Contents
Three days in London break down like this: the first around Westminster and the royal heart of the city, Big Ben, the Abbey, the Changing of the Guard, then Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery and Covent Garden; the second between the Tower of London and Tower Bridge in the morning and the South Bank in the afternoon, Borough Market, Tate Modern, St Paul’s Cathedral; the third at the British Museum and the villages of the north west, or an escape to Greenwich. Budget 120 to 160 euros per person per day excluding transport: London is expensive, but its greatest museums are free. Book the Tower of London and your musical in advance, pay contactless on the Tube and pack a waterproof jacket, even in summer.
Just 2 hours 15 minutes from Paris by Eurostar, London remains the easiest city break to organise from France: no time difference, departures every hour and a density of sights that would justify ten separate trips. The challenge is not filling three days, it is choosing. This itinerary groups the sights by area to keep Tube journeys to a minimum, while placing each evening in a different neighbourhood.
Day 1: Westminster, royal and political London
Morning: Big Ben, the Abbey and the Changing of the Guard
Step out of Westminster station and the impact is immediate: Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster rising above the Thames. Cross the bridge for the classic photo from the south bank, then head back to visit Westminster Abbey (around £30, audio guide included), the setting for coronations and royal weddings for almost a thousand years. Arrive for opening at 9.30am: the queue swells quickly by late morning.
Then walk up through St James’s Park, the most elegant of the royal parks, to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard at 11am. It does not take place every day (usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday): check the official schedule the day before and take up position near the railings or the Victoria Memorial by about 10.30am.
Afternoon: Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery and Covent Garden
Follow the Mall to Trafalgar Square. On the square itself, the National Gallery is free, like most of London’s great museums: treat yourself to an hour with the Turners, the Van Goghs and the Impressionist rooms, without feeling guilty about not seeing everything. Ten minutes away on foot, Covent Garden and its Victorian market hall pack in street performers, shops and tourist pubs; the area is more pleasant on a weekday than on a crowded Saturday.
In the evening, stay in the West End: this is the night for a musical. Book several weeks ahead for the big productions, or try the TKTS booth on Leicester Square on the day (decent seats from £25 to £35). For a quick, excellent dinner, Chinatown is two streets from the theatres.
Day 2: the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the South Bank
from Nottingham, UK, CC BY 2.0″ alt=”The Tower of London and the White Tower”]
Morning: a thousand years of history at the Tower of London
Be at the Tower of London for opening (9am, 10am on Sundays and Mondays): it is the most sought-after ticket in the city, around £35 when booked online. Head straight for the Crown Jewels before the queue builds, then take your time over the ramparts, the White Tower and the famous ravens. The free guided tours led by the Yeoman Warders are worth joining for the anecdotes alone.
Right next door, Tower Bridge is free to walk across; the exhibition with its glass walkways 42 metres above the Thames costs around £13, worth booking only if a touch of vertigo appeals to you.
Afternoon: Borough Market, Tate Modern and St Paul’s
Follow the south bank west to Borough Market, London’s oldest food market and perfect for lunch on the go: melted cheese toasties, oysters, curries and pastries all compete for your £10 to £15. The market is open every day, but it is at its liveliest on Fridays and Saturdays.
Carry on to Tate Modern, also free, housed in a former power station: even if contemporary art is not your thing, the Turbine Hall is genuinely impressive. Then cross the Millennium Bridge, the pedestrian walkway that frames St Paul’s Cathedral perfectly. The full visit costs around £26 (dome and galleries included), but the 5pm sung service, evensong, gets you in for free in a breathtaking setting. In the evening, head back down to the illuminated South Bank: the London Eye (from £30 online) gives its finest ride at nightfall.
Day 3: the British Museum and the northern villages, or Greenwich
Option A: the British Museum, then Camden or Notting Hill
Give the morning to the British Museum, which is free (booking a time slot is advisable at weekends): the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and the Egyptian mummies justify the trip on their own. Two well-targeted hours beat an exhausting day trawling all 90 galleries.
In the afternoon, pick your village: Camden Town to the north, with its daily market, its eccentric shopfronts and the towpath along Regent’s Canal to Little Venice; or Notting Hill to the west, with its pastel houses and Portobello Road, whose antiques market is at its best on Saturdays. Both lend themselves to an unplanned end of day, drifting between vintage shops and neighbourhood pubs.
Option B: the Greenwich escape
For a change of scene without leaving London, take an Uber Boat down the Thames from the centre (about 30 minutes from London Bridge) to Greenwich. On the programme: the Cutty Sark, a majestic 1869 tea clipper resting in dry dock (around £18), the covered market for lunch, then the climb through the park to the Royal Observatory, where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere on the prime meridian. The view over the bend in the river and the towers of Canary Wharf is one of the finest in the capital, and it is free from the lawn.
Practical tips for a successful city break in London
May, June and September offer the best balance of light, temperatures and crowds. December has real charm for the lights and Christmas markets, but the days are short.
3 days for the essentials plus a Greenwich escape. Allow 4 to 5 days to add Windsor, Kew Gardens or the great South Kensington museums.
Your contactless bank card is all you need on the Tube and buses: the daily cap (around £9 in zones 1 and 2) works like a travel pass. Central London is very walkable from one neighbourhood to the next.
120 to 160 euros per person per day for a comfortable trip (shared 3-star hotel, pubs and markets, one paid attraction per day). The free museums lighten the bill considerably.
Covent Garden and the South Bank to do everything on foot, King’s Cross for the Eurostar and better deals, Shoreditch for nights out. Avoid far-flung hotels: travel time eats into your days.
The Tower of London, the London Eye and above all the musical of your choice. The Eurostar too: tickets under 60 euros sell out several weeks before departure.
To turn these three days into an hour-by-hour programme tailored to your pace, our guide to planning a city break with AI saves precious time. On the money side, our tips for estimating and tracking your travel budget help absorb the pound’s exchange rate. And if you are still weighing up destinations, compare with Paris in 3 days or Edinburgh in 3 days, its Scottish cousin.
Plan this trip
Generate your London itinerary in 2 minutes
Free, no account, activities and budget included.
Frequently asked questions
Are 3 days enough to visit London?
Yes, three days cover the landmarks (Westminster, the Tower of London, Tower Bridge), two or three great free museums and a characterful neighbourhood such as Camden or Notting Hill. London is inexhaustible, though: to add Windsor, Kew Gardens or the South Kensington museums, plan on five days instead.
What budget should you allow for 3 days in London?
Excluding transport, allow 360 to 480 euros per person for three comfortable days: a shared 3-star hotel, meals in pubs and markets, one paid attraction per day. On a tighter budget (a hostel, free museums, supermarket lunches), 240 to 300 euros remains realistic despite the city’s price levels.
Do you need to book attractions in advance?
For the Tower of London, the London Eye and the musicals, booking online is close to essential: it guarantees your time slot and costs less than at the ticket office. The free museums (British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern) need no ticket, just an advisable weekend time slot for the British Museum.
Eurostar or plane to get to London?
From Paris or Lille, the Eurostar wins every time: 2 hours 15 minutes from city centre to city centre, arriving at St Pancras in zone 1, with no airport transfer. From the rest of France, flying is often cheaper, but add 45 to 60 minutes and £12 to £25 to reach the centre from Gatwick, Stansted or Luton; Heathrow has the best connections (Piccadilly line or Elizabeth line).
Which neighbourhood should you stay in?
Covent Garden, Soho and the South Bank put everything within walking distance, at a premium. King’s Cross and St Pancras combine the Eurostar, the Tube and gentler rates. Shoreditch suits night owls, while Paddington and Earl’s Court offer the best value for families. Always check how close you are to a Tube station in zone 1 or 2.
Conclusion
Stately Westminster, the thousand-year-old City, the foodie and creative South Bank, Greenwich down the river: in three well-planned days, London reveals its essential faces without exhausting its reserves. The secret of a successful stay comes down to very little: book the three or four big tickets before you leave, make the most of the free museums and keep one evening unplanned, in a pub or at the theatre. To look beyond this itinerary, browse our full overview of things to see: what to do in London, from royal classics to neighbourhood markets.
Réservez vos activités à London
Billets coupe-file, visites guidées et expériences locales, annulation gratuite sur la plupart des offres.
