Five Days in London: An Itinerary Beyond the Obvious

Published 18 September 2026 · By the Guide to London editorial team · Editor: Terje Moy

Five days in London gives you time to go beyond the postcard sights: one day for the classic centre, one for the Tower and the East End, one for Greenwich by river boat, one for a royal palace such as Hampton Court, and one for a day trip to Oxford, Bath, Windsor or the Harry Potter studios. Each day below also has a rainy-day alternative.

Most first-time itineraries stop at three days, and they spend all of them in the same few square kilometres between Westminster and the Tower. With five days, the shape of the trip changes. You can see the famous centre at a relaxed pace and still spend whole days in places many visitors never reach: the maritime town of Greenwich, Henry VIII's palace on the Thames, the markets and street art of the East End, and a historic city an hour away by train.

This plan assumes you have not been to London before, or have seen only the main landmarks. It moves from the centre outwards, so the most familiar sights come first and the less obvious ones later. Opening days matter more on a longer trip, so read the section on putting the days in order before you book anything.

Day 1: Whitehall, the War Rooms and the West End

Spend your first day in the corridor of power between Parliament and Trafalgar Square, then finish in the West End. Begin underground at the Churchill War Rooms, the bunker where Churchill's government ran the Second World War. It opens daily at 09:30 (last entry 17:00) and costs £34 for an adult, and it is quietest early. There is no cloakroom, and suitcases are not allowed.

Walk out to Parliament Square for the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, which is open for sightseeing from Monday to Saturday; check prices and times on the Abbey's website. Parliament welcomes overseas visitors to watch debates in the public galleries free of charge, and Prime Minister's Questions takes place on Wednesdays at 12 noon when the Commons is sitting.

In the afternoon, walk up Whitehall past Downing Street and Horse Guards to Trafalgar Square. The National Gallery is free and open daily 10:00–18:00, and until 21:00 on Fridays, so on a Friday you can save it for the evening. Finish with dinner in Soho or a West End show. Our walking plan for one day in London covers Buckingham Palace, the South Bank and St Paul's, if you want to add them on a day of your own.

Two seasonal extras are worth knowing about:

• The Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace begins at 11:00 on scheduled days; in September 2026 that meant Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with some exceptions. Check the Household Division's calendar.
• Buckingham Palace State Rooms are open only in summer: 9 July to 27 September in 2026, closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in September. An adult ticket costs £33 booked ahead or £37 on the day. In 2026 the White Drawing Room is not open to visitors because of building work.

If it rains: this day already starts indoors. Add Tate Britain on Millbank, about 15 minutes' walk south of Parliament, which is free and open daily 10:00–18:00.

Day 2: the Tower of London and the East End

Start at the Tower of London when it opens: 09:00 from Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 on Sundays and Mondays. The Tower recommends at least three hours, an adult ticket costs £37 (£40.70 with a donation), and the ticket allows one entry only. Join a Yeoman Warder tour, which is included, before seeing the Crown Jewels.

After lunch, walk north for about 20 minutes to Old Spitalfields Market and Brick Lane, the heart of the old East End. This area has been home to Huguenot silk weavers, Jewish tailors and the Bangladeshi community that gave Brick Lane its curry houses. North of it is Shoreditch, known for street art, independent shops and bars.

Carry on to Hoxton for the Museum of the Home, which shows how Londoners have lived over the past 400 years in a row of old almshouses. It is free, needs no booking, opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00 (and on bank holiday Mondays), and stands opposite Hoxton station. Our guide to London's best small museums has more places like it.

For dinner, head back to Brick Lane. Our guide to Brick Lane and London's curry scene explains how to choose a restaurant rather than follow the loudest doorman.

If it rains: take the Overground or Tube east to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where the new V&A East Museum (opened 18 April 2026) and the V&A East Storehouse are both free. Each opens daily 10:00–18:00, and until 22:00 on Thursdays and Saturdays. Our guide to the Olympic Park today covers the whole area.

Day 3: Greenwich by boat, with the cable car as an extra

Greenwich is the best day out that most short-stay visitors miss. Travel there the scenic way, on the Uber Boat by Thames Clippers river bus. Route RB1 runs daily from the London Eye pier past Westminster and Tower piers to Greenwich. You pay with contactless or Oyster (touch in and out), and on this stretch an adult fare costs between £9.90 and £13.70 one way, depending on the zones and the time of day. These fares apply until 31 October 2026, after which new fares will be issued. River Bus fares do not count towards your daily cap. Our guide to the Uber Boat river bus explains the zones and how to ride.

From Greenwich pier, the tea clipper Cutty Sark stands right in front of you (open daily 10:00–17:00, last entry 16:15). Walk through the old Royal Naval College grounds to the National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House, both free and open daily 10:00–17:00, with booking recommended. Then climb the hill in Greenwich Park to the Royal Observatory, home of the Prime Meridian (open daily 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:00). It closes after 2 November 2026 for a major transformation, and the Meridian Courtyard is due to reopen in summer 2027; if your trip falls in between, give the extra time to the Maritime Museum and the Queen's House and take in the free view from the hill instead. Current prices for the Cutty Sark and the Observatory are on the Royal Museums Greenwich website, and our guide to the Royal Observatory and Cutty Sark suggests which one to choose if you only want one ticket.

The view from the top of Greenwich Park, across the river to Canary Wharf and the City, is free. Afterwards, browse Greenwich Market for food and crafts.

For the return, the simplest option is the DLR from Cutty Sark station. For a final view, take a short bus ride from the town centre to North Greenwich and ride the IFS Cloud Cable Car (London Cable Car) from next to North Greenwich station across the Thames to Royal Victoria DLR. A trip takes up to ten minutes, up to 90 metres above the river, and an adult one-way fare is £7.00. It can close in strong wind. From Royal Victoria, the DLR takes you back towards the City.

If it rains: the free National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House can fill most of the day. Take the DLR both ways instead of the boat, and leave the park for another time.

Day 4: a royal palace outside the centre

Hampton Court Palace, south-west of London on the Thames, was Henry VIII's favourite palace and later a baroque residence for William III and Mary II. You get Tudor kitchens and state apartments, formal gardens and the famous hedge maze in one ticket. The ticket covers the palace, the gardens, the Maze and the Magic Garden.

Until 27 November 2026 an adult ticket costs £29.00 on weekdays (off-peak) and £32.00 at weekends and on bank holidays, and Historic Royal Palaces asks for an optional 10% donation. In the week of 14 September 2026 the palace was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and open Wednesday to Sunday 10:00–17:30, with last admission at 16:30. The Mantegna Gallery is closed until spring 2027, although two of the Triumphs of Caesar paintings are shown elsewhere in the palace. See our Hampton Court Palace guide for what to see.

Getting there is easy. Trains run every 30 minutes from London Waterloo to Hampton Court station, a five-minute walk from the palace. The station is in fare Zone 6 and Oyster is accepted, so pay as you go with the same card you use on the Tube. That makes this a Zones 1-6 day, with a daily cap of £16.30 for adults instead of £8.90.

If you only want a half day: Kensington Palace, in Kensington Gardens, is closer. Until 8 November 2026 an adult ticket costs £24.70 (£27.20 with a donation). It too was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in mid-September 2026, and the Queen's State Apartments are closed until spring 2027, so check what is open before you pay.

If it rains: Hampton Court works well in rain, since most of the ticket is indoors. Leave the gardens and the maze for a dry spell.

Day 5: a day trip out of London

End with a day in the English countryside or one of its historic cities. All four options below are easy by train or coach from central London. Book rail tickets ahead where you can: Advance tickets are cheaper but tied to one train, while Off-Peak tickets let you take any train within the permitted times (generally from 09:30 on weekdays in and around cities). Our guide to buying UK train tickets explains the choices.

Oxford suits anyone who wants college quadrangles, old libraries and a walk along the river. Bath gives you Georgian streets and the Roman Baths, a longer ride but a completely different city. Windsor Castle is the choice if one palace was not enough: an adult ticket costs £32 in advance or £36 on the day, and from March to October it opens 10:00–17:15 with last admission at 16:00.

The Warner Bros. Studio Tour, where the Harry Potter films were made, takes about three and a half hours on average. The shuttle from Watford Junction is included in your ticket, and Oyster is valid on the train to Watford Junction. No tickets are sold on the day, so book before you leave home.

If it rains: the Warner Bros. Studio Tour is the obvious choice, because the sets and exhibits are indoors. Oxford and Windsor involve more walking outside and are better on a dry day.

Putting the five days in the right order

On a five-day trip, at least one day will fall on a Monday, Tuesday or Sunday, and that is when closures bite. Use this table to shuffle the days before you book.

Opening patterns change with the seasons, so check each official website a week before you go.

What five days of transport cost

Use one contactless card, phone or Oyster card per adult for the whole trip. Each day of Tube and bus travel in Zones 1-2 is capped at £8.90, and there is also a weekly cap of £44.70 for Zones 1-2, which runs from Monday to Sunday. If your five days fit inside one Monday-to-Sunday week, the weekly cap protects you; if they straddle two weeks, the daily caps do the work.

Some parts of this plan sit outside the caps. The River Bus and the cable car are charged in full even after you reach your daily cap, and trains to Oxford, Bath and Windsor need separate rail tickets. The Hampton Court day is capped at the Zones 1-6 level of £16.30.

Planning a longer stay? Our rainy-day ideas for London can replace any day in this plan when the weather turns.

Frequently asked questions

Is five days in London too long?

No. Five days lets you see the central landmarks without rushing and add places a shorter trip misses, such as Greenwich, Hampton Court Palace and the East End, plus a day trip. You will probably still leave with a list for next time.

How do I get from central London to Greenwich?

The most enjoyable way is the Uber Boat river bus (route RB1) from the London Eye, Westminster or Tower piers, paid with contactless or Oyster. The DLR to Cutty Sark station is quicker and cheaper and counts towards your daily cap. Trains also run to Greenwich from Cannon Street and London Bridge.

Can I use Oyster or contactless to get to Hampton Court Palace?

Yes. Hampton Court station, a five-minute walk from the palace, is in fare Zone 6 and accepts Oyster, and trains run from London Waterloo every 30 minutes. The palace was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays in mid-September 2026, so check opening days first.

What is the best day trip from London on a five-day visit?

It depends on your interests. Oxford is around an hour from Paddington and suits lovers of history and architecture. Bath is about 1 hour 20 minutes away. Windsor Castle is under an hour from Waterloo but closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Harry Potter fans should book the Warner Bros. Studio Tour well ahead.

Sources

• Historic Royal Palaces - Hampton Court Palace tickets and prices (checked September 2026)
• Historic Royal Palaces - Getting to Hampton Court Palace (checked September 2026)
• Royal Museums Greenwich - Plan your visit (checked September 2026)
• Uber Boat by Thames Clippers - Ticket information (checked September 2026)
• Transport for London - IFS Cloud Cable Car fares (checked September 2026)
• Royal Collection Trust - Windsor Castle (checked September 2026)
• Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - Getting here (checked September 2026)
• V&A - Visit V&A East Museum (checked September 2026)