Day by day
Day 1: Westminster, South Bank, and Borough Market
- Westminster Abbey exterior and Parliament Square:30 min. Walk along Millbank from your hotel to avoid the underpass crowds.
- Westminster Abbey interior:1.5 hr. Audio guide included; Poets' Corner and the Coronation Chair are the two anchors. Book online in advance to skip the gate queue.
- Walk across Westminster Bridge to the South Bank:15 min.
- Rest valve: coffee at Pret a Manger on the South Bank terrace, river view, no queue before 9:30 AM. 20 min.
- Tate Modern: Turbine Hall and Level 10 viewing platform:1.5 hr. Take the lift to Level 10 first while your legs are fresh; the view of St Paul's and Tower Bridge is clearest before noon.
- Walk east along the South Bank to Borough Market:20 min on foot.
- Borough Market lunch: Kappacasein grilled cheese or Brindisa chorizo roll:45 min.
- Tower Bridge walk (free) and exterior:30 min. Cross north to the Tower of London side for the best riverside angle.
- Tower of London:2 hr. Crown Jewels vault first, then the Beefeater tour departing from the main gate. Last entry is 30 minutes before close.
- Total: ~6 km walking; 0 Tube segments
Day 2: British Museum, Covent Garden, and the Thames Path
- British Museum:2 hr. Enter via the Montague Place side door to avoid the Great Russell Street queue. Rooms 4 (Rosetta Stone), 40 (Lewis Chessmen), and 50 (Lindow Man) are the three non-negotiable stops.
- Walk south through Bloomsbury and Holborn to Covent Garden:20 min.
- Covent Garden market hall and street performers:45 min. The hall itself dates from 1830; the underground buskers at the piazza are formally auditioned by the council.
- Rest valve: sit-down lunch at one of the market-level cafes in the Covent Garden arcade:30 min.
- Walk or short Tube ride (Northern or Jubilee line) to Trafalgar Square:20 min.
- National Gallery:1 hr. Free entry. Rooms 34–46 on the second floor cover the Impressionists; Van Gogh's Sunflowers and Monet's Water Lilies are both here.
- Walk along the Thames Embankment toward the Houses of Parliament:20 min.
- Exterior of the Houses of Parliament and Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) at dusk:20 min. The scaffolding has been removed since the 2022 restoration; the tower is now fully visible.
- Total: ~7 km walking; 1 Tube segment (optional)
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge spans 244 metres across the Thames and has been raising its twin bascules for tall river vessels since 1894. Walking across is free; the Tower Bridge Exhibition (glass walkway 42 metres above the water, plus Victorian engine rooms) costs ~$22 and takes 45–60 minutes. The south bank upstream of the bridge gives the best angle for photography with the City of London skyline behind. Guerilla Tip: check towerbridge.org.uk for the bridge lift schedule; the next opening time is posted 24 hours ahead and watching from the riverbank is free.
Tate Modern
Tate Modern occupies the former Bankside Power Station, a 200-metre brick building on the South Bank. Entry to the permanent collection and the Turbine Hall is free. The Turbine Hall is 35 metres high; look up from the ground floor to understand the scale of the original boiler room. The Blavatnik Building's Level 10 viewing platform gives a free panorama over St Paul's Cathedral and the City. Guerilla Tip: the Level 10 viewing platform closes 15 minutes before the building; arrive by 5:45 PM on a clear evening for an empty-terrace sunset.
