs of Dover, both of which lie close by.

Nothing epitomizes the bleak underbelly of Victorian society better than London’s East End; today it’s an area of smart boutiques, concept restaurants and a thriving Bengali community around Brick Lane but back in 1888 the very words Whitechapel struck horror into peoples’ hearts. It was here in the dank cobbled alleyways behind Spitalfields that some of the world’s most infamous – and hitherto unsolved – murders took place as five lowlife prostitutes were brutally knifed to death. Recent attempts at naming the Ripper murderer have cited a Polish immigrant called Aaron Kosminski, the Prime Minister William Gladstone, the artist Walter Sickert and even Queen Victoria’s own grandson. However, to this day the killer’s true identity remains unknown and so the gripping mystery still continues to fascinate and horrify in equal degrees. Tours of the East End to see the Ripper’s stomping ground can be taken by London’s iconic black cabs, by bike, hop-on, or hop-off bus.

Afternoon tea is considered to be a tradition in England and one that both locals and visitors take great pleasure in taking – although it is now seen as more of a treat to be taken in a hotel or tea shop than part of everyday life. Afternoon tea was first introduced in the 1840s when Anna Russell, the Duchess of Bedford, complained of feeling hungry between meals and asked for tea and cakes to be sent to her room to see her through to her evening meal at 8pm. This idea caught on amongst the middle and upper classes, and before long it became a daily activity, becoming more sophisticated and elaborate as well as developing into an important social occasion.

Widely recognized as the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare made his name with popular entertainments which provoked laughter, cheers and sometimes tears from raucous London crowds. Once you arrive at the playwright’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon, you’ll be able to visit his birth home, the grammar school he attended and the church where he was buried. Much of Stratford-upon-Avon can be covered on foot, or you can take the convenient Hop On-Hop Off bus which does regular circuits of the town’s major sights. As well as the museums and reverences, you can watch contemporary productions at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Stratford-upon-Avon is also located near other renowned sites of natural beauty and historic like Warwick Castle or the elegant Georgian city of Bath.

Whatever idea you have of English countryside is sure to be fulfilled in the Cotswolds, a range of gentle hills in the west of England which attracts visitors from all over the world. Rolling green landscapes are interrupted only by picturesque villages and unspoiled market towns. In and around the Cotswolds you’ll find a huge number of historically significant sites, and thankfully there are numerous alternatives for exploring the area from London to ensure you make the most of the region. There’s Oxford, for example. The cobble-stoned streets of the world’s most famous seat of learning are graced by august colleges and serene courtyards as well as such venerable institutions as the Ashmolean Museum, Bodleian Library and Christ Church Cathedral. Then, traveling north you come to Blenheim Palace. The Duke of Marlborough still lives in part of his ancestral home, but there are plenty of other stately rooms to explore in this enormous UNESCO World Heritage site.