If you are like us, Christmas in London has always sounded quite magical. This year we decided to take advantage of the extra time off and take a quick 4 day trip to London over Thanksgiving!
London starts decorating for Christmas in late November, so Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity for a quick trip to see the city lit up. During this 4 day visit we covered a bunch of ground in the city and took a day trip to Cambridge. We really enjoyed our time in London and hope that this itinerary can help you plan for your perfect vacation!
Things to know before visiting London:
- London is always crowded, but London during Christmas season is very crowded. Many hotels and restaurants fill up with reservations quickly, so plan ahead!
- It’s a good idea to monitor flight and hotel prices as we saw a decent amount of fluctuation in the months before our trip.
- London, in general, is very expensive, but hotel location is really important. It’s worth it to pay a bit more to stay in the Trafalgar Square area in our opinion.
- The Tube is extremely convenient and runs very often. You can get anywhere in the city on it relatively quickly. You can use the TFL Go, or simply Google, for planning your route.
- Like other big cities in Europe, petty theft can be an issue. Keep a close eye on your phones, wallets, and purses in tourist areas! That said, we never felt unsafe.
Now on to our 4 day trip to London!
Table of Contents
*Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you make a purchase/booking through a link at no extra cost to you. We hope this information helps you plan your next vacation.
Day 1 – London Sightseeing
After our quick overnight flight, we landed in London at 8:40 in the morning. We highly, highly recommend taking the Heathrow Express from the airport to Paddington Station. It costs £25 per person and takes just 15 minutes to get there. Alternatively, you can take the Piccadilly Line of the Underground (Dark Blue) to Piccadilly Circus which takes 50 minutes and costs £7 per person.
Once we arrived at Paddington we made our way to the Underground (aka the Tube) and the Bakerloo Line for the 12 minute journey to Charing Cross Station, which was just a 4 minute walk from our hotel. One thing we love about the Tube is that you don’t have to buy any specific tickets. You can simply use any tap to pay (credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, etc.) and tap upon entry and exit. You are then charged based on how far you traveled. Super convenient and easy! Just make sure each person has their own payment method as you can’t use the same card for more than one person at a time!
We then checked in to our hotel, The Grand at Trafalgar Square. We absolutely loved this hotel’s location and they offered free coffee and tea all day long, something we had to take advantage of daily. The rooms were also a good size and the beds were comfy. The only thing we didn’t love was that the elevators were very small and slow, so staying on the 6th floor was somewhat annoying! That was just a minor inconvenience though and we still highly recommend this hotel.
We had also seriously considered staying at Page 8, which we passed on many occasions since it is just around the corner from The Grand. It was a bit more expensive though, and (be warned) hotels in London in a good area are already quite expensive!
After checking in to the hotel we stopped in Notes, a nice coffee shop for a cappuccino and a matcha latte – both very good! Then we walked around the Christmas market located in Trafalgar Square. It was a very nice market and we enjoyed exploring the different stalls. We ended up getting the Dutch mini puff pancakes with Nutella (delicious!) and a London Christmas ornament.
After the Christmas market we walked 15 minutes from Trafalgar Square to Big Ben. We were so excited to see it this time as when we went to London in 2018 it was being restored and there was scaffolding surrounding it! We continued across the Westminster Bridge to the other side of the Thames River. The far side of the river offers the best picture opportunities of Big Ben in our opinion! It was gorgeous and a must do while in London.
On our way to lunch we passed the Horse Guards, the iconic Royal British soldiers mounted on horseback. Every day the King’s Life Guard ride from Hyde Park Barracks to take their post between the entrance to Whitehall and St. James’ Park. The tradition dates back to the early 18th Century, when the Horse Guards guarded the entrance to the Palace of Whitehall. For that reason they still ceremonially guard the spot to this day. If you arrive at 11am, or 10am on Sundays, you can witness the changing of the Life Guards ceremony. Sentries are posted on horseback at the gate between 10am and 4pm daily.
We made our way to our 1pm reservation at Mr. Fogg’s, where we met up with Sarah and Jacob, one of Matt’s best friends who had arrived in London the day before.
We had high hopes for this restaurant but found it to be pretty average food. The decor is really cool as it is based on the book Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. We had looked online at their menu and saw they had a French dip sandwich that we really wanted, but when we arrived it wasn’t on their menu so that was disappointing. We ordered a toastie and fish and chips instead, which were fine but nothing special.
After lunch we walked over to see Fortnum & Mason, a really cool building which is decorated as an Advent Calendar for Christmas. We also popped into Floris London, the oldest English retailer of fragrance. It’s open from 9:30-6:30 daily, and while we enjoyed the scents we did not end up buying anything.
We continued our walking tour by heading to St. James Square and then St. James Palace, at one time the principal residence of the monarchs which was named after Saint James the Less. We then walked through the park up to Buckingham Palace, the main London residence of the royals since Queen Victoria’s reign. Even in the cold the park is full of activity, with dogs being walked and ducks and geese congregating by St. James Park Lake. We admired the outside of Buckingham Palace before heading to our next stop.
From Buckingham we walked about 25 minutes to the Covent Garden area to explore. We had heard from one of Jacob’s friends that lives in London that Twenty8 NoMad is one of the best restaurants in London. We didn’t have a reservation but we decided to see if we could get in, and luckily we were there early enough on a Wednesday to get in with no problem.
The restaurant is gorgeous with a moody aesthetic. Emily ordered butternut squash soup and truffle chicken. Matt got the steak with peppercorn sauce and fries. We got a Malbec here that was from France, not Argentina, and it was so good! We highly recommend this restaurant, though depending on when you visit reservations are a good idea!
After dinner we made our way to Chinatown for dessert – specifically we wanted to try Taiyaki, a custard filled fish shaped pastry (we know, sounds kind of weird!). The best Taiyaki is at Chinatown Bakery, and they pop these things out like crazy! We each got one and thought they were very good. They make for a delicious sweet treat to end the evening. Just make sure to wait a few minutes before biting in as they are made fresh so the custard inside is extremely hot!
Day 2 – Notting Hill, Tea Time
We started the morning with a quick Underground ride from the Embankment station to Notting Hill Gate. The exit let us off right at Farmer Street, an adorable street full of colorful buildings that is as picturesque as you’d expect.
After taking a few pictures we went Kuro for coffee and bagel sandwiches. This Japanese inspired bagel shop is delicious! They make the bagels fresh everyday and have a large window where you can watch the baking process. We ordered egg, cheese, and sausage on cinnamon raisin bagel sandwiches that were excellent. We also got the Yuzu soda and iced matcha latte. We highly recommend this shop for breakfast in Notting Hill!
While enjoying our bagel sandwich we made sure to see the colorful streets of Elgin Crescent, Westbourne Park Road, Lancaster Road, Farmer Street, and Hill Gate Street. We really loved the architecture in this part of London and it was so different than everywhere else!
We continued our exploration by walking up Portobello Road to the Portobello Market. This market is set up in the middle of the road and extends for quite a distance! There are so many cool stands with fun goodies. We bought a couple of very unique souvenirs here and really enjoyed perusing the different items.
After shopping through the market, we walked about 20 minutes to Hyde Park to see Kensington Palace. Initially established by Henry VIII as a royal hunting ground, Hyde Park covers 350 acres and is one of the most famous areas in London. Today the park is host to large gatherings and events! We didn’t have too much time to explore all the attractions Hyde Park has to offer, but it was still very beautiful. We continued through the park until we came to The Albert Memorial, dedicated to Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s husband, who died at just 42 years old.
We then decided to pop into Harrods, the luxury department store, after exiting the park as we wanted to experience the famous food court. It was insanely packed but all the food options looked very good! They also have several sit down restaurants you can go to on the various levels. We went to the Moet & Chandon Bar to sit and relax for a bit. We each ordered a glass of the Brut champagne and they gave us truffle potato chips – all so delicious! It was a lovely pit stop in the afternoon and we would have loved to stay longer.
From Harrod’s we quickly caught the Underground over to the Westminster Abbey area. We crossed the Westminster Bridge right in front of Big Ben and made our way to the London Marriott County Hall hotel for our 3pm high tea experience.
Within County Hall is The Library, the hotel’s special tea room. We prebooked our tea experience which was 2 hours long and had a nice view across the Thames of Big Ben in a fantastic setting. It is £70 per person for the Traditional Tea, £90 for tea with a glass of Pommery Champagne, or £75 for the Festive Tea.
We loved this afternoon tea experience! It was so nice to have a gorgeous view of Big Ben from the setting of the Library. The food and pastries were delicious. We loved the scones with clotted cream and jam as well. There are also so many teas to choose from! They let you smell all the different teas before making your decision.
Sarah and Emily chose a specialty black tea that you can’t get anywhere else. Emily really liked it even though she is not usually a black tea drinker. We decided to add on a glass of the Pommery Champagne as we wanted to try a high end English champagne and it was wonderful. It was very bubbly and very tasty. Afternoon tea is a must in London and we highly recommend doing it at the Library.
We finished tea time around 5pm, then decided to walk about 5 minutes over to the London Eye. We thought about getting tickets to ride, but it was fairly expensive (£29), which we didn’t think was worth it. This is a highly rated attraction that many people do on their visits so definitely get tickets in advance if this is your thing!
We relaxed a bit before heading to our dinner reservation at Circolo Populare, a nice Italian restaurant about 15 minutes from our hotel. Like many other restaurants in London the reservation did require a deposit that became nonrefundable 24 hours before the reservation time.
We all thought it was very good and had a great ambiance! Emily ordered the seabass, while Matt and Jacob shared the carbonara (must order for 2) that is prepared in a cheese wheel tableside. The food was delicious and we had a wonderful time here!
If the weather had been bad then we were going to go to the Churchill War Rooms or tour Parliament. We saw the Churchill War Rooms in 2018 and we highly recommend prioritizing touring them if you haven’t before. From these underground rooms Churchill led the British effort in World War II, and it is must visit for any history lover.
We also wanted to see Churchill Arms, a very famous and popular pub. The outside is decorated with many lights so it would be great to see once its dark in the Christmas season. We ended up not visiting but we will be sure to go next time!
Day 3 – Cambridge
On our third day of the trip we spent the full day in Cambridge. We went back and forth on different day trips from London, trying to decide between Cambridge, Oxford, Bath, the Cotswolds… there are so many fantastic trips from London! We ultimately decided to visit Cambridge, home to 31 different colleges that together make up the University of Cambridge.
The train from London cost £65 round trip (on Great Northern Trains) for the flexible train pass that allowed us to take any train there and back on the day of our travel. Every hour there are direct trains that take 48 minutes to get there, though there are other trains that have a stop or two that take 1 hour and 20 minutes or longer.
We left our hotel by 8:10 and walked 4 minutes to the Charing Cross Underground Station. We took the Tube to Kings Cross Station to catch the 8:42 direct rain to Cambridge. From the Cambridge train station we had the option to walk 25 minutes to downtown or take a quick taxi or Uber. We decided to take a taxi to save our steps for the rest of the day.
The first order of business in Cambridge was getting coffee and breakfast. We went to Fitzbillies across from the Pitt Building as they are famous for their Chelsea buns. We ordered a sausage roll, cappuccino, and cinnamon roll. We only wish we would have asked them to heat it up as it is served cold, but it was all still very good.
After breakfast we went to Pembroke College, the third oldest college in Cambridge dating all the way back to the 1300s. The campus is on the smaller side and only has 700 students and fellows, but it is beautiful and a can’t miss – especially since it’s just around the corner from Fitzbillies!
After visiting Pembroke College we walked to see the Corpus Clock, a famous clock that features no hands or digital numbers that was unveiled in 2008.
We passed by Kings College and stopped at the Cambridge Farmers Market. We explored the stalls for a few minutes before heading over to Great St. Mary’s Church to climb 123 steps to the top of the tower for views over all of Cambridge. It costs £7.50 to go up. The staircase is so narrow and steep that there is only one way traffic so you cannot go up while people are coming down and vice versa. We had to wait at the top for them to tell us that it was safe to head back down. It was a bit windy and cold at the top but the views were very nice!
After leaving the church we made our way to the meeting point for our 12pm punting tour on the River Cam. The tour boat holds up to 8 people and costs $25 per person, which we thought was so worth it! The tour will last about 45 minutes and is a great way to see the city!
This tour was easily the highlight of our day in Cambridge. Our guide Mateo did an excellent job telling us all about the history of Cambridge as he guided the boat along the River Cam. He gave us blankets as it was quite chilly on the water. We saw 7 total bridges and colleges, including the Bridge of Sighs and the Mathematical Bridge. The tour turned around after the Mathematical Bridge to go back up the river so no matter which side of the boat you sit on you get to see everything well. This is absolutely a must do in Cambridge!
As soon as we were done with the punting tour we went to Trinity College hoping to see the Wren Library, which is supposed to be open daily from 12:00-2:00pm. To our disappointment Trinity College was not accepting walk in visitors that day, and anyone hoping to visit had to sign up for a guided tour at 10:00am or 2:00pm, both of which were already sold out. Beyond the beauty of the building itself, the library is home to numerous important works including Isaac Newton’s notebook, an 8th century copy of Paul’s Epistles, Robert Oppenheimer’s notes on the atomic bomb test, and more!
Instead we made our way to The Eagle for our 1:30 lunch reservation. As with most other buildings in Cambridge, the Eagle has it’s own claim to fame since it was established in 1667. Specifically, in 1953 Watson and Crick announced the discovery of DNA and celebrated here. During World War II it was also frequented by Allied airmen, and this history is reflected in the decor and beer names as well.
The Eagle has a nice cozy atmosphere inside. It was extremely packed for lunch, and it took 1 hour to get our food after we ordered but at least it was good! Emily got the braised beef pot pie and Matt ordered the brisket burger. Luckily you can walk up to the bar to order drinks whenever you want so we were still able to get our beer and wine quickly.
Unfortunately because lunch took a lot longer than expected we did not make it to Kings College in time to tour it. We didn’t realize that the last entry to tour the campus and cathedral is at 3:15pm. This is not a free campus, so you do have to pay in order to tour it. Just make sure you are there prior to 3:15 so you can see the college and stroll along the Backs, the gardens behind Kings College.
Luckily we learned that every day at 5:30pm they do a choir practice, called Evening Song, in the Kings College Chapel that is free. We really wanted to see Kings College so we decided to stay for Evening Song to see it and the Chapel. We made sure we were in line by 5pm to ensure entry. We all enjoyed getting to experience the choir singing in the chapel. Unfortunately it was already dark by the time we were able to enter Kings College so we didn’t get a great look at the college itself, but going inside the beautiful Chapel is definitely worth it.
Just a quick note on Evening Song – it is not just singing like we were expecting. Instead it is an entire Catholic Mass! Depending on if they do Communion it can take anywhere from 45-75 minutes. We were there on a day it was only 45 minutes, but you can sit in the back if you do have to leave early.
After the Evening Song we Ubered back to the train station to get on the 6:30 direct train back to London. On the way we discussed what we wanted for dinner, and everyone agreed that Asian food sounded good. Matt ended up finding a Thai restaurant called Thai Tho in Soho and it was excellent. It’s an interesting entrance and hidden away upstairs, but don’t let that deceive you as the food was incredible.
After dinner we walked 3 minutes over to Bunhouse in Chinatown. The line was very long, but we figured it probably would move fast, which it did. We bought the pork and lamb buns. We also wanted to try the chicken bun with lemongrass but they had just run out and we didn’t feel like waiting for them to make new ones. The pork and lamb buns were very good and we highly recommend them!
Day 4 – St Paul’s, Borough Market, Sky Garden, and more!
Our last full day in London began by taking the Circle Line of the Tube from Embankment to Mansion House, a 6 minute ride. Then from Mansion House we walked 5 minutes to Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The existing building dates back to the early 1700s, but a church has existed on the site since at least the 6th century. The Cathedral survived WWII most in tact, though it did take damage twice. A third bomb was defused before it could go off, and this one could have destroyed the entire building if it had exploded!
We bought tickets for 8:30 entry, the earliest time of the day. Tickets cost £26 and will book up in advance, so definitely plan ahead if you want to see it! It is closed on Sundays for visitation due to Mass.
Something to note is that the stairs to go up to the Whispering, Stone, and Golden Galleries do not open until 9:30am. Because of the difference in opening time of the stairs we think the 9am time is better, as we finished exploring the Cathedral floor and crypt in about 30 minutes. There is a very nice gift shop down by the crypt. We generally are pretty quick in places like this, so some people may take an hour or more as there is plenty to read and look at.
We do think going up to the Whispering Gallery is worth it. Don’t be intimated by the stairs! The steps are small and the stairwell is very wide. We really enjoyed learning about Paul all through the book of Acts, so seeing the paintings of Paul on the ceiling of the dome up close was a cool experience. The Whispering Gallery also has plaques that explain the paintings and where to read about them in the Bible.
We continued the trek up to the Stone Gallery to see the view out over London. It was a fine view, but it was very windy while we were up there. We did not go up to the Golden Gallery as that is where the stairs get very narrow, it is much higher up, and just gives another more elevated view over London.
We finished touring the Cathdral around 10:00am, then walked 20 minutes over to Borough Market, crossing Millenium Bridge – the pedestrian bridge opened in 2000 – on the way. We hadn’t eaten breakfast yet so we were planning to have an early lunch!
Borough Market is one of the largest and oldest food markets in the world, claiming to have existed since at least 1014! Today it features specialized food stalls and is open 10-5 Monday – Friday, then 9-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday. There was so much delicious food to try!
Bar far the best food in the market has to be The Black Pig – a fantastic pork sandwich that was one of the best sandwiches we’ve ever had. The sandwich is easily big enough to share, especially if you want to try other food in the market. We originally planned to share, but it was so good we ended up getting a second sandwich!
For our caffeine needs we got matcha at Whisk by Jenki. This was delicious, super high quality matcha – by far the best matcha latte we had in London, probably because it is sourced directly from Japan. We were also able to sit inside which was a nice break. There is also the Colombian Coffee Company, though we didn’t end up getting anything from here. It looked and smelled delicious though!
We had to stop for chocolate covered strawberries at Turnips, and while they were super good we wish it would have been melted dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. We then made our way over to Kappacasein Dairy for melted raclette cheese over potatoes. They also do cheese toasties but the line was significantly longer. Either way this is a good food stop as well!
We walked past a stand offering samples of mushroom truffle risotto and while it was very good, we thought it was much too rich to eat an entire bowl. One thing we wanted to try but did not was the sausage roll at Ginger Pig, which is highly related but we were too full at this point. There is a fresh pressed juice station near the center of the market where we bought a fresh ginger shot for £2.
We wrapped up sampling the different foods in Borough Market with two doughnuts from Bread Ahead. We had one creme brûlée and one blackberry cheesecake doughnut. The creme brûlée doughnut was too sweet and had too much filling in our opinion, but the blackberry cheesecake doughnut was fantastic. They also had a pistachio doughnut that we wish we would have gotten.
After around 2 hours we left and made the 15 minute walk along the Thames River to Tower Bridge, one of the most famous bridges in the world. Our first stop on the walk was Hay’s Galleria, a shopping mall that was beautifully decorated for Christmas. Just outside of Hay’s was a restaurant called The Horniman at Hay’s which featured a beautiful bar and exquisite views of the Thames. It was very popular and seemed like a great spot for lunch or an afternoon drink!
We continued along the Queen’s Walk, passing the HMS Belfast moored in the Thames. The HMS Belfast is a World War II era light cruiser, originally commissioned in August 1939. The Belfast took part in major operations during the war, including Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy and went on to serve until she was retired in 1963. Today the Belfast is open for visitors as a museum ship, but we didn’t have enough time to explore.
We arrived at the base of Tower Bridge and searched for the Horsleydown Steps, a staircase that provides access to the best picture of the Tower Bridge. There is also a restaurant called The Vault which is perfectly located for a great view of the bridge and features delicious fish and chips.
We then crossed the Tower Bridge and walked around the Tower of London, the famous fortification originally built by the Normans after their conquest of England in 1066 to control London. In the nearly 1000 year since it has been besieged, dominated trade and traffic along the Thames, served as an armory, treasury, and, perhaps most infamously, as a prison. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in London and requires 2-4 hours to visit.
We reserved free tickets to the Sky Garden, the highest public garden in London, at 1:30. Tickets “sell out” extremely fast, and if you are going on a Friday or Saturday you need to book them as soon as they are released 3 weeks in advance or you probably will not be able to visit.
There are 2 large bars in Sky Garden and a restaurant that you need a reservation for. We found a table with a nice view and each ordered a glass of wine. We sat and relaxed in Sky Garden for about 2 hours, which was a great way to spend an afternoon after all the walking of the morning.
Once we were ready to leave we walked around the corner to Leadenhall Market, a cute covered market. If you are in the area it is worth seeing, but we wouldn’t make it a point to go out of your way to see it. We did stop for a pastry at Buns from Home. We each got a blueberry bun and shared one regular cinnamon bun, and we all agreed that they were absolutely delicious.
We walked about 7 minutes further to The Royal Exchange, originally constructed in the 16th Century to be a center of commerce in London. Today it is occupied by luxury shops (think Tiffany and Co.) and restaurants. The interior is beautiful as one would expect, but we preferred the exterior. We saw a bride and groom taking pictures here!
We then took the Tube back to our hotel for a short rest before dinner. We really wanted to go to Steak & Company for dinner, but unfortunately they required a credit card to make a reservation and we weren’t sure what our schedule would be in advance. As you can imagine, they ended up being fully booked since it was Saturday night. We even checked both locations in the area and both were full.
London restaurants fill up very quickly on the weekends, so having reservations is generally a good idea. Jacob found an opening on Open Table for The Ivy, and it was very good! We each ordered steaks and thought they were excellent.
Since this was our last night we wanted to end with a cocktail or wine. We stopped by Eve Bar for a cocktail, but none of us really liked them and it was a strange atmosphere. It will forever be funny memories though! We should have gone to Gordon’s Wine Bar instead which was very highly rated and was recommended by Jacob’s London friend as well.
Day 5 – London Breakfast, Fly Home
On our last morning we went to The Breakfast Club. It is relatively small and fills up very quickly, so we ended up waiting about 30 minutes but it was definitely worth it. Emily ordered the shukshouka with eggs, beans, and avocado toast while Matt got the eggs benedict. We also shared the French toast sticks. Everything was phenomenal!
After breakfast we walked down towards Big Ben and Parliament to see them one last time before leaving. We were blessed with another beautiful day so we were able to see the buildings in their full glory with the sun shining.
At this point it was time to leave and make the return trip to Heathrow. We took the Heathrow Express again and still found it to be worth it. Heathrow is very big so make sure to give yourself enough time! We also bought some English champagne in the airport since it is much more expensive in the US.
Food in London:
- Nomad London- pretty place for drinks and dinner in Covent Garden
- The Connaught in Mayfair- evening cocktails
- Rock and Sole Plaice- for large fish and chips- very popular
- Dinner at Circolo Popolare- Italian
- The Vault- under Tower Bridge- go for a drink or Fish & chips
- Junk Smash Burgers
- Chestnut Bakery- Covent garden for an almond croissant
- 26 Grains for breakfast- Covent Garden 15 min walk from hotel
- TomTom coffee- Westminster
- Abuelo for breakfast – Covent Garden
- Fortitude Bakehouse- 32 min walk from hotel
- Ziggy Green- Mayfair
- FuwaFuwa- specialty fluffy pancakes- Soho
- La Dolce London for brunch
- Drinks at the Dorchester or The Ivy- bar 23 mins from our hotel
- Artesian for innovative cocktails- Marylebone
- Langans in Mayfair- sunday roast
- Ukrainian restaurant Sino- Notting Hill
- Kinkally- Georgian Restaurant
- Kiln- Thia
- Harrods- shopping center Matts parents went in and said we have to check it out
- Secrets & Spies Afternoon Tea at the Drawing Room Raffles
- The Goring for afternoon tea- in a garden
- The Library at County Hall- view of Big Ben for afternoon tea
Coffee and Matcha:
- Tomtom Coffee House- by Buckingham
- Hideaway Coffee
- Notes
- % Arabica
- Blank Street- has matcha and coffee
- Omotesando Koffee- has matcha and coffee
Pubs:
- The Prospect of Whitby- on the River Thames, history and a hanging site on the beach- far passed Tower Bridge
- Trafalgar Tavern on the River Thames- far passed Tower Bridge
- Churchill Arms- Notting Hill
- The Old Bank of England- 20 minute walk from Trafalgar Square
- Sherlock Holmes pub- 13 minute walk from Big Ben
- Ye Old Mitre
- Crown & Anchor- near Covent Garden
- The George- 20 minute walk from Covent Garden
- The Devonshire- near Covent Garden
- The Lamb & Flag- right in Covent Garden
- The Ship & Shovell- near Covent Garden- pub
- Le Garrick- in Covent Garden- French cuisine
Christmas Lights Streets to see:
- Regent Street
- Oxford Street
- New Bond Street
- Covent Garden
- Carnaby Street
- South Molton Street
- Burlington Arcade
- Annabel’s
- Leanenhall Market
- Belgravia, Elizabeth Street
- Chelsea, Sloane Square
Other things to see in London:
- The Painted Hall by Canary Wharf
- Live at Lunch Oct. 3rd 2025- April 24th 2026 at the Royal Opera House. Free dance and music performances every Friday at 1:00pm. No booking, just show up and que
- Explore around Covent Garden and St. James
- See Bedfordbury- the Harry Potter Passage
- Parliament Square Garden
- Westminster Abbey – takes 1.5 hours to visit
That concludes our trip to London! Check out our trip to Ireland and Scotland for more UK related travel inspiration.