Must-see attractions in London

  • Westminster Abbey.

    Westminster Abbey

    The West End

    A splendid mixture of architectural styles, Westminster Abbey is considered the finest example of Early English Gothic. It's not merely a beautiful place…

  • JUNE 18, 2017: Visitors seated on the shore of Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park.

    Hyde Park

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    One of London’s best parks, Hyde Park spreads itself over 142 hectares of neat gardens, wild expanses of overgrown grass and glorious trees. As well as…

  • Images of families enjoying the museum on the first day of opening, abiding by social distancing/Covid-19 regulations. General shots for external Comms which show people enjoying our museum safely. Making of The Modern World Gallery, Science Museum, London, August 2020.

    Science Museum

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    The Science Museum will mesmerize with its interactive and educational exhibits covering everything from early technology to space travel. Take the family…

  • Evening Big Ben

    Houses of Parliament

    The West End

    Both the elected House of Commons and the House of Lords, who are appointed or hereditary, sit in the sumptuous Houses of Parliament, officially called…

  • Buckingham Palace in London, United Kingdom.

    Buckingham Palace

    The West End

    Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, Buckingham Palace replaced St James's Palace as the monarch's official London residence in 1837. Queen Elizabeth…

  • August 2017: Palm garden at a greenhouse in Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.

    Kew Gardens

    Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court

    Where else in London can you size up an 18th-century 10-storey Chinese pagoda and a Japanese gateway while finding yourself among one of the world’s most…

  • London Natural History Museum

    Natural History Museum

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    With its thunderous, animatronic dinosaur, riveting displays about planet earth, outstanding Darwin Centre and architecture straight from a Gothic fairy…

  • St. pauls cathedral with red double decker bus in London, United Kingdom

    St Paul's Cathedral

    London

    Sir Christopher Wren’s 300-year-old architectural masterpiece is a London icon. Towering over diminutive Ludgate Hill in a superb position that's been a…

  • The Tower of London

    Tower of London

    London

    Few parts of the UK are as steeped in history or as impregnated with legend and superstition as the titanic stonework of the Tower of London. Not only is…

  • Visitors looking over London city skyline from Hampstead Heath.

    Hampstead Heath

    North London

    Sprawling Hampstead Heath, with its rolling woodlands and meadows, feels a million miles away from the city – despite being about 3.5 miles from Trafalgar…

  • London Bridge over Thames River.

    Tower Bridge

    London

    It doesn't matter from where you first glimpse Tower Bridge, with two neo-Gothic towers rising gracefully from either side of the Thames: London's…

  • Great Court, British Museum, Bloomsbury, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

    British Museum

    The West End

    With almost six million visitors trooping through its doors annually, the British Museum in Bloomsbury, one of the oldest and finest museums in the world,…

  • Museum of London exterior

    Museum of London

    London

    Romp through 450,000 years of London history at this entertaining and educational museum, one of the capital's finest. Exhibiting everything from a…

  • London, England

    Camden Market

    North London

    Eclectic and alternative, Camden Market attracts millions of people each year and is one of London's top places to visit. What started out as a collection…

  • LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 22, 2016: Jamaican runner Usaine Bolt,  Madame Tussauds wax museum. It is a major tourist attraction in London; Shutterstock ID 460048255; Your name (First / Last): Claire Naylor; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online-Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: London with kids article

    Madame Tussauds

    The West End

    Packed with waxwork likenesses of celebrities, Madame Tussauds is kitschy and pricey, but makes for a fun-filled day. There are plenty of personalities to…

  • The Temple Church, a late-12th-century church in London, England

    Temple Church

    The West End

    The magnificent Temple Church was built by the secretive Knights Templar, an order of crusading monks founded in the 12th century to protect pilgrims…

  • An evening at Mayfield Lavender Farm.

    Mayfield Lavender

    London

    With a bright-red London phone box rising surreally up in a sea of purple flowers, Mayfield Lavender is one of the most alluring summer sights around…

  • UNITED KINGDOM - CIRCA 2002:  The toilette, by William Hogarth (1697-1764), from the series A rake's progress. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images); London, Sir John Soane'S Museum. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

    Sir John Soane's Museum

    The West End

    This museum is one of the most atmospheric and fascinating in London. The Georgian building was the beautiful, bewitching home of architect Sir John Soane…

  • The main entrance to Hampton Court Palace, Richmond, London, England.

    Hampton Court Palace

    Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court

    Built by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in 1515 but coaxed from him by Henry VIII just before Wolsey (as chancellor) fell from favour, Hampton Court Palace is…

  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Kensington, London, England.

    Victoria & Albert Museum

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    The Museum of Manufactures, as the V&A was known when it opened in 1852, was part of Prince Albert’s legacy to the nation in the aftermath of the…

  • Trafalgar Square

    Trafalgar Square

    The West End

    Opened to the public in 1844, Trafalgar Sq is the true centre of London, where rallies and marches take place, tens of thousands of revellers usher in the…

  • Kensington Palace

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    Built in 1605, Kensington Palace became the favourite royal residence under William and Mary of Orange in 1689, and remained so until George III became…

  • Tate Britain exterior

    Tate Britain

    The West End

    On the site of the former Millbank Penitentiary, the older and more venerable of the two Tate siblings opened in 1892 and celebrates British art from 1500…

  • Royal Academy of Arts

    Royal Academy of Arts

    The West End

    Britain’s oldest society devoted to fine arts was founded in 1768 and moved here to Burlington House a century later. For its 250th birthday in 2018, the…

  • Public space and tourist attraction

    National Gallery

    The West End

    With more than 2300 European masterpieces in its collection, this is one of the world's great galleries, with seminal works from the 13th to the mid-20th…

  • Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum.

    Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum

    Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court

    This ace museum details the history of tennis – from its French precursor jeu de paume (which employed the open hand) to the supersonic serves of today's…

  • A small pond in London Wetlands Center.

    London Wetland Centre

    Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court

    One of Europe’s largest inland wetland projects, this 42-hectare centre run by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust was transformed from four Victorian…

  • A boat sailing on Regent's Canal in Little Venice, London, England.

    Regent's Canal

    North London

    To escape the crowded streets and enjoy a picturesque, waterside side stretch of North London, take to the canals that once played such a vital role in…

  • Eltham Palace and Gardens.

    Eltham Palace

    London

    This gorgeous 1930s art-deco mansion was built by Stephen Courtauld, whose family made a fortune in the rayon (artificial silk) industry, and his wife…

  • LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 25, 2019: Exterior view of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England; Shutterstock ID 1516861004; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

    London

    This state-of-the-art 62,300-seat stadium in Tottenham, with a retractable pitch that hosts both 'real’ and American football games, opened in April 2019…

  • National Portrait Gallery

    National Portrait Gallery

    The West End

    What makes the National Portrait Gallery so compelling is its familiarity; in many cases, you will have heard of the subject (royals, scientists,…

  • Portobello Road Market, London, UK

    Portobello Road Market

    Notting Hill & West London

    Lovely on a warm summer's day, Portobello Road Market is an iconic London attraction with an eclectic mix of street food, fruit and veg, antiques, curios,…

  • The outside of Apsley House

    Apsley House

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    This stunning house, containing exhibits about the Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo, was once the first building to appear…

  • One of London's best small galleries, the Wallace collection is a fascinating window into the life of 18th century aristocracy

    Wallace Collection

    The West End

    Arguably London’s finest smaller gallery, the Wallace Collection is an enthralling glimpse into 18th-century aristocratic life. The sumptuously restored…

  • People having picnics at Kenwood House, Hampstead Heath.

    Kenwood House

    North London

    This magnificent neoclassical mansion stands at the northern end of Hampstead Heath in a glorious sweep of landscaped gardens that lead down to a…

  • Albert Memorial

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    This splendid Victorian confection on the southern edge of Kensington Gardens is as ostentatious as its subject wasn't. Queen Victoria’s humble German…

  • British Library, interior.

    British Library

    North London

    Consisting of low-slung red-brick terraces and fronted by a large piazza with an oversized statue of Sir Isaac Newton, Colin St John Wilson’s British…

  • Somerset House

    The West End

    Designed in 1775 for government departments and royal societies – perhaps the world's first office block – Somerset House now contains galleries,…

  • The National Army Museum in Chelsea, the British Army's central museum.

    National Army Museum

    Kensington & Hyde Park

    This inventively redesigned museum vibrantly relates the history of the British Army, from the perspective of its servicemen and servicewomen. Reopening a…

  • The Great Pagoda at Kew Gardens.

    Great Pagoda

    Richmond, Kew & Hampton Court

    This 49.5m-tall eight-sided pagoda (1762), designed by William Chambers (who designed Somerset House), is one of Kew Gardens' architectural icons. During…

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