London Things to Do

Every traveler knows that the best places to get answers about anything is a local! We’ve invited some of our local expert guides to give us their insider information on what to do in their city. Who better to get advice about London from than a true Londoner!

Once upon a time the Tower of London was all about locking people in. For nearly 1000 years it has been London’s royal fortress, stronghold, and prison. It was originally built by William the Conqueror in 1080 to scare the Londoners he’d just conquered, and also to hide inside if they revolted against him. Although many kings and queens have stayed within the tower walls over history, it was never built to be a royal palace but rather a fortress, which it was until late in the 19th century.

From Big Ben to the Tower of London to the London Bridge, London has much to see. You could probably live there a year and still find interesting sites to explore. Of course, you’re more likely visiting for a week at most, in which case, you should get a London Sightseeing Pass.

You might think it’s weird that an island as small as Britain ruled a large portion of the globe, but if you spend any time in London, you’ll start to see why. The relics of the Victorian era and prior centuries all speak to Britain’s imperial glory, and London is chock full of monuments, squares and other landmarks of historic import. If you want to see the bulk of them, you should really book a London sightseeing tour.

I don’t know how a person can live in London. Or an American, anyway—the city is just too full of landmarks. I guess that’s an advantage a city gets when it’s been around for a couple thousand years—plenty of time to stock up on famous statues, churches and bridges.

While Western civilization was born in ancient Greece, much of modern Western civilization owes a nod to someone in London at some point over the past two thousand years. London is old, and if you’re visiting, there’s a lot to see, which is why you should start out with a tour.