Plan your trip
London sightseeing guide: the landmarks, the order, the time you need
London is dense. The right plan turns a long weekend into a real city — Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, the Tower, the South Bank and a Thames cruise, all in a sensible order. This guide is the one we wish every visitor read before landing at Heathrow.
The London landmarks that actually matter
Central London packs almost every postcard sight into a roughly four-by-three mile rectangle. The non-negotiable list for a first trip is short: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the British Museum, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, the London Eye and the South Bank. Add the Moco Museum near Marble Arch if you want contemporary art, and the National Gallery if you want classical — both are free.
The most efficient sightseeing order
The mistake most visitors make is zig-zagging. Walk a clockwise loop instead:
- Start at Westminster— Big Ben, Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey.
- Walk through St James’s Park to Buckingham Palace.
- Continue north-east via The Mall to Trafalgar Square.
- Head east through Covent Garden and Fleet Street to St Paul’s Cathedral.
- Continue east along the river to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
- Cross the river and walk back west along the South Bank past the Tate Modern, the Globe and the London Eye.
That loop covers about six miles. Most visitors do the eastern half on the bus, the western half on foot, and the river bit on a Thames cruise.
How many days you need
- One day: use a 24-hour hop-on hop-off bus pass plus a Thames cruise. See the best way to see London in one day guide.
- Two days: add Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and one museum.
- Three days: add the British Museum, the South Bank in detail and one neighbourhood walk (Notting Hill, Camden or Greenwich).
How to combine the bus, the cruise and walking
The single most efficient combo for a first-time visitor is a Big Bus London ticket with the Thames river cruise included (Essential or Explore). Use the bus for the long east-west legs between Marble Arch and the Tower; use the cruise to see the river skyline from water level; use your feet for the bits between adjacent landmarks. Background and ticket details are in our London hop-on hop-off bus tour guide and on the About Big Bus London page.
Ready to plan? Book your Big Bus London ticket and we will email a QR code you can scan straight from your phone.
Ready to ride? Book your Big Bus London ticket
Open-top double-deckers, recorded multilingual commentary, hop on and off across central London with one digital ticket. Skip the ticket counter — book online for instant mobile delivery.
See ticket optionsFrequently asked questions
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More London travel guides
London hop-on hop-off bus tour
Pillar guide to riding the open-top sightseeing bus across London — routes, stops, ticket types and what you actually see from the upper deck.
About Big Bus London
Background on Big Bus London — fleet, routes, number of stops, operating hours, ticket types, accessibility and the company history.
London Eye tickets guide
How to book the London Eye, how long the ride takes, what you see from the top, and how the pod stops near a Big Bus London stop.
Moco Museum London guide
Banksy, Warhol, Basquiat and digital art a few minutes from Marble Arch — opening hours, ticket prices and how to combine the visit with the bus tour.