london sights, attractions and itinerary

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights London itinerary. Here you'll find all the information you need about the top London Sights and attractions along with a bit of history and some money saving trips. I hope you enjoy the read.

Abbey's, Art, Shakespeare and Cyborgs. 

Trying to decide what should go in a London itinerary or which are the best London attractions is a bit like trying to decide what to eat in an all you can eat buffet. There's so much choice, and you've paid quite a lot for it so you may as well try to squeeze in as much as possible. London is steeped in history, and is still just about clinging onto it's claim to be the financial capital of Europe. This is a city with everything and more. There's cathedrals and art galleries, parks and castles, theatres and palaces, skyscrapers and dungeons, iconic landmarks a plenty, and a skyline everyone will recognise. It's the home of The Queen, Sweeney Todd, Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter, and at least one of them isn't fictional.

It's a city where the very old and the very new stand side by side, overflowing with commuters, business people, and tourists. Attracting the rich and famous from around the world, and pricing most people out of the center in the process. For good or bad London is the political and financial hub of the UK, and there's some debate about if it's becoming a completely separate entity to the rest of the country. It's a hectic city, but it's also an incredible city that must be on everyone's to do list.
The very first thing to do when you get to London, the single most important bit of advice I can think to give is head straight to a train station. Unless you've already come from one. Let me explain. London is expensive. Depending on where you get your information it's anywhere between the most expensive, and the fifth most expensive city in Europe. The London attractions are also very expensive, but with either a train ticket to London or a Travel Card, which costs £13.50 a day or £36.10 a week, and gives you free travel around London you get two for one entry into pretty much every attraction, saving a small fortune assuming you're not travelling alone.
If you are travelling alone or in an odd numbered group the London Pass gets you access to most the attractions on this site at a fraction of the cost.

London Sights

The Tower of London

At £30 to get in this is the most expensive London attraction on my list, but I would argue it's also the best thing to do in London, and it does come under the two for one deal and the London Pass. Also to put it in context it costs £30 to do The London Dungeons, and £35 to get into Madame Tussaud's. While they are both good for a laugh, and bit of light entertainment they are nowhere near as culturally important or interesting as the Tower of London. I just love this place, so bite the bullet and head inside.

Like most places this is technically owned by The Royal Family, and is the home of the crown jewels. So if sparkly things attract you're attention you'll have plenty to feast your eyes on. Built in the 11th century, and used as a prison from the 12th to the 20th, the tower has held some of Britain's most notorious criminals. And some people various monarchs just didn't like very much. Given that it was originally built as a palace this does seem like a bit of a downgrade.

As part of the entrance fee you get a guided tour from a Beefeater, whose jobs include guarding crown jewels and, I think more importantly, looking after the ravens that live in the tower. These guys certainly know how to tell a story and put on a show. The tour is funny, informative and thoroughly engaging, so make sure you don't skip this part.
As with most English buildings this one comes with its own ghost. In this case Anne Boleyn, one of Henry the VIII's unfortunate wives, who lost her head at the tower. ​

The whole castle is a wonderful attraction, but the armoury complete with full metal dragon was probably the other highlight for me. Although the random elephant in the wall did catch me by surprise. It turns out it's a homage to the one sent over by the king of France in the 13th century. The Beefeaters really do know everything there is to know about the castle!!
I can't really recommend this attraction enough, and if you walk around the whole place, and get the free tour I really do think you get your moneys worth.

Camden Town

​When it comes to cool places to just walk around this really is as good as it gets. It's also where Jarvis Cocker got the tickets from some messed up bloke to go where ever he was going in the song Sorted for E's and Wizz. But anyway I just love this place, and you probably will too. The market stalls vary from the downright weird, to the absolutely wonderful, and there's every type of street food imaginable. This would certainly be top of my list of free London sights.

Perhaps the highlight is the Cyberdog store, flanked by two massive cyborgs selling what would be loosely termed as future fashion. It's a shop unlike any other I've been to. If you love raves, retro gear, or just a shedload of neon you'll really want to visit. While the Stables Market, with its horse statues outside is an entirely chain shop free zone, making it a haven for handcrafted products, antiques and just weird things.

The whole of Camden Town is an Alternative, Goth, Emo, Cyber-Goth, Steam Punk, you name it paradise. Even though I don't think I fit into any of those categories I do enjoy dabbling a little every now and again. There's a proper hustle and bustle about the place, not unlike the markets of somewhere like Marrakech, but without people pretending to be guides or motorbikes streaming down every street. Despite it's busy nature it still manages to feel like a relatively relaxed area, certainly by London standards, and it's definitely worth a visit. You might even go home with something you never knew existed, but once you saw it you just couldn't live without. Even if you don't buy anything it's the ideal place to sit back and drink in the London sights

Westminster Abbey

I thought long and hard about the question which should I recommend first Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral? St Paul's is the iconic dome that despite all the skyscrapers is still the most impressive part of the London skyline. But Westminster Abbey is just really important, and I can't resist Gothic architecture, so here we are. I'm going to get my usual rant out the way first. It's £22 to get in but you can get two for one with the Rail Network deal or use the London Pass. But either way it's too much, I'm not saying it's not worth it. I'm just saying either it's a place of worship and should be free, in which case it's fine to ban photos. Or it's a tourist attraction and you should be able to take photos inside. Sorry but it really bugs me.
Anyway the good stuff...
This genuinely is a beautiful church, and at over 1000 years old, although in a few different forms, it's a properly ancient one. Every British monarch has been crowned here since William the Conqueror, and it's held some pretty big weddings, including William and Kate, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, and who could forget Sarah Ferguson and the none sweating, prince of Pizza Express, friend of Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew.
What's more impressive is the people buried here. There's the usual kings and queens that I couldn't care less about, but there's also some of the biggest names in British history. Including generals, explorers, and probably England's three most famous scientists. Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and the late, great Stephen Hawkin, who if nothing else you'll know from the Big Bang Theory and the Simpsons. There's also a memorial to Edmond Halley in the cloister, which as it was outside I was able to photograph.

You'll just have to take my word for it that the inside is absolutely worth seeing, until you get to go in yourself. It really is everything you could want from a Gothic church, and as Gothic churches are the best churches it's everything you could want from a church. I know at the start of this I said £22 was too much to get in. But that's just a principle thing, and for somewhere as important, and spectacular as this it's worth bending your principles.

The Globe Theatre

Not a Shakespeare fan? Still not forgiven him for hours or torture at school? Me too. But this may change your mind, or at least help you forgive him a little bit. Firstly you can do a tour for £16 (again two for one with the National Rail thing) which is quite informative. While this reconstruction is meant to be pretty accurate, due to health and safety gone mad, or rather just common sense, the capacity is less than half that of the original. While the tour is nice, and the building interesting you, actually want to see a play. This is Shakespeare done right, and done with humour. Or at least the play I saw was, but then it was The Taming of the Shrew. I can't promise the same from Hamlet.

The atmosphere in the theatre is excellent, and it really feels like you've been transported back in time. There's loads of places to see plays, and certainly going to the theatre is one of the parts of any London itinerary, but this is the only one you should go to. You can see Wicked, The Book of Mormon or Blood Brother's all over the world. But this is your chance to see the all time great (whether you like him or not) playwrights work where it was meant to be seen. Or at least a reconstruction of it, but hey it's near enough.

London Attractions

The British  Museum

Or rather the everything but British Museum. Look at any list of the top 10 museums in the world, this will be in there, and sometimes it's right at the top. And like most of London's top museums it's free, although you may have to queue. I'm not going to go into a huge amount of detail about this colossus of a museum because there's far too much there to get bogged down in. We'll start with the reality check that if you're interested in British History this ironically isn't for you. Although it is a decent history of stuff plundered by the British Empire from everywhere else.

Most famous of these, shall we say 'borrowed' items is the Elgin Marbles, removed from The Acropolis in Athens, but they are far from the only example. This museum includes extensive exhibits from Africa, Asia, The Americas, Europe, The Middle East and all the ancient sites of Greece, Rome and Egypt. This truly is an epic collection, in a humongous building, with something for everyone with even the slightest interest in ancient, or more modern history. ​A really great free London attraction.

The Shard

I'm not going to dwell too long on this because really you're just coming for the view. It's the tallest building in the UK, and towers over the rest of London. Bafflingly the price to get to the top is over £30 on the day, or £24.50 in advance. And more incredibly loads of people pay it. The building is 95 stories high, and I'm sure the view from the top is great, but at some point once you can see over everything else the number becomes irrelevant.

Do yourself a favour, save the money and go to the Aqua Bar on the 31st floor. Yes the drinks are expensive, but the view is incredible, and if you're going to spend £30 on a view you may as well do it with some drinks. From this bar you can see everything you would be able to from the top, and can probably make out the details much better. I honestly can't see a reason to pay full whack for the top floor, unless you're really trying to impress someone. But they'll still probably prefer it if you just buy them a drink. The one exception to this is if you have the London Pass in which case the view from the top is free. Either way this is the place to drink in the London sights.

London Night Bus Tour

You can book the tour through expedia here

London is great during the day, but magical at night, and a bus tour allows you to see all the London attractions. At £24 it's a bit steep, but again it's available in the two for one offers, and you really do see all the major sights lit up in all their glory. On top of this the tour guide is really knowledgeable, and really funny, which makes the whole experience just fly by. Whenever I go to a city I usually like to do a walking tour, but the scale of London makes this difficult, and there's plenty to do in the day without sitting on a bus, so this is the ideal way to see everything. This is also an excellent way to find other things for you London itinerary.

St Paul's Cathedral

OK I'm not going to rant about the whole not been able to take photos inside thing again, or that you're having to pay £18 (two for one available) to get in. I'm simply going to say this is a stunning building, and along with Big Ben a staple of the London skyline. Built in the late 17th century this is one of the most beautiful buildings you're likely to see. The detail is incredible, and the statues are excellent, but having been designed by Christopher Wren it should be good. Rather oddly when you're inside the cathedral looking up at the dome you're not seeing the same dome as you are from the outside, as Wren realised it was just too high. So he effectively built a fake lower dome just for inner aesthetics. It looks spectacular, and you can head up to the Whispering Gallery to get a proper close up look. ​

The whole interior from the marble covered crypt, with its ornate sarcophagus's, to the main interior, with one of the most stunning alters you'll ever see is breathtaking in beauty and in scale. If you've ever been to St Peters in Rome this well and truly rivals it.
But St Paul's isn't done yet, you can climb a lot of stairs to find yourself on a viewing platform taking in the whole of London. One of the reasons I don't have the London Eye in my London travel guide is because this view is better. So make sure you don't miss it.

Tate Modern

If you're a modern art fan the Tate is definitely for you. If like me you find some modern art amazing, but the majority pretentious, ridiculous, and resembling a toddlers scribbles then don't worry, it's free and so big you'll probably find a few bits you really appreciate.
​Rather oddly they chose to put this homage to the new age in a rather ugly old power station, but at London rent prices I guess you take what you can get. There is however an advantage to using this building, and that's the view you get from the top, looking right across Millennium Bridge to another great London attraction St Paul's Cathedral.

Tower Bridge

When it comes to iconic London landmarks this is right up there with Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the Houses of Parliament. But by going here instead you significantly reduce your chances of bumping into politicians, which has to be a bonus. Opened in the late 19th century this bridge has been getting people over the River Thames for over 100 years. Obviously you can walk across the bridge for free, but if you want to get to know it a little better there's an excellent exhibition, which at £9, and available two for one or free with the London Pass, is one of the cheapest things on my London itinerary.

The exhibition takes you up the towers and goes through how the bridge was built, it's history and all the rest. All the original steam engines are there, and the whole thing is quite interactive. Not surprisingly the views are pretty good, and there's a glass walkway you can go over if you aren't too scared of heights!! It's a nice cheap way to spend an hour or two, in an otherwise pretty expensive city.

London Itinerary Extras

No London itinerary would be complete without a few freebies so here's my top three that haven't already been mentioned.

Royal Greenwich

While in London take a trip to Royal Greenwich, which is one of my favourite parts of the city. It always seems a little less hectic, been slightly out the tourist centre, and has enough to do to fill a day quite comfortably. You can ensure your watch is set right at the meridian line near the observatory, or look out over to Canary Wharf, where all the bankers will be busy filling their wallets. There's also a really nice market, and as Greenwich has a rich navel history there's the National Maritime Museum.

​As the song says 'Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves,' and true enough once upon a time it did. This free museum is very much a throwback to those old naval traditions, and it's well worth a look. There's model boats galore, and information about the likes of Nelson and Captain Cook.
Greenwich is just a nice break close enough to the centre to be easy to get to, and with enough to keep you entertained at a steady, most un-London like pace.

Natural History Museum

I do love a museum that's in an impressive building, and this is very much up there among the most impressive. It's huge and it's free. It's fair to say that if you can name a species that exists, or has ever existed, it's probably here in some shape or form.
For me the highlight is very much the dinosaurs, in both skeletal and more fleshy, or should I say scaly form. This is why I was pretty disappointed when 'Dippy' the diplodocus was removed to be replaced by a whale. Come on who wants a whale other than maybe Alan Davies (sadly only people who watch QI will have any idea what I'm on about with that).

But anyway the dinosaurs are in the Blue zone, while I usually try to avoid the Green Zone. While I'm sure the birds are interesting, I have very little interest in creepy crawlies, unless I'm feeding them to my pet bearded dragon.
You really can spend a long time going round this museum, and I genuinely think it is the best natural history museum I've been to. This really is one of the top London attractions.

Science Museum

Just around the corner from the Natural History Museum is this rather more futuristic, and interactive museum. Again it's a nice freebie, and as both museums are so close you can easily take up half a day, or even a full day doing them. Among the many impressive items are Stephenson's Rocket and the Apollo 10 Command Module.
Probably the best section of the museum is devoted to flight, and contains a Spitfire and Hurricane. If you've got kids then the Wonderlab will keep them busy for ages, and the helpers there are more than happy to explain everything, and show them how the exhibitions work. It really is good that there's so many free London attractions.

Day Trips and Tours from London

Stonehenge Bath and Windsor Castle

If you want some really ancient history take a day trip to Stonehenge. At around 5000 years old this burial site and gathering point for the summer and winter solstice is a must see while in the London area. You can book the half day tour here. For a full day trip including Stonehenge, Windsor castle and Bath, one of the most beautiful cities in the UK click here. This is a great opportunity to escape the hectic city and learn about the area outside London. This really is an excellent trip once you've done all the top things in your London itinerary.

I hope you enjoyed my London itinerary. Now you know where the top London sights and attractions are it's time to go visit them yourself.