12 Essential London Sights You Must See On Your First British Vacation

London remains one of the most popular international destinations for us Americans. Whether it lies in our ancestral roots or is simply because our history is so intertwined, thousands of us head to London every year! So what is it that London has to offer?

A big city

In 2016 the population of London is 8.6 million. This is around the same population of New York City at 8.4 million (as at 2013). London is the biggest city in Europe and it’s a busy, busy city!

What’s the best way to see London?

You have three straightforward options. London’s black taxi cabs are amongst the best in the world. The cab drivers always know where they are going and generally speaking are very entertaining! London has an enormous public transport network of buses, underground trains and overground trains. The service is overcrowded in the extreme during rush hour, but it’s affordable and safe to use and can take you almost any place you could want to go. The third option is to use a hop on/hop off bus service. We usually hate these services, but in a city the size of London it can be a very efficient way to get around and you’ll certainly get to see all the main sights.

What are the main sights?

The history of London means that there are hundreds and hundreds of tourist attractions to visit. Here’s our list of the attractions that you must see on your first visit to London.

• The Tower of London
• Tower Bridge
• Buckingham Palace (in the summer months you can see the inside of the palace too)
• St. Paul’s Cathedral
• The London Eye
• British Museum
• Hampton Court Palace
• The National Gallery
• Harrods department store
• Trafalgar Square
• Covent Garden
• The Houses of Parliament

Where should I stay?

That’s the million dollar question for any visitor to London and there’s no right answer! Central London is of course the most expensive area, but there are hotels from 2 stars to 5 stars even in the city centre so it depends on your budget and what kind of hotel you like.

Some of the popular central areas are Victoria, Piccadilly, Oxford Street, Bloomsbury, Kensington, Trafalgar Square, Westminster and Covent Garden. All of these are on at least one hop on/hop off bus route so it’s well worth considering a multi-day ticket for one of these services.