The posh capital of the world full extremely-British culture. Elegant, refined, fancy, and fun!
London is a big city that requires lots of time to digest and public transportation to get around. Yes, it’s walkable but you’ll need metro or buses to efficiently get between neighborhoods. I’ll help you feel at home and bite this big city down to size.
Whether you want to be Parisian-posh or Berlin-style hipster, eating fancy or partying trashy, walking at parks or crawling bars…London has a scene for you. 5-7 days is a good amount of time to see a bunch of things and live the local life a bit. I’ll definitely warn you that London is expensive!
Where to stay:
- Hyde Park – surrounding areas here (Paddington, Kensington, Notting Hill) are best for experiencing a local London life. Super central, super nice local vibes. Lovely buildings and local shops, restaurants, etc. And super close to the big beautiful Hyde Park. I recommend these areas for first timers.
- Party areas – SOHO, Covent Garden, Shoreditch. These are the loud and rowdy central party areas with endless bars and late night party spots. Don’t worry, you can still find many nice places for a good night’s rest here.
- Fancy – Westminster, Victoria. I feel like lots of corporate/finance folks with money live here. Kind of a luxury downtown apartment vibe.
I am by no means an expert in London. This is just a general idea of the 3 times I’ve been here and visiting local friend’s houses in different places. As you can see, I’ve mostly only stayed central with only a few visits out.
Hostels:
- Urbany Hostel – awesome “smaller” hostel in nice neighborhood, nice people, nice staff, good vibes. I loved that it’s not like the usual big giant hostels you see in London which are so full of people that it feels impersonal or hard to meet people. I had plenty of people to chat with here, and we all hung out a lot. Very comfy stay.
- Astor Hostels – I like this chain. I stayed at their Hyde Park one and it was nice. Comfy rooms, clean bathrooms, nice community spaces.
- St Christopher’s Inn – many people give it not-so-great reviews but I honestly had no problems. I liked the big queen beds stacked like chicken cages. Also many people to meet. But I can see why others prefer something more chill.
Neighborhoods & Walking areas:
- City center – Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Eye, and Buckingham Palace. You can walk past all these in a couple hours. Start here so you see all the main tourist things.
- Hyde Park areas – are the nice local neighborhoods. Walk the areas around yellow/green line metros (Paddington & Bayswater) and red line metro (Lancaster Gate and Queensway), and also where they join at Notting Hill Gate. And also go into the park itself and cross all the way to the south side by the Royal Albert Hall. Then further south to the Natural History Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum. Can catch a chill lunch or dinner here as well, where it’s not crowded like the city center and easier to find open tables without reservation. If you go northwest, aim towards Portobello Market.
I recommend doing morning walks along parks and water points. Then do night walks around city center and bar/restaurant spots. Evenings at parks are also a good option if you want to catch the sunset.
There truly are many great places and neighborhoods to check out in London. I just try to focus on the main ones for first-timers.
Activities to do:
- Water walks – river walk and canal walk (Grand Union Canal by Paddington). Can catch a brunch as well and do your morning walk there.
- Thames Clipper – river boat. Ride from one end to the other. I recommend getting on at Battersea and ride it all the way to Greenwich, then go up the hill for the city view.
- O2
- Scenic rides – London Eye, o2 climb, cable cars?
- SOHO party
- Markets – Camden, Portobello, Greenwich, Brick lane (best vintage one), etc. There’s both outdoor and indoor ones.
- Parks – Hyde Park, Primrose Hill.
- broadway musical, theater
Restaurants & Cafes:
- C’mon now. It’s London. Good food is everywhere. And they also do ethnic foods really well since there’s many immigrants here.
Bars & Clubs:
- Tiger Tiger – don’t go here. Total cockfest and super aggressive annoying dudes that pester the girls.
- G-A-Y Late – fun gay/lesbian party spot. Kinda divey/grimey vibes.
- Simmons Bar – young fun college crowd. I forget which ones are just bars and which ones become clubs.
Basically, go to SOHO or Covent Garden areas and wander around.
Miscellaneous tips:
- Fastest transportation – is public transportation. So don’t be late, thinking you can catch a taxi/Uber to get to the airport faster. It won’t be!
Nearby towns:
- I haven’t been to any others.
Unfiltered notes: