London

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Westminster Abbey has been the setting for English and British coronations for nearly a thousand years, London, England

Buckingham Palace is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the British monarch, England

The Great Court of the British Museum is covered by a glazed roof around the former Reading Room, London, England

The Natural History Museum in South Kensington is known for its ornate terracotta building and huge collections, London, England

About London

London, the capital of England and the United Kingdom, has grown on the banks of the Thames since Roman times. It is a city of layers, where medieval churches, royal palaces and Victorian terraces sit beside glass towers, and where dozens of distinct neighborhoods have their own character. Its museums, theaters and parks are among the best in the world, and many major national museums are free to enter.

Westminster gathers some of the most familiar sights: Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament with Elizabeth Tower, and a stroll through St James's Park to Buckingham Palace. Trafalgar Square leads into the National Gallery, while the British Museum holds collections from across human history. South Kensington's museums cover natural history, science, and art and design. To the east, the Tower of London guards the Crown Jewels beside Tower Bridge, and St Paul's Cathedral rises above the City. A walk along the South Bank links theaters, riverside views and Tate Modern, housed in a former power station.

London suits almost any traveler, though it rewards planning by area to cut travel time. The Underground and buses make getting around straightforward, and contactless payment works across the network. Weather is changeable, so layers help in any season.

Best seasonMay to September for longer days and parks; spring and autumn bring fewer crowds.

Ideal stayFour to five days covers the major sights; longer stays allow neighborhood exploring.

ArrivingHeathrow and Gatwick are the main airports, and Eurostar trains arrive at St Pancras from the Continent.

WiserMap travel guideLondon England Tower Westminster Abbey and British MuseumPlan London: Westminster Abbey, the Tower, the British Museum, the South Bank, Greenwich and Kew, plus food markets, neighborhoods, transport and timing.Read the guide

12 Places Locals Love in London

Landmarks 4

Westminster Abbey

Every English and British coronation since 1066 has taken place in this Gothic church, which has also hosted sixteen royal wedding...

Houses of Parliament and Elizabeth Tower

Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin rebuilt the Palace of Westminster in Gothic Revival style after an 1834 fire destroyed most of th...

Tower Bridge London

Often mistaken for London Bridge, this Victorian bascule and suspension bridge opened in 1894, its Gothic towers clad in stone ove...

St Paul's Cathedral

Christopher Wren's masterpiece rose after the Great Fire of 1666, and its dome has ruled the City skyline ever since, famously sur...

Royal London 2

Buckingham Palace and St James's Park

The monarch's London home since Queen Victoria's time faces the Victoria Memorial at the end of The Mall, and Changing the Guard d...

Tower of London

William the Conqueror began the White Tower in the 1070s, and over nine centuries the fortress has been royal palace, prison, armo...

Museums 4

British Museum

Founded in 1753 as the world's first national public museum, the British Museum spans two million years of human history in free p...

South Kensington museums

Built on land bought with profits from the Great Exhibition of 1851, the area nicknamed Albertopolis holds three free world-class...

Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery

Laid out in the 1840s to mark Nelson's victory at Trafalgar, the square centres on Nelson's Column with four bronze lions by Edwin...

The South Bank and Tate Modern

A riverside walk along the south bank of the Thames links the London Eye, the Southbank Centre, the National Theatre, the BFI and...

Parks 2

Greenwich

This UNESCO-listed maritime town makes an easy half-day trip by Thames Clipper boat. Wren's Old Royal Naval College, with its Pain...

Kew Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, hold one of the world's largest and most diverse living plant coll...

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