My top tips for a weekend in London

The first time I went to London, it dates back to a school trip in middle school, and let’s just say that’s now a little (a massive understatement) while ago… So, it was with the impatience of a little girl that I set off to conquer the treasures of the English capital in 2016, for the very (too) short duration of a London weekend. The “made in London” weather lived up to its reputation—a sky covered in clouds with more or less passing showers—but that did nothing to dampen our pleasure of strolling through the lair of this rich and multifaceted city.

I have obviously returned to London since (notably in 2019 and 2023), and I therefore regularly update this post and my other articles on London with my new discoveries and visits!

I have broken down my trips to London into 3 thematic articles:

• This first article focuses on a selection of things to see/do in London (you can also take a look at VisitLondon to find other ideas of this type), along with the story of my Ouibus adventure.
• An article with my reviews of London hotels.
• A short food tour of the addresses discovered during my trips to London.

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What to see and do in London?

Take a free tour in London with Civitatis

If you are looking for a cool and budget-friendly way to discover the British capital, I highly recommend testing the “Free tours” offered by Civitatis. The concept of this booking site is perfect for those on a tight budget: there is no fixed price for the visit at the start; you choose for yourself the amount to leave the guide at the end of the tour, based on your satisfaction. During the classic route, a guide will take you for more than two hours to admire the oldest streets and monuments of the city. The platform also offers other fascinating free themes to explore London from a different angle, including a Harry Potter tour or a superb street-art walk in the East End!

Free tour in London by Civitatis

Duration: 2h-2h30

Link to book your free historical tour

Link to book and see the different Free Tours offered

Visit the National Gallery in London

The National Gallery is one of the must-see museums in London. It is primarily a painting museum, which actually holds one of the finest collections of works by Western European masters, with over 2000 pieces presented in the permanent collections. The museum is quite vast and I didn’t find the chronological flow particularly well signposted. I therefore advise you to simply wander from one room to another, and especially if you want to see everything, plan for several hours.

On the agenda: works by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Velázquez, Goya, Turner, Van Gogh, …

Not to be missed:

• The Arnolfini Portrait, a tiny painting by Jan van Eyck painted in 1434, but which, from my point of view, alone makes the trip to this museum worth it. I had studied it so much during my university art history courses that I was extremely moved to see it in real life for the first time.

National Gallery

Trafalgar Square
Open daily from 10 am to 6 pm (9 pm on Fridays)

free admission for permanent collections (with suggested donations at the entrance,
but it is not mandatory)

link to the museum’s website

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Visit the Victoria and Albert Museum

I discovered this incredible museum very late, during my stay in London in 2023, and I must say I was blown away by the venue and its collections! The museum is gigantic and it is very pleasant to wander through. You can enter from several sides of the museum, without any security check, and wander very freely in all the spaces. I didn’t have much time and I just walked around different areas of the museum a bit to soak up the atmosphere, get a first impression of the collections, and appreciate the museography.

I highly recommend you go check it out if you happen to be nearby, and also be aware that the museum contains a rather charming inner courtyard for the summer, perfect for taking a break and eating your sandwich, for example, in a very pleasant setting.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Cromwell Rd, London

free admission all the time for everyone!

link to the museum’s website

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Admire London from the top of The View from The Shard

This tower allows you to admire one of the most beautiful views of London, from the top of the tallest building in Western Europe. This attraction, whose price is certainly not cheap, you have to admit, nevertheless offers a unique experience if you like to gain height and discover a city seen from above. For my part, I experienced a visit at the end of the day, to see London by night and its nocturnal lights.

The place is designed as a true attraction, with a photo corner at the entrance (with which you can leave at the end of your visit, for a small extra charge, of course), waiting areas in case of crowds with numerous photos and explanations on the history of the building, not to mention the very comprehensive audio-guide with some extra little videos where you can see, in particular, the “aerial” window cleaners of the building. But well, the main interest of the place remains the magnificent view of the city, once the supersonic elevator has dropped you at the top (yes, they spare you the steps at that price, after all!).

The little extra: once at the top, interactive telescopes offer you to discover a bit more about the monuments on the horizon.

The View from The Shard

32 London Bridge Street
Closest subway: London Bridge

Price : £30.95 when buying the ticket on the same day and £25.95 when booking in advance

link to the attraction’s website

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Take a walk in Hyde Park

We discovered this park a bit by chance, I must say, because our 2nd hotel was right next to it, but we loved crossing it in its entire length (be careful though, it takes at least 30 minutes of walking without dawdling to cross it from end to end…). It is apparently one of the most popular London parks and an immense green lung in the heart of the city as well. Whether along the Serpentine lake, or closer to the royal residence of Kensington Palace, there is a joyful and heterogeneous crowd that gathers there to walk quietly on weekends and during the week.

Hyde Park, London

free entry

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Take a walk in Richmond Park

This very large park on the edge of London (it is actually the largest in the English capital) located in the Richmond upon Thames district, is home to several herds of does and deer that live there in the wild. Since it is super large, it is really a good idea to do it by bike in order to make the most of it!

Richmond Park, London

free access
open from 7 am to 7:30 pm (in winter) and 8 pm (in summer)

link to the park’s website

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Stroll through the East London district

East London, as the name suggests, is a district located in the east of London. I recommend you stop by the flower market on Columbia Road in the East End district on the weekend. The Victorian shops on Hackney Road have a lot of charm and the atmosphere in the streets on Sunday mornings (market day) is truly very pleasant.

We then went to the very cool Brick Lane neighborhood to enjoy its open-air Sunday morning market, and it was particularly nice! I loved the eclectic atmosphere of this neighborhood, which for me well represents what I adore about the English capital: a joyful mix of genres, as we see too few of in France, I find. Here, very different people seem to mingle while keeping their own styles, their differences, and their peculiarities without it posing a problem to anyone. It’s quite fascinating… It would be nice to be able to find this kind of mix in Paris…

It’s really a corner that I loved, and there is also quite a bit of street art in that neighborhood if you enjoy that. I’m also taking this opportunity to give you a great address for a Cycle Cafe Bar Workshop located on Old Street, which we didn’t have time to test, but which was highly recommended by our guide at the time: Look mum no hands!

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Go for a tour at Harrods

This luxury department store, iconic to England, is located on Brompton Road in the Knightsbridge district. If you are in the area, don’t hesitate to step into the store to admire its Art Nouveau-style architecture and also the neo-Egyptian decor of its escalator (a tribute from its former owner, the Egyptian Mohamed Al Fayed, to his culture). Of course, for my part, I was rather interested in the luxury food market of the store where I did some gourmet shopping…

Harrods London

87-135 Brompton Rd, London

link to the brand’s website

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Take a cruise on the Thames

Yes, okay, it might seem super cliché, but I think you have to take a little cruise on the Thames at least once during one of your stays in London. If only because it allows you to have a very different view of the city and perhaps also better vantage points to see and photograph certain buildings…

For our part, it was the Thames Clippers company that took us from the city center (there was an boarding point right next to our hotel) to Greenwich Village. The only thing I regret is leaving a bit late and, consequently, it was already dark by the time we arrived in Greenwich; that’s a pity… We still were able to admire the magnificent Cutty Sark, the last remaining “clipper” that was used to import wool from New Zealand and tea from China. This sailboat has now been converted into a museum.

The tickets for this company are valid in the central zones and also in the East London area. If you take a River Roamer ticket (£14.70 for adults and £7.35 for children), for example, you can make as many round trips as you want during the day. Otherwise, you can also buy a single ticket (£6.50).

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Go to London by Ouibus

When I announced to those around me that I was taking the Ouibus to London, the reactions were unanimous: “you’re crazy!”, or “oh my poor thing!”. Well, I admit I may not be the age for this mode of transport anymore, but you can’t say I don’t test my tips! So I will try to answer this burning question, should you or shouldn’t you take the Ouibus to go to London? The answer is simple: it depends. It depends on your budget, it depends on the time you have, it depends on how much time you have to stay there.

First important information: the journey takes between 7 and 9 hours depending on the time you leave.

What I liked:

• As with the train, you receive a little summary email of your trip a few days before departure. Either you print the ticket for the trip, or you can also have it on your smartphone.
• There are toilets accessible on the bus for the entire journey (otherwise the trip quickly becomes mission impossible, girls will understand me).
• Next to each seat, there is an electrical outlet and on some buses a USB port as a bonus, not to mention the free Wi-Fi during the trip (although in reality it didn’t always work super well…).

What I didn’t like:

• The numerous problems, certainly due to technical issues with the Shuttle during our weekend. We almost had a huge delay because of that and lost almost half a day of our stay, but thanks to the wisdom of our driver (who hadn’t forgotten to be funny), we took the ferry instead and only had a 2-hour delay.
• Being woken up at 3 am to queue at customs and show your ID card.

My tips:

• Show up about 15/20 min before departure (it says 30 min on the site, but honestly 15 min is more than enough; if you are the punctual type, it goes without saying).
• Remember to take your ID card or passport of course, otherwise you won’t be allowed on the bus.
• I recommend you take the night bus, because you will lose a little less time and, besides, it will save you a hotel night. However, think about getting well-equipped (cushion, blanket, some food, glasses case if you wear them, water supply…), even if I find the bus very comfortable.

The good plan: you can modify your booking up to 30 minutes before your departure

Average price: from 19 to 39 € one way, depending on the schedule and the days

OUIBUS Paris/London

Paris Bercy > London Victoria Coach Station
Departures every day at: 8:00 am (8h trip), 9:00 am (9h trip), 11:00 am (9h20 trip) and 2:00 pm (9h trip) and night departures at 9:00 pm (9h trip), 10:00 pm (8h35 trip) and 11:30 pm (7h40 trip)

Paris CDG > London Victoria Coach Station
Departures every day at 9:00 am (7h trip), 12:00 pm (8h20 trip)

Lille > London Victoria Coach Station

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My selection of guides on London

When I go to a city that I don’t know or know little, I like to leave with a few guides under my belt (it reassures me!). This time I didn’t do things by halves and I left with 4 guides in my suitcase:

• The Petit Futé London 2016 edition, with a detachable map that was very practical (price 9.90 €).
• The Cartoville London with illustrations by Pénélope Bagieu, very practical with all its little maps of the different neighborhoods of the city (price 10.90 €).
• The GéoGuide Shopping in London, with over a hundred recommended addresses (price 9.90 €).
• The Lebey Paris-London guide, for food address ideas, with a selection of the best Parisian bistros and London gastropubs (price 7.50 €).

I hope that with all this, I have made you want to discover and re-discover London, and if you also have your own good London addresses to go out and visit, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments!

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Practical questions

London guide contest (closed)

Since I like to spoil you, I am offering 5 lucky people, for their next London trips, the chance to each win a copy of the Shopping in London guide from the GéoGuide collection at Gallimard Loisirs. To participate, all you need to do is leave a comment below this article telling me what your London tips are. A lucky draw among the comments that have answered this question will designate the 5 winners.

Rules:

– Contest limited to Metropolitan France

– + 1 chance if you are a fan of the blog’s Facebook page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Twitter page; + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Hellocoton page + 1 chance if you follow the blog’s Instagram page + 1 chance for every share of the article (don’t forget to leave your usernames in your comment if you want to benefit from extra chance(s)

– 1 entry per IP address

– contest start date Tuesday, March 1st 2016 – deadline to participate Saturday, March 12th 2016 and results the next day on the blog in an edit to this article.

EDIT from March 13, 2016:

Following the lucky draw, I am announcing that the 5 winners of the Shopping in London guide are Carole SERRES, Mollard-Nottin Laurène, Polly, sarah carcelle, and yann4449. Congratulations to you, I will contact you quickly by email so that you can give me your contact details. Thanks to everyone for your entries and for sharing your London tips here!

Find below all my articles on my trips to Great Britain:
⇒ All my articles on Great Britain
⇒ All my articles on England
⇒ All my articles on London

MY ARTICLES ON LONDON
⇒ London Food Tour
⇒ Selection of hotels in London
⇒ Weekend in London
⇒ London by bike

Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez and Melle Bon Plan
Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization required before any use