How Many Days Do You Need in London? A Realistic Guide

Are you planning a visit to England’s capital city but wondering how long to spend there? The question, “How many days do you need in London?” comes up regularly in our London Travel Planning Facebook group and via email so we thought we would address it in this article.

The honest answer is you could live a lifetime in London and still not see everything this amazing city has to offer. The more time you have the better! 

However, for first timers, we usually recommend allocating a minimum of 4 – 5 days to see London’s highlights and to get an authentic flavour of this diverse, historic city.  

This article is packed with tips to help you plan the best trip to London for your time frame.

How Many Days Do You Need in London?

Why London takes longer than you might expect

London is a huge city and is home to over 9 million people. Although it has an excellent public transport network, it takes time to travel across the capital. For example, if you take the Piccadilly line tube across London from one end to the other it will take around 1.5 hours! 

Alternatively, if you decide to do most of your sightseeing on foot, you will encounter crowds, busy pavements and congested London traffic. 

It’s important to remember that London is not just a sightseeing city, it is home and workplace to millions of people and those people move around. The tube system alone carries nearly 4 million people every day.

There is so much to see in London that it’s natural to want to fill each day of your trip with activities. However, after a few days, you will start to feel tired and slow down so to see what you want to see might actually take longer than you think.  

We recommend spending between 4 and 5 days in London, especially if you are a first time visitor. We think this is the sweet spot to enable you to enjoy London at a leisurely, stress-free pace.

4–5 days in London 

4 or 5 days is the perfect length of time in London to see the historic sites, visit a few museums and to enjoy London’s famous nightlife. It’s long enough to be able to take a tour (such as a food tour or historic tour) or to even take a day trip out to Kew Gardens, Windsor or Hampton Court. 

4-5 days is also short enough to avoid over-exertion, city burnout or that ‘not another museum’ feeling. 

Use our tried and tested 5 day itinerary to help you plan and enjoy the perfect trip. 

2–3 days in London

Only able to visit London for a quick 2 -3 day trip? A short trip to London suits people who want to get a flavour of London and who don’t suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out). 

In 2 – 3 days you’ll be able to see the key historic sites (including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London), maybe a museum or two and catch a show. 

If you plan your sightseeing carefully, group attractions and activities by location and minimize travel, you will be able to experience some of the best that London has to offer in 2 -3 days although it will be at a whirlwind pace.

We recommend booking a black cab tour with Discover Real London to help make the most of limited time in the capital. Their popular Touchdown Tour is the perfect way to begin your trip, orientate yourself with London and see London’s most popular sights and landmarks in a few hours.

Check out our 2 day London itinerary (which is perfect for first timers) and our slightly longer 3 day London itinerary. 

6–7+ days in London

If you’re wondering how many days to spend in London to experience the city in more depth, we recommend at least 6 -7 days (or ideally longer). This will provide more time to explore London’s range of historic and modern attractions and to sample its diverse nightlife and cuisine.  

A week in London will allow you to visit London’s most famous landmarks at a leisurely pace but it will also give you time to discover some of London’s amazing hidden gems. 

You can visit famous museums such as the Natural History Museum as well as lesser known quirky museums such as the Sir John Sloane museum or the Design Museum. 

In addition to pubs, theatres and nightclubs, you can enjoy picnics in the park with London’s office workers and browse some of London’s bustling markets such as trendy Greenwich market. 

Is it worth taking a day trip from London?

We think it’s always worth taking a day trip from London – but not if it means missing out on top London attractions. If you’re only visiting London for 2-3 days, stick to central London. 

If you’re staying in London for our recommended 4-5 days then a day trip is definitely doable. We recommend travelling by train for speed, ease and comfort. Plus, you’ll get to enjoy the scenery.  

Easy day trips close to London include Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace or Oxford.  Bath, Winchester and Brighton can all be reached in under two hours from London by train. 

If you’re up for a long day trip, you could even travel as far as York in two hours by train from Kings Cross or to Liverpool in 2 hours 40 minutes. 

If you prefer a day tour from London why not book a small group tour. Our recommended partner The English Bus have for example a Stonehenge, Bath & A Secret Place Tour® or a Canterbury, Dover Castle and Cliffs & Kent Villages Tour – don’t forget to enter our promo code UKTP5 for 5% discount.

Or if you prefer a private tour we recommend Tailored Tours who offer a variety of options to destinations including Winchester, Bath, Stonehenge and the Cotswolds.

Plan your London day trip – Read our article: Best Day trips by train from London or listen to episode #96 and episode #97 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast where we chat about the various options in more detail.

Common mistakes when deciding how many days to spend London

Planning how many days you need in London needs careful, considerate planning in order to avoid common traveller mistakes. 

• If you are visiting as a family or as a group, you’ll need to be accommodating to everyone’s personal preferences and travel style. You may need to allow extra time for everyone to visit their ‘must-do’ London attraction.

• Think realistically about your travel pace. Moving around on public transport and sightseeing is exhausting. Throw jet lag into the mix and an overpacked schedule will feel like a slog to be endured rather than a trip to be enjoyed. Don’t try to fit too much in (this is something we stress when helping visitors plan their trip during our London Travel Consultations)

• Don’t plan an overpacked schedule that will leave you stressed and watching the clock instead of enjoying the attraction you are visiting. Allocate some downtime, even if it’s just for a coffee in a cafe or a pint in a traditional British pub.
  
• What time of year are you visiting? Will hot sunny days in July and August slow down your sightseeing or will darker nights and freezing temperatures shorter sightseeing hours in winter?
  
• Does your visit coincide with a major event? If you have your heart set on seeing an attraction that is closed for an event, festival or holiday, you may want to plan to stay an extra day. 

• Where you stay in London makes a difference to how much you can see. Staying outside the capital may be cheaper but spending an hour commuting in and out will impact your sightseeing time.

There is so much to see and do in London that it is impossible to see it all in one visit, no matter how long you stay. We love London and even though we have spent time living there and visited countless times there is always something new to see and do. 

If you aim for 4-5 days, decide on your must-have experiences and plan a realistic schedule grouping attractions together by location you will have a fantastic trip!