England · Europe · Listicles · London · Travel · UK

London Bucketlist (For Tourists)

Samantha Faloon

Now that I’m moving to London, I figured it’d be a good idea to revamp my London Bucketlist with all your suggestions. I am still looking for more things to add so feel free to comment below. You can also check out my New York City Bucketlist if that’s more your style!

London Bucketlist

Here’s the List:

SEE/DO/TOUR:

Piccadilly Circus

London Eye

Tower Bridge

Walk Along the South Bank

Big Ben

Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross

West End Show

See the Inside of Buckingham Palace

Sky Garden

Sherlock Holmes Museum

St. Paul’s Cathedral

Greenwich

Primrose Hill

Tower of London

Churchill War Rooms

Shakespeare’s Globe

Double Decker Bus Tour

River Cruise

Regent Park / Queen Mary’s Rose Garden

Kensington Palace & Gardens

Natural History Museum

Winter Wonderland

Skating at Somerset House

DAY TRIPS:

Bath

Brighton

Hampton Court Palace

Harry Potter WB Studio

Oxford

Windsor Castle

SHOP:

Borough Market

Harrods

Regent Street

Oxford Street

Covent Garden

Liberty of London

Carnaby Street

Portobello Market

Burberry Flagship Store

Camden Markets

FOOD/DRINK:

Bottomless Brunch

Shop for Tea at Fortnum and Mason

Afternoon Tea at The Orangery

Mr. Fogg’s Gin Parlour

The Shard

The Olde Cheshire Cheese

Madison Rooftop Bar

Sketch London

LONDON LIFE EXPERIENCES:

Move/Live There

Christmas

Get a Proper Post Grad Job

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69 thoughts on “London Bucketlist (For Tourists)”

  1. I highly recommend high tea at Fortnum and Mason. Its quite expensive but the experience is worth it. Plus the queen has tea there so in my opinion it’s worth it.
    Also if you make it to London for Christmas the Hyde Park Christmas Market is a must see.

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  5. Hmm, don’t do the Shard (too expensive, and if the weather is bad you won’t see much) and instead visit Tower Bridge instead. You can walk across a walkway high above the river, and they have recently installed a section of glass flooring. If you go at the right time, you can see the bridge being lifted – from above. How cool is that? :D

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    1. Good idea! I’ve crossed the Tower Bridge by bus but walking it definitely sounds better :) and thanks for the note on the Shard – I’ll change it to “be treated to a meal and/or drinks” lol

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  6. I have done High Tea at F&M and also Afternoon Tea at The RItz (we had to book 6 months in advance though for the Ritz!)! F&M is great as you can choose to have a hot dish instead of finger sandwiches and the tea selection is amazing.

    For The 39 Steps, we got last minute tickets for £10, an hour before the performance. It’s a small theater and we still got good seats. It’s not a very long production so I am glad I didn’t fork out a lot of money on it.

    I’d recommend seeing a play at Regent’s Park Open Air Theater in the summer (I went two weeks ago for my birthday and it was fantastic). Have you done the British Museum/Natural History Museum, V&A.. etc.? Fascinating and even better, they’re free :)

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      1. I know! And we didn’t even get the exact date we wanted that far in advance…

        Yess, you can get cheap last minute tickets for West End productions, but not necessarily the most popular ones (Phantom, Lion King, Les Mis etc.) as they sell out.

        Glad to help :)

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  7. Great list Samantha! London is such an upbeat and cool city there’s never short of things to do.

    I’d also highly recommend exploring Camden Town (must for any first-time visitors), Carnaby Street (for food and shopping), Soho (popular gay area but filled with great restaurants), and Shoreditch (the uber trendy side).

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    1. I rented an airbnb with friends in Camden last time I went, such a cool area :) I really want to go to Carnaby street, thanks for the reminder! I’ve been to Soho, super fun and have yet to visit Shoreditch. There really is no shortage of things to do! Thanks Shelyn :)

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  8. Great list! I’m spending Christmas in London this year, pretty excited for the Christmas markets. I have to say the number one thing on my London list is to make it to the borough market! I always seem to have bad timing.

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  10. I’d highly recommend seeing The Lion King or Billy Elliot as your West End show. I went to see them earlier this year and thought they were amazing!
    Glad you have been to Borough Market. I love that place! I am currently living and working in London (before I leave to head to Oz in Decemeber) and I think I will try and do some of the things on this list that I haven’t done yet.
    My parents are coming to visit in October and I’ve told them we are going to go and see the Crown Jewels. I saw them when I was v
    younger but can’t really remember it. What did you think?

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  11. I love Kensington Palace- I was finally able to go to Afternoon Tea there, absolutely lovely! I would also wholeheartedly recommend Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Westminster is busy but has so much history while St. Paul’s is incredibly peaceful but awe inspiring!

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  15. Those are nice ideas! I moved to London some months ago and there is so much to see! I recommend “Roka Aldwych”, “Sticks n Sushi” and “The London Cocktail Club”. If you’re there around Christmas, the “Winter Wonderland” is quite nice to visit :)

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  16. London is also one of my favorites! Your list is great, here are few additions:

    The Tate Modern, St. Pauls cathedral whispering gallery and gold gallery up top, Pay a bit extra for the verger led tour of Westminster Abbey it’s so worth it, Walk across the Tower Bridge up top, Covent Garden, Tour Buckingham Palace in the winter when it’s limited to 30 people per tour, if you like shopping check out Selfridges Denim dept., The London Eye – but buy your tickets in advance…

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  17. Hi I am not sure if this has been mentioned but you might look into going up the Sky Garden. It is free, you just need to reserve in advance and the views over London are wonderful. Also you can go up into the bar area of Duck and Waffle for a drink and views if you don’t go for a meal. You might want to check out my recent post on London as we went to some fun historic pubs, like The Old Cheshire Cheese. Another option is do a day trip to Windsor Castle. So many options and so much to do in and around London you can’t go wrong no matter where you wander.

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  18. The Sky Garden at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street cheaper than the Shard because… it’s FREE! You need to book in advance & will need photo ID (passport will be fine). Then try The Gherkin. You’ll pass Spitalfields Markets if you walk from The Gherkin to Brick Lane. That should fill up a morning or afternoon for you. Some links to my posts on some of these suggestions:
    https://thefujifreak.wordpress.com/2015/12/16/architecture-20-fenchurch-street-london/
    https://thefujifreak.wordpress.com/2015/09/07/brick-lane-london-e1/
    https://thefujifreak.wordpress.com/2015/09/08/return-to-brick-lane/

    Good luck on your travels…

    Tony

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  19. We moved to London a bit over a year ago, amazing city to live in! definitely intern over here if the opportunity ever comes up. Here’s a couple of my picks to add:
    – Maltby markets: near Borough, not as big but a lot cooler, I reckon.
    – Gordons wine bar: hard to get a table, but worth the effort to have a wine in a piece of living history
    – Emirates cable car: alternative to the London Eye. Way cheaper with similar views, and the Eye is always way too busy to be fun.
    – Skygarden: see it has been mentioned, but book a ticket when they come out a couple months in advance (free, just need the time slot) to make it up for sunset.
    – Vincent Rooms: excellent for a little bit of dining luxury on a budget – this is a training programme which spits out some of the best chefs in Europe. They do amazing meals and impeccable service, but for bargain prices.
    – Camden markets.
    – watch a movie in a fun place: one of the many rooftop bars in deck chairs over summer, or on a beanbag in an abandoned tube station. Book as soon as you have your travel dates though, they sell out quick.

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    1. Thank you for all these tips! I’m going to be visiting London for 12 hours next month (sadly a short trip but at least it’s something!) and we are trying to book the sky garden but I’ve never heard of the cable car. I’ll look into that too! Will try to check out more markets as well :)

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  22. As a Canadian studying abroad in the UK, I can’t get enough of these posts! I’ll definitely be giving all of your articles a read before deciding where to travel. As for London, I’d recommend checking out The Mae Deli or Who Loves You for yummy and healthy eats :)

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  32. My favourite thing about London is there’s always something new to do every time I visit. Temporary exhibitions at the Wellcome Collection next to Euston station are perfect if you’ve just got a couple of hours in London changing trains. They’re generally on some aspect of medical history – gruesome interesting.

    I would add the V&A and the British Museum – even if you’re not big into museums the buildings are lovely, and they’re free so it doesn’t matter if you can only manage half an hour before museum burnout (been there!). The courtyard cafe in the V&A is a nice oasis for a cup of tea too.

    For a free skyline view you could try the OXO tower. It looks like you have to go to the restaurant when you get to the top, but if you want to just look at the view they’ll just show you to the balcony. It’s not the highest, but still nice.

    Hope London life lives up to your expectations!

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  34. Pingback: Moving to London: Before I Go – Samantha In Transit

  35. Ohhhhh how I miss London! I Lived there for 5 years and all of these suggestions sound fab! The Blues Kitchen was my local :)
    My favourite weird museum was the Hunterian Museum and my favourite place to eat was Kingsland Road in Hackney, the Vietnamese restaurants there are sooo cheap and delicious. Oh enjoy!!

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  36. Greenwich is one of my favourite spots but already on your list. Bonfire Night (5th of Nov) at Alexandra Palace or Primrose Hill is something that I’d recommend if you don’t have plans, seeing London lit up with fireworks is special.

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  37. I would highly suggest adding Jellied Eels from a proper East End pie and mash place to the food list. You won’t really be able to say you’ve been here until you do. This one is sublime and there’s a street market just outside: https://drunkenbunny.wordpress.com/2016/09/14/g-kelly-eels-and-pies-bow-london/ or if you don’t want to leave the city centre that far there’s a really good fishmonger that does these in the Borough Market (where you can easily gain a lot of weight): https://drunkenbunny.wordpress.com/2016/08/19/jellied-eels-at-from-boat-to-borough-market-london/

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  38. Check out Highate and Muswell Hill too if you have the chance. I used to live between them and Highgate Village is one of the most beautiful areas in London. Other firm favourites are: Greenwich, Honor Oak Park for One Tree Hill, Crystal Palace and Brixton Market for some real London vibes

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  39. This is a great list! I have so much left to do..going to use this as a point of reference. I am just too lazy to compile one of my own :)

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