London for first-time visitors: what to know before you go

Before you book anything

London rewards a bit of upfront planning more than most cities, mostly because a handful of details catch first-time visitors off guard every year: which airport you’re actually flying into, whether you need travel authorisation, and how the transport fares actually work. None of it is complicated once it’s spelled out, but skipping it tends to cost either money or a wasted morning.

This page covers the whole-city basics. For the detail on a specific area, the central London and greater London destination pages, or the day-trip regions further out — Windsor, Oxford and the Cotswolds, Stonehenge and Bath, and Cambridge, Brighton and Canterbury — go deeper than a generalist guide should try to.

London does not have one airport

This trips up more first-time visitors than anything else on this list. “The airport of London” doesn’t exist — five separate airports serve the city, and they’re not interchangeable:

Airport	Code	Direction from centre	Rail link
Heathrow	LHR	West	Elizabeth line, Piccadilly line, Heathrow Express
Gatwick	LGW	South	Gatwick Express
Stansted	STN	North-east	Stansted Express
Luton	LTN	North	Luton DART + Thameslink
London City	LCY	East	DLR

Check your booking confirmation for the three-letter code, not just “London,” before you plan the journey in. Heathrow and Gatwick are the two most used by long-haul travellers; Stansted and Luton mostly serve budget European carriers. The airport transfers guide and the getting from Heathrow to central London guide cover the practical routes and rough journey times.

Entry rules: the ETA, not a visa

Most visitors, including EU nationals who never needed anything before, now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) approved before they travel to the UK. It is applied for only at gov.uk/eta — never through a third-party site that charges a service fee for something the government processes directly. Irish citizens are exempt, under the long-standing Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland.

This is separate from anything to do with paying for transport once you’re in London — an Oyster card or contactless payment has nothing to do with your ETA, and one doesn’t substitute for the other. The full entry rules guide has the current detail; this page just flags that the step exists so it doesn’t get missed at the airport.

Money: pounds, not euros

The UK is not in the eurozone. The currency is pounds sterling (GBP, £), and prices in this guide and across the site are always given in pounds — never converted to euros in the text, since the rate moves and a printed conversion goes stale immediately. Cards and contactless payment (card or phone) are accepted almost everywhere; cash is becoming genuinely rare, though still useful for the odd market stall or small pub that hasn’t caught up.

One detail worth knowing: contactless payment cards carry a per-transaction limit set by your bank (currently £100), which is unrelated to how transport fares are capped (below) — the two limits are set by different systems and don’t affect each other. Tipping isn’t obligatory; some restaurants add a 12.5% service charge to the bill automatically, worth checking before adding a tip on top, and pubs generally don’t expect one at all. The money, tipping and costs guide goes into more detail on typical daily budgets.

Getting around: Oyster, contactless and the actual fare cap

Within London, the Tube, buses, the Overground, the DLR, the Elizabeth line and most local trains all take the same two payment methods: a rechargeable Oyster card (no deposit since 2023) or contactless payment directly from a card or phone. Both apply an automatic daily and weekly cap on what you pay — there’s no need to work out the cheapest ticket combination yourself, and there’s no cap on the number of journeys you can take, only on the total fare charged. Zones 1 and 2 cover almost everything a first-time visitor will want to see.

Driving is on the left in the UK, which matters if a day trip involves a rental car — it generally doesn’t for the destinations covered on this site, since almost all of them are reachable by train. The Oyster vs contactless comparison and the getting around London guide cover this in more depth, including which trains take Oyster and which require a separate ticket.

If you want an easy first-evening orientation without committing to a full day’s walking, an open-top bus after dark covers a lot of ground with commentary and no navigation required — worth considering for the first or second night rather than the last, since it’s a good way to work out what to prioritise.

a nighttime open-top sightseeing tour with a live guide covers the river-facing landmarks after dark in a couple of hours, and a smaller open-top night bus tour for groups of up to ten works well for families or a small party who’d rather not join a full public tour.

National museums are free — most other tickets aren’t

The big national collections — the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, the V&A, the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum and the National Portrait Gallery among them — are free to enter for their permanent collections. Temporary exhibitions inside them usually charge separately.

Paid attractions that benefit from advance booking, because they either sell out or queue badly on the day: the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour (which is a working film studio tour, not a theme park — worth knowing before you book it expecting rides). Ticket prices here are always quoted as ranges rather than fixed figures, since they change; check the current price on the booking page before you commit. The free things to do in London guide lists what doesn’t need a ticket at all.

A river cruise is one of the more efficient ways to see several riverside landmarks without a full day of walking between them:

a guided river tour that takes in Thames landmarks from the water is a good way to place the South Bank, Tower Bridge and Westminster relative to each other before exploring on foot.

How many days, and a rough first-timer’s split

Three to four full days is a realistic minimum for a first visit that covers the centre without rushing. A common structure:

Day	Focus	Area
1	Westminster and the river	Westminster, South Bank
2	Museums and the West End	Bloomsbury, West End
3	The Tower and the City	Tower of London and the City
4+	One day trip	Windsor, Oxford, Bath, Cambridge or Brighton

Anyone adding a day trip should budget most of a day for it once travel time is included — none of the popular ones are quick side visits. The how many days in London guide and the three days in London itinerary both go further into pacing than a generalist page like this one should.

Central London holds most first-visit priorities — Westminster, the Tower, South Bank, the West End, Bloomsbury and Kensington — while greater London (Camden, Greenwich, East London, Richmond and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour) suits a second visit or extra days once the core is done. Both destination pages break down what’s actually in each area.

Weather and what to pack

London’s climate is temperate and changeable, with no dry or wet season in the way a tropical destination has. Average temperatures run from around 8°C in January up to about 23°C in July, and rain is spread across the year rather than concentrated in a monsoon. A cloudy sky is common even in the height of summer — don’t plan a trip around guaranteed sunshine. Layers and a light waterproof generally serve better than one heavy coat. The best time to visit London guide breaks down month-by-month conditions if timing is flexible.

Common first-time mistakes worth avoiding

A short list, expanded further in the London travel mistakes guide:

• Booking a flight without checking which of the five airports it actually lands at, then being surprised by the transfer time.
• Assuming euros are accepted, or converting every price mentally instead of budgeting in pounds.
• Skipping the ETA application because it sounds like something only non-EU travellers need.
• Not booking timed tickets for the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey or the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, then queuing or missing out.
• Trying to see central London, a day trip and greater London all in the same two days.
• Assuming a rental car makes London easier — it almost never does, and driving is on the left, which adds a learning curve for visitors used to the right.

If evenings feel like they need a lower-key option after a day of sightseeing, a themed guided walk is an easy way to fill one without much planning:

a small-group guided walk through wartime London works well as an evening activity that doesn’t require booking a full day around it, and for a more active option, a guided e-bike tour covers more ground than walking without the commitment of an all-day itinerary.

Where this guide stops

This page is deliberately generalist — it’s the starting point, not the detail. For the areas themselves, the neighbourhood-level pages under central London and greater London cover what’s actually in Westminster, the City, South Bank, the West End, Bloomsbury, Kensington and Chelsea, plus Camden, Greenwich and Richmond. For anyone planning where to sleep, the where to stay in London guide covers the trade-offs between staying central versus further out and cheaper on the Tube network.

First-time visitor questions about London

Do I need a visa or ETA to visit London?

Most visitors, including EU nationals, now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) approved before departure. Apply only at gov.uk/eta; third-party sites charging extra for this are not official. Irish citizens are exempt under the Common Travel Area.

Which airport will I fly into?

London is served by five separate airports: Heathrow (west), Gatwick (south), Stansted (north-east), Luton (north) and London City (east). Each has its own rail link, so check which one your flight actually lands at before planning the journey into town.

How many days do I need for a first visit?

Three to four full days covers the central sights at a reasonable pace. Add extra nights for a single day trip such as Windsor, Oxford or Bath, since each takes most of a day including travel.

Do I need cash in London?

Rarely. Contactless cards and phones are accepted almost everywhere, including on the Tube and buses, where fares are capped automatically per day. Carrying some cash is still sensible for the rare card-free stall or small pub.

Is London expensive for a first-timer?

Accommodation and West End theatre tickets are the biggest costs. The national museums (British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, V&A and others) are free to enter, which offsets a lot, and public transport fares are capped daily and weekly.

Should I book attractions in advance?

For the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour, yes — these sell out or queue badly without a timed ticket. Free museums and most neighbourhood walking are fine to plan on the day.

What’s the weather like and when should I visit?

London has a temperate, changeable climate with no dry or wet season. Average temperatures run from around 8°C in January to 23°C in July, and overcast skies are common even in summer, so pack layers rather than relying on one heavy coat.