London in the Rain [12 Things to Do + Rainy Day Itinerary]

If you have checked the forecast for your trip and there is a rain cloud on every day, you are probably already picturing London in the rain and wondering what that does to your plans. You had a walking tour and a wander through the parks pencilled in, and now you are not sure what to do.

The worry is losing a whole day of a short trip to weather you can’t control. It’s easy to wake up, look out of the hotel window at wet pavements, and spend the morning deciding what to do instead.

The good news, though, is that London is one of the best cities in the world to be in when it rains because so much of what you can do is indoors and much of it is free.

This guide covers how much it really rains (less than you expect), which forecast apps to check before you change anything, what to pack, 12 things to do when it is wet, and two rainy-day itineraries: one built around galleries and a show, and one for a day with children.

Day trips out of the city by train are covered in our guide to day trips from London by train.

Good to know: a rainy day in London is rarely a full day of rain. It is usually grey with showers passing through for an hour or so, and the hour-by-hour forecast on the Met Office app shows you when it is due to clear.

TIP: The Thames is one of the best places to be when it rains, because you keep sightseeing from inside a warm saloon with big windows. The City Cruises afternoon tea cruise is 90 minutes under cover, with the Tower, Tower Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament passing by the window, and at £40 it is one of the cheaper afternoon teas in London.

How much does it really rain in London?

Much less than people expect. The Met Office long-term average for London (1991 to 2020) is about 615 mm of rain a year, which is around 24 inches. Sydney gets roughly double that, as does New York, and Rome gets more than London.

London gets rain little and often. About 112 days a year have at least 1 mm of rain, so roughly one day in three has some rain, and two days in three are dry. Even on wet days, it’s more often showers or drizzle for an hour than steady rain from breakfast to bedtime, and some of that rain falls overnight while you are asleep.

There is no dry season either. October to January are the wettest months, with about 11 rainy days each, and in winter you can get wind with it. Whatever month you come, it is worth having a rain plan in your back pocket. Most days will be dry, and the plan is for the one or two that aren’t.

Check the forecast before you change anything

You can look out of the hotel window at pouring rain and have blue sky ten minutes later, so check the forecast before you change anything. We use two apps: the Met Office and BBC Weather. Both are free and on our list of the best apps for London.

Use the hour-by-hour view. The day’s symbol will show a rain cloud for five minutes of drizzle at 7 am, while the hourly view gives you a percentage chance of rain and how heavy it will be, hour by hour.

The Met Office app also has a rainfall map that shows where the rain is right now and where it is heading, the quickest way to work out whether to wait it out over a second coffee or change the plan.

Today and tomorrow are worth looking at; anything further out is unreliable. My mum thinks they always get it wrong anyway!

Your three choices on a wet morning

You have looked at the forecast, and it is going to rain. There are three ways to play it.

Put your waterproofs on and carry on. If it is showers, a good jacket and a bit of flexibility get you through the day. Most walking tours go ahead whatever the weather, because the companies are used to rain, so if you have one booked it is worth checking with them before assuming it is off.

Swap your days around. Anything with a timed ticket, a tour or theatre seats is fixed. Parks, markets and riverside walks can move to a drier day. This is why we never build itineraries that run minute to minute with no slack: two big things a day is the realistic maximum in London, whatever the weather, and leaving room means a wet morning can become a museum morning.

Leave London. The UK is small, but the weather varies a lot across it in a single day. Doug has sat in sunshine on Brighton seafront while it rained in London. If the forecast is better in Cambridge, Oxford or Bath, that is the day for the train.

What to leave for a dry day

The Changing of the Guard can be cancelled in very wet weather, so it is worth checking on the day. The London Eye and the Shard aren’t worth the ticket when the cloud is low, and a free Sky Garden slot isn’t worth using up either.

We went up the Sky Garden on a grey day just before Christmas; it was lovely up there, the views were not the best, and we did what Doug calls the only decent British thing and had a cup of tea. Kew Gardens and the gardens at Hampton Court are places to be outside, so they wait for a dry day too.

The one that surprises people is the Tower of London. You spend a lot of the visit outside, walking between the towers and along the walls, and the Yeoman Warder tours are outdoors. A shower will not ruin it, but on a day of heavy rain it is the first thing we would move.

What to pack for rain in London

There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing choices, and that is certainly true of London. A few things make a wet day comfortable.

A lightweight waterproof jacket with a hood. Top of the list. I have two, one from Uniqlo and a bright yellow one with flowers on from Next that I get stopped about in the street, and both pack down small enough to live in my day bag.

Shoes with grip that can take a puddle. Wet pavements, cobbles, and the stairs down into the Tube all get slippery, and canvas trainers soak through in minutes. Water-resistant walking shoes, a spare pair of socks in the day bag, and a second pair of shoes, because I have stood in a puddle before now and nothing ruins an afternoon like soggy feet.

Layers. You go from cool and damp outside into warm museums and a Tube that gets warmer still when it is busy, and it is always busier when it rains. A jacket you can take off and carry is the answer.

Umbrella: optional. On a busy wet weekend in central London you spend more time dodging other people’s umbrellas than staying dry under your own, and the wind does not help. Some days it earns its place: standing in a long queue in heavy rain, with both of us wearing glasses, we’re grateful for one. A compact one is the answer, and they are cheap to buy almost anywhere in London, so there is no need to pack it.

Small things. A day bag that’s water-resistant or has a rain cover, and a zip-lock bag for your phone and passport. The big museums have cloakrooms, some with a small charge, so you can leave a wet coat rather than carry it round (I am a V&A member, so mine is free, and yes, I mention the V&A in every episode).

Our what to wear in London guide covers the rest of the wardrobe, and there is a separate packing list for London in winter.

12 things to do in London when it rains

1. The free museums at South Kensington

The Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, and the V&A sit side by side, all free, and a pedestrian tunnel from South Kensington Tube station runs under Exhibition Road with exits for all three. It opened in 1885, and it means you can get from the train to the dinosaurs with barely a step on wet pavement.

The catch is that everyone else can have the same idea. On a wet weekend, in the school holidays, or in the days before Christmas, the queues outside the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum can be quite long.

Ticketed exhibitions cost extra; everything else is free. Our guide to London’s museums has more on each one.

2. The British Museum

In Bloomsbury, free, and you can spend the entire day there without setting foot outside, with cafes inside for lunch.

You do have to pay for any ticketed exhibitions, and right now that is the Bayeux Tapestry, on loan from France until July 2027, which needs a timed ticket booked well ahead.

3. The National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery

Next door to each other on Trafalgar Square, both are free and open until 9pm on Fridays. Between them you can fill a whole day, and the Portrait Gallery is one of my favourite places in London.

The Café in the Crypt at St Martin-in-the-Fields is across the road for lunch, which is how the first itinerary below is built.

4. Tate Modern, the South Bank Centre and Borough Market

The South Bank is a lovely walk on a dry day. In the rain, do it indoors. Tate Modern is free and the building, an old power station, is worth seeing even if modern art is not your thing (it is not really mine).

The South Bank Centre and the BFI have cafes along the same stretch, and Borough Market is a few minutes from the Tate, with most of it under railway arches and a big glass roof, so it is a good lunch on a wet day. It has become very busy, and a wet day makes it busier still.

5. Churchill War Rooms and Westminster Abbey

The Churchill War Rooms are one of Doug’s favourite museums in London and, being a bunker, about as rainproof as it gets. They get busy on wet days and the rooms are tight, so it is not the one for anyone who dislikes enclosed spaces.

Westminster Abbey is a few minutes away, so the two make a natural pair: one in the morning, the other after lunch. Both are paid; the Abbey is open to visitors Monday to Saturday, with Sunday for services only, and if you do go to a service, Evensong is the one.

Our WWII sites in London guide covers the War Rooms in more detail, and you can book Westminster Abbey tickets here.

6. St Paul’s Cathedral

You can spend hours in St Paul’s, and I have. Like the Abbey it is paid, open to sightseers Monday to Saturday, with services on a Sunday.

Our guide to visiting St Paul’s has the details, or book St Paul’s tickets here.

7. The London Transport Museum and Covent Garden

Doug’s pick. The London Transport Museum works for every age and is really a history of transport full stop, buses and cars included, and the shop is one I always want to buy up; we have come away with a few things over the years.

It sits right next to Covent Garden piazza, so the covered market, its cafes, the street performers under the glass roof and the museum make a whole day in one spot, and Doug would happily spend all of it there.

8. Madame Tussauds

Entirely indoors, two minutes from Baker Street Tube, and a couple of hours to get round, which makes it the obvious wet-day choice with children or teenagers.

It is busy on wet weekends and in the school holidays, so first thing or late afternoon is calmer, and if the rain is only forecast for half the day, plan it for that half. Book Madame Tussauds tickets here.

9. London’s smaller museums

The big names are where everyone heads when it rains. The Postal Museum, with its ride on the old Mail Rail under the sorting office, is one we absolutely loved.

The Florence Nightingale Museum by St Thomas’ Hospital and the Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street are two more.

10. Covered markets, arcades and department stores

London built covered shopping spaces long before anyone called them shopping centres. Covent Garden’s market halls are under glass, with shops, cafes, and usually an opera singer or violinist to listen to.

Leadenhall Market in the City is a Victorian covered market with cafes and small shops, lively at lunchtime when the City offices empty into it, and you may recognise it as Diagon Alley from the first Harry Potter film.

Around Piccadilly, there is Burlington Arcade and the smaller arcades near it, Fortnum & Mason across the road for a cup of tea, an afternoon tea or a Scotch egg, a big bookshop next door, and Liberty, the black-and-white Tudor-style building just off Regent Street.

In Knightsbridge there is Harrods, where I could lose a whole day in the food halls, and Selfridges on Oxford Street. Hamleys on Regent Street is the toy shop, and you don’t need children to enjoy it. All free to wander, all warm, all with cafes and toilets. Our guide to shopping in London has the lot.

11. A theatre matinee, an afternoon tea or a long pub lunch

If you were hoping to see a show and had not booked, a wet afternoon makes the decision for you. Most West End shows have a Saturday matinee and one or two during the week, and the days vary from show to show.

For same-day tickets, the place to know is the Official London Theatre Ticket Booth, also called TKTS, on the south side of Leicester Square. It opens 10.30 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday and 11 am to 4 pm on Sundays.

For a particular show booked ahead of your trip, London Theatre Direct covers the West End.

Afternoon tea is another classic wet-afternoon treat. The famous ones will be booked up, but it is worth checking online for a cancellation, and many hotels offer a less well-known tea.

Our guide to afternoon tea in London has the options. On a grey, cold day a long pub lunch does the same job, a roast if it is Sunday and a seat by the fire if it is winter; the good ones need booking a couple of days ahead. Our guide to London’s oldest pubs is a good place to start.

12. Get on the river, or get out of London

On the river you keep sightseeing without getting wet. An Uber Boat down to Greenwich is the commuter option, and it might be dry by the time you get there. City Cruises sightseeing boats offer commentary and an indoor saloon with big windows, running between Westminster, the London Eye, the Tower and Greenwich, and the one-day hop-on hop-off River Pass is £9, so you can use the boat as a dry way between the sights all day.

If you would rather eat on the water, the lunch cruise and the afternoon tea cruise both leave from Tower Pier and give you a table and a meal for around two hours with the river going past. Our guide to Thames river cruises covers the passes and the sightseeing tickets.

Greenwich itself is a good wet-day choice: the National Maritime Museum and the Queen’s House are free, and at the Cutty Sark (ticketed) you walk right underneath the hull beneath a glass roof. The raincoat comes out between buildings, and our Greenwich guide has the rest.

Or take Doug’s option and leave. You can buy a train ticket on the day; it will not always be the cheapest fare, but for shorter journeys the price does not vary much, so if the forecast is dry in Cambridge, Oxford, Bath or Canterbury, that is your day out.

Doug is happy on any train in any weather with a window seat and a cup of tea, though he does grumble when it rains on the days he is filming. The trips we would not do in the rain are Stonehenge, which is completely exposed (there is a photo of me there, drenched), the Cotswolds villages, the Seven Sisters cliffs and Brighton seafront, all of which need a dry day.

Our day trips from London by train guide has the journey times and what to do when you get there.

Get out in the rain

If it’s drizzling or there are passing showers, it’s still worth carrying on. The outdoor sights are quieter, the parks are almost empty, the queues are shorter, and London looks lovely wet, especially after dark with the lights reflecting off the pavements and the river.

To keep sightseeing without walking far, an ordinary red London bus does the job. The windows steam up, so a tissue to wipe them comes in handy. Tap on with a contactless card or your phone; it is one flat fare, there is no tapping off, and buses don’t take cash.

For the after-dark version of the same idea, the City Cruises evening cruise with canapés and music leaves Tower Pier at 6.30 pm and is timed for the lit bridges, with a glass of prosecco and a heated saloon when the rain comes through.

We compare it with the dinner cruises in our guide to dinner cruises in London, and we also list more wet-weather evening ideas in things to do in London at night.

A rainy day itinerary: galleries, Covent Garden and a show

This is the day I would do, and it keeps you almost entirely under cover from breakfast to bedtime.

Over breakfast: check officiallondontheatre.com for that evening’s tickets and book a seat.

Morning: the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, for the whole morning.

Lunch: the Café in the Crypt under St Martin-in-the-Fields, across the road. We love it.

Early afternoon: back across the square to the National Portrait Gallery.

Late afternoon: the one bit outside, a seven- or eight-minute walk from the Portrait Gallery to Covent Garden. Then you are under the market roof with the shops, a cup of tea and the London Transport Museum until the evening.

Evening: you are in the middle of theatreland, so a pre-theatre dinner at one of the restaurants around Covent Garden, then the show, then back to the hotel.

Doug’s version of the day swaps the galleries for a football stadium tour (only a small part is outside) or a wander around London’s bookshops, and he could happily spend the whole day in Covent Garden, with the morning in the Transport Museum. There is a very good travel bookshop near there too.

A rainy day itinerary with children: South Kensington

Take the Tube to South Kensington and go through the tunnel under Exhibition Road straight into the Natural History Museum or the Science Museum for the morning, whichever your children are keener on. Have lunch in one of the museum cafes, then swap to the other museum for the afternoon.

There is far more in both for children than you expect, the Science Museum especially, and both are free.

On a wet weekend or in the school holidays, book free-entry slots online beforehand and expect the afternoon to be calmer than the morning. Our London with kids guide has more days like this.

Before you go

To see how close together these places are, our Ultimate London Travel Planning Map has more than 900 hand-picked places across the city, so when the rain starts, you can see at a glance what is indoors and nearby wherever you are.

Doug and I talk through all of this in episode #223 of the UK Travel Planning Podcast. Next time you look out of a London hotel window and see rain, you will already know what you are doing that day.