Here are suggestions for London (and beyond) experiences that you might want to have on your Bucket List during your time in London as suggested by our members. Hover over the names to get links to the relevant web pages.
We are always looking for more - please email Social Media with any additions!
Sir John Soane Museum
Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House
Museum of the Order of St John (Clerkenwell)
The Old Operating Room Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
London Mithraeum (Bloomberg Building, Walbrook)
London's Roman Ampitheatre in Guildhall
Imperial War Museums
Churchill War Rooms
Horniman Museum and Gardens
The Wallace Collection
Auction previews at Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips (they’re free and sometimes the only time pieces will be on public display)
Frieze Art Fair (October)
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
Tate Britain and Tate Modern
Museum of the Home - display of London rooms through time; extra special at the holidays
State Rooms at Buckingham Palace (open summer only)
Hampton Court Palace
Windsor Park and Castle
Highclere Castle - Downton Abbey set
Benjamin Franklin House - the world's only remaining home of Benjamin Franklin
Charles Dickens' Museum especially at Christmas time
Dennis Severs House (Spitalfields) - a "still-life drama" created by Dennis Severs as a "historical imagination" of what life would have been like inside for a family of Huguenot silk weavers.
Freud Museum - the final home of Sigmund Freud, right in Hampstead
Bletchley Park - WWII code breakers
Any London Walk or Blue Badge guided walking tour
Shoreditch Street Art Tour
Camden Street Art Tour
Wimbledon Lawn and Tennis Club (during the off season)
Houses of Parliament
Tour/climb to the top of Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower)
Cricket at Lords Cricket Ground (preferably with a Brit who knows the rules)
Tea and brass rubbings under St Martin’s-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square
Go Boat (with picnic) around the Little Venice Canal
Boat trip from Westminster to Greenwich - then a visit to Greenwich Park and the Meridian line.
The fast boat Ride to the Thames Barrier (RIB boat)
Beefeater Gin Distillery tour
Shopping at Liberty
Secret Cinema - immersive movie experiences
Smaller changing of the guard at St James Palace (almost no crowds)
Visit Parliament to watch debates/PM Questions (need to request tickets in advance)
Views from the Sky Garden at the walkie talkie building
Tower of London Ceremony of the Keys (need to request tickets in advance)
A show in Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Climb the O2 Center and have champagne at the top (combine with the Emirates cable car above the Thames)
Alice Leader classes
Canal boat ride
Slide down the ArcelorMittal Orbit slide
Sunrise yoga on Tower Bridge
Take your dog to Tower Bridge
See a pantomime (at Christmas) (Hackney Empire is a classic)
Climb the Monument
A performance at Royal Albert Hall
The Diamond Jubillee Gallery at Westminster’s Abbey
Harry Potter Studio Tour
A football match - whether Premier League or English Football League
Silent Disco @ The Natural History Museum - pretty cool to dance under Hope the Blue Whale
A show at the National Theatre
Watching the Order of the Garter at Windsor castle (need to request tickets in advance)
A concert at the Roundhouse
Canary Wharf Winter Lights Festival (January)
Cheltenham (March)
Chelsea Flower show (May)
Trooping the Colour at Buckingham Palace (June)
Chestertons Polo in the Park (June)
Royal Ascot (June)
Hyde Park Summer Concerts (July)
Wimbledon (July)
Henley Regatta (July)
Proms in the Park (summer, finale in early September)
London Open House (September)
Guy Fawkes Night celebrations (early November)
Christmas Tree lighting at Regents Street (November)
Winter Wonderland @ Hyde Park (Nov-Jan)
Afternoon tea at Fortnum and Mason
Tea at Sketch
Afternoon Tea at TING Shangri-La at the Shard - amazing views from the 35th floor of the Tower Of London/Tower Bridge/River Thames area below
Pubs in Hampstead - Holly Bush and The Flask
Pub tours with Vic of Dragon and Flagon pub tours
Lunch in the Tate's member's restaurant or Royal Academy members room
Cocktails at Blue Bar, The Connaught or a sunny pub table
Borough Market - one of the largest and oldest food markets in London, with a market on the site dating back to at least the 12th century
Maltby St Market - fresh produce with takeaway food on the weekends, in Bermondsey
Bermondsey Beer Mile - a mile+ of brewery bars (combine with Maltby St Market)
Dinner at The Fat Duck
Dover Castle/Secret War Tunnels
Hiking along the Seven Sisters Cliffs
Ashdown Forest and the real 100 acre wood
Oxford
Punting in Cambridge (you can get a guided tour)
York
Chester
Betty's tea rooms in Harrogate
Whitstable
Brighton - make sure to see the Royal Pavillion!
Country walks (another good site here) - anywhere! - but especially inn to inn, and Brecon Beacons
Antique markets outside London
St Albans church and Roman ruins
Bekonscot Model Village & Railway - Buckinghamshire
Highgrove Gardens - country home of Prince Charles with beautiful, quirky gardens
The Lake District - beautiful hikes taking you to breathtaking vistas
Cotswolds
Wales - castles, mountains and beaches
St. Ives, Cornwall
Liverpool - more than just The Beatles!
Cornwall - don't miss the cream tea
Bath: Christmas Market and tour of the Roman Baths
Isle of Wight
Hadrian's Wall
Take a ferry to Normandy
Take the Eurorail to Paris just for a day or two
Please contact Social Media to include additional information.
Reviewed May 2021.