# London The big museums are free, the Tube is paid for with your bank card and has a daily cap, and the city makes sense as a series of neighbourhoods along the Thames. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/england/london · Revisado: 2026-11-13 London is not something you see: it is something you choose. It is an enormous city, but what almost everyone visits fits into a strip along the Thames, from South Kensington to the Tower. The first time it is worth covering that whole strip; the second, stay in two or three neighbourhoods and go into what you walked past. Either way it helps to know two things from the start: the big national museums charge no admission, and transport is paid for with the same bank card you use to pay for your coffee. ## The neighbourhoods, from west to east South Kensington is the museum district: the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum are side by side, free, and Hyde Park begins ten minutes away on foot. Westminster brings together Parliament, Big Ben and the abbey; you can see it from the outside in a morning. Across the bridge, the South Bank is a pedestrian riverside promenade from the London Eye to the Tate Modern, the Globe theatre and Borough Market. Covent Garden and Soho are the West End: theatres, restaurants and nightlife, a stroll from Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery. Bloomsbury, to the north, is home to the British Museum. The City is the financial district: skyscrapers, Wren churches, the Sky Garden and, on its eastern edge, the Tower of London. Beyond the centre, Camden lives off its market by the canal and Greenwich, downriver, is a day in itself, with a boat ride included. If it is your first trip, cover the strip in order and don't cross the city twice in the same day. If you are returning, choose by theme: film locations, the palaces on the outskirts such as Hampton Court, weekend markets or a neighbourhood you only passed through. ## Getting around: one card per person and a daily cap On the Tube, buses, Elizabeth line, DLR and Overground you pay by tapping your contactless card or phone on the reader, on entering and on leaving, always with the same card or device. You don't need to buy anything beforehand. Each traveller needs their own card: two people cannot tap in with the same one. TfL adds up the day's journeys and stops charging once you reach the daily cap, which in 2026 is £8.90 in zones 1 and 2, where almost everything you will see is. A single journey in zone 1 costs £3.10 at peak times and £3 off-peak. That is why the paper Day Travelcard, at £16.60, is not worth it for almost anyone. The bus costs £1.85 from 1 November 2026, with free changes for an hour and a cap of £5.55 a day if you only use buses. It is slower than the Tube, but from the top deck you see the city, and many Tube stations have only stairs. With cards issued outside the United Kingdom, your bank may charge a fee on every payment: check yours before you leave. The alternative is the Oyster, a rechargeable card with the same cap. Children under 11 travel free accompanied by a paying adult, and 11- to 15-year-olds pay half with the Young Visitor discount on an Oyster: it is all in the contactless and Oyster sheet. From Heathrow, the Piccadilly line of the Tube costs £5.90 to Piccadilly Circus and takes about 50 minutes; the Elizabeth line, £14.60 to Paddington; the Heathrow Express, £26 with contactless in 15 minutes, and it does not count towards the cap. For Gatwick and Stansted, see their trains. ## What you pay for and what you don't What is expensive in London is sleeping. Seeing the city is far less so. The British Museum (10:00 to 17:00, Fridays until 20:30), the National Gallery (10:00 to 18:00, Fridays until 21:00), the Tate Modern, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and the Sky Garden are all free. At almost all of them you can book a free timed ticket: it is not compulsory everywhere, but at weekends it lets you skip the queue. What does cost: the Tower of London, £38 for an adult and £19 for ages 5 to 15; the Harry Potter Studio Tour, £58.50 for an adult in 2026 and £61 in 2027; the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, £22. With one paid admission a day and the transport cap, your daily spending outside the hotel and meals is predictable. ## When to go and how many days April, May, September and October have long days without the summer queues. July and August coincide with the English school holidays, as do the mid-term half-term weeks: the free museums get crowded. December has lights and markets, but it gets dark around four. With three days you can see the river strip: the South Kensington museums, Westminster and the South Bank, the City with the Tower. With four you add Greenwich or Camden. With five, a day out: the Studio Tour, Hampton Court or Oxford by train. ## Where to sleep, by neighbourhood South Bank, to have everything within walking distance: the Premier Inn County Hall is next to the London Eye and eight minutes from Waterloo station, with family rooms. Holborn and Covent Garden, for dinner and walking back from the theatre: the Citadines Holborn apartments have kitchens and the one-bedroom ones take up to four people. Fitzrovia, next to Oxford Street, for spending little: the YHA London Central is a hostel with private rooms with bathroom and a kitchen for guests. Pimlico, quiet and close to Victoria: the Georgian House Hotel, with its wizard-themed rooms. ## Plans to organise your days If you are travelling with children, London for families groups museums, a boat ride, a castle and hotels so you can build two to five days. For a group, London with friends is about markets, viewpoints and nights in the West End. For two, London for couples combines riverside walks, views and a palace. For fans, there are two three-night routes: Harry Potter, from the studio to Oxford and The Bridgertons, from Greenwich to Bath. ## Dónde está - Zonas: Harry Potter filming locations, Bridgerton filming locations in England, Walkable Cities, Classical music and opera in Europe - Cerca: Windsor (a 33.5 km), Brighton and the Seven Sisters (a 76.1 km), Cambridge (a 79.5 km), Whitstable (a 81.5 km) ## Qué hacer - **Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter** (3 h 30 · From age 7, having seen the films · Desde 67 € adult): Real sets, not rides. Buy your ticket online weeks ahead and leave the whole afternoon free. Is it a theme park? No. It is a self-guided walk through the sets and warehouses of the Leavesden studio where the films were shot: the Great Hall, Dumbledore's office, the platform with the Hogwarts Express and Diagon Alley. If your children expect rides like at an Orlando park, explain it to them beforehand. If they have seen the films, they will enjoy it just as much, or more. How does it relate to the London filming locations? The sets were built here; some real exteriors and interiors were shot in the city. The Platform 9¾ you walk along, with the Hogwarts Express, is the studio reconstruction of a platform that was mostly filmed at King's Cross station. The Gringotts bank was filmed for the first film at Australia House, on the Strand, and for the last one the set you visit today was built. If you want to see both sides, Harry Potter locations shows how to combine them on one trip. How much does it cost? In 2026, a standard ticket costs £58.50 for adults (aged 16 and over), £47 for children aged 5 to 15 and £188 for the family ticket, about €216. Children under 4 go free. For 2027 prices rise to £61, £48 and £192. Tickets are sold online only: there is no box office for same-day purchases. How do you get there from London? By train from London Euston to Watford Junction: direct trains take about 20 minutes and an Oyster or contactless card works. At the station a shuttle bus runs to the studio, about 15 minutes, at least every half hour from 9:20. The official website says it is included in the ticket; if you buy a package or from a reseller, check when booking. If you drive, parking is free. - **Natural History Museum** (2 h 30 · All ages · Free · booking recommended): What it is and what you see The Natural History Museum is London's natural science museum and the most visited attraction in the UK: in 2025 it received more than 7.1 million visitors. It holds some 80 million specimens. The building is already part of the visit: it was designed by Alfred Waterhouse in the Romanesque style, opened in 1881 and is clad in terracotta, chosen to withstand the soot of Victorian London. No wonder it is called the "cathedral of nature". The must-sees: Hintze Hall. The great entrance hall, with the skeleton of Hope, a blue whale of about 25 m, hanging from the ceiling since 2017. It replaced Dippy, the diplodocus replica that stood there for 112 years. The dinosaur gallery. Skeletons and fossils and a life-size animatronic tyrannosaurus. Go first thing. The Earth galleries. You go up an escalator that passes through a great sphere representing the Earth. The Darwin Centre. The giant cocoon-shaped building where researchers work and the preserved collections are kept. Opening hours Open every day from 10:00 to 17:50, with last entry at 17:30. Closed from 24 to 26 December and the odd day (in 2026, 9 October): check the website before you go. Entry and booking The permanent galleries are free. Some temporary exhibitions and activities are paid. You can book a free timed ticket on the museum's website: it is not compulsory, but it guarantees access, and those who have one skip the queue. Bags are checked at the entrance. How long Two to three hours for the hall, the dinosaurs and one or two more galleries. With small children, more than three hours is a long time: choose beforehand what you want to see. Getting there It is on Cromwell Road, in South Kensington (SW7 5BD). The Tube station is South Kensington. You pay with contactless or Oyster, as we explain in Oyster and contactless. Under-11s travel free with an adult. With children It is the London museum for small children: the dinosaurs, the whale and the Earth escalator work from 3 or 4 years old. The tyrannosaurus impresses some little ones: warn them beforehand. There are cloakrooms, toilets, cafés and quiet areas; the museum has accessibility information on its website. Combine it The Science Museum is next door, on Exhibition Road: one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, or one each day. For the afternoon, the Uber Boat to Greenwich takes the children out into the fresh air. - **Uber Boat from Westminster to Greenwich** (All ages, with a pushchair · Contactless from £11.40 · ages 5 to 15, half price): What it is The Uber Boat by Thames Clippers is the Thames river bus: a fast boat that works like a bus on the river, with stops at piers. It is not a guided sightseeing cruise, but the trip from the centre to Greenwich passes Westminster and the pier of the Tower of London and goes under Tower Bridge. With children it is the easiest way to see London from the water. The route The line you want is the RB1, which runs every day between Battersea Power Station or the London Eye (Waterloo pier) and Barking Riverside, depending on the time, and stops at Westminster, Tower and Greenwich, among other piers. From the main piers a boat leaves every 10 to 20 minutes, from early morning until night, seven days a week. The operator gives 23 minutes from Tower to Greenwich. From Westminster, add the central stretch: check the exact duration in its journey planner. A plan with children: board at Westminster or at the London Eye, get off at Greenwich, stroll around the area and come back by boat or Tube. Fares Westminster–Greenwich is a journey in the Central and East zones. These are the adult fares the operator published, valid for contactless and Oyster until 31 October 2026; it has announced new fares, so check them beforehand: How you payAdult single Contactless or Oyster, off-peak£11.40 Contactless or Oyster, peak£12.40 Online or in the app£12.20 At the pier£16 Peak time: weekends and public holidays are peak all day. Children aged 5 to 15: half price. With Oyster, the discount needs a valid photo Oyster card; if you do not have one, buy their ticket in the app. Under 5s: free, up to two per adult with a ticket. Travelcard: a third off the standard fare, if you carry it on paper or loaded on your Oyster. Disability: 50% discount with proof, and a companion travels free. Tap your card on the pier reader, as on the Tube. We explain it in Oyster and contactless. Getting to the piers Westminster Pier: next to Westminster Bridge. Westminster Tube. London Eye (Waterloo) Pier: next to the wheel, on the south bank; close to the Premier Inn County Hall. Tower Pier: next to the Tower of London. Tower Hill Tube. Greenwich Pier: in the centre of Greenwich. With children and a pushchair You can board with a pushchair and there are covered seats. Off-peak it is easier to get a window seat. Check the operator's accessibility page if you are in a wheelchair. When to go On weekdays off-peak, when the contactless fare is cheapest. At weekends you pay the peak fare all day. In the rain the plan still works: you are under cover. - **Tower of London and the Crown Jewels** (3 h · From 6 years · Adult £38 · ages 5 to 15 £19): What it is and why it matters The Tower of London is a castle beside the Thames that William the Conqueror began to build at the end of 1066, just after conquering England. It has been a fortress, a prison and even a menagerie, and since 1988 it has been a World Heritage Site. Today it holds the British Crown Jewels, which is what most people come to see. It is run by Historic Royal Palaces. What you see The tour with a Yeoman Warder. The Yeoman Warders, the "beefeaters", are the Tower's uniformed guards. They act as guides and tell its history with humour. The usual thing is to start the visit with them and carry on afterwards on your own. Children are hooked. The Crown Jewels. They have been displayed in the Jewel House since 1967. Go first thing or at the end of the day, when there are fewer people. The White Tower. The central keep, believed to have been started in 1078 on William's orders. Traitors' Gate. The old river entrance, in St Thomas's Tower, from 1275–1279. The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula and the place of executions. Anne Boleyn, executed in 1536, is buried here. The ravens. An old tradition says that if the Tower's six ravens leave, the Tower will fall and the monarchy with it. That is why there are always ravens. The menagerie. The Tower had royal animals from at least the 1330s; hence the name of the Lion Tower. Allow at least half a day: three hours to see the main sights without rushing. Tickets Adults: £38. Ages 5 to 15: £19, with an adult. Ages 16 and 17, £19. Concession: £29.50. Under 5s: free. These are the prices public listings gave in mid-2026; the official Historic Royal Palaces website has the price for the day, which may change. Buy online in advance: at Easter, in July and August and in the October holidays, tickets sell out days ahead. Opening hours Open every day. According to the published hours, 9:00 to 17:30, with last entry at 16:30; some guides give shorter hours in winter. Check the hours for the day on the official website before you go. Getting there The address is Tower Hill, EC3N 4AB. The Tube station is Tower Hill. You can also arrive by Uber Boat, which stops at Tower pier. Pay with contactless or Oyster, as we explain in Oyster and contactless. With children From about 6 years old they enjoy it: uniformed guards, ravens, jewels and a story of prisoners. With a pushchair, bear in mind that a medieval castle has stairs; check the accessibility information from Historic Royal Palaces. Bring something warm: a good part of the visit is outdoors. Combine it Tower Bridge is next door. The Sky Garden is less than ten minutes' walk: book the ascent for after the Tower. Across the river, Borough Market for lunch. - **Science Museum** (2 h 30 · All ages · Free with booking · Wonderlab from £13.50): What it is and what you see The Science Museum is London's great museum of science and technology, on Exhibition Road, next to the Natural History Museum. It was founded in 1857 and in 2025 more than 2.8 million people visited. Some pieces you should not miss: The Apollo 10 command module. Puffing Billy, one of the oldest surviving steam locomotives. Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2. And some galleries: Space, now on level 0; Flight; Information Age; and Power Up, devoted to video games. Some galleries have partial closures: check the website beforehand. Wonderlab Wonderlab is the hands-on experiment hall, with more than 50 interactive exhibits and live shows during the day, included in the ticket. It is designed for children aged 7 to 14, although all ages enjoy it. It is paid: Day pass: from £13.50; the price varies by day and is cheaper if you book earlier. Under 3s: free. Families: 3 to 5 people, with a maximum of 2 adults, £3 off per pass. Opening hours: every day 10:00 to 17:40. Most people spend between one and two hours. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 or over. In school holidays tickets sell out: the museum does not guarantee that any will be left on the day. Some shows have loud, sudden noises, which are announced. Opening hours Open every day from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:15. Galleries start to close half an hour earlier. Closed from 24 to 26 December and the odd day: in 2026, for example, on 26 November it closes at 17:00. Entry and booking Entry is free, but you must first book a free timed ticket on the museum's website. Wonderlab and some temporary exhibitions are paid separately. How long Two to three hours, with Wonderlab included. If you have already done the Natural History Museum in the morning, leave the Science Museum for the afternoon and focus on Wonderlab and one or two galleries. Getting there Exhibition Road, South Kensington, SW7 2DD. The Tube station is South Kensington. With contactless or Oyster, as we explain in Oyster and contactless. With children and teenagers With children aged 7 to 14, Wonderlab is what works best. Teenagers like Power Up and the space galleries. With small children, the museum is large: choose the galleries beforehand. There are lifts and staff help if you need them. - **Sky Garden** (1 h · All ages; under-16s until 18:00 on weekdays · Free · booking required): What it is and what you see The Sky Garden is an indoor garden at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, the City skyscraper Londoners call the Walkie-Talkie because of its transmitter-like shape. The 160 m tower was designed by Rafael Viñoly and completed in 2014, and the garden opened in January 2015. At the top, on the uppermost floors, there are gardens, bars and restaurants beneath a great glass roof. From up there you see the Thames and the City, with the Tower of London nearby. It is a free way to see London from above. How to get tickets Entry is free, but you must book on the official website: Free tickets can be booked up to three weeks in advance, and the website recommends booking early, especially for the weekend. Each ticket is for a specific day and time. The visit has a one-hour limit from the moment you go in. If you are not going to come, cancel: you free up the place for someone else. Without a booking you may be let in if there is room: ask when you arrive. On weekdays nobody is admitted without a booking after 17:00. If you book a table at one of its restaurants or bars, the booking includes access and you do not need a separate ticket. At the end of 2026, one of the visitor lifts is out of service and capacity has been reduced: some people with tickets have been unable to go up at their time. If you are flexible, the website offers a switch to another day. Opening times Monday to Friday: 10:00 to 18:00. Weekends and public holidays: 11:00 to 21:00. The bars and restaurants open for longer, with their own bookings. Ages and ID Under-16s cannot enter after 18:00 on weekdays or after 21:00 at the weekend. The Sky Garden applies the Challenge 25 policy: if you are over 18 but look under 25, bring a passport, a photo driving licence or a PASS card. Entry can be refused. Getting there The address is 1 Sky Garden Walk, EC3M 8AF. The nearest Underground station is Monument, a few steps away; Tower Hill, Bank, Aldgate and Mansion House are all less than 10 minutes' walk. By train, Fenchurch Street, Cannon Street and London Bridge. Pay with contactless or Oyster, as we explain in Oyster and contactless. When to go A weekday morning is the easiest to get. For sunset, book a weekend, when it opens until 21:00, with the full three weeks' notice. In fog or low cloud, the views are lost: if the day is overcast, switch your ticket to another. Combine it Tower Hill, the station for the Tower of London, is less than 10 minutes' walk away: do the Tower in the morning and go up the Sky Garden afterwards. From the Tower you can take the Uber Boat to Greenwich. For lunch, Borough Market is on the other side of London Bridge. - **Camden Market** (2 h · Ages 12 and up · Free entry): What it is and what you see Camden Market is not one market but several joined together on the banks of Regent's Canal, in north London. Together they add up to more than a thousand shops, stalls, bars and cafés: second-hand and vintage clothes, records, crafts, independent shops and food stalls from around the world. There are four main areas. Camden Lock is beside the canal lock, on Camden Lock Place. Stables Market, on Chalk Farm Road, has listed historic buildings and a cobbled floor. Hawley Wharf, on the other side, is the new part, with food markets on several floors. North Yard is a cobbled courtyard of independent restaurants that also opens in the evening. When It opens every day of the year, including public holidays. The market runs from 10:00 to 19:00; most traders open from 10:00 to 18:00 and each has its own hours. The food markets at Hawley Wharf open from 11:30 to 23:00, and its shops from 12:00 to 18:00 Monday to Wednesday, from 11:00 to 18:00 on Thursday and Sunday and from 11:00 to 19:00 on Friday and Saturday. There are seasonal activities. In November and December 2026, for example, North Yard opens on Thursdays until 21:00 with a live band from 26 November, and on Saturdays in October and November there was a vintage market. Check the events page on its website. Getting there By Tube, the nearest station is Camden Town, on the Northern Line, about 5 minutes' walk; Chalk Farm is about 10. On the Overground, Camden Road is about 8 minutes away. Buses 24 (from Victoria), 214 (from King's Cross), 274 (from the West End) and 393 stop nearby. Do not go by car: the market has no car park of its own and the one in Camden Town is very limited. A different way to arrive is along the canal: the London Waterbus Company links Little Venice with the market's West Yard in about 45 minutes, with single tickets from £13 to £17. Price Entry is free; you only pay for what you buy or eat. Practical tips It is a place where a teenager can move around on their own for a couple of hours: agree a fixed time and meeting point, such as the lock. With small children or a pushchair, Hawley Wharf has no steps and has lifts to all floors; a good part of Stables and Lock has no steps either, but the cobbles and uneven floors of the historic buildings make walking harder. At Hawley Wharf there is a Changing Places accessible toilet, and the interactive map on the website marks the other accessible toilets. Market security is on duty 24 hours on 07756 868256. Go first thing if you want to browse in peace; for eating, Hawley Wharf and North Yard have longer hours than the shops. If you are spending a day in London, combine it with a boat on the Thames or with the Sky Garden. - **Greenwich, the meridian and the Cutty Sark** (4 h · All ages; big park to run around in · Cutty Sark, adult £22 and child £11; National Maritime Museum and Queen's House, free with a bookable ticket; the Royal Observatory is temporarily closed for works): The royal district of south-east London, a World Heritage Site: the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House, free; the Cutty Sark, the last tea clipper, in dry dock beside the river; and at the top of the park the Royal Observatory, where the meridian runs, temporarily closed for works (November 2026, no reopening date published). Meanwhile, the planetarium operates inside the Maritime Museum. From the top of the park you get the view of the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and the City. The best way to get there is by boat on the Thames from Westminster or the London Eye, about 45 minutes; or by DLR to Cutty Sark. The Cutty Sark costs £22 for adults and £11 for children; the two museums, nothing. Allow half a day; with children, add the park. - **Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII's** (4 h · All ages; children love the maze · Adult from around £30 outside peak season; children roughly half price; members free): The palace that Henry VIII took from Cardinal Wolsey, on the banks of the Thames in south-west London: huge Tudor kitchens with lit fires, the Great Hall, the Chapel Royal, William III's Baroque extension and 24 hectares of gardens with England's oldest hedge maze. For Bridgerton fans it is also one of the big filming locations, and everything that appeared in the series is covered by the standard ticket. According to Historic Royal Palaces, the Privy Garden is the exterior of Queen Charlotte's palace and the setting of Anthony's wedding in the second series; Fountain Court, Wren's courtyard, appears in scenes with the queen; Master Carpenter's Court became Chancery Lane, with the print shop where Lady Whistledown's pamphlets are made; and in the Great Fountain Garden Colin and Eloise stroll in the third series. The filming audio guide, Film and TV Location, with sections on the series, is included in the ticket. In November 2026 it opens from 10:00 to 16:00, with last entry at 15:00. On 21 and 22 November the gardens open free, with no ticket; the palace and the maze are still paid. You get there by train from London Waterloo in about 35 minutes, every half hour; the station is on the other side of the bridge. An adult ticket costs from around £30 and rises in peak season; buy online. From late November to early January there is a Christmas programme, Winter Palace. Allow half a day. - **Platform 9¾ and the Harry Potter shop at King's Cross** (45 min · All ages; with children, first thing in the morning · Free; the photo taken by the shop's photographers is paid separately): The luggage trolley disappearing into the wall is the most repeated photo in London among fans, and it is free. It is in the station concourse, beside the shop, outside the ticket barriers: you do not need a train ticket. Was it really filmed here? Yes. King's Cross is a filming location, not just a set with a sign. According to the Leavesden studio, most of the platform scenes were filmed at this station: the first shot filmed for The Philosopher's Stone and, ten years later, the last of the whole series, in The Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Today the platforms are ordinary platforms, with nothing from the filming. The platform with the red locomotive and the carriages you see inside was rebuilt on a studio set: if you want to board the train, that is at the Studio Tour. What is in the concourse is something else: a themed corner set up for visitors, with the trolley and the Platform 9¾ sign, and next to it the Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9¾, a shop with five zones, clothing for the four houses, wands, sweets and its own Platform line. How does the photo work? You queue in order of arrival, they give you a scarf of the house you choose and you take the photo with your own phone. If you wish, the shop's photographers take one and you buy it printed or digital at the till; it is not compulsory. The trolley is only there while the shop is open (Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 22:00, Sunday from 9:00 to 20:00); outside those hours the Platform sign stays on the wall for as long as the station is open. Groups of more than ten people ask staff for a slot on arrival. During English school holidays and at weekends the queue gets longer. First thing in the morning, especially on weekdays, it moves quickly. - **Leadenhall Market, the Way to the Leaky Cauldron** (30 min · All ages · Free): A Victorian covered market in the heart of the City, with its iron-and-glass roof painted maroon and cream and a cobbled floor. It is a filming location: part of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was shot here in 2000 and 2001, in the scene where Hagrid leads Harry through the streets of London towards the Leaky Cauldron. What can you see today? The market as it is, with shops, pubs and office-lunch restaurants. The current building dates from 1881 and is the work of Horace Jones, the City's architect, although there are records of a market here from 1321. In the film, the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron was a door in Bull's Head Passage, one of the alleys leading off the market: today it is an ordinary shop with no sign of the saga, so you recognise it by the shape of the door, not by a notice. The covered streets are open 24 hours and cost nothing. The shops, pubs and restaurants each keep their own hours; the market sits in the middle of the City's office district, so on weekdays at midday it is very busy. How do you get there? By Tube to Bank or Monument, five minutes on foot. The Sky Garden is two streets away and the Tower of London is fifteen minutes' walk: it is easy to fit into a morning in the City. - **Millennium Bridge, from St Paul's to Tate Modern** (15 min · All ages · Free): The steel footbridge that crosses the Thames between St Paul's Cathedral and Tate Modern. It opened in 2000 and is a filming location: in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the Death Eaters destroy it in a full-blown attack. In the book it was a different bridge, the Brockdale Bridge; the film moved the scene here. Today the bridge is intact and open at any hour. Crossing it takes ten to fifteen minutes with stops, and from the middle you have the river in both directions and the dome of St Paul's straight ahead if you are walking north. Look at the ground: there are squashed pieces of chewing gum painted in miniature by a street artist. On the other side, ten minutes along the bank, is Borough Market, for something to eat. How do you get there? By Tube to Mansion House, on the District and Circle lines, then a few minutes on foot to the north end of the bridge, below St Paul's. From Leadenhall Market, the other City location, it is about twenty-five minutes' walk along Cheapside. On the other side, following the south bank east, you reach Borough Market in a quarter of an hour. - **Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, at the Palace Theatre** (2 h 55 · Teenagers and adults who know the saga; in English): This is not a filming location but a themed venue: the play that continues the story nineteen years after the last book, with an adult Harry and his son Albus arriving at Hogwarts. It premiered in 2016 in two parts and since 2026 has been staged as a single one, of about 2 h 55 with an interval, at the Palace Theatre in the West End. It is in English: it works if you can get by in the language or know the saga well. How do you buy tickets? On the production's official website, with no booking fees, or at the theatre box office. At the end of 2026 performances are on sale until 27 June 2027. Prices change according to the day and the area and the website does not publish a "from" price: look at the seating plan when you choose. Each week they also release 40 tickets at £40 for the following week's performances (the Friday Forty), by lottery. Resale tickets may not be valid: the theatre reserves the right not to admit people with them. Which days are there performances? Tuesday, Thursday and Friday at 19:00; Wednesday and Saturday at 13:00 and 19:00; Sunday at 14:30. There is no performance on Monday. On specific dates there are captioned, audio-described and relaxed performances. Arrive an hour early: there is a security check and suitcases and large bags (over 41 x 31 x 16 cm) are not admitted, and there is no left-luggage facility outside. The nearest stations are Leicester Square and Tottenham Court Road, five minutes away. - **House of MinaLima, the Gallery of the Saga's Graphic Design** (45 min · Teenagers and adults; also children who read · Free entry): A themed place, not a filming location. MinaLima is the studio of the graphic designers who made the printed paper props for the Harry Potter films and for Fantastic Beasts: Daily Prophet newspapers, Hogwarts acceptance letters, spell packaging and posters. In their Soho home on Wardour Street there is a shop on the ground floor and a gallery in the basement with prints, props and the story of how each one was designed. Entry is free. It is open every day from 11:00 to 18:45, bank holidays included. When it is busy, you are given an entry slot at the door. The nearest stations are Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Circus, and it is close to the Palace Theatre, so it fits in neatly before a performance of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. What should you know first? You do not need to book or pay to go in: you only pay for what you buy in the shop, which sells prints, quills and objects featuring the film designs. At busy times, entry is managed with slots handed out at the door. The gallery staff know the studio's work well and will answer questions about how each piece was made. - **Ranger's House, the Bridgerton Family Home in Greenwich** (20 min · All ages; pushchair-friendly through the park · Free from outside; the interior with an English Heritage ticket on the days it opens): In Bridgerton, the family's London home is, from the outside, Ranger's House, a Georgian brick villa on the edge of Greenwich Park, on the Blackheath side. English Heritage, which looks after it, says so itself, and Netflix confirms it in its filming guide. It is a filming location, and the facade, which is what appears in the series, can be seen for free from the street. What can you see today? A brick house facing Chesterfield Walk, the path that skirts the park on the Blackheath side. In the series the facade appears covered in wisteria with carriages in front; without the set dressing, you recognise it by its shape and windows. Allow twenty minutes for the photo and the stroll. Can you go inside? Only on some days. English Heritage opens it on selected dates, and those for 2027 had not yet been announced on 13 November 2026. Inside is the Wernher Collection, nearly seven hundred works: Dutch painting, Renaissance bronzes, silver, medieval and Renaissance jewellery and tapestries. The interiors are not those of the series, which were filmed elsewhere. At present only the ground floor is accessible for anyone who cannot climb stairs. If you plan to go in, buy ahead: advance tickets are 15% cheaper. How do you get there? From the centre of Greenwich, cross the park uphill towards Blackheath; the house faces Chesterfield Walk, on the edge of the park. From the Old Royal Naval College it is about 20 minutes' walk, uphill. Combine it with a visit to Greenwich: the observatory is halfway. - **Old Royal Naval College, the Bridgerton Streets in Greenwich** (1 h 30 · All ages · Courtyards and gardens, free; Painted Hall, £19 per adult, convertible into an annual pass at no cost; children, free): The colonnaded courtyards and domes of the Old Royal Naval College, beside the Thames in Greenwich, are among the most used natural sets in Bridgerton: the college itself says it has appeared in every season. According to VisitBritain, it stands in for the streets of Regency London; according to Netflix's filming guide, in the second season it is a market, the street outside the Featherington house and the place where Anthony works on his list of candidates. It is a filming location, and what appears on screen, the courtyards and facades, can be explored for free. What can you see? The courtyards and gardens open every day from 8:00 to 23:00 with no entry fee. The colonnades and domes, with the river in front, are what you will recognise from the series. Inside you can visit the Painted Hall, the great hall with painted ceilings, and the chapel. The Painted Hall, the chapel and the visitor centre open from 10:00 to 17:00. Tickets and tours General admission to the Painted Hall costs £19 and converts free into an annual pass; children do not pay. It includes the Painted Hall talks and the guided tour of the college's history, several times a day. For the series, the college runs a period filming tour, Wigs, Weddings, Powder and Palaces, on some Fridays and Saturdays, booked on its website: check the dates there, as they change. From 20 November 2026, the Painted Hall hosts the installation Peace Doves, by Peter Walker. How do you get there? By boat along the Thames to Greenwich pier, right next door, or by DLR to Cutty Sark. About 20 minutes' walk away, across the park, is Ranger's House, the Bridgerton family home. - **Free Walking Tour of Royal London, with SANDEMANs** (2 h 45 · All ages · Free; voluntary tip at the end): What it is A walking route through the London of palaces and Parliament, from the company SANDEMANs NEW Europe, with freelance guides. You don't pay at the start; at the end you leave whatever tip you like. It leaves from Charing Cross station, at the entrance of the Clermont hotel, and ends near Westminster Abbey. What it covers According to the company, the route includes Buckingham Palace (with the Changing of the Guard if it coincides), St James's Park and St James's Palace, Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben, Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, Horse Guards Parade and the Churchill War Rooms. It lasts about two and a half hours, although the website itself speaks of about three depending on the guide. How to book Online at neweuropetours.eu or by going to the starting point on the day. The company says it isn't cancelled because of the weather and is wheelchair accessible; dates and times are on its calendar. It is a good first walk before the routes through the City, such as the one over the Millennium Bridge and Leadenhall Market. - **The Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, with a Standing Ticket for £8** (2 h 30 · Adults and teenagers interested in music): The Proms are the summer concert season that the BBC holds at the Royal Albert Hall and other London venues: from July to September, with concerts almost every day and the Last Night at the end. What sets them apart is the standing ticket, which lets you see a symphony orchestra for little money. The standing ticket According to the classical-music.com article published on 3 June 2024, each concert puts about 1,000 standing tickets on sale on the same day at £8. The places are in the Arena and in the Gallery of the Royal Albert Hall and are not numbered: you choose your spot on arrival. You get them by queuing at the door that day and, for most concerts, up to two tickets can be bought online from 10:30 on the day itself. For the Last Night, the day ticket also costs £8 including fees, with a maximum of two per person and online sales from 10:30 on the same day. This information is from 2024. Prices, times and the queueing system change from one season to the next, so confirm them on the Proms or Royal Albert Hall website before you travel. Who it suits It is a plan for anyone travelling between July and September who wants a top-level concert without buying a seat. As you stand, comfortable shoes are advisable, and you arrive in good time if the programme is one that fills up. ## Dónde comer - **Dishoom Covent Garden** (Restaurant, Covent Garden, €€). Qué pedir: a dal and a grill dish to share. - **Honest Burgers** (Restaurant, Several branches in London, €€). Qué pedir: a burger with its rosemary chips; children's menu with a drink. - **Backlot Café** (Café, Leavesden, inside the Studio Tour, €€). Qué pedir: a burger, wings or a hot dog, and a non-alcoholic butterbeer at the Butterbeer Bar. - **Borough Market** (Market, Southwark, €). Qué pedir: whatever each person fancies at the hot food stalls. ## By plane: Direct flight, then a train or the Tube to the centre London has direct flights from almost all Spanish airports, in a little over two hours from Madrid or Barcelona, to four main airports. None is in the centre, but all have a fast train. In the city you do not need a car: transport is paid for with a contactless card or your phone, and for day trips (Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Windsor, Brighton) the train leaves from the central stations. ### Dónde dormir if you're flying - **Premier Inn London County Hall** (Hotel): Two minutes from the London Eye and eight from Westminster. With one adult paying for breakfast, up to two children eat breakfast free. - **YHA London Central** (Hostel): A hostel with private family rooms, with bunk beds. The cheapest option in the centre: there are few and they sell out early. - **Citadines Holborn-Covent Garden** (Apartment): An apartment with a bedroom and a sofa bed, ten minutes' walk from Covent Garden. Being able to eat dinner in saves a lot in London. - **Georgian House Hotel** (Hotel): A hotel in a nineteenth-century house in Pimlico with themed rooms: the Wizard Chambers, on the ground floor, reached along a corridor with portraits and candlelight. They have stone walls, stained glass, four-poster beds and cauldrons, and are the largest, designed for families of two to four. The smaller Enchanted Chambers open behind a door hidden in a bookcase. It is a wizard-themed hotel, not a filming location or an official product of the saga: you choose it for the night you spend in it. On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 12:30 to 17:00, it serves a wizards' afternoon tea in the breakfast room, with 48 hours' notice, along with potions with and without alcohol (£25 and £20). The rooms are chosen by atmosphere rather than by size. The nearest Tube stations are Victoria and Pimlico. Who is it for? For families with children who know the saga and for adult fans who want a different night in London. The family rooms take two to four adults; there is a triple with room for an extra bed or a sofa bed for children up to 12, and cots on request. If what you want is space and a standard room, the hotel also has ordinary rooms, but then it loses its reason for being on this trip. ## With young children: Free museums, a boat ride and a break every two hours With children under six, London works if you plan half days. A big museum lasts them two hours, sometimes less; then they need to run. The good news is that the best things for them are free and close by: the two South Kensington museums are door to door and Hyde Park is ten minutes away. ### What works best Natural History Museum: the whale and the dinosaurs, free Science Museum: free entry, and Wonderlab if you want to pay for it Uber Boat: a boat trip where under 5s travel free ### Where to sleep Premier Inn County Hall: a family room and free breakfast for two children An apartment in Holborn, to have a kitchen and your own timetable ### Where to eat Honest Burgers, with a children's menu Borough Market, to eat standing up and at whatever time they ask ### Good to know The Underground has lots of stairs: a light pushchair or a baby carrier Under 11s travel free with a paying adult The Studio Tour, with children under 5, only if they already know the story ### Qué hacer with young children - Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter - Natural History Museum - Uber Boat from Westminster to Greenwich - Science Museum - Platform 9¾ and the Harry Potter shop at King's Cross - Millennium Bridge, from St Paul's to Tate Modern ## As a family: One paid thing a day, the rest free With children of different ages, alternate expensive days with free ones: the Studio Tour or the Tower one day, museums and the river the next. For a family of four, in 2026 the Studio Tour costs £188, the Tower of London £114 (two adults and two children aged 5 to 15), and the national museums and the Sky Garden, nothing. ### What works best Harry Potter Studio Tour: a long half day, for all ages with fans Tower of London: the Yeoman Warders and the Crown Jewels Natural History Museum and Science Museum, on the same day Uber Boat to Greenwich, as transport and a trip in itself ### Where to sleep Citadines Holborn: an apartment for four with a kitchen YHA London Central: private family rooms at a good price ### Where to eat Dishoom Covent Garden, booking before 18:00 Borough Market, where everyone can choose ### Good to know Book the Studio Tour weeks ahead and the Tower a week ahead in summer Every adult needs their own contactless or Oyster card English school holidays fill museums and attractions ### Qué hacer as a family - Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter - Natural History Museum - Uber Boat from Westminster to Greenwich - Tower of London and the Crown Jewels - Science Museum - Sky Garden - Camden Market - Greenwich, the meridian and the Cutty Sark - Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII's - Platform 9¾ and the Harry Potter shop at King's Cross - Leadenhall Market, the Way to the Leaky Cauldron - Millennium Bridge, from St Paul's to Tate Modern - House of MinaLima, the Gallery of the Saga's Graphic Design - Ranger's House, the Bridgerton Family Home in Greenwich - Old Royal Naval College, the Bridgerton Streets in Greenwich - Free Walking Tour of Royal London, with SANDEMANs ## With teenagers: Give them a map and some freedom From 12 to 17, London is one of the easiest cities in which to give them a little freedom: a clear Tube, pedestrian areas and places to meet. What bores them is queues and long guided tours; what hooks them is going at their own pace. ### What works best Harry Potter Studio Tour: the green screen and how the effects were made Camden Market: two hours on their own with a time to meet back Sky Garden: free views, with an adult if they are under 16 Tower of London: armour, prisons and jewels ### Where to sleep YHA London Central, with a young travellers' atmosphere An apartment where everyone has their own corner ### Where to eat Camden and Borough Market, to try new things Dishoom, if they like spice ### Good to know Ages 11 to 15, Young Visitor discount on an Oyster card; they must be at the ticket office From age 16 they pay adult fares on transport At the Sky Garden, under 16s are not admitted after 18:00 on weekdays ### Qué hacer with teenagers - Warner Bros. Studio Tour London: The Making of Harry Potter - Natural History Museum - Uber Boat from Westminster to Greenwich - Tower of London and the Crown Jewels - Science Museum - Sky Garden - Camden Market - Greenwich, the meridian and the Cutty Sark - Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII's - Platform 9¾ and the Harry Potter shop at King's Cross - Leadenhall Market, the Way to the Leaky Cauldron - Millennium Bridge, from St Paul's to Tate Modern - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, at the Palace Theatre - House of MinaLima, the Gallery of the Saga's Graphic Design - Ranger's House, the Bridgerton Family Home in Greenwich - Old Royal Naval College, the Bridgerton Streets in Greenwich - Free Walking Tour of Royal London, with SANDEMANs ## With friends: London with friends: the river, markets and a tower you split the bill for London works for a group because everyone can do something different in the morning and meet at a market at lunchtime. The Tube and the river go everywhere, and the cheapest things in the city, a tip-based walking tour, a garden in the sky and the markets, are also the ones that are best shared. The expensive part is accommodation: in a group it pays to share an apartment or book a hostel. ### What works best Free walking tour of real London: 2.5 to 3 hours, nothing to pay up front and a tip at the end, in Spanish or English. It is the cheapest way to start your first day. Uber Boat from Westminster to Greenwich: the RB1 line, every 10 to 20 minutes and contactless from £11.40. It passes under Tower Bridge and is the river trip you do not need to book. Camden Market: more than a thousand shops and stalls by the canal, free to enter. Set a meeting time in an hour and everyone goes their own way. Sky Garden: free views over the City, but booking is compulsory up to three weeks ahead. Book everyone into the same slot. Tower of London: £38 per adult, a whole half day. Worth it if anyone in the group wants to see the Crown Jewels. Greenwich: the maritime museum and the Queen's House are free; the Cutty Sark costs £22. It is best reached by boat. ### Where to stay YHA London Central: a hostel in the centre with bunk beds and private rooms; the cheapest in the area, and it sells out early. Citadines Holborn-Covent Garden: an apartment with a bedroom and a sofa bed, ten minutes' walk from Covent Garden. Eating in saves a group a lot. ### Where to eat Borough Market: hot-food stalls where everyone orders their own thing, with no need to agree. Dishoom Covent Garden: Indian food to share; a dal and a grill dish for the table. Honest Burgers: burgers with rosemary chips at a mid-range price, with several branches around the city. ### Good to know Pay for transport with a contactless card: the daily cap saves you buying single tickets. Sky Garden takes bookings up to three weeks ahead: get everyone's tickets for the same slot. In a big group, check beforehand that the apartment can fit everyone: the bed spaces are what they are. ### Qué hacer with friends - Uber Boat from Westminster to Greenwich - Tower of London and the Crown Jewels - Sky Garden - Camden Market - Greenwich, the meridian and the Cutty Sark - Free Walking Tour of Royal London, with SANDEMANs ## Consejos ### Book the free tickets The British Museum, Natural History Museum and Science Museum offer free timed tickets. At the Science Museum they are compulsory. ### Group by bank The Tower, the Sky Garden and Leadenhall are in the City; the Tate Modern, the Globe and Borough Market, opposite. Cross the Millennium Bridge and you save a Tube ride. ### Make the most of the late evenings On Fridays, the British Museum is open until 20:30, the National Gallery until 21:00 and the Tate Modern also until 21:00, as on Saturdays. ### The Sky Garden, three weeks ahead Free tickets are released three weeks before and give you an hour at the top. Without a booking you only get in if there is room. ### Eat outside the rush At 12:00 and 18:00 you find a table; at 13:30 or 20:00, a queue. At Dishoom Covent Garden you can only book before 18:00. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### How many days do I need to see London? Three for the essentials along the river; four or five if you add Greenwich, Camden or a day out, such as the Studio Tour or Hampton Court. ### Do I need to buy an Oyster? No. A contactless card or phone works the same and has the same daily cap. The Oyster is worth it if your bank charges a fee on every payment in pounds. ### Are London's museums free? The national ones are: the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum and Science Museum. Some temporary exhibitions are paid. ### What do I need to book before going? The Studio Tour, weeks ahead; the Sky Garden, up to three weeks ahead; the free ticket for the Science Museum; and the Tower of London in summer. ### What is the best area to stay in the first time? The South Bank or Covent Garden: from both you can walk to half of what you will see and have the Tube for the rest.