London is absolutely my favorite place in the world to visit, I don’t think it will ever get old. Alex and I visited with friends about five years ago and I have been counting down the days until we could go back (thanks to covid we pushed our trip back over a year). I have previously posted reviews for The Georgian Tea Room at Harrods, Pizza Pilgram, and the Mondrian Hotel, which has been rebranded. Below I have included a full London Travel Guide with all of our favorite places!
The Trafalgar St. James London: During our last trip to London, we stayed at the Mondrian Hotel, which has since been rebranded. I found The Trafalgar St. James London and loved the central location. We were able to walk most places on our list and felt we were in a safe part of town. The hotel staff was very helpful and friendly and our room, while the view was not great, was extremely clean!
Westminster Abbey: I was bummed that we did not have time to tour our Abbey during our last trip to London, so that was the very first thing we did on this trip. The architecture, detail, deep history, and religious ceremony were very impressive. I hate audio tour guides, so I opted for the book while Alex listened to the guide. We both left chatting about all the things we learned and saw, I highly recommend this tour for anyone.
Kensington Palace: While I was unsuccessful at spotting a royal family member, I did have the opportunity to see Princess Diana’s wedding dress while on exhibit. The tour of Kensington Palace primarily focuses on Queen Victoria and her childhood at the palace. It was a relatively quick but interesting tour.
St. Paul’s Cathedral: Similar to Westminster Abbey, the detail and history in St. Paul’s were fascinating. We bought tickets to walk (more of a hike) up 529 steps to the very top of St. Paul’s. While we were a little winded and had a few head bumps on the low staircases, the view from the top was amazing! If you are able I would recommend taking the hike to the top of the cathedral for some of the best views of London.
Big Ben: We did not have time to tour Big Ben on our first trip and it was being refurbished during our second trip. While we had incredible views across the Thames near the London Eye, it is still on my list to tour someday.
Buckingham Palace: The palace was not open for tours while we were there, but we did stop by to see the changing of the guards. You can check online to see which days they will be changing guards, but it always happens at 11:30 AM and you must walk to the palace in order to get close enough for a good view.
Churchill War Rooms: This was one of my favorite tours in London that was not related to the royal family, well not entirely about them anyways. The war rooms are just across the street from St. James Park and around the corner from Westminster Abbey. The line moved quickly, we only waited about 30 minutes, and we were able to get discounted tickets without student IDs. We ended up spending about 2 hours touring the war rooms and the museum about Winston Churchill. It is a very fascinating museum and I recommend going through and reading everything.
The National Gallery: Admission to the National Gallery is free for everyone, which was a nice perk. The building is a work of art itself and so is Trafalgar Square, where it is located. We saw incredible artworks such as The Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo da Vinci, Water Lillies by Claude Monet, Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh, and Thames below Westminster by Claude Monet (a personal favorite).
Tate Modern: We spent an entire day exploring Tate Modern, which Alex still complains about to this day. There were so many incredible pieces to see, too many to name. The first couple of floors are special collections and as you go up the names will become more familiar to those who know less about modern art. I also recommend visiting the observation deck on the 10th floor.
The Shard: We booked the “essential” tickets to the top of the Shard. There was no need for the fast pass on a Friday and quickly made it to the top of the elevators. Our tickets included a cocktail at the top, so we were able to sit down and enjoy the view. There were no stairs at the Shard but I would say the view from St. Paul’s was better. The only things different you could see from the Shard were the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
London Eye: We rode the London Eye in the evening and enjoyed seeing the skyline at night. We purchased our tickets the morning of our ride online and paid the extra $10 for fast track. I would recommend the fast track, we walked up at our designated time and skipped the hour-long line.
Abbey Road: It would not be a trip to England without seeing something Beatles-related, so we took the tube north to St. John’s Wood Station. While you cannot go inside Abbey Road Studios, there is a gift shop/small museum open to the public and a wall for fans to leave notes.
Millennium Bridge: Between St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tate Modern is the Millennium Bridge stretching across the River Thames. It is defiantly worth walking across, even in the cold rain, because the view down the river is incredible.
The Trafalgar St. James Rooftop: I booked the rooftop restaurant at our hotel in advance, I would recommend reservations, and we timed our dinner perfectly with sunset. The view was amazing, we could see all the rooftops from Trafalgar Square to the London Eye, it was like something out of Mary Poppins. The menu was mostly Asian small plates, all of which were delicious.
Bob Bob Ricard: The perfect restaurant for a special occasion, the atmosphere, service, and food were all top-notch. We enjoyed the Jersey Rock Oysters, Degustation of Three Caviars, Truffle & Champagne Humble Pie, Truffle, Potato & Mushroom Vareniki, and BBR Signature Chocolate Glory. Reservations are required and the dress code is enforced.
San Carlo: We booked tickets to see the new James Bond movie and thought we would just stop at a pub for dinner before. Every pub and restaurant we passed was full at 5 pm on a Friday! I had read how great San Carlo was and as we passed by I thought we might as well give it a shot. I wish we had more time to relax and enjoy the delicious food. Everything we ordered was fresh and delicious! I would recommend reservations and reading the dress code, both of which we failed to do on a whim and I hated myself for.
Sketch: During our first trip we booked the gallery room. I was eager to go back and try other rooms at Sketch but we decide to try someplace new. The atmosphere in the Sketch gallery room was wonderful and we enjoyed everything we ordered. Reservations are required and the dress code is enforced.
Churchill Arms Pub: We were on a hunt to watch the Manchester United v Westham match, and thought The Churchill Arms Pub would be a good place to watch. We later found out that it is not very popular to watch a soccer match at a pub, and we ended up eating dinner at their famous Thai restaurant attached to the pub. Our whole group ordered Pad Thai as spicy as it would come and most still had to add chili oil – at someone the bland food does get to you.
Harrods: We spent close to the whole day eating, shopping, and exploring the many floors of Harrods. We enjoyed high tea at The Georgian Tea Room on the fourth floor.
Below are a few photos from our recent trip to London! xoxo
Need more London recommendations? Check out my posts here:
