Our List of London “Must-Dos”

While we are, by far, no experts, we do have some suggestions (after our two extended visits to London) of things we like best and things we’d recommend like-minded folks do while visiting this fantastic city.

Churchill War Rooms. This museum is preserved history. It was our favorite site when we visited here in 2017 and as we were landing at Heathrow in 2023, I listened to a Londoner behind us rave about it to an American girl (oh yeah, alright, take it easy baby). It tops our list of museums to visit here. After VE (Victory in Europe) Day, they locked the doors and left it as-is, so a visit now brings you back to the place where Churchill and the commanders of the war lived, plotted and monitored. Maps with pins, cots where they slept, tables where they ate; it really is a must do.

If you time it right, check out the changing of the horse guard behind Parliament which is the less popular version of the Buckingham Palace guard change, which means you won’t be straining and fighting other tourists to catch a glimpse. 11am weekdays.

While we are on museums, the other two we’d recommend are the British Museum where you can view many of the (controversially acquired and retained) riches of the British Empire including the Elgin Marbles, which are the reconstructed reliefs from the Parthenon in Athens (after they were quite literally sledgehammered off), the Rosetta Stone and the Assyrian Lion Hunt Reliefs. The London Museum is also an interesting visit, tracing the history of the city from pre-historic and Roman days. But, if we had only one museum to visit, we’d make it the Churchill War Rooms and exhibition on Sir Winston himself.

Parliament. If the War Rooms was our favorite site in 2017, our Parliament tour was our favorite site in 2023. We took our tour with an audio guide, though you can take them with a real human person. The audio guide provides a history of the buildings, descriptions of the decor, a tutorial in how Parliament works and intersperses narratives provided by MPs (Members of Parliament), staffers and tour operations staff. It’s quite well done. Pair it with the War Rooms, based on their adjacency, and you’re in for a pretty full, but great, day.

The Special Collections of the British Library. It’s free to visit and you can check out some really great ancient books. It’s reminiscent of the Chester Beatty library which we visited in Dublin which we paired with London the last time we came here, but this collection is bigger. Two of the remaining copies of the Magna Carta, parts of which inspired the US Constitution, are here, along with ancient religious books, some of Da Vinci’s notebooks, original books of Shakespeare and Chaucer and artifacts from the Beatles. It’s right near the British Museum, so if that’s on your list carve out a few minutes to duck into this exhibit too.

Theater. Whether it’s in the West End or the Globe Theater, what better place to catch a musical or some Shakespeare than London? It’s an experience worth having even if hordes of humanity in the West End aren’t your thing.

Of the two, if you have a chance, I’d choose the Globe. While the soliloquies might lean a little heavy it’s an open air experience under the stars (with any luck) to make you feel like you were a contemporary of London’s most masterful playwrite and wordsmith. “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more…”.

For her money, my wife would choose the West End. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

High Tea. We did one on a river cruise on the Thames in 2017 with tea, teacakes, finger sandwiches and champagne. We also had perfect weather to boot. You can also do high tea at many hotels. Book in advance and, at the hotels, the attire is more formal (not tuxes and evening gowns, mind you, but sport coats and dresses advised) than many other things you might do (the theater included). So, dress up a bit and have a little fun with it.

The Parks. Take a stroll through the many parks and gardens. They are all so different. There are massive ones like Hyde Park or Regent’s Park, or smaller ones like Holland Park. Wherever you’re staying, one is likely close by and the green space and a stroll through can make you almost forget you’re in one of the world’s biggest cities.

Another thing we REALLY like about London’s parks is that they have designated trails for bikes and ones for no bikes, which means you don’t need to constantly worry about being run over (and I assume the bikers like it to) during your amble.

The Pubs. No visit to London is complete without a visit to one of the many pubs about town. We like to stay in the neighborhoods away from the tourist masses and love the local pubs. After-work crowds spill on to sidewalks and into the streets on nice summer days and the vibe just feels right. So, grab a pint to your liking, chat with the locals and act like you belong.

Especially in the neighborhoods, last call was quite a bit earlier than in southern Europe or the USA so plan accordingly.

If you’ve never been to London, a visit is worth adding to your list. Friendly people, great neighborhoods, loads of history, a monument around every bend and turn. If you’ve never been, you might think the food is bland, but you’d be wrong. It’s not just fish and chips joints (not that there’s anything wrong with a little well-done fish and chips). Do some research, London has amazing options for food.

The sights above don’t necessarily include the most traveled path: The Tower of London, Changing of the Guard, riding a double decker bus, Saint Paul’s and Westminster Abbey. Those are all great, but if you’re looking for an experience outside of those and the obligatory Instagram post next to a phone booth, bus or black cab consider some of our favorites above.