A Journey Through an Island of History
London travel guide: plan it, reach it, get around it, understand it
London is expensive, crowded, grey for half the year, and still one of the most rewarding cities on earth. Many of its greatest museums cost nothing, its transport is excellent once you know the rules, and the whole history of the British Empire, Africa included, is written into its streets, docks and statues. This is London without the picture-postcard gloss.
Key facts
- London: capital of the United Kingdom and of England, on the River Thames; almost 9 million people in 32 boroughs plus the City of London
- Entry: most visitors need a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before they travel; see UK visa and entry rules
- Airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City; see the UK airports guide
- Money: pound sterling (£); contactless payment works almost everywhere, including all public transport
- Transport: tap a contactless card in and out; daily caps limit what you pay
- Emergencies: 999 for police, ambulance and fire; 111 for urgent non-emergency medical advice
Plan your trip: start here
Money, fares, caps, tipping, safety, health and the unwritten rules.
Visa or ETA? Who needs what, for every nationality.
Visitor visa applications from African countries.
Routes and airlines from Europe, the Americas, the Gulf and Asia.
Every direct route from Africa, and the best one-stop options.
Terminals, and the three trains into London compared.
The big sights, honestly
Our honest guides tell you what each famous sight is really like, what it costs, when to go, and what the official leaflets leave out:
Free, enormous and full of objects taken from across the empire.
The Crown Jewels, the ravens and nine centuries of royal power.
Coronations, kings' tombs and the seat of British power.
Wren's dome and the square mile that financed an empire.
Time, ships and the maritime power behind Britain's reach.
A garden that moved crops and fortunes around the world.
Two world wars, including the colonial soldiers who fought them.
Three free giants side by side.
Free London
London's national museums are free to enter (special exhibitions cost extra), and so are its parks, markets, river walks and many of its best views. A week in London does not have to cost a fortune in entrance fees.
Museums, galleries, parks, viewpoints and ceremonies that cost nothing.
Where to stay: London's areas
London is huge, and where you sleep decides how much of your trip you spend on trains. Stay inside Zone 1, or close to a Zone 2 station on the Elizabeth line or a direct Tube line.
- Westminster, South Bank and Covent Garden: the classic sights within walking distance. Expensive, busy, convenient.
- Bloomsbury and King's Cross: the British Museum, the universities, and trains to the north and the Eurostar. Good mid-range hotels.
- Paddington and Bayswater: direct trains to Heathrow, Hyde Park on the doorstep, many affordable small hotels.
- The City and Shoreditch: the Tower, St Paul's, and the bars and markets of the East End.
- Brixton and Peckham: south London's African and Caribbean heart, markets, music and food.
- Greenwich: the Observatory and a village feel, a boat or DLR ride from the centre.
London and the empire: the city's hidden history
London was the capital of the largest empire in history. The money, people and objects of that empire are everywhere: in the docks, the banks of the City, the statues and the museums. These pages follow the trail:
How the city's docks and fortunes grew on the slave trade.
A London company and the castles of Ghana's coast.
Why the slave owners, not the enslaved, were compensated in 1834.
The Africans in London who led the fight against slavery.
What was taken, where it is, and the fight to return it.
Kenyan survivors who took the British government to court.
The rockets that hit London in 1944–45.
African London
Africans have lived in London for centuries: freed men and women in Georgian streets, students who planned the end of empire, and the large Ghanaian, Nigerian, Somali and other communities of today.
From the Gold Coast to London's abolition movement.
The London origins of Sierra Leone's capital.
A Yoruba girl at the heart of the Victorian court.
Where a generation of independence leaders met.
Ghana's future leader in the imperial capital.
How West African London was built.
South London's Black history, in one neighbourhood.
Getting around: the short version
Do not buy paper tickets. Tap a contactless bank card or phone on the yellow reader when you enter and again when you leave the Tube, Elizabeth line, DLR and Overground; on buses tap only when you board. The system charges the right fare and stops at a daily cap. Use the same card or phone all day, or the cap will not work. Fares, peak times, airport trains and night services are explained in the first-time guide.
Day trips from London
Further afield, but easy by train: York, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool. For the whole country, start at Explore Britain.
Tours and experiences in London
Entrance fees are included in the tour price; tips are not included but are always welcome.
Read next
All our history pages on Britain and Africa.
Every British territory in Africa, country by country.
Every major airport in Britain compared.
The African side of the story
Britain Adventures is an independent partner website. Our partner sites on Africa and its history are where the stories on this page continue:
- Pan-African: African Independence · Uganda · Egypt · Sierra Leone · All African Radio Stations
- Ghana: Ghana-Net · Cape Coast Castle · Elmina Castle · James Fort, Accra · They Made Ghana · War Cemetery Cape Coast
- Across Africa: Kenya Web News · Explore Nigeria · Gambia Vibes · Zambia Vibes
- European history: V2 Rocket and Peenemünde · Tannenberg Memorial
Search our Network. Start here.
