London in 7 Days – Use This Itinerary For A Fabulous Time
This post is part of our archived content. While we’ve shifted focus, it still may be useful.
What do you think about planning a trip ahead of time?
Do you think it is worth it to sit and plan your entire trip anywhere? Deciding when to travel, what to wear, where to stay, what to do and places to visit?
Planning your trip ahead is as important as the trip itself.
It helps you to make important decisions and take note of important things.
This will ensure that you have a stress-free stay wherever you go.
Planning ahead keeps you ready for anything.
Before you travel anywhere, you should consider a number of things about the place.
Since we are talking about London, one of the things you should consider is when it is best to visit the city.
This is entirely up to you to decide, based on your interests and preferences.
However, you should note that London is always crowded with throngs of tourists in summer and winter.
The streets and places of interest are crowded during summer and the Christmas season.
The best time to visit London, if you don’t fancy being in a crowd, is during spring and autumn.
At this time, the weather is mild and the crowds aren’t as heavy as it’d probably have been in winter or summer.
Other things to consider after you have decided on when to visit are:
- The weather conditions of your visiting season. This will help you choose the right clothes.
- The places to stay during the trip. This depends on your budget and you can choose from a variety of apartments, hostels, Airbnb or hotels.
- Interesting events that you wish to attend. There are popular ones like London Marathon and Notting Hill Carnival.
- The fashion standard of the people should also be considered. This will make you pick clothes that blend with the locals and make you less of a target for pickpockets.
Other things to take note of before traveling are the transportation system, means of communication, currency in use, payment methods, local language and the road signs of the city.
Now that you have those sorted out, you should settle down to plan what you will be doing and the places you will be seeing.
Truth is, there are lots of interesting places to see in London and you may never get to exhaust the list.
In fact, it can get overwhelming at times and you may become confused about where to go and which ones to leave out.
This is why having an itinerary for your stay is good.
Plan your days there, one after another.
From where you will visit to places you can grab a meal when you need to.
You may consider choosing locations that are close to each other on the same days. This saves you the time of having to get on and off the bus, tube or trains all day.
Whether you are a solo traveler going to have some me-time, there are two of you on a couple’s trip or you are going with your family, this seven day itinerary will take you to most of the amazing sights you mustn’t miss on a London vacation.
7 Day London Itinerary
Day 1
Start your city tour with a visit to Big Ben, the nickname given to the Elizabeth Tower.
While you are there, take a look at the New Palace of Westminster called the Houses of Parliament to experience British politics.
Head on walking the riverside of the Thames for five minutes to get to Westminster Abbey, London’s Official Coronation Church and venue of royal events.
After lunch, you can continue to St James Park for a walk and on to Guards Museum, a museum dedicated to the British Royal Guards.
Day 2
Trafalgar Square is your first point of call.
The square is a traffic circle famous for being the location of Nelson’s Column.
Move on to the National Gallery to view a collection of the world’s finest art pieces.
Eight minutes walk from where you are, you land at Covent Garden.
This used to be a produce market but is now a place for shopping and street entertainment.
Two minutes away from the garden is the British Transport Museum where the history of the British transport system is displayed in trolley cars, buses, trains and tubes.
After lunch in any of the many restaurants around the square, travel down memory lane at the British Museum with more than eight million historic pieces.
Day 3
Royalty will mark the beginning of your day as you begin from Buckingham Palace.
Start with an hour tour of the Queen’s Art Gallery viewing the royal collection, go on to the Queen’s residence and if you are lucky you can witness the Change of Guard ceremony.
Six minutes away is Green Park and ahead of that is Hyde Park, two of London’s most beautiful parks.
At Hyde Park, you’ll get to see Diana’s Memorial Fountain and can even use the Speaker’s Corner if you have something to say!
After lunch, head on to view beautiful decorative designs at Victoria and Albert Museum.
The last stop for the day is the Natural History Museum, home to over 80 million specimens and fossils.
There are objects in zoology, botany and a dozen others.
There are also life-size dinosaurs!
Day 4
Starting on the bank of the Thames from Tower Bridge, visit the 11th-century castle called the Tower of London.
You’ll get to see the Crown Jewels and be taken around by Yeoman Warders called Beefeaters.
Also, check out HMS Belfast and go on a World War 2 warship to experience and go down memory lane on the greatest battle known to mankind.
After lunch at a restaurant around the Thames, continue on to Tower Bridge and travel back in time on a historic journey into the scary events that the bridge was known for.
Wrap up the day with an hour tour of the Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
It is in the same location as the original theatre where Shakespeare’s plays were showcased.
Day 5
Walk down to the Imperial War Museum and learn about British war histories through the hundreds of items on display.
Never miss a chance for a life-changing experience at the Sea Life London Aquarium with its 500 species of animals and up to 14 specially themed zones to spice your visit.
There’s the Rainforest Zone, Shark Walk with real sharks! And even more. It’s a complete aquatic animal kingdom.
After lunch at the cafes or restaurants that surround the aquarium, take a tour of Somerset House and then continue finally to Courtauld Gallery where impressionist and post-impressionist art is on display.
Day 6
Nature will mark your morning as your first visit will be to Greenwich Park.
Two minutes away from Greenwich Park is the Fan Museum.
The park houses the Royal Observatory and even a boating lake.
A museum dedicated to the history of fans and the art of fan-making. Nothing else! That is really something to see.
When you’ve had lunch, take the next two hours to tour the world’s largest Maritime Museum where amazing artefacts are displayed.
Day 7
It’s your last day but it won’t be less of a fantastic day as you will be starting off on the holy grounds of St Paul’s Cathedral.
The church has jaw-dropping architectural designs and offers a great view from the top.
It is a gothic beauty and one of London’s most popular places of worship.
Go on from St Paul’s to the Old Operating Theatre Museum and the Tate Modern, one of the four Tate Museums in the world. This one in London is dedicated to modern art.
Finally, you can’t leave London without riding the London Eye.
The London Eye is a large Ferris Wheel with a height of 135 meters and has 32 glass pods you can ride for thirty minutes to get a 360° panoramic view of the beautiful city of London. Now you can call it a day.
Helpful Tips For Your Tour
Check the opening and closing times of each location you want to visit.
Find out the cost of accessing or touring those places of interest. Some of them are free.
Check for the nearest transport stations in the area.
There are options for a bus, train, tube, bicycle, river bus or you can just walk.
Take note of restaurants around where you are visiting so you can have your meals and the prices they offer.
Avoid rush hour if you want maximum enjoyment. This hour usually falls into 7 – 10 am and 4 – 7 pm.
Don’t forget your camera. Digital is good but a hard copy is better.
London’s fascinating views are too much to be exhausted in seven days.
After this experience, you’ll be planning a return trip!