Travel guide to London step by step

With this step-by-step travel guide to London we want to help you organise and prepare your trip in the easiest and quickest way, so that you can enjoy the city to the fullest.
Known to many as one of the most visited cities in the world, as well as being the political and economic capital of the United Kingdom, London is a cosmopolitan city that rarely sleeps, where diversity is the order of the day.

We can assure you that a trip to London is always a great idea. Whatever the season and whatever the duration.
So if it's your choice, get ready to enjoy one of the most incredible cities in the world!

After having travelled several times, the first time for 10 days, several years ago and repeating a couple of years ago the trip to London in 6 days, now we have decided to return to the city, but to enjoy it little by little for a month.
This time we will be staying in the charming Notting Hill, our favourite area of London, from where we will re-discover the city to update and expand the information in this step by step travel guide to London.

When to travel

Although, as is the case in many European cities, we could say that any time is a good time to visit London, there are certain important nuances that you should bear in mind if you want to enjoy the city to the full.

• High season: Between June and mid-September, these are the months when most tourists travel to London, prices are higher, but the weather tends to be better, including warmer days and less rainfall.
  Another time that is included in the high season is the Christmas period, when the city is decked out in lights and trees for the most magical time of the year.

• Mid-season: Spring and autumn are times when rain and grey skies tend to be more prevalent, although there are also fewer tourists and prices tend to be lower. If you don't mind seeing the city with some risk of precipitation, then travelling to London at this time of year is definitely a good idea.

• Low season: The winter months are the toughest months to visit London. With low temperatures, regular rainfall and even snow, January and February are the least recommended months for a trip to London.

When to travel

Recommended travel cards

Remember that to avoid paying fees and to always have the current exchange rate, we recommend you use the Revolut card and the N26 card, which are the ones we use, are free and will save you a lot of money.
You can find more information in this article on the best cards for commission-free travel.

Accommodation in London

Where to sleep in London? Without a doubt, this is one of the questions we get asked the most, and also one of the hardest to answer. With hundreds of options, the price of accommodation is often one of the most important variables when choosing accommodation in London.
In our case, having travelled several times, we have experience in different areas and in the end, we believe that your choice should depend largely on your tastes and needs.

Accommodation in and around Oxford Street. Soho

This is probably the most popular area for travellers to stay in London, but also one of the most expensive. Known for being practically the centre of the city, here you'll be close to most tourist attractions and you'll also have a wide range of dining and entertainment options.

Find your accommodation in Soho here

Accommodation in Westminster. Around Victoria Station

In our experience, this area is one of the best places to stay in London, due to its good public transport links and close proximity to many of the city's tourist attractions.

Find your accommodation in Westminster Borough here.

Accommodation in Chelsea

Although it is one of the most popular areas to stay on a trip to London, for us it is not the most suitable, as in our opinion it has a rather marked atmosphere of a residential area.
Despite that, as we mentioned, it is one of the most sought after by travellers and therefore, it is also one of the most expensive.

Find your accommodation in Chelsea here

Accommodation in Paddington and Bayswater

These two areas are less popular with travellers who come to the city looking for more central areas and due to their good tube links, especially Paddington station, as well as being within walking distance of many of the tourist attractions, they have become for us, one of the best areas for hotels in London.

Find your accommodation in Paddington here
Find your accommodation in Bayswater here

Book the Garden Court Hotel in Bayswaterhere, with a fantastic location and great value for money.

Notting Hill Accommodation

Known for being one of London's most sought after and photographed areas, Notting Hill is the place to stay for many travellers looking for London accommodation in a charming, convenient location and atmospheric setting.
It's also well served by tube stations that are perfect for getting to any part of the city.

Find your accommodation in Notting Hill here

In our case, in our last trip to London, in which we will spend almost a month in the city, we have rented a flat with AirBnb, in this area of the city, very close to the underground, one street away from Hyde Park and surrounded by recommended restaurants.

Accommodation in the City of London

Although it is a very popular area for business trips, for us this is not a very good option, especially if you are going to spend a few days in London, as it is the furthest away from the most touristy areas.
Here the accommodation tends to be cheaper, but the time it takes to get to the centre may not be worth it.

Find your accommodation in the City here

Accommodation in Bloomsbury

Despite being one of the most central areas of the city, we have never stayed here. However, from what we've read and seen, it's one of the best options for accommodation in London, especially if you're only travelling for a few days.
It's also a stone's throw from the most touristy and central attractions, so we think it's a safe bet.

Find your accommodation in Bloomsbury here

Notting Hill

For more information you can check out this post about recommended neighbourhoods and hotels to stay in London.

Transport in London

We know that another of the issues that most of you worry about on a trip to London is transport in the city. Before we talk in more depth about this subject, we can tell you that it is much easier than it may seem at first glance and that with a few simple guidelines and recommendations, you will be able to move around the city perfectly, just like any other Londoner.

How to use the London Underground

How to get from Gatwick Airport into London

How to get from Luton airport to London

How to get from Heathrow Airport to London

How to get from Stansted Airport to London

London Travel Guide

One of the most important things to know and, above all, enjoy when making a trip to London, is to know some basic facts about the city as well as the places you can't miss.
This is the only way to make the most of your time, which is essential if you're only travelling for a few days.

After our 4 trips to the city, the last one of a month, staying in Notting Hill, we leave you different posts, in which we talk about places you can't miss, essential recommendations...etc that we hope will help you to organise your trip to London in the best way.

Portobello Market in London

London Tours

There's no denying that any trip to London has an infinite amount of alternatives and even more so if it's not your first time in the city that rarely sleeps.
That said, we also know that most travellers arrive in London with limited time, which means that if you're not clear about the places you want to visit or the route you want to take, you can waste a lot of time organising it, or worse, leave with the feeling that you haven't seen London at all.

With this in mind, we believe that if this is your first trip to London, it is important to have at least 2-3 full days to get to know the city or at least its most touristy places.
Once you know how much time you have available, the next important point in the organisation of your trip is to create a route that allows you to make the most of your time, to get to know as much as possible, without forgetting the leisure time, which is also essential on a trip.

With all of these assessments, we want to leave you with several routes around London optimised according to the number of days you have, with which you can visit the city while making the most of your time.

London Routes

Tips for London

If there is something important in a trip to London, as in any other destination, it is to know some tips and recommendations to make the trip much more complete and interesting.
For this reason, after having been to the city several times and having read a lot about London, we want to leave you a post in which we compile many of the basic aspects of the city, which we know, will be perfect for you to make the most of your time and above all, enjoy your stay to the fullest.

Little Venice, one of the places you can't miss on a trip to London.

Best tours in London

Within the routes we have mentioned above, we include the most important tourist attractions in London. All of them can be visited on your own, but there are many, like the ones we show you below, that it would be interesting to do with an English-speaking guide, so that you don't miss any detail and get to know the city to the fullest.

Here is a selection of what we think are the most interesting and the best rated by travellers:

Best London sightseeing tours

Best tours from London

In addition to the routes optimized for a trip to London, in case you have extra days or want to get out of the city, we recommend you to take into account the number of tours and excursions in London available, many of them perfect as a complement to the visits you can do on your own to the city.

Here is a selection of what we think are the most suitable and the perfect complement to your trip to London:

Excursion to Stonehenge from London

Tickets for London tourist attractions

Often times, planning and booking tickets to London's tourist attractions can be synonymous with saving time and money, especially if you can get them cheaper and skip the queues.
That's why we give you the option of booking in advance so that all you have to worry about is enjoying yourself.

St Paul's Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge

Harry Potter Tour in London

And if there is one tour par excellence in London, especially for fans of the books by Joanne Rowling, known worldwide as J.K. Rowling, and the Harry Potter films, it is the tour visiting the Harry Potter Studios in London, where the eight films of the saga were created.
Located on the outskirts of the city, this tour will take a minimum of a morning, although we recommend booking a full day, as after you've been we can assure you it's one of the most unforgettable experiences you can take away from your trip to London.

Harry Potter London Tour

London Explorer Pass

This is another of the most popular London Explorer Passes for travellers from all over the world. With it you can choose to visit 3, 5 or 7 of the city's main attractions, saving up to 40%.

Tower Bridge

Where to eat in London. Recommended restaurants

Without a doubt, gastronomy is something very important when travelling and it couldn't be less important in London. With this in mind and after the many queries about recommendations that you have asked us throughout our trips to the city, we have decided to publish a post in which we highlight some of the most recommended restaurants in the city, which we are sure, will make you fall in love even more with this incredible city.

Borough Market in London

Travel insurance for London

If you are going to make this trip, it is important to have the best travel insurance, especially if you take into account that there are certain situations in which the European Health Insurance Card is not enough, as situations such as repatriation or a return home after treatment or the travel of a family member to accompany you are not included.
We always travel insured with Mondowith whom we take an insurance policy fully adapted to the needs that we are going to have on the trip.

We leave you with an article in which we tell you in detail the reasons why it is important to have the best travel insurance when travelling to Europe.

Remember, just for being a Viajeros Callejeros reader, you have a 5% discount with Mondo, to get the best travel insurance, plus 15% if you get the family or group insurance.

We will be adding more information to the London guide as we visit new places in the city.