3 Days of Charming London Must Do Experiences Post

Are you looking for the best London must do experiences? These are some of the most recommended places to visit in this charming, culturally rich city.

Planning a trip to London is super exciting! If you’re anything like me, you’re here because you love to research and plan your trip ahead of time. London is a huge, charismatic, wonderful city and it can be overwhelming to decide where to go and what to see. Not to worry, this travel guide will give you some ideas of must do experiences, especially if you are visiting on a short trip.

You are going to learn about landmark places to see like Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, and museums, as well as the best places for English breakfast and fish and chips. After learning about these places, you are going to be ready for your next London travel adventure!

This post is my 3 Days of Charming London Must Do Experiences.

London Must Do Experiences

Day One: Westminster Abbey and Big Ben

If you are arriving in London through Heathrow Airport and want to avoid using expensive taxis, there is easy access to the city center using public transit. Once exiting the airport at terminal 4 and 5, you will see a building outside where you can access the Elizabeth Line, Heathrow Express, or London Underground (tube) below. I recommend using City Mapper or Google Maps apps to help you navigate which tube line you’ll need to get where you’re going.

Westminster Abbey and Big Ben

Since I was staying in the Westminster neighborhood, it was easy for me to start my sightseeing with Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. These are two must-see landmarks of the city. Unfortunately, I only had time to visit these sights from the outside. If you have time, definitely get tickets for Westminster Abbey and to see the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries.

Not far from Westminster is the neighborhood of Soho. This is a must visit area of London! There are so many cute restaurants and shops here. If you are vegan, I also noticed a lot of vegan restaurants in this neighborhood. For the best fish and chips, go to Poppie’s. They have a couple of locations and I recommend making an online reservation in advance. I chose the cod and it was delicious, especially with the malt vinegar!

For an afternoon pick me up, check out Monmouth Coffee. A great coffee shop with locations throughout London.

London Theater Culture

I must be living under a rock because I had no idea that London had such a large theater scene! If you have the chance, I highly recommend seeing at least one show during your visit. There are several of options, many of which have long-term residencies like Harry Potter, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, The Lion King, Les Miserables, and Mousetrap, which is the longest running show in London.

We chose to see a Cirque du Soleil-Alegria at the Royal Albert Hall. This is one of the original Cirque du Soleil shows! It was so good! The acrobatics are amazing. If you have the chance, I highly recommend seeing a Cirque du Soleil show, whether in London or another city.

It is important as part of London must do experiences to include food! Every cuisine can be found in this melting pot city. If you want to experience some authentic Indian food, I recommend trying Dishoom for dinner. Everything on the menu is amazing, but we especially loved the chili broccoli salad and paneer tikka.

Day Two: Buckingham Palace, Museums, and Borough Market

To get the day started, consider going to Regency Cafe. A long time London staple, this no frills breakfast establishment will give you a true English breakfast experience. As a vegetarian I enjoyed the eggs with chips and a side of beans. If you’re not vegetarian, you’ll want to try the sausage for a more traditional experience. Note that this place can get busy, so don’t be surprised if you have to wait in line!

Buckingham Palace

After fueling up with a hearty breakfast, I made my way to Buckingham Palace. I chose to walk all the way there! Since I was visiting in January, it was a bit chilly but I enjoyed the fresh air and seeing the beauty this large city has to offer. I chose to take in Buckingham Palace from outside, but there are many ways to get a full experience when visiting this landmark. There are tours available of the palace or consider watching the changing of the guard. This occurs every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 10:45am.

Museums

Did you know that most of the museums in London are free? You can choose to book your tickets in advance or wait in line for walk-up entry. Since I was visiting in January, I did not get tickets in advance and I did not have to wait long to enter the museums. I highly recommend visiting the following museums:

The National Gallery art museum has paintings from famous artists like Rembrandt, Botticelli, Van Eyck, and da Vinci. This is a great place to really take your time and enjoy wandering through each gallery.

The British Museum has a huge collection of artifacts. This museum can easily take a whole day to explore. If you’re short on time, I recommend grabbing the museum’s paper map and following their short visit guide located on the inside of the brochure. This will give you a condensed map of the most important artifacts in the museum including the Rosetta Stone.

Another great London must do experience is to try Israeli food. We chose to have dinner at Bala Baya. This restaurant has a lot of small plates which is great for sharing with a group. The food was amazing! I especially loved the feta & apricot, chickpea hummus, and cauliflower steak crumble. They offered a lot of vegetarian options too. Another Israeli restaurant I recommend is Rovi.

Borough Market

A bit farther from Westminster is Borough Market. You’ll have to take the tube to this market if you’re not staying in the area. A large food market that has a ton of vendors selling cheese, candy, fresh produce, and other pantry staples as well as several restaurants and food stalls. It’s a great place to try a variety of foods. I recommend trying the viral chocolate covered strawberries. They are so delicious! And the cheese is great too.

Day Three: Fortnum & Mason, Walking Tours

Afternoon Tea

One of the most important London must do experiences is enjoying afternoon or high tea! There are several places to enjoy this experience including The Ritz London, Cakes & Bubbles, and Westminster Abbey. We chose to have our afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason in their Diamond Jubilee tea room. This location was reopened by the Queen in 2012. It has everything you’d dream of for an afternoon tea. A variety of menu options including traditional, savory, and vegetarian. We chose to try the traditional and savory menus. All of the menus include sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, mini desserts, and a slice of cake of your choice. It may not look like much, but these mini treats really do fill you up! Be sure to make your reservations online in advance.

Walking Tours

Normally I recommend going on a walking tour at the start of your visit to a new city. That way you get a better understanding of the city’s history, the layout, and receive recommendations of things to do and places to eat from your tour guide.

On this trip my only chance of walking tours was on day three. We went on a historic walking tour where we saw St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Royal Exchange, and Leadenhall Market, as well as several examples of how the city’s architecture has changed over the years.

We also signed up for the Jack the Ripper walking tour! This was a fascinating tour and we learned about the history of the Jack the Ripper murders and where they occurred throughout the city. If you’re into true crime, this is a great tour!

Lastly, if you have a chance, go see the Tower Bridge at night. Often confused with the London Bridge which is not as beautiful, the Tower Bridge is the iconic bridge of London. At night you can see its sparkling lights glow over the reflection of the river. It is really pretty!

Travel Tips

Getting Around

London is such an easy city to navigate! I really enjoyed finding my way through the city by either walking or taking the tube. For the tube and buses, I found it easiest to use one tap on my credit card to enter the station or once you’re on the bus. You can also use your phone. Another option is to use the machines outside of the tube stations to purchase an Oyster card, however, I found it was not necessary. Taxis and ride sharing are incredibly expensive here because vehicles must pay taxes when driving in the city center, which raises the price of the fares. If you can, take the tube or bus system.

Navigation

As stated in the beginning of this post, I recommend using City Mapper or Google Maps to help you get around the city. These apps will tell you which train or bus lines to get on and which stops to get off as you make your way to your destination.

Even in cold January, there are so many London must do experiences! I really enjoyed my visit to London and tried to pack in as many landmarks as I could. I highly recommend visiting this culturally rich city if you can!