How London sightseeing works
London's sights fall into two camps. The big national museums are free, every day, and among the best in the world. The historic sights (royal palaces, the Tower, the great churches) are run by charities, the Church of England or the Royal Collection, and they charge real money: usually £25 to £40 (about $33 to $53) per adult.
Spend your money on the paid sights you care about most, and fill the gaps with free museums, parks, markets and river walks. A family of four doing two paid sights a day can easily spend £200 ($266) on admissions alone, so choose with intent.
Most paid sights sell timed tickets online. On a quiet November weekday you can often walk up, but in summer, at Easter and in British school holidays, book a day or two ahead. For where to stay and how to get around between sights, see our London overview.
Different from home
Ticket prices are final, with any tax already included, so the number you see is the number you pay. Many checkouts also show a slightly higher "Gift Aid" or donation price, about 10% more. That extra is a voluntary donation; the tax benefit only works for UK taxpayers, so as a visitor you can pick the standard price without guilt.
What to book, and how far ahead
Most of London needs only a day or two of notice. A few things sell out weeks or months ahead; use this checklist once your dates are firm.
| Sight | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Warner Bros. Studio Tour (Harry Potter) | As soon as you have dates | No tickets sold at the door; weekends and school holidays go first |
| Buckingham Palace State Rooms | When tickets are released | Summer only; tickets for summer 2027 are released in November 2026 |
| Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) tour | As soon as dates appear | Small groups, released in batches, sell out fast |
| Ceremony of the Keys, Tower of London | Months ahead | Tiny nightly allocation |
| Science Museum | A day or more ahead | Free, but a booked ticket is required |
| Tower, Abbey, St Paul's, Churchill War Rooms | 1–3 days ahead in busy periods | Pick an early slot; same day is usually fine off-season |
| British Museum, Natural History Museum, National Gallery | Optional, the day before | Free tickets give priority entry on busy days |
| London Eye, Kew Gardens | Online, any time before | Online prices are lower than at the gate |
Watch out
Copycat ticket sites rank high in search results and charge more. Buy from the attraction's own website (hrp.org.uk, rct.uk, westminster-abbey.org, stpauls.co.uk) or a pass you trust.
The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St Paul's
The eastern end of central London holds the city's oldest layer: the Roman wall, the Norman Tower, and Wren's cathedral rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666. Pair these in one day and walk between them; St Paul's to the Tower is about 25 minutes on foot.
Tower of London
A royal fortress, prison and treasury for nearly a thousand years, and home of the Crown Jewels. An adult ticket runs about £37 ($49) in 2026; children under 5 are free, and there is no re-entry once you leave. The Yeoman Warders (the "Beefeaters") run guided tours from near the entrance that are included in your ticket and are the best hour you will spend here.
Arrive at opening and go straight to the Jewel House, where the line builds by late morning, then catch a Warder tour, then the White Tower and its armor. The medieval palace reopened in 2025 after a revamp; some rooms have reduced access during conservation work. New in 2026 are raven-enclosure tours and the chance to attend the morning opening ceremony. The nightly Ceremony of the Keys, the locking-up of the Tower around 10pm, has a tiny allocation that goes months ahead; its price doubled in 2026.
Tower Bridge
Walking across is free. The paid exhibition takes you up to the high walkways, with glass floor panels 138 ft (42 m) above the Thames, and down to the Victorian engine rooms; it is included in the London Pass.
St Paul's Cathedral
Christopher Wren's masterpiece, with the dome that survived the Blitz. Sightseeing tickets are £27 ($36) for adults and £10.50 (about $14) for children, Monday to Saturday from 8:30am with last entry usually at 4pm. The dome galleries open at 9:30am (last entry 4:15pm): 257 steps to the Whispering Gallery and 528 in total to the Golden Gallery at the top, with a superb view and no elevator.
On Sundays the cathedral opens only for services. Any service, including the sung Evensong in the late afternoon, is free to attend; you just cannot wander around during it.
Insider tip
From St Paul's, walk south across the Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern (free) and along the South Bank. It is one of the best free walks in the city and links two of its great buildings in ten minutes.
Westminster Abbey, Parliament and the Churchill War Rooms
Westminster is the London of postcards: Big Ben, the Abbey, Parliament Square and Whitehall. It is also the most crowded part of the city between 10am and 4pm. All three sights below sit within a five-minute walk of Westminster Tube station, so they make an efficient day.
Westminster Abbey
Coronation church since 1066 and the burial place of Elizabeth I, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and the poets of Poets' Corner. Admission is £32 ($43) for adults, £29 ($39) for seniors 65 and over and students, £14 (about $19) for ages 6–17, and free for under-6s; one adult with one child pays a single £32 family price. The multimedia guide is included.
The Abbey opens Monday to Saturday from 9:30am, with last entry in mid-afternoon (around 3:30pm on a weekday in autumn); on Sundays it is open only for services. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, high in the triforium with the best view down into the nave, need a separate ticket bought on arrival and are not covered by the London Pass.
Houses of Parliament tours
Tours run mainly on Saturdays and on weekdays when Parliament is in recess (including much of the summer). The self-guided audio tour is from £31 ($41) per adult, with one child free per paying adult; the 90-minute guided tour in English is from £40 ($53). The Big Ben tour of the Elizabeth Tower is £55 ($73), for ages 11 and up, and involves more than 300 steps; places are scarce. The Speaker's House state apartments tour starts at £23 ($31).
You can also watch debates for free from the public galleries when either House is sitting, usually Monday to Thursday. Expect airport-style security at the Cromwell Green visitor entrance and a wait at busy times.
Churchill War Rooms
The underground bunker where Churchill and his cabinet ran the war, left much as it was in 1945, plus a large Churchill museum. Adults pay £34 ($45); children 5–15 pay half price and under-5s are free. It is open daily 9:30am–6pm (last entry 5pm), closed December 24–26. The corridors are narrow and midday lines are long, so book the first slot of the day or one after 3pm.
Save money
Westminster Abbey honors the National Rail 2-for-1 offer: show a valid train ticket into London for that day at the door and two adults pay for one. It cannot be booked on the Abbey's website. Many other attractions join the scheme too; check the Days Out Guide at daysoutguide.co.uk. Oyster and contactless taps do not count; you need a paper or e-ticket.
Buckingham Palace and the Changing of the Guard
Inside the palace
The State Rooms of Buckingham Palace open to visitors only in summer. In 2026 they were open daily from July 9 to August 31 (9:30am–7:30pm) and Thursday to Monday from September 1 to 27. Adult tickets were £33 ($44), £21.50 (about $29) for ages 18–24, £16.50 (about $22) for children, and under-5s free with a booked ticket. Expect to spend about two and a half hours.
Tickets for summer 2027 are released in November 2026. If you are traveling between July and September next year, sign up for the Royal Collection Trust's emails and book early. Tickets bought directly from the Royal Collection Trust have long been convertible into a free 1-Year Pass, handy if you will be back.
In winter the only way inside is the East Wing Exclusive Guided Tour, a small-group tour at £100 ($133) per person, running November 6, 2026 to January 31, 2027. The East Wing is the front of the palace facing the Mall, home of the famous balcony, and spaces are limited.
Changing the Guard
The ceremony where the old guard hands over to the new starts at 11am in the palace forecourt and lasts around 45 minutes, with a band. It does not happen every day. In November 2026 it runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; it can run more often in spring and summer, and it is canceled in very wet weather or for state events. Check the official calendar at householddivision.org.uk on the morning you go.
Get to the palace railings or the steps of the Victoria Memorial by about 10:15am for a decent view. If the crowd is ten deep, walk to the Mall, where the guards and band march past on their way in and out, or go to Horse Guards Parade on Whitehall, where the mounted guard changes in the late morning with far fewer people.
Watch out
The Changing the Guard crowd is a pickpocket's dream. Keep your phone in a front pocket or zipped bag, not in your hand by the curb, and be wary of anyone who bumps into you. Our safety page covers phone snatching in London.
Kensington Palace, at the western end of Hyde Park, is open year-round, calmer than Buckingham Palace, and pairs well with the South Kensington museums.
The free museums
Britain's national museums have been free since 2001, so you can drop in for 20 minutes to see one painting. Special exhibitions carry a charge, and most museums offer free timed tickets that give priority entry on busy days.
British Museum
Two million years of human history: the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Egyptian mummies, the Sutton Hoo treasure and the Lewis Chessmen. Open daily 10am–5pm and until 8:30pm on Fridays. A free timed ticket is advised for busy periods, and everyone goes through a bag check; wheeled suitcases and anything bigger than about 16 x 16 x 20 in (40 x 40 x 50 cm) are refused. The Montague Place entrance at the back usually has the shorter line. The paid Korea exhibition runs until January 31, 2027.
National Gallery
Western painting from the 1200s to 1900: van Eyck, Leonardo, Turner, Constable, Van Gogh's Sunflowers. Open daily 10am–6pm, Fridays until 9pm. The main entrance is now the Sainsbury Wing facing Trafalgar Square. Building work means some rooms are closed and some paintings have moved, so check the online floorplan for anything you are set on seeing. Renoir and Love (paid) runs until January 31, 2027. The cloakroom charges £3 ($4) per item.
Tate Modern
Modern and contemporary art in a former power station, with the vast Turbine Hall at its heart. Open Sunday to Thursday 10am–6pm and Friday and Saturday until 9pm. The collection is free; paid exhibitions let children 11 and under in free (up to four per adult). Visitors aged 16–25 can join Tate Collective for £5 exhibition tickets.
V&A
The world's great museum of design, from medieval tapestries and the Cast Courts to fashion and jewelry. It is huge, so pick three or four galleries rather than trying to see it all. The new V&A East Museum in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, is now open and also free, as is the V&A East Storehouse next door, where you can see the reserve collection.
Natural History Museum
The blue whale skeleton in Hintze Hall, the dinosaurs and the earthquake simulator. Open daily 10am–5:50pm (last entry 5:30pm). On weekends and in school holidays the line on Cromwell Road can be long; booking a free ticket guarantees entry, and the Exhibition Road side entrance is often quicker.
Science Museum
Steam engines, the Apollo 10 command module and plenty for kids. Entry is free but you must pre-book a free ticket. Open daily 10am–6pm (last entry 5:15pm); it is closed all day on Wednesday, November 11, 2026. The hands-on Wonderlab gallery and the IMAX cinema cost extra, and Wonderlab is cheaper booked ahead.
Insider tip
The three South Kensington museums sit side by side, so do not try all three in one day. Pick one for the morning, have lunch, and spend the afternoon in Hyde Park or Kensington Palace. For the British Museum and National Gallery, the Friday evening openings are the calmest time to visit.
The London Eye, the Shard and free viewpoints
London Eye
One rotation of the giant wheel takes about 30 minutes. Standard tickets are from £29 ($39) online and £39 ($52) at the booth, so always book ahead. Flexi Fast Track, which lets you turn up any time on your chosen day and skip the main line, is from £49 ($65). Hours vary by season; recently 10am to 8:30pm. Late afternoon in winter gives you daylight and the lights coming on.
The View from The Shard
Viewing levels on floors 68 and 69 and an open-air Skydeck on floor 72 of Britain's tallest building, about 800 ft (244 m) up. Prices vary with the date and time slot; children's tickets start at £10 ($13) and under-4s go free with an adult. Book online for the best price, pick a clear day if you can, and check the hours before you go, since it occasionally closes for private events.
You do not have to pay for a big view. The Sky Garden on Fenchurch Street and Horizon 22 on Bishopsgate are free, but you need to book a free timed slot on their websites, and they go quickly for weekends. Tate Modern's top-floor viewing level, the top of Primrose Hill and the General Wolfe statue in Greenwich Park are free with no booking at all.
Greenwich
Greenwich is London's maritime village: the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian, the tea clipper Cutty Sark, Wren's Old Royal Naval College and a big hilly park with a skyline view. It makes a relaxed half day or a full one, and getting there by boat is half the fun.
Royal Observatory
Stand astride the Prime Meridian and see the clocks that solved longitude. Adults £24 ($32), children £12 ($16), audio guide included. It closes from November 2, 2026 for refurbishment; check the Royal Museums Greenwich site for the reopening date before planning around it.
Cutty Sark
Walk the decks and stand under the hull of the fastest tea clipper of its day. Adults £22 ($29), children £11 ($15), open daily 10am–5pm. The Royal Museums Greenwich Day Pass covers both the Cutty Sark and the Observatory (until the Observatory closes on November 2) for £38 ($51) per adult and £19 ($25) per child.
National Maritime Museum and Queen's House
Both free, booking recommended. The Queen's House has the spiral Tulip Stairs; nearby, the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College (paid) is one of Britain's most spectacular rooms.
Take the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers from Westminster, Embankment or London Bridge piers; you can tap a contactless card and the ride doubles as a river tour. Alternatively, the DLR runs to Cutty Sark station, and Southeastern trains from London Bridge reach Greenwich in a few minutes. Saturday and Sunday bring Greenwich Market's food stalls.
Kew Gardens and Hampton Court
Kew Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, cover about 330 acres (132 hectares) with Victorian glasshouses, a treetop walkway and a Chinese pagoda. Adult tickets are £25 ($33) online and £28 ($37) at the gate until October 31; from November 1 to January 31 they drop to £17 ($23) online and £20 ($27) at the gate. Children 4–15 are just £2 ($3) online, under-4s are free, and visitors 16–29 and students pay £7–10 ($9–13). On Tuesdays from September 8 to December 29, 2026, adult entry is £10 ($13).
Opening is at 10am, but closing time changes through the year (4pm, last entry 3pm, in late autumn), so check before you go. Take the District line or the Overground to Kew Gardens station and walk five minutes. The evening Christmas at Kew light trail is a separate, popular ticket.
Hampton Court Palace
Henry VIII's palace on the Thames, with Tudor kitchens big enough to feed 600, the Great Hall, Wren's baroque state apartments, formal gardens and the famous maze. Off-peak weekday tickets are £27.20 ($36) per adult and £13.60 ($18) per child; weekends, bank holidays and event days are £30 ($40) and £15 ($20). Under-5s are free.
Trains leave London Waterloo every 30 minutes for Hampton Court station (zone 6, so contactless and Oyster work), taking about 35 minutes, and the palace is a five-minute walk across the bridge. In summer, riverboats run from Westminster, a gentle four-hour trip; take the boat one way and the train back. Planned engineering works close the line on some weekends, so check South Western Railway before you go. Give it most of a day. It also appears on our day trips page.
Save money
Planning the Tower, Hampton Court and Kensington Palace? Compare the price of an annual Historic Royal Palaces membership (from about £55 for one adult at our last check) with three separate tickets. It also lets you skip the ticket line.
The Harry Potter studio tour
The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, The Making of Harry Potter, is in Leavesden near Watford, about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of central London. It is the real sets, costumes and props from the films, including the Great Hall, Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express, and it is excellent even for lukewarm fans.
2026 prices are £58.50 ($78) for adults 16 and over, £47 ($63) for children 4–15 and £188 ($250) for a family ticket; under-4s are free. Prices rise in 2027 to £61 ($81) for adults. Pre-booking is mandatory, and there is no ticket desk at the door, so book as soon as your dates are set, especially for weekends, British school holidays and the Christmas season.
- Take a direct train from London Euston to Watford Junction, about 20 minutes. Oyster and contactless are valid on this route.
- Board the studio shuttle bus outside the station; the ride is about 15 minutes and is included in your entry ticket. Buses run at least every 30 minutes from 9:20am, earlier on days with a 9am first tour.
- Allow three to four hours inside, plus travel, so the whole outing takes most of a day.
If you would rather not navigate trains, the official Tickets and Transfer package from central London starts at £94 ($125) per person on a branded double-decker. For Oxford's Christ Church, King's Cross Platform 9¾ and other filming spots, see our film locations page.
Is the London Pass worth it?
The London Pass (sold by Go City) gives entry to more than 100 attractions for a set number of consecutive days, from 1 to 10. It starts at £105 ($140) for one day; longer passes cost more in total but less per day. The Explorer version lets you pick a set number of attractions (2 to 7) and starts at £65 ($86). Passes are valid for a year from purchase and can be refunded within 90 days if not activated.
It covers the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St Paul's, Tower Bridge, Kensington Palace, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle, the London Eye, the Shard and a two-day hop-on hop-off bus, among others. Some places, including Westminster Abbey, need you to reserve a slot in the Go City app first.
Run your own numbers before buying.
| Your day | Gate prices | vs. 1-day pass from £105 |
|---|---|---|
| Tower + St Paul's + Westminster Abbey | about £96 ($128) | Pay as you go |
| Same three + London Eye (online) | about £125 ($166) | Pass saves about £20, if you can fit it all in |
| One paid sight + free museums | £27–37 ($36–49) | Pay as you go, easily |
Our advice: if you mix paid sights with free museums, buy individual tickets, or the Explorer pass if three or four of its attractions are on your list anyway. The full pass suits people who want to cram, will use the bus tour, and will fit in Windsor or Hampton Court within the pass days.
Save money
Other ways to cut costs: the National Rail 2-for-1 offers, the free 1-Year Pass on Royal Collection tickets bought direct, and Historic Royal Palaces membership.
How to group the sights
- Day 1
Westminster
Westminster Abbey at opening, the Churchill War Rooms, then St James's Park to Buckingham Palace (on a guard-change day, go there first for 11am). Finish with the London Eye at dusk.
- Day 2
The City and Bankside
The Tower of London at opening, Tower Bridge, lunch at Borough Market, the Shard or Tate Modern, then across the Millennium Bridge to St Paul's for the dome or Evensong.
- Day 3
South Kensington
One of the three museums in the morning, then Kensington Palace and Hyde Park.
- Day 4
Bloomsbury and Trafalgar Square
The British Museum in the morning, Covent Garden for lunch, the National Gallery in the afternoon, and a West End show at night (see London theatre).
- Day 5
Out on the river
Boat to Greenwich, or train to Kew Gardens or Hampton Court. On a sixth day, do the Harry Potter tour or a day trip to Windsor or Oxford.
Beating the crowds, and what goes wrong
- Be first through the door. At the Tower, the Abbey and the Churchill War Rooms, the first hour is far calmer than midday.
- Avoid British school holidays where you can: the October half-term (this year October 24 to November 1), Christmas and New Year, a week in mid-February, two weeks around Easter, and late July through August.
- Use late openings: the British Museum and National Gallery on Fridays, Tate Modern on Fridays and Saturdays.
- In winter, sights close earlier and it is dark by 4pm in December, so start early and save museums for the evening.
- Check for Tube strikes and closures on the TfL website before a big sightseeing day.
For when to visit by season, see when to go; for eating near the sights, see London food.
What goes wrong
- Arriving on a Sunday at Westminster Abbey or St Paul's expecting to tour. Go to a service instead, or come back Monday.
- Bringing luggage. Museums and palaces refuse large bags and wheeled cases, and most have no cloakroom big enough. Use a left-luggage service at your train station on arrival or departure days.
- Expecting Buckingham Palace to be open. Outside July to September, you see the outside, the guard change and perhaps the King's Gallery or Royal Mews; the inside needs a summer ticket or the winter East Wing tour.
Different from home
Security bag checks are routine at museums, palaces and Parliament, and knives of any kind are confiscated. Remember too that a sign for the "first floor" means one floor above the ground floor, what you would call the second floor.
Add it to a route in the trip builder, or ask us to plan the hotels, trains and guides for you.