Here's a Google Map of my favorite places in London, partly for my own reference of places I've been and partly (hopefully) for yours to peruse. I love referencing maps because they give me a sense of where things are so I can spatially plan out my itinerary. Even though I spent most of my time in London under lockdown, putting together this post made me feel like I got to do a lot during those months in between and towards the end after all.
To see / do:
Parks
St James' Park: My favorite of all the London parks: seasonal flowers, cherry blossom trees in the spring, lawns for picnics or revising or naps in the sun, a bridge with a view, central location. This was where I spent all my sunny days and a good number of overcast ones too.
Regent's Park: Another great central London park with gorgeous landscaping. I loved wandering through thousands of roses at Queen Mary's Garden, and there's a great view of the city skyline from atop Primrose Hill.
Hyde Park: The largest park in central London, which blends seamlessly into Kensington Gardens. You'll forget you're in the middle of the city here, and it's a great spot to picnic or go for a long stroll with a friend and a coffee in hand.
Green Park: Look, you have to visit in late spring or early summer to understand just how green Green Park is. It's adjacent to St James Park and a great park to walk through if you need to clear your head.
Victoria Park: A nice park in east London with its own lake and pagoda, and less crowded than the central London parks. I recommend visiting on Sundays for the market so you can eat lunch there.
Hampstead Heath: A bit further out in north London, but also more expansive than the central city parks with another great view of the city.
Museums and Galleries
Tate Modern: One of the most iconic modern art museums in the world. The main collection is worth seeing on its own (and it's free, like all the museums listed here), but I also highly recommend the special exhibits I went to that are still on display now: the Making of Rodin (until 21 November 2021) and Yayoi Kusama Infinity Mirrors (until 12 June 2022). Caveat emptor: tickets for the latter sell out months in advance. Also, if you're 16-25, register for the Tate Collective! It's a free membership that lets you purchase exhibit tickets for £5 and get 10% off in the gift shops.
Victoria & Albert Museum: The V&A is a favorite of mine for its wide range of art: post-classical sculptures, ancient through contemporary art from all across the world, fashion, paintings, jewelry, architecture...there's no shortage of things to see. I went for entire afternoons three separate times and still managed to discover entirely unexplored galleries each time.
National Gallery: Located in Trafalgar Square, this is kind of art museum people think of when they think about art museums: the National Gallery features European paintings from the mid-13th century through 1900 and includes masterpieces by all the famous European painters.
Tate Britain: The national collection of British art from 1500 through the present day. If you want to cover a wide range of art styles but don't want to spend the entire day getting lost in various exhibits, the Tate Britain is the one for you.
The British Museum: A classic. The museum for people who don't typically like museums, according to someone who loves museums (me). There are seemingly-endless galleries dedicated to human history and culture from all corners of the world, largely acquired during the British Empire. In 2014 when I was dead-broke from the USD to GBP exchange rate, I would come here during lunch breaks to save money and feast my eyes on pieces of history like the Rosetta Stone and pieces of the Parthenon in Athens. The British Museum was one of the (many) reasons I knew I loved London in a way I could articulate: this was a place where a world-class cultural and historical experience could be had for free. This was a place to always return to in a city you would always return to: something about gazing at ancient artifacts never gets old.
Saatchi Gallery: A contemporary art gallery located in Chelsea featuring works by emerging artists. I caught the JR: Chronicles exhibit this summer and loved it.
Victoria Miro: Another smaller contemporary art gallery with a constant rotation of works by established and emerging artists. It's located in a former Victorian furniture factory in Islington; the gallery space itself is worth checking out on its own.
Natural History Museum: As the name implies, it's a natural history museum located in South Kensington, across the street from the V&A. I recommend visiting them separately because both are quite big, but if you're on a short trip this would be the closest to a "museum quarter" in the city and you'll cover a lot of breadth. The architecture is breathtaking too, especially the main hall and staircase in the center of the building.
Museum of London: Fascinating museum centered on the social history of the city. After learning about the fires and plagues and bombings and other disasters that this city has weathered through, spending 2020 and 2021 in lockdown when the streets were mostly empty didn't seem so bad in comparison.
Markets
Borough Market: One of the oldest and most famous food markets in London. There's a huge selection of vendors for fresh food to take home, or ready-to-eat street food at the market. Open daily, but recommend Wed - Sat.
Camden Market: Popular market for unique gifts, clothing, souvenirs, and other wares. Visit Cyberdog for the experience—the store felt like the closest experience to a rave or EDM club you can get without actually going to a rave or a club. Try your hand at haggling at some of the stalls. Great food selection too. Open daily.
Lower Marsh Market: I got lunch here almost every week when I lived right around the corner. More affordable street food stalls than anything on Southbank if you're in the area. Monday - Friday.
Portobello Road Market: The world's largest antiques market in the posh Notting Hill neighborhood. Great place to look for vintage and secondhand designer clothing too if you know what you're looking for. I'm a big fan of the Regal Duck food stall for their duck confit wraps. Saturday market.
Brick Lane Market: A bit of everything in east London and in the very hip Shoreditch neighborhood. There's some cool street art, street food, and street vendors for clothing or other wares. Spitafields Market is nearby too. Sunday market.
Victoria Park Market: Produce market and street food inside a city park. Grab a bite to eat before walking around for a relaxed weekend day. Sunday market.
Miscellaneous
Southbank: I walked along Southbank pretty much every day the entire year I lived here, even when it was completely empty during the height of lockdown. It's the best walk to look at the skyline, access various bridges, see major landmarks, and people watch.
Sky Gardens: Viewpoint from the top of the building in the City that looks like a walkie-talkie. The inside feels like a cross between a tropical botanic garden and a nice airport. It's free, but you need to book tickets online in advance.
London Review Bookshop: The bookstore of the London Review of Books. If you've seen people carrying those dark green or navy blue tote bags around town, they got them here (this is to say: I got one here). There's a cute cake shop off to the side of the bookstore too; pop in for a slice of cake or cup of tea to go with your new books.
Foyles: There are multiple locations throughout the city, but the flagship store at Charing Cross Road is the place to go. Four floors of books and a cafe on the top floor. Heaven, or something close.
Harrod's: One of the most famous department stores in the world, and for good reason. Even if you're not planning on buying anything, walking through here gives you a sense of what luxury is supposed to feel like. Consider picking up some picnic treats from the Art Nouveau food hall on your way to Hyde Park. Also check out Liberty (especially around the holidays) and Selfridges.
The Shard: If you want a view at night, skip the viewing gallery and pick a bar or restaurant instead. I figure if you're going to pay for a view from London's tallest skyscraper, you might as well get a drink out of it too.
Afternoon tea at the Rosewood (2025 update): The Art Afternoon Tea is both beautiful and delicious, with different themes throughout the year. The Rosewood is a nice combination of a classic afternoon tea spread with tasteful (and dare I say artful) interpretations of some menu items to keep things interesting. I went around Christmas in 2023, so several of their pastries matched the decor of the hotel.
Outer London
These spots are about an hour outside of Zone 1 by tube or train, but well worth the trip. Book tickets in advance!
Kew Gardens: The Royal Botanic Gardens houses some of the largest botanical and mycological collections in the world. Spend your time wandering the park's endless gardens and spectacular glasshouses. There were some long queues to enter the glasshouses when I went in June, but I promise you it's worth the wait. The waterlily house was my favorite.
Hampton Court Palace: The royal palace of King Henry VIII. Learning about the history of the Tudor court and seeing the palace itself was amazing, but my favorite part was wandering through the gardens. My friend and I went in early June when the rose garden was in full bloom.
To eat:
Padella: Handmade pasta worth queuing for. Get at least three pastas for two people; the plates are on the small side and meant to be shared anyway. The Dorset crab tagliarini was my favorite. Borough Market.
Similar concept restaurants: Flour & Grape; Trullo; Lina Stores
Eat Tokyo: I didn't order takeaway very frequently during lockdown, but if I did, it was almost always Eat Tokyo. I lived on the other side of the Thames so I couldn't get Deliveroo/Uber Eats, but it was only about a twenty minute walk one-way and on my way home from campus if I was studying there. The bento boxes are a great deal for the amount of food you get and everything I tried there was delicious. Multiple locations - I recommend Covent Garden.
Duck & Waffle: Highest restaurant in London, located on the 40th floor of 110 Bishopgate. Go for the view and the experience, and get the eponymous duck and waffle dish. The City.
Khanom Krok: Thai street food stall open Mon-Sat. My favorite of the Borough Market options. Mango sticky rice is amazing when it's in season. Borough Market.
Ecco Pizza: Very reasonably priced and delicious pizza, and was close to my campus too. Covent Garden.
Lahpet: Burmese food in a modern setting, very flavorful. Get the tea leaf salad. Shoreditch.
Flat Iron: A casual and reasonably-priced steak joint. Comes with free salted caramel ice cream for dessert, or the option to stop by some other time if you want to redeem it later. Multiple locations - I went to Covent Garden.
Café Kitsuné: Japanese-French cafe of my dreams. I'm going to be upfront with you: I gave in to what felt like a very targeted Facebook ad campaign in the middle of the winter lockdown. For weeks, I kept scrolling past the sponsored posts with modern interiors and egg sandos and peppy captions that told me: "Yes, we're open during lockdown!" Well, if I'm going to go for a long walk anyway, why not get a black cherry & black tea cream puff and a proper iced matcha latte out of it? I'm now obsessed with their caramel miso rice pudding brioche. Anyway, I went back every month after I finally gave in. Those algorithms know a sucker when they see one. Belgravia.
Lantana: Aussie style brunch and great carrot cake. Multiple locations - I went to London Bridge.
Dishoom: One of London's most famous local restaurant chains, inspired by Irani cafe culture in Mumbai. Go with a group and get lots of dishes. Multiple locations - I went to Carnaby.
Da Mario: A pizzeria that was once a local favorite of Princess Diana's. Great pasta, tiramisu, and lemon sorbet too. Kensington.
Kova Patisserie: I had my first pandemic birthday during lockdown this winter. I told myself I would go buy some cake later that week when the temperatures rose above 0°C, but it turns out I didn't need to: my best friend ordered 3 slices of cake from Kova for delivery that weekend. After that I started going there to buy myself desserts to motivate me to study after that (it kind of worked). I'm absolutely obsessed with the matcha tiramisu. The montblanc had a surprise bit of blueberry compote which punched up the sweet creaminess. Honorable mentions: matcha tart, earl grey crepe cake, strawberry sando. Honestly, just get anything (everything). Multiple locations - I went to Chinatown.
The Duck and Rice: An upscale take on Chinese food, because it's Soho. The crispy duck is shredded and served Peking duck style, with wrappers and cucumber, spring onion, and hoisin sauce. Soho.
Gail's Bakery: My favorite local cafe chain for grabbing a coffee and pastries, or for a fresh loaf of their seeded sourdough bread. Multiple locations - I mostly went to the Southbank location.
The Locals: Cute brunch spot in a posh part of town. Highly recommend the matcha pancakes, which are beautifully plated and delicious. Chelsea.
Darjeeling Express (2025 update): This is probably my favorite South Asian meal I've ever had; the paneer korma was so good I've been twice in the last couple of years, and I'm only in town for a few days at a time. Carnaby.
The Devonshire (2025 update): Came here for the Sunday roast, a British tradition I neglected to try while I was still living here. In my defense, pubs were closed for most of my year abroad, and by the time it occurred to me to have a Sunday roast it was already my last week in the city. If you don't have a reservation, go early and go for lunch. Soho.
Honorable mentions: Kiln (Northern Thai), Soho; Barrafina (Spanish tapas), multiple locations; Crust Bros (pizza), Waterloo; CheeMc (Korean), Elephant & Castle; Comptoir Gourmand (bakery), multiple locations; Dilieto (sandwiches), Holborn; Fabrique (Swedish bakery), multiple locations.
Also, I can't end this section without giving a shoutout to Pret a Manger for supplying every pre-train breakfast, midday coffee pit stop, and quick sandwich before class. It wouldn't have been London without you. iykyk.
Day trips:
Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I hope you love London too.
xoxo, vivian
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