A Day’s Thorough Walk in London to See Most Sites
So you’re in London or will be in London soon. You’re wondering what to do. You’re wondering how to see the most sites quickly. You want to get a flavor of this capital city.
My solution: take a walk.
Walking is my favorite thing to do in a big city…particularly if I’ve never been to that city before. It gives me an idea of the city—people, architecture, proximity of landmarks—and can also yield undiscovered little secrets such as a favorite small shop or small garden. Check out my post on walking here.
After multiple visits to London, I always felt as if I only knew places according to the subway (or “tube”) stops. Notting Hill Gate looked like this, Tottenham Court Road was this, etc. I’d pop up from stations for something and then find myself back on the tube. I had no idea how things geographically went together, beyond the abstract map view. So I finally decided to take a long walk to really make sense of everything—and I love to do this same walk, at least in part, whenever I’m in London!
To help you on your next visit, here is my tried-and-true London walk.
Starting Point: Kensington Gardens
We start our walk at the northwest side of Kensington Gardens. Enter the gardens from Bayswater Road, opposite Caroline Court, and walk south along the walkway. This walk will take you past Kensington Palace, the childhood home of Queen Victoria. Near the palace, there’s also the “Orangery” where you can get tea or a meal—just beware that you will need to wear at least smart-casual clothing.
Past the palace, you will see a pond to your left. Enjoy the ducks and swans on the pond—you can even walk around the pond or start cutting across the park to the east. During Spring and Summer, however, I do recommend continuing on the Broad Walk path until you reach the the Flower Walk path on your left. This is nearly to the south edge of the gardens. The Flower Walk is full of beautiful flowering plants and will take you toward our next stop: the Albert Memorial.
The Albert Memorial and South Kensington
Just past the end of the Flower Walk is the Albert Memorial. A tall structure featuring a seated statue of Prince Albert, this memorial was built in 1872 by a grieving Queen Victoria. Think what you will of the royal family, but this memorial makes a lot of sense for the area. Just across the street from it is Royal Albert Hall, home of the annual BBC Proms, and continuing south is the entire area of universities and museums making up South Kensington. Prince Albert was a key leader in developing this area of educational venues. Enjoy a walk south—around Royal Albert Hall and then on to the Royal College of Music, which is flanked by Imperial College. Turn left on Prince Consort Road and turn right on Exhibition Road. This road will take you past quite a few museums: the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum, Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum.
Each of the museums is obviously a bit different. As a child, I simply couldn’t get enough of the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum! The V&A has a mix of things, from art to home decor of different cultures and time periods. In good weather I recommend stopping into the V&A cafe for a bite to eat—they have beautiful courtyard seating. If you are interested in musical history, I highly recommend stopping into the Royal College of Music instrument museum (check here for opening hours) or the V&A’s instrument collection.
Knightsbridge
Just past the V&A, take a left on Cromwell Road, which turns into Brompton Road. This road takes you into an area called Knightsbridge. Knightsbridge is a shopping district—and you will walk past many stores on Brompton Road. One of the most famous stores—and tourist attractions—is a huge store called Harrods. Taking up 5 acres of land, this department store boasts luxury items of all kinds. I personally find it a bit too extravagant, but I think it’s totally worth a stop to at least goggle at the Egyptian-decorated escalator and the food hall.
Past Harrods, continue on Brompton Road, which will become Knightsbridge Road as it skirts the edge of Hyde Park. You will eventually see a monument called the Wellington Arch.
Green Park and Buckingham Palace
The Wellington Arch currently stands at the entrance to Green Park. Built in 1825, it originally stood closer to Buckingham Palace, but was moved to its current location in 1882. It was built to celebrate the Duke of Wellington’s victory over Napoleon—hence the name “Wellington Arch.”
Walking through this arch, be sure to look up and admire the ornate carvings and design. On the other side, you will enter Green Park while walking along Constitution Hill pathway. This pathway will take you through the park directly to Buckingham Palace, which is the main feature of this park.
Buckingham Palace is the sovereign’s official London residence. Walk around the to front of the palace. If you are wondering if the Queen is currently in residence you simply need to look at the flag flying on top of the palace. If she is currently in the building, the flag will be the Royal Standard. At all other times, the flag will be the British flag—the Union Jack.
For a more special experience, look up the times for the Changing of the Guard, which happens regularly, and for palace visiting times, often when the Queen is away.
The Mall
Leaving Buckingham Palace behind you, you will take a street called The Mall on the north side of St James’s Park. This is the main ceremonial parade path leading to and from Buckingham Palace. On your left is the beautiful St James’s Park, full of gardens and a lake, and to your right is St James’s Palace. The Mall leads you directly to Trafalgar Square through the Admiralty Arch.
However, we are not going to Trafalgar Square yet. We will take a left turn on Marlborough Road, just two blocks past Green Park. Taking you past St James’s Palace, Marlborough House, and the Queen’s Chapel, you will continue to Pall Mall. Turn left and continue on St. James’s Street for four blocks until you reach Piccadilly. Turn right on Piccadilly. If you are a tea drinker, be sure to stop in the Fortnum & Mason store!
Piccadilly Circus and London’s West End
On Piccadilly you will continue until you come to the famed Piccadilly lights. These lights, first opened in 1908, have evolved with technology over the years. Beginning with its iconic patchwork of advertising screens, these lights were changed to a single large screen in 2017. This screen is the centerpiece to the area called Piccadilly Circus, home to various shops and the theaters of London’s West End.
Similar to New York City’s Broadway, many London productions are based in the West End. This entire area, from Haymarket Street to Shaftesbury Avenue, is dotted with various theaters. The British theater tends to be outstanding, so I highly recommend taking in a production during your visit.
From the Piccadilly lights, continue on Coventry Street and turn right on Haymarket Street. Continue until you cross Pall Mall East and walk on Cockspur Street to Trafalgar Square.
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is home to the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. The square, situated around Nelson’s Column, is typically buzzing with people. It’s a good meeting place for friends.
I personally really enjoy the National Portrait Gallery for both modern and historical portraits. If you go to the top floor, you will find famous portraits of the Tudors, Stuarts, Cromwell, etc—recognizable from the history textbooks. It’s fantastic if you are interested in British history!
Whitehall and Parliament Square
If you face the Admiralty Arch from Trafalgar Square, take the street directly to the arch’s left on the roundabout. This street is called Whitehall. It is another notable street for parades and leads directly to Parliament. As you walk down Whitehall, notice the monuments memorializing various war sacrifices of the armed forces.
There are several sites to notice on your right as you walk down Whitehall, the first being the Horse Guards. The Horse Guards are hard to miss, as there are typically two mounted officers standing guard at the entrance. Photographs are allowed, but please be careful not to spook the well-trained horses! You can also enter the building courtyard though the center gate and take a tour of the area. You will notice the back of the building enters St. James’s Park.
The second site, which is easier to miss, is 10 Downing Street. This building is the Prime Minister’s residence. The entrance to Downing Street is gated and guarded, but if you peer through the gate you can just see No. 10.
Two blocks past Downing Street, you will come to Parliament Square. The square features a garden with statues of former Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Benjamin Disraeli. Iconic buildings surround the square on all sides. There is Big Ben and Parliament on the right, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret’s Church straight ahead, and the Supreme Court on the left. I highly recommend visiting Westminster Abbey (you do have to pay admission to really tour the building) for the historical monuments and tombs inside: royalty and notable people of all fields alike. If you only want to step inside, but not look around, you can also take in a church service. The Church of England has a special sung service called evensong, typically held around 5 or 6pm. It is beautiful to listen to in one of these magnificent cathedrals.
The other site I recommend to visit is the Churchill War Rooms. This site is the underground bunker in which Churchill, his cabinet, etc, lived and worked during the blitz of World War 2. The rooms are well preserved and over a decade ago an extra museum exhibit was added. Well worth it.
As for visiting Parliament, that is only allowed during specific times, so that would have to be planned months in advance…and likely informed your London visit anyway! I’ve personally always have missed this due to timing, but hopefully will be able to visit in the future.
Embankment
Follow St. George’s Street past Big Ben toward the river and turn left on to the Victoria Embankment. This route will let you enjoy a view of the River Thames and will take you past the Whitehall Gardens. You will follow this route until you reach the Embankment tube station.
As an aside, if you in this area after dark (preferably not by yourself), climb the stairs to go up to the Golden Jubilee Bridge. It’s best to take the stairs that are not by the Embankment tube station—you want the other side of the bridge! From this side you have a fantastic view of Big Ben, Parliament, and the London Eye. All of these are lit at night, making for a beautiful view. This place is my favorite London-at-night experience!
Once you have exhausted your interest in viewing the Thames, step through the Embankment tube station to the other side, which is Villiers Street. You will continue on this street until you reach the Strand. Turn right on the Strand and continue for at least five blocks until you find Wellington Street on your left. Take Wellington Street for a couple blocks and then turn left on Russell Street. From there you will quickly find yourself in the heart of Covent Garden.
Covent Garden and the Seven Dials
Covent Garden Market is a covered structure with many inner small shops. It’s well worth a walk through and maybe you’ll even find something to spike your curiosity! Just to its south, a slightly more open market called Jubilee Market is also a shopping venue. The Royal Opera House stands nearby.
Covent Garden in general is a quaint shopping area, with almost a village-like vibe. Small shops are the norm, with a few larger ones here and there. Continue from the markets on James Street, past the opera house, and take a left on Long Acre Road. Two blocks later take a right on Mercer Street. Mercer Street will take you to a small roundabout called the Seven Dials.
Why is this called the Seven Dials? The roundabout has seven streets radiating from it, literally looking like dials when viewed from the air. One of my favorite stops, a perfume shop called Miller Harris, is on the “dial” called Monmouth Street. Just keep watch for cars in this area, as the streets and roundabout are quite small.
When you finish perusing the Seven Dials, continue on the opposite side of Mercer Street and turn left on Shaftesbury Avenue. Two blocks later, turn right on Charing Cross Road. This eventually turns into Tottenham Court Road. There are more shops along this road and one of my favorites is a huge bookstore named Foyles. It has a selection of books in most subject areas, including a large music section…including sheet music. I guess you now know where I tend to go!
Cross the busy New Oxford Street and continue on Tottenham Court Road. One block later, turn right on Great Russell Street. In several blocks, you will catch sight of the large British Museum.
Ending Point: British Museum and Russell Square
What’s so important about the British Museum? It’s home to a great many historical artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, and many other parts of the world. One artifact of note is the Rosetta Stone, which holds a single stone-carved message in three languages. This stone enabled more modern historians to learn Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Just on the other side of the British Museum is a large park called Russell Square. It sits in a neighborhood referred to as Bloomsbury, and was home to a great many authors including Virginia Woolf. Russell Square is consequently featured in some of her literary works.
Summary
It’s a long walk, but you’ve now seen the majority of central London sites! If you start in the morning, this walk is completely doable in a day—unless of course you stop into every museum! When I did the walk I believe I started sometime between 8-9am and finished at dusk—I stopped into several shops and museums though!
if you don’t want such a long walk, you can still do part of this route. I recommend still keeping the Trafalger Square, Parliament, and Piccadilly Circus sites if you haven’t been to London before. I also recommend seeing one of the parks, whether St. James’s Park, Kensington Gardens, or Russell Square. The beauty of this route is that you can start from any point, go forward or backward, and still see a nice variety of museums, historical sites, parks, and shopping areas. It is a good survey of London.
Please let me know how you like this walk if you try it!!!
*All pictures are my own (except the Google map) and were taken over several different trips to London.
For more to do in the UK, check out this post: A Day of Serenity in the English Cotswolds
