We've visited London at least a dozen times, and London is still one of our favorite cities in the world! There's so much history, great food, amazing parks, and the museums make London a special place to visit at any time of the year! 

Our most recent visit was the start of a 3-month trip that included London, several places in Europe, and several places in Africa.  

On this trip to London, we were playing host to Scott's Dad and Stepmom, and it was so much fun for us to plan the trip with them, taking into account everything they wanted to see and do, and then to show them the city we love so much! Some links are affiliate links; see our disclosure.

Here's our Top 5 Tips for Visiting London

1.  Book a walking or food tour!

Doing it on your own or doing an audio tour is NOT the same! You can relax and soak it up instead of trying to find the next place. Plus, you can ask questions and get more recommendations!

The two that we did were the Changing of the Guard Tour and the City of London Walking Tour. See the Sights Tours is what ours was, through a partner that works with GoCity to provide Walking Tours included in your GoCity London Pass. 

Since we were doing so many of the main tourist attractions with them, the London Eye, Tower of London, Kensington Palace, Uber Boat by Thames Clippers to Greenwich (Prime Meridian), Tower Bridge, we decided that buying the GoCity Pass would make the most sense.  Once we bought it and saw the other included options, like the Changing of the Guard Tour and the City of London Walking Tour by See the Sights Tours, it was a no-brainer.  Doing a Tour for the Changing of the Guard may seem a little strange, but what we learned is that you don't really see anything if you just stand in front of Buckingham Palace.  Most of the Changing of the Guard takes place elsewhere, and our guide had us in the best spots to view it. 

You can learn more about the GoCity London Pass here.  If you plan on doing the Shard and the London Eye, be sure to choose the pass that includes them (so worth it as these are 2 of the most expensive attractions). 

The other great thing about this pass is that you'll be able to use it to pre-book attractions for your visit.  Many of them, like the Tower Bridge, Shard, London Eye, and the tours, of course, require pre-booking, so this will help you organize your itinerary and get everything booked in advance. 

We got the one that includes the London Eye & view from the shard and includes the walking tours we booked - you just have to reserve a day and time in the app! It was super easy.

You can learn more about the GoCity London Pass here. 

2. Choose Where to Stay Based on Where You'll Spend Most of Your Time

Where you stay matters.  We've stayed all over the city, but I think where we stayed this time was the most convenient location.  

Here's everywhere we've stayed in order of convenience:

• The Hoxton, Southwark gets 5 Stars from us.  Location is close to both the Southwark and the Blackfriars Tube Stations, as well as Blackfriars Train Station.  Close to the City of London, the River Thames, Borough Market, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Shakesphere's Globe, and so much more.
• Tower Suites by Blue Orchid is just steps from the Tower of London Tube Stop and offers views of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and the River.  Convenient to the City of London and the Financial District. We had one with a seating area, a kitchenette, and a washing machine.  This much space is unusual in London. 
• DoubleTree Tower of London - close to Orchid Suites, but no view and a little further from the Station. Rooms are small, but in addition to the included breakfast, if you have Hilton Status, there is an on-site restaurant called Natural Kitchen that is amazing, plus a rooftop bar, Savage Garden - just make reservations, or they won't let you go up the elevator. It's where we got the inspiration for our Monkey Wallpaper. We've stayed here multiple times since it closest to the Financial District when Scott would come to London for work.
• The Lanesborough, Oetker Hotels - probably one of my most favorite hotel stays ever (worth the splurge). Convenient to Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Mayfair, Hyde Park, Knightsbridge, Kensington Palace, and Kensington Gardens.  The Hyde Park Corner Tube Station is right out the front door. The concierge can get you a dining reservation and will send you to the best places. They even had a bag embroidered with Sunshine Travellers for us. 
• Sheraton Grand London Park Lane - just down the street from the Lanesborough.  For Marriott loyalists, this is a great option.  The closest tube stop to Piccadilly is Green Park, as it is right across from Green Park. 
• Renting a flat in Russell Square - if you want to feel like a local during your stay or if you are traveling with family, kids, or extended family, we loved staying in London like a local.  This was convenient to Covent Garden, the British Museum, and Russell Square Station.  We found a local coffee shop and would visit there every morning before setting off on our adventures. 

3. Use Public Transportation

This is actually my FAVORITE Thing about London.  I can't imagine visiting the city and not using the Tube. In our LONDON GUIDE, I give a FULL EXPLANATION of how to use it.  And now that you can just tap your phone, it's super fast and easy.  Get our LONDON GUIDE HERE. 

Also, take the Heathrow Express or the Elizabeth Line into the city from the Airport. These are your fastest ways into the city.  Sometimes we take the Heathrow Express to Paddington and grab a Cab from there if the hotel isn't super convenient with our luggage.  The addition of the Elizabeth Line gives you Tube access to more places and is much less expensive. 

4. Wear good walking shoes. Trainers/Sneakers are fine.  Everyone is wearing them.

We did about 7.3 miles on our first day and 7.7 on our second day, and this is using the Tube to get around. Get MY FULL LONDON PACKING LIST HERE.

5. Group your plans so you’re not crisscrossing the city.

The Tube can still take a while, especially during the week and rush hour, or there may be delays. Check opening and closing days and times carefully, as well as last entry times.

More London Resources:

Find all our LONDON Blog Posts Here.

You can check out ALL our London and UK Podcast Episodes here.

Get our LONDON GUIDE.