Introduction
If you’re a local or a London veteran, you’re more than welcome to read, but this article is for the first-timers, and we’ll enjoy being tourists in London. So, before I came here today, I tried to look back at my first visit when I was only a 14-year-old boy, and I thought about what I fell in love with here in London. I’ve also glanced at the over 100 different itineraries we made in the London travel agency I used to run, so I feel like I’ve got a pretty good understanding of what first-time visitors to London will enjoy.
First Time in London
1. Ride the London Eye
Let’s start with what you must do on your first trip to London. The London Eye was erected in the year 2000 and was initially called the Millennium Wheel, so if you’re visiting this year, you’re visiting the wheel on its 25th birthday. That’s a remarkable little fact to tell your travel mates. Another cool fact is that, just like the Eiffel Tower, the London Eye was supposed to be dismantled, but luckily they let it stay. And, on a clear day, you can see to Wi.
The full journey takes 30 minutes, and the whole wheel doesn’t stop, so I couldn’t film when we walked on, but it doesn’t stop. You walk onto the moving car, cart, or carousel? I believe “capsule” is the word I’m looking for here. And even though it wasn’t a clear day today, I enjoyed getting back on the London Eye because the main thing to see from here is, in my opinion, the stunning Houses of Parliament. It’s also super cool to see how busy the River Thames is.
2. Take a River Cruise
This leads me to the next thing you need to do in London. A river cruise is also a must, and you can get it right next door to the London Eye. I think you can buy a combined ticket, so you get a discount when you visit the London Eye and then go on the boat.
I remember doing this exact boat tour on my first trip to London, and I loved it. Since then, I’ve been quite fond of the Thames Clipper, a river bus, but there was something super nice about having a live commentary of all the stuff you see from the riverside in London. The guide made the 40-minute journey very interesting, although it was rather cold this December morning, so I went downstairs when we made our turn at the Tower Bridge.
3. Explore Nearby Attractions
Right next to the London Eye, you’ve got the London Dungeon, the Sea Life Aquarium, and the Shrek Adventure. And to be honest, I’ve never been in there, but I know it’s popular with children, so you check those out. You can get a combo ticket, so when you buy your London Eye ticket, you can also purchase those tickets and save quite a lot of money, as far as I know.
4. Try a Great British Pie
There’s one dish that I think you need to try when you come to London, and no, it’s not fish and chips—you can try that—but it is a Great British pie. Ah, the pub was rammed yesterday because of some Christmas office party, but I’m returning. I know they only start doing food at 12, and it’s 11:30 now, so maybe I’ll get a quick pint, but I need to show you this place and this pie.
You can get pie with various fillings, but my all-time favorite is the Steak and Ale pie. The combination of meat and ale in pies dates back to the Middle Ages, when ale was often safer to drink than water and also helped tenderize the meat during long, slow cooking. So, we’re eating a bit of British history here—delicious.
5. Stay in the Heart of London
The pub is in the heart of London, where I stayed on this trip. I have a full video on where to stay in London on my channel, but let me share this hotel with you quickly. This right here is what 270 Great British pounds gets you a night, without breakfast, of course—but to be fair, we are right in the heart of London. I can look out at Leicester Square and the famous M&M’s shop that everybody seems to love. Um, is it worth 270 quid? I’m not sure—what do you think? Let me know in the comments.
6. Visit Leicester Square
Now that you’re in London for the first time, you probably can’t miss Leicester Square because it’s so close to everything in central London. But it is just a massive square, and there’s nothing to do here apart from going to all the classic chain restaurants you’ve got in any capital city in Europe. But there is this little booth down here that you need to know about, so let me take you there.
7. Get Discounted West End Tickets
So, when you’re coming to London, you should go to a musical or a show here in the West End, but they are expensive. So, if you don’t care about what you see, you should go to this ticket booth. If you look up this place in Google Maps, you can find it easily—it’s on the south side of Leicester Square. What they do is sell last-minute tickets to musicals and West End shows.
So, if you don’t really care about what you’re seeing, you should definitely just go there and ask them, “What do you have for today?” You can then get a massive discount on your show.
8. Check Out Concerts
If musicals are not your thing, then you should look up a website called Songkick and put in London as the destination, and you can see a good overview of what bands are playing today or whatever date you put in. I guarantee you will find a concert with someone you know or want to see because there are hundreds of concerts every day here. And the Brits go wild for them, especially the rock and roll concerts here—they are just so much better than in Denmark, where I’m from.
9. Walk Through Chinatown
Right next to Leicester Square, we’ve got Chinatown. And if you’ve been to other Chinatowns in, maybe, I don’t know, New York or Bangkok, this is probably a bit of a letdown. But it’s, as I said, right next to Leicester Square, so it’s one of those places that you’re just walking by—literally walking by it—so you might as well head in there. And there are some great restaurants here in Chinatown, but look up their ratings online because I’ve heard that the quality has also gone downhill in many places.
10. See Buckingham Palace
I know it’s super popular to come here and see the changing of the guards, and you can do that—I think it’s more frequent in the summer—but you can go on some website and check the times. But honestly, I enjoy coming here now without all the fuss because it gets crowded. There is a change of the guards. So, if you’re not that fussy about that, maybe come on a random cold Thursday morning in December.
11. Reflect on Personal Growth
It’s pretty funny thinking back to when I was here for the first time as a 14-year-old boy who didn’t give a f about this place—just wanted to find the nearest McDonald’s. And now, I really enjoy it, and I enjoy seeing all the details on the statues and just pretty much being here because, like it or not, this house—or the family who lives in there—they are pretty crucial to this part of the world and other parts of the world as well.
But it’s lovely to see it again and see that my perspective on things has changed and that I’m not the same as when I was 14. So, what else has changed? Maybe I like cheese now. Perhaps I can become a pro footballer—who knows? The world is my oyster.
12. Walk Through Green Park
If you want to go for a nice walk around here, head into Green Park, and then you can walk up to Hyde Park. And if you’re staying in Paddington—which I know many first-timers are—then there’s your walk back home. But I’m going to skip the park today, and I’m going to walk up here in the complete opposite direction of Buckingham Palace.
13. Explore Westminster’s Historic Buildings
On the Mall—which, if you look up any or if you’ve live-streamed any of the royal gatherings or funerals, then you know this red road that goes from Buckingham Palace and up to Trafalgar Square—and it might be natural for you to come from Trafalgar Square and walk down here. But when you do so, I highly recommend that you load up Google Maps on your phone and click on all the stuff around here, because here in the Westminster area of London, there are simply so many cool historic buildings, statues, and things to see.
14. Visit Downing Street & Enjoy a Pint
So, I’ve just come out of St. James’s Park, and usually, you would walk over and cross the horses to the—what’s it called?—The Royal Horse Guards Parade. Here’s the correct name. But I want to go over here and check out a little statue I haven’t seen before. And after watching The Crown, I feel like I need to—it’s right over here, so I’ll check it out and show you guys. Also, I think you can—this is the proper entrance to Downing Street so I might see their PM. Who is it? Rishi Sunak? Ah, all that history. Do you know what time it is? It’s time for a pint.
15. ExperMusic, a British Pub
Even if you’re not a big drinker—I’m not a big drinker—you need to go to a British pub in London. It’s a big part of British tradition and culture, even though I think many pubs are dying out. But it’s still so important, and there’s something so cozy and lovely about singing in one of those traditional British pubs. And many places also serve food, so even though you’re not a big drinker, you should try going to a pub, get some food, sit there, and enjoy British life.
16. Navigate the London Underground
London’s underground metro train network is called the Tube or the London Underground. The world’s oldest metro has transported locals and tourists all over London since 1863. You can use your phone or a contactless credit card to tap in and out, so you don’t have to worry about buying actual tickets. The locals like to use an app called Citymapper to plan their journey, but Google Maps works just fine.
17. Disco Music, Amsterdam Town & Market
This place was, without a doubt, my favorite part of London when I went there for the first time as a teenage kid with a massive affinity for British alternative Music. Camden ToMusicd Camden Market has been the meeting place for everything from punk kids to Britpop boys in the past 40 years. Camden Market is the place to go if you want to get that cool band t-shirt, some vintage clothes, or pretty much everything.
Of course, the market has changed a lot over the years, but I still haven’t found anywhere else like it in Europe. So, this is one of those unique London spots you must visit. Try to avoid the weekends if you can, because it gets super busy on Saturday afternoons around here.
18. Visit Trafalgar Square & Its Hidden Gems
As you can see, feeding the pigeons is illegal here in Trafalgar Square, and you should obey because there’s a police station here, so the police could take you to prison for feeding the pigeons. It’s the world’s smallest police station, so let me show it to you. Yep, there it is, in all its glory—the Trafalgar Square police station.
It could fit one person to look out on the square and ensure that nobody was doing stuff they weren’t supposed to do. It’s also quite funny—there’s this rumor that the fountains on the square were put in place because they wanted to limit the space to do riots here on the square. I’m not sure about that, but it’s a good story.
19. Explore the National Gallery & British Museum
But what’s that massive building that’s like overlooking Trafalgar Square? It’s, of course, the National Gallery, which is free to enter. So, if you’re here and you’re interested in art, then you need to head in there, don’t you? I’m not interested in art so that I won’t go there, but I’ve heard it’s good. There’s a reason why every guidebook or blog post on things to do in London mentions the British Museum.
It is absolutely amazing and, without a doubt, my favorite museum. Once again, I didn’t really appreciate it when I was a 14-year-old kid, but I recently went back, and it was like the three hours I spent there just flew by. So, watch out, guys—you can easily spend an entire day here in the British Museum.
20. Wander Covent Garden & Soho
The Covent Garden area is right in the heart of London, and as you can see, it’s incredibly busy at Christmas time. But what I want to highlight here is the cozy streets around Seven Dials. This is such a nice little pocket of the bustling Covent Garden area where you can find a lot of quirky shops, restaurants, and cafes. It’s also where you’ll find the cute little Neal’s Yard, which people call a hidden gem.
However, I think it’s one of London’s most famous hidden gems, so there will be other people there. Right next to Covent Garden, you’ll find Soho, and Soho is cool. This is where you’ll find some of the trendiest pubs, cafes, and restaurants in central London, and you will probably spot some very fashionable characters in this part of town. Here in Soho, you’ll also find a lot of LGBT+-friendly pubs and clubs, as well as the world-famous Carnaby Street.