Traveling to London for the First Time: A Beginner's Guide!

Are you traveling to London for the first time and want to make sure you are as prepared as possible?

Whenever I visit a new country, I always Google “things to know before visiting X for the first time”! I love reading these types of posts, since there are often so many nuggets of information you don’t get when reading an itinerary or list of things to do!

So, in this beginner’s guide, I’m going to cover all the things I think you should know before traveling to London for the first time! I’ll deep dive into the overall layout of London, how to get around, where to stay, and a bunch of mini tips and tricks to know before your first visit.

London is one of my favorite places in the world, and I am so excited for you to experience it as well! I hope this guide helps you feel a bit more prepared if you are traveling to London for the first time.

London Trip Planning at a Glance

Don’t have a lot of time? Here’s a quick mini guide to London to help plan your epic adventure!

Where to Stay:
– The Z Hotel Covent Garden (Budget)
– Hilton Doubletree Marble Arch (Mid-Range)
– The Cavendish London Hotel (Mid-Range)
– The Chesterfield Mayfair (Luxury)

Places to Eat & Drink:
– Dishoom Bombay Street Food
– Sky Garden
– Cahoot’s Underground
– Roti King
– plus Sunday Roast at a pub!

Things to Do:
– Westminster Walking Tour
– Ride bikes through Hyde Park
– Explore Soho and Covent Garden
– Thames River Cruise to Tower of London
– Eat your way through Borough Market

Everything You Need to Know Before Traveling to London for the First Time: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

London Geography Overview

In my opinion, one of the most important things you need to understand before visiting London (or any new destination) is the overall layout of the city.

When people refer to London, they are typically referring to the Greater London area which incorporates the City of London as well as 32 boroughs that stretch over 600 square miles.

While London (and its surrounding boroughs) is a large area, the main tourist attractions are congregated together around the River Thames in the middle of the city center.

During your first time visiting London, you will most likely stick to the following areas: City of London, City of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Tower Hamlets, Lambeth, and Southwark.

More specifically, the map below shows the overall area of London where the main attractions and sites are that you will likely be visiting. However, this totally depends on your itinerary and how far outside the city center you go!

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter what borough or city you’re in. All public transportation runs across these boroughs and cities without much distinction.

However, it’s good to be familiar with the different areas when looking at a map, especially when using public transportation!

Where to Stay for Your First Time in London

Now that you have a general idea of the layout of London, let’s talk about the best place to stay in London when visiting for the first time.

As a first-time visitor, I highly recommend staying in the heart of London for your trip. This means staying in either the City of Westminster or the City of London proper, as shown on the map below in purple.

Staying in this central area will put you right in the thick of the action, which is exactly where you want to be when traveling to London for the first time!

Now, there are a few different neighborhoods within the City of Westminster and the City of London that I recommend, which I will dive into below.

Or, you can check out my full guide on Where to Stay in London for First Timers here! 🇬🇧

Staying in Mayfair

First up is the gorgeous neighborhood of Mayfair, where we personally chose to stay during our trip to London!

If you’ve seen the show Bridgerton, Mayfair might sound familiar to you! This is where the high-class society families live in the show (albeit a few hundred years ago).

Today, Mayfair is still one of London’s most exclusive and upscale neighborhoods. The streets are lined with beautiful Georgian buildings, which transport you right back to the 1700s!

🏨 Top Hotel Recommendation in Mayfair: Hilton Doubletree Marble Arch

Mayfair backs right up to Hyde Park, the largest of the four royal parks in London, and is less than a mile away from Buckingham Palace.

Known for its five-star hotels, high end restaurants, and designer shopping streets, Mayfair is the perfect place to stay for your first trip to London if you’re looking for a little bit of luxury in a central location.

However, it’s not the best location for lively nightlife when compared to neighboring Soho or Covent Garden, which we will get into next!

🏨 Where to stay is just one piece of first-trip planning! If you’re also working through flights, budgeting, travel insurance, or phone plans, my Passport to Confidence guide covers all of it. A $7 planning roadmap built for first-time international travelers. Download it instantly!

Staying in Covent Garden

Next up is the iconic Covent Garden, a lively and vibrant neighborhood in the heart of London’s entertainment and theatre district.

Although we did not stay directly in Covent Garden, we spent a lot of time here during our 4 days in London, whether eating at Dishoom or exploring the Covent Garden market.

🏨 Top Hotel Recommendation in Covent Garden: The Clermont London

Covent Garden is the perfect place to stay for your first time visiting London if you want to be in the middle of the tourist district.

By staying in this area, you’ll be able to walk to some popular tourist sites like Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, and the Victoria Embankment Gardens.

In addition, you’ll be in the heart of West End, London’s famous theatre district, if you are interested in seeing a show! Not to mention some of London’s best restaurants, bars, and markets are all located in Covent Garden.

You’re also walking distance from the even more lively neighborhood of Soho, famous for its nightlife scene!

Staying in Westminster

Last but not least is the City of Westminster in London! Home to the most famous London sites like Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben, Westminster is a popular destination for first time visitors to London.

In addition to these iconic sites, you’ll also be walking distance to London’s top green spaces like St. James Park and Green Park, which are great for bike riding and walking!

🏨 Top Hotel Recommendation in Westminster: The Resident Victoria

Plus, as a tourist hub, Westminster is well-connected to other areas of London through public transportation, both on the Tube and by bus.

However, thanks to its popularity with tourists, Westminster can often feel very crowded and hotel prices are likely to be higher in this area. If you are looking to avoid the crowds, especially in the summer months, Westminster is not the place for you!

How to Get from London Airports into the City

One of the most important things I like to research before traveling to a new country is how the heck to get from the airport to the city center.

Luckily, this is relatively straightforward in London (once you know which airport you are flying into). Did you know that London actually has SIX major airports?!

If you are traveling from the USA, almost all of your flight options will fly into either London Gatwick (LGW) or London Heathrow (LHR). These are the largest London airpots and most common for international arrivals.

💡Travel Tip: When searching for flights, put “London” into the search box instead of LHR or LGW. The booking software will show you options for both airports so you can compare!

Heathrow is located ~16 miles (25 km) outside the London City Center, while Gatwick is around 28 miles (45 km). away. Both airports have several methods of transportation for getting into central London.

If you’re traveling to London Heathrow, you can take the Heathrow Express (15 minutes to central London) or the Elizabeth line (~26 minutes for the same route). There are also shuttle buses, public buses, and taxis into the city.

To make your life easy on your first trip to London, I recommend taking either the Heathrow Express or the Elizabeth line from Heathrow Airport.

The Heathrow Express is a little more expensive; however, it is extremely convenient as it travels straight to Paddington Station, no stops required. The Elizabeth line makes several other stops in central London, like Bond Street and Tottenham Court Road, which may be beneficial depending on where your hotel is!

Gatwick has similar options as Heathrow, including the Gatwick Express, which is the fastest option and provides non-stop service to central London in 30 minutes. There is also the Southern line, which follows the same route, is cheaper, but takes a bit longer (similar to the Elizabeth line for Heathrow).

Getting Around London

If you are traveling to London for the first time, you’ll need to understand how best to get around the city to maximize your time (and minimize your steps).

As an American, I know how daunting taking public transportation around a foreign city can feel. But, I promise London makes it very easy, especially if you’ve traveled to other cities like New York before!

In general, the best way to get around London for your first time is a combination of walking and public transportation.

Trust me when I say, if you try to walk the whole city of London, you will regret it!!

Instead, use a combination of walking, taking the Underground (often called “the Tube”), and riding the bus to travel around London during your first visit! To do this efficiently, I highly recommend downloading Google Maps or the CityMapper app.

These apps will help you navigate the city by showing you exactly how to get from Point A to Point B and will often have different options including the fastest, easiest, and least amount of walking.

In terms of public transportation, London makes it extremely easy to get around thanks to their contactless payment options on both the Underground and the bus – no paper tickets required!

All you have to do is set up Apple or Google Pay on your phone and hover above the contactless payment pads at the turnstiles on the Tube or at the front of the buses!

Or, some people opt for an Oyster card, a card you add money to and pay as you go throughout London’s public transport. Oyster cards work on the bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, and more!

Tips and Must Knows for Traveling to London for the First Time

Below are some quick tips and must knows for everyone traveling to London for the first time!

Currency, Cash, and Tipping

The currency in London is the Great British Sterling (GBP), also known as the Great British Pound or Great British Pound Sterling (£).

This is different currency from other parts of Europe who use the Euro (€), although the symbols can look similar to us Americans!

The British “pound” can also be referred to as the nickname “quid”, similar to the American nickname “buck” for “dollar”.

The British also have pennies, equal to 1/100 of a pound, more commonly referred to as “pence“.

Make sure to check the conversion rate with your home currency before you travel to London for the first time!

However, you won’t need to know too much about British currency, since almost the entire city operates on contactless payments.

During our trip in 2024, I did not use or need cash during our entire time in London. Instead, I just used my Capital One credit cards to avoid any international fees!

Last but not least, tipping is expected in some scenarios in London. In general, it is customary to leave 10% to 15% of the bill when eating out at restaurants, unless there is a service charge already included on the bill.

However, tipping is not expected like it is in the United States. At bars and pubs, tips are not common nor expected, but some people round up to the nearest pound.

In fast-food chains, casual cafes, or when grabbing coffee, tipping is very uncommon. Additionally, in many self-service environments, like food markets or street stalls, no tip is required!

Look both ways when crossing the street!

People in the United Kingdom (including London) famously drive on the left side of the road, which is different from the rest of Europe and the United States!

Now, this may still affect you when visiting London for the first time, even if you aren’t renting a car!

Why? Because you will most certainly be crossing some roads during your time in London. And cars driving on the left side instead of the right means you’ll need to look right (and left)!!

As an American, a lot of us are programmed to only look left when crossing a street. Don’t do this in London!!

In fact, you’ll notice on the roads and crosswalks in London, it will often tell you which way to look. You will find “Look Left” or “Look Right” in white on the ground! This is because some roads are one-way streets, and some aren’t.

So, as a general rule of thumb, look BOTH ways when crossing any road in London.

Choose a hotel near a Tube station

Although we’ve covered the different areas I recommend staying during your first trip to London, there’s another aspect of choosing accommodation to consider.

When looking at hotel options, I highly recommend mapping out the distance to the nearest Underground (Tube) station. You can do this on Google Maps simply by looking for the little Underground logo (a red circle with a dark blue line).

You may find the perfect hotel for you; however, if it’s a 20-minute walk to the nearest Tube station, it’s not the perfect hotel!

I promise you will be relying on public transportation a lot during your first time traveling to London! And being able to start your day with a short walk to the Tube will make your life so much easier.

🚇 Transportation Tip: While traveling around London for the first time, you will most likely be taking the Central, Jubilee, and Victoria lines the most, depending on where you are staying!

The Tube is convenient but not always the fastest

Speaking of the Tube, let’s dive more into public transportation for first time visitors to London!

We already talked about how you should use a combination of the Tube, walking, and the bus during your first trip to London!

Once you get used to the Tube, you might become addicted to using it! However, while GoogleMaps or CityMappers might recommend a route on the Tube, it’s not always the best option.

Note: Make sure to check your Google Maps settings and make sure it’s not set to “Avoid Buses”.

While taking the bus can be dicey in some cities, it’s perfectly safe in London! It’s also cheaper than taking the Tube. And, they are double-decker red buses, just like in the movies.

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Plus, sometimes you’ll find that you need to take two different Underground lines to get to your destination. However, there a might be a more direct route via bus that gets you to exactly where you need to go. This happened to us on multiple occasions!

In addition, while the Tube option might look faster on Google Maps, it sometimes isn’t! Google Maps doesn’t do a great job of taking into account the amount of time it takes to get into the Tube station and to the right platform.

This time adds up quickly! Whereas with the bus, there’s no need for escalators descending underground, stairs down even further, and walking to the right platform.

So, while the bus might not always look like the fastest option, it sometimes is!

However, buses tend to be a little less punctual than the Tube, so keep that in mind! For example, it may say a bus is arriving in 4 minutes, then quickly jump to 10 minutes due to traffic delays.

The Weather can be unpredictable

If this is your first time traveling to London, you’re probably wondering what to expect in terms of weather! You may have heard that UK is always cold and rainy and windy, but I promise that’s not always the case.

When we visited London in August, we were spoiled with the most amazing weather. I’m talking highs in the mid-70s (mid 20s in Celsius), sunny, and blue skies everyday!

However, when I visited in June, I remember it being cloudy and rainy and chilly the entire trip.

So, it does depend on not just what time of year you visit, but also luck! And in general, the weather can change quickly and be a bit unpredictable.

We were warned to always carry umbrellas with us, since it could be sunny one minute and drizzling the next!

In general, springtime in London sees mild temperatures and lower chances of showers than fall or winter. Winters can be chilly, and rain is common while snow is not.

Summer is of course the warmest and driest time of the year, and there are many outdoor events and festivals in London during the summer as a result!

While highs in London rarely exceed the the upper 70s (mid 20s in Celsius), heat waves can happen! And keep in mind that air conditioning is not common in London, making those warmer temperatures particularly stuffy indoors.

Tours aren’t necessary but can be very educational

Depending on what type of traveler you are, you may be considering booking a tour during your first trip to London.

I typically like to do a walking tour on my first day in a new European city to get acquainted with the area and learn a thing or two! However, for some reason I did not do this in London, and I regret it!

I figured London was too big for a walking tour and I knew enough about the city. However, I was so wrong!

While we were walking through the area of Westminster, which includes some of the most iconic London sites like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Downing Street, and Westminster Abbey, I felt like I was missing out on the incredible history embedded in this area!

I wish we had booked a walking tour like this one around Westminster to learn more about the history of London and the Royal family.

Another great tour that we surprisingly loved was this River Thames cruise! This cruise took us from Westminster Bridge to the Tower of London, with a pitstop in front of the London Eye and Tower Bridge for photo ops!

Although a little more expensive than a bus or Tube ride along the same route, this cruise included views of the London skyline and iconic sites from a different perspective.

If the weather is good, this is a perfect way to get acquainted to the city and get from Westminster to the Tower of London.

Book tickets in advance during summer

Speaking of tours, I highly recommend booking your tickets to any tours or attractions in advance, especially if you are visiting during the peak summer months. It’s common for the most popular attractions to sell out during this time!

For example, when we visited in mid-August, the morning time slots for the Tower of London were all sold out a few days in advance. And for even more popular sites, like the Harry Potter Studio Tour, slots can sell out months in advance!

One way to circumvent this issue is to book tickets on GetYourGuide, which often have tickets even when they appear sold out on the main attraction’s website.

In addition to booking in advance, I highly recommend looking into skip-the-line tickets on GetYourGuide. This is especially important for popular attractions like the London Eye and Westminster Abbey, where the lines can become insane!!

P.S. You can check out my full list of Things to Do in London here!

Take advantage of free museums and public parks

Aside from all the different organized tours you can book, London actually has a ton of FREE activities as well.

For example, most of the popular London museums, including the British Museum, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum, and the National Portrait Gallery, are completely free to the public! This is a huge difference between London vs Paris (almost all museums have an entrance cost in Paris!).

In addition, London has some gorgeous (and free) public parks you should take advantage of, including Hyde Park, St. James Park, Green Park, and Kensington Gardens.

If you’re a fan of Princess Diana, make sure to check out the Princess Diana Memorial Garden in Kensington Gardens, located right in front of Kensington Palace!

We loved strolling through the different gardens during our 4 days in London, especially when it was warm and sunny!

Another fun thing we did was explore the gardens via bike! London has a great “bike share” program. Basically, there are tons of electric bikes on the streets that you can rent and pay by the minute or hour.

We grabbed a pair of bikes outside our hotel after breakfast one morning and rode all through Hyde Park, down to Buckingham Palace, and then back up and through Kensington Gardens! It’s a great way to spend a few hours and your feet will thank you!

The London Pass may not be worth it

If you’ve been to other big cities before, you may have heard of the “City Pass”, like the Paris Pass or NYC Pass. These types of passes include entry tickets to all the most famous attractions at a discounted rate.

For example, the London Pass includes tickets to Tower of London, The London Eye, Thames River Cruise, Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, London Zoo, and more!

The cost of the London Pass varies depending on which you buy: the Explorer Pass (for a specific number of attractions) or the All-Inclusive Pass (unlimited access).

While these passes can be great, you really need to do the math and make sure they are actually going to save you money.

For example, if you purchase the 3 Day All-Inclusive Pass, you need to visit at least £184 worth of attractions over the course of 3 days. That’s a lot of attractions!

If you only want to visit one or two attractions, it’s probably not worth purchasing. However, if you plan to hit all the top sights during your time in London, it may save you some money!

Packing Essentials for Traveling to London

Before we wrap up this beginner’s guide to traveling to London for the first time, I wanted to share some of my London packing essentials!

Of course, your specific wardrobe will change depending on what season you are visiting London. However, you will need the below items no matter what time of year you are visiting London!

Comfortable walking shoes – I recommend these Allbirds sneakers!
A small umbrella
Lightweight waterproof jacket – this one is super cute!
Puffer jacket for cooler evenings
A cross-body bag – bonus if it’s anti-theft like this one!
Portable phone charger

Final Thoughts

That’s a wrap on my Ultimate Beginner’s Guide on traveling to London for the first time! As a London newbie, you may be overwhelmed with all the things to consider. However, I can personally say London is one of the best cities to visit as an American traveling abroad. In fact, it was my first big international trip when I was just 17!

I hope this guide has helped you feel more prepared for your first trip to London! Next up, let’s deep dive the different areas of London and where to stay for first timers!

Don’t forget to pin this post for future planning!

Traveling to London for the First Time: A Beginner’s Guide