A London Guide that Does NOT Include Buckingham Palace
With two thousand years of history to explore in London, our writer helps you choose wisely…
No matter how tired I am from the red-eye flight from the US, I immediately come alive when I emerge from London’s Tower Hill Tube station and glance across the wide street to the Tower itself. I’ve done it dozens of times, but I still feel utter joy at the sight of the White Tower standing majestically in the Tower of London; the collection of buildings that embody nearly a thousand years of British history. For me, it’s like coming home.
I first visited London as a college student, but my real love affair with the city began in 2018, when my teenage son Johan and I visited for a jam-packed week of sightseeing. We stayed in the Hotel Indigo in Kensington, which had a very cool vibe and a terrific restaurant. We returned the following year and, after a Covid hiatus, in late summer 2021, we boarded a plane bound for Heathrow once again. But this time I was dropping my son off at college, so I took a flat for a month in Tower Hill, a neighborhood just down the road from the Tube station.
By the end of the month, I felt like a true insider. I knew to look right when crossing the street, to say “queue” instead of “line,” “takeaway” instead of “takeout,” and “rubbish” instead of trash. I now know that “crisps” are potato chips, “chips” are French fries, and “pudding” refers to all desserts, not just, well, pudding. I’ve also learned to pronounce Grosvenor as GROVner, Gloucester as GLOSS-ter, and Leicester as LESS-ter.
I’ve had the good fortune to visit my son in London many times, and with each trip, I’ve learned which famous landmarks are worth seeing… and the lesser-known attractions many visitors are missing.
Here’s my cheat sheet for your next trip to London… along with some money-saving hacks so you don’t go home skint (that’s British for broke).
Getting Around
When the weather is nice (which means any time it’s not raining), the best way to see London is on foot. Walking is my favorite way to discover little treasures. And it’s easy to hop on a bus or the Tube if you get tired.
When everything is running smoothly, the London Underground rapid transit system is a miraculous public transportation behemoth with 272 stations and 250 miles of tracks. With buses, boats, light rail, trains, and even a cable car, you can get virtually anywhere. For traveling within greater London, the Tube is usually the fastest way to go, but it can be extremely crowded, especially during rush hours and the summer months when London overflows with tourists.
If you’re not in a hurry, snatch a seat up top on a double-decker bus. This is a great way to see the city at a fraction of the cost of a bus tour. I’m also a big fan of the river buses, which get very crowded in the summer and cost more than the Tube, but offer spectacular views.
A word of caution. The rail networks are frequently disrupted by strikes or maintenance, which can result in stations or lines being reduced or shut down. Check the Transport for London (TFL) app or local news sites when planning your itinerary and find out when the Tube stations you’ll be using shut down, because some close before midnight.
My Favorite Popular (and Less Popular) Historic Sites
Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that manages five royal properties in the London area and one in Ireland. If you plan to see at least two of the properties or you’re traveling with a family member, I recommend getting an annual membership. Not only are they a bargain, but members get a 10% discount at most royal stores and cafés, plus early booking and exclusive access for an entire year. An added bonus: members go to the front of the queue. Visiting an attraction as a member also takes the pressure off because you’re not trying to get the most out of your daily ticket. You can wander in and out at will. My son and I once went to the Tower simply to visit the grave of Anne Boleyn.
Museum of the Home is a little gem that is directly across from the Hoxton Overground station and a world away from the commotion of the larger museums. The Home Galleries, which explore the concept of home through individual experiences over the past 400 years, are at times both humorous and heart wrenching—and always fascinating. Rooms Through Time offers a glimpse of homes from 1630 to 2049, with period furnishing (imagined for 2049) and descriptions of how the occupants of the time might be using the room. Also be sure to check out Gardens Through Time outside. Did I mention that the museum is free?
From there, you can catch an Uber or walk about 20 minutes to Shoreditch’s Brick Lane, an iconic East London hotspot for food and vintage fashion. Depending how far south you are on Brick Lane, Spitalfields Market is about a ten-minute walk. Spitafields is lined with shops, restaurants, and stalls offering food, jewelry, art and vintage items. Go hungry so you can sample the huge array of mouthwatering fare. Both areas can be touristy, but if you’re coming from somewhere that lacks good shopping, they’re worth a visit.
Roughly a mile south of Spitalfields is The Tower of London. It’s perhaps best known as the place where prisoners were kept and Anne Boleyn was executed, but there is so much more to this historical complex, which dates to the 1070s. The longest queue is usually to see the Crown Jewels, but I skip that and head to the White Tower, home to the astonishing Royal Armouries collections, which includes armours of Henry VIII, Charles I and James II, among a long list of fascinating relics and exhibits, such as an executioner’s ax possibly dating to Tudor times.
In the northwest corner sits the Chapel Royal of St Peter ad Vincula, where many notable people who were executed are buried, including Sir Thomas More and Anne Boleyn. The church still holds regular religious services that are open to the public.
Save Time For These Gems Too…
Just outside the Tower of London walls is All Hallows by the Tower, a church founded in 675, now encompassing architecture from nearly every century between the seventh and the 20th, plus second-century Roman pavement from a domestic house in the Undercroft of the church. That’s also where you’ll find ancient registers dating back to the 16th century, which record the baptism of William Penn and the marriage of John Quincy-Adams. The church is free and offers free audio tours through the izi.travel app, plus there’s usually only a handful of people visiting. (There are nice restrooms in the adjoining restaurant.)
If you walk along the Thames in front of the Tower and under Tower Bridge, you’ll reach St. Katherine Docks, a local favorite (with a smattering of tourists.) Overlooking yachts and charming houseboats, there are restaurants for every culinary taste. Check out Ping Pong for gourmet Asian fusion food in a cool, vibey atmosphere inside or casual dining al fresco. For a more traditional experience, walk around to The Dickens Inn, a pub and restaurant that dates back to the 1800s.
Just across the river is the neighborhood of Bermondsey, and about a ten minute walk from where you exit the Tower Bridge is the Fashion and Textile Museum. It’s a small building but its exhibits pack a punch. There’s an eclectic mix of cafés, restaurants, bars and craft breweries in the neighborhood, along with Bermondsey Square, which hosts an antique market on Fridays and live jazz during the summer. From there you can go back to the river and head west along the south bank of the Thames. The wide promenade will take you past numerous restaurants and shops to Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and further to the Tate Modern. Along the way, you’ll have spectacular views across the river. The area is one of the most crowded in London, but I still find it an enjoyable walk and worth doing at least once.
Back on the north side of the Thames, and a mile west of Tower Hill station is the London Mithraeum, remnants of a Roman temple, dating to AD 240, that sit under the Bloomberg Building. An immersive light and sound experience transports visitors back nearly 2,000 years when the temple was a place of worship for a mysterious secret all-male cult. In addition, more than 600 of the 1,400 objects excavated from the site are on display, including the earliest recorded written document from Britain. Entrance is free and bookings are highly recommended.
Once out on the street, walk south on Walbrook for about five minutes until you get to The Banker, a watering hole on the banks of the Thames. If you can beat the stream of office workers going for their after-work pint, snag a table on the deck for a great view of the river.
Roughly two miles west is Banqueting House (due to reopen in the summer following repairs). The original dates to Elizabeth I but it was her successor, James I, who commissioned the building we see today. The hall was specifically built to host masques (lavish balls with entertainment) and his son, Charles I, engaged Peter Paul Rubens to paint a series of canvases to decorate the ceiling in splendor. The magnificent paintings celebrate the divine right of kings, which must have felt painfully ironic to Charles as he walked beneath them to his death. He was beheaded just outside the Banqueting House in 1649.
While there are mirrored tables throughout, the best way to view the ceiling is lying on one of the numerous beanbag chairs scattered on the wooden floor.
From here, you can walk to Westminster Abbey, where monarchs have been crowned since 1066. Since the 14th century, 3,300 royals and other notables from every field have been buried or memorialized in the Abbey. Many, including Henry VII, his wife Elizabeth of York and their granddaughter Elizabeth I, have elaborate tomb effigies. The first time I visited, I was so enthralled by them (finally, I saw what Queen Elizabeth really looked like!) that I spent half a day there and still felt like I was rushing. There are various pricing schemes, but I recommend an annual membership, which is a bargain and gets you discounts. Best of all, you don’t have to pre book or wait in the queue.
Honorable Mentions In the city: Kensington Palace, the National Portrait Gallery, The British Museum, the Victoria & Albert museum and St. Martin in the Fields, a church with roots that go back to the Normans. Still a house of worship, the church also hosts an eclectic mix of music events, including the ethereal Candlelight Concerts. Don’t miss the Café in the Crypt for a bite or simply to marvel at the original brick vaulted ceilings.
Further afield: Hampton Court, Blenheim Palace, King Richard III Visitor’s Center, and the Harry Potter Studio Tour. (I’m not joking; it’s really fun!)
Whatever you choose to see in London, leave time to simply walk the city that has been enthralling visitors for over 2,000 years. I dare you not to fall in love.
Your turn: What are your favorite under-the-radar spots in London? Share your tips and discoveries in the comments — we’d love to hear where you think readers should go next!
— Jaimie Seaton has lived and reported from South Africa, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Thailand. Now based in the US, her most recent work can be found in US News & World Report, Smithsonian, and Scientific American. Her travel writing can be found in The Independent, CNN, and AARP.
Editor’s Note: This story first appeared in the pages of International Living magazine. Want more tales and expert insights like this? Click here to learn more.