5 Days in London: The First-Timer Itinerary

Five days adds a full Greenwich day to the 4-day route, and it’s enough time to actually slow down instead of racing between sights. Need a different length? See the 4-day , 6-day , or full week version of this same route.

Book these before you go

  • Hotel: compare Westminster or South Bank rates on Booking.com before you pick a base
  • Tower of London: £37 adult, book a skip-the-line slot on GetYourGuide
  • A Thames river cruise: check current sunset sailings on Viator
  • Royal Observatory Greenwich: check current tickets and the Cutty Sark combo pass on GetYourGuide
Day Focus
Day 1 Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the South Bank, the London Eye
Day 2 The British Museum, Covent Garden, the West End
Day 3 The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s, Borough Market
Day 4 South Kensington’s museums, Hyde Park, Notting Hill
Day 5 Greenwich, the Royal Observatory, the Cutty Sark

Day 1: Westminster and the River

Morning (9:00 am - 12:00 pm)

  • Start at Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard, it’s free to watch and provisionally runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 11:00 (check the week’s schedule first, it’s weather cancellable)
  • Walk through St James’s Park toward Westminster, one of the best short walks in zone 1
  • Reach Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament; the Abbey runs £31 online and is closed to tourists on Sundays, so build a weekday in if you want to go inside

Lunch (12:00 pm - 1:30 pm)

  • Grab a Pret or Boots meal deal near Victoria Street for £6-7, genuinely one of London’s best budget lunches
  • Or sit down at a Westminster pub for something more substantial

Afternoon (1:30 pm - 5:00 pm)

  • Walk Westminster Bridge toward the South Bank (ignore anyone running the three-cup game on the bridge, it’s a rigged street hustle, just keep walking)
  • Ride the London Eye; dynamic pricing runs roughly £29-33 for standard advance tickets, book ahead rather than queue at the gate
  • Continue along the South Bank past the Southbank Centre toward Blackfriars Bridge; St Paul’s dome across the water is the best free photo in the city at golden hour

Evening (6:00 pm - 10:00 pm)

  • Dinner at a South Bank restaurant with a river view, or head into Waterloo for cheaper options
  • If you timed it right, catch a play at the National Theatre or the Old Vic

Day 2: Free Museums and the West End

Morning (9:00 am - 1:00 pm)

  • Book a free timed slot at the British Museum before you go, especially for weekends, school holidays or anytime June through August, and doubly so once the Bayeux Tapestry’s first loan outside France opens there in autumn 2026
  • Budget a real two to three hours; the Rosetta Stone and the Egyptian galleries alone draw the biggest crowds

Lunch (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

  • Dishoom near Covent Garden for Bombay cafe style food, expect a queue at peak times
  • Or grab a sandwich in Russell Square if the museum ran long

Afternoon (2:00 pm - 5:30 pm)

  • Walk to Covent Garden for the market, street performers and Neal’s Yard
  • Duck into the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square for a second free museum, also permanently free general admission

Evening (6:00 pm - 10:30 pm)

  • Dinner in Soho, then catch a West End show on Shaftesbury Avenue; book ahead for anything popular
  • Or skip the show and just work through Soho’s bars and restaurants instead

Day 3: The Tower, St Paul’s and Borough Market

Morning (9:00 am - 1:00 pm)

  • Visit the Tower of London; tickets run £37 adult and booking online in advance saves a little over the gate price and skips a real queue
  • Walk onto Tower Bridge; the glass-floor walkways are a separate paid exhibition, worth it if heights don’t bother you

Lunch (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

  • Borough Market for artisan cheese, cured meat and hot food stalls, core hours run Monday to Saturday 10am-5pm plus a shorter Sunday session

Afternoon (2:00 pm - 5:30 pm)

  • St Paul’s Cathedral, £27 adult normally, dropping to roughly £24 during the 25 June to 1 September 2026 VAT savings window; the Whispering Gallery and Dome views are worth the climb
  • Free Sky Garden for city views, advance booking required even though entry is free

Evening (6:00 pm - 9:30 pm)

  • Book a sunset Thames river cruise from near Tower Bridge or the South Bank for a different angle on the day’s sights
  • Dinner in the City or back on the South Bank

Day 4: South Kensington and Notting Hill

Morning (9:00 am - 1:00 pm)

  • Pick one or two of the V&A, the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum, all permanently free general admission and clustered together in South Kensington, sometimes nicknamed Museum Mile
  • No advance booking needed for the permanent collections, just show up

Lunch (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

  • South Kensington has a solid run of cafes right by the museum cluster
  • Or pack a picnic for Hyde Park

Afternoon (2:00 pm - 5:30 pm)

  • Walk or bus to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, and check current pricing for Kensington Palace’s State Rooms on hrp.org.uk if you want to go inside
  • Continue to Notting Hill, colourful streets year round, and Portobello Road Market if it’s a Saturday

Evening (6:00 pm - 10:00 pm)

  • Dinner in Notting Hill or back toward Kensington High Street
  • Or head back toward the West End for a second night out

Day 5: Greenwich

Morning (9:00 am - 1:00 pm)

  • Take the DLR (not the Tube) to Greenwich, about 20-25 minutes from central London
  • See the Cutty Sark and walk Greenwich Park up to the Royal Observatory; standing on the Prime Meridian line costs £24, or £38 for a combined Observatory and Cutty Sark day pass, roughly 25% cheaper than buying both separately

Is Greenwich worth a full day? Yes, if you want the Prime Meridian, the Cutty Sark and the National Maritime Museum properly, not rushed. It’s a genuinely different pace from central London, and the DLR ride and river walk back are half the appeal.

Lunch (1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

  • Greenwich Market for street food stalls in a covered Georgian market hall

Afternoon (2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)

  • The National Maritime Museum is free and pairs naturally with the Observatory visit
  • Wander Greenwich’s UNESCO-listed core; the old Royal Naval College and park are worth the slow walk

Evening (5:30 pm - 9:00 pm)

  • Ride a Thames Clipper riverboat back toward central London for a proper river view of the city instead of the DLR
  • Dinner back near wherever you’re staying

Where to Stay

  • Westminster: closest to Day 1’s sights, walkable to the Abbey and St James’s Park
  • South Bank: river views, close to the Eye and Borough Market, and the easiest base for a Greenwich day out
  • Compare current rates for both on Booking.com before you book

Transportation

  • A contactless bank card or phone charges the same fare as an Oyster card and shares the same caps, most visitors don’t need a separate Oyster card
  • The Zone 1-2 daily cap runs £8.90 in 2026; Greenwich sits in zone 2/3, so it’s still covered by a modest daily cap
  • From Heathrow, the Elizabeth Line runs a flat £15.50 into central London; check current fares on tfl.gov.uk

Things to Know

  • Stand right, walk left on Underground escalators, it’s close to sacred here
  • Pickpocketing clusters on crowded Tube carriages and at busy tourist spots, keep bags zipped and phones pocketed
  • Buses are cashless, contactless or Oyster only, no coins or notes

Confirm your Tower of London, British Museum and Greenwich Observatory slots the night before; five days gives you a little slack, but not enough to waste a whole morning rebooking.