Guide tag
Planning
Practical London guides tagged Planning.
45 guides with this tag
Things to do
Sky Garden London: Free Tickets, Booking and Opening Hours
Sky Garden is free, but its timed tickets come out every Monday, three weeks ahead. How to book, the ways in once they have gone, the hours, the terrace, sunset times and the free viewpoints nearby.
Things to do
British Museum: Free Entry, Opening Hours and the Bayeux Tapestry
The British Museum is free, with a free timed ticket for busy days. Where the Bayeux Tapestry tickets stand, the entrances, opening hours, and what to see in one or two hours.
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Dog-Friendly Hotels in London: Fees, Weight Limits and the House Rules
Dog and pet-friendly London hotels by area, from free at Rosewood and Kimpton Fitzroy to £100 a stay at The Langham: the fee, the weight limit, where the dog can eat and the nearest park. Premier Inn takes assistance dogs only.
Stay
Where to Stay in Paddington: The Station, the Canal Basin and Sussex Gardens
Paddington hotels from a £69 single on Norfolk Place to the 1854 railway hotel at the head of the platforms, sorted by street, with the Heathrow trains compared and the missing Night Tube explained.
Stay
Where to Stay in the City of London: St Paul's, Tower Hill, Liverpool Street and Spitalfields
City of London hotels from a £60 Z room on Fleet Street to The Ned and the Four Seasons at Tower Bridge, sorted by corner of the Square Mile, with the station, the price and why weekends are the time to book.
Stay
Where to Stay in Marylebone: The Village, Baker Street and the Marble Arch Edge
Marylebone hotels from a £65 Z room on Gloucester Place to The Langham, sorted by the four corners of the area, with the nearest station, the price and the one thing that decides each.
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Where to Stay in Mayfair: Which Grand Hotel, and What Costs Less
Mayfair's hotels compared by what actually differs: Park Lane or Grosvenor Square, the bar, the tea, the family rooms and the rate. Plus a £90 underground room and apartments with kitchens.
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London Day Rooms: Booking a Hotel Without Staying the Night
About 245 London hotels sell a room for the day, not the night: fixed windows from £50, 24% to 69% off. Which open at 7am, the Heathrow and Gatwick options, and when it beats left luggage.
Things to do
Churchill War Rooms: Tickets, Prices and What to See
Churchill War Rooms ticket prices and booking, the Cabinet Room and Map Room explained, and why the audio guide already included with your ticket makes a paid 'audio tour' pointless.
Things to do
Tower of London: Tickets, Prices and Opening Hours
Historic Royal Palaces' own 2026 prices for the Tower of London: adult, child and concession tickets, the £1 concession scheme, membership, today's opening hours, and how to book the Ceremony of the Keys.
Things to do
London Eye Ticket Prices, Fast Track and Sunset Timing
London Eye price: an adult ticket is from £29 online and £39 at the gate, a child from £26. What Fast Track adds, the sunset slot to book and the bundles.
Stay
The Best Family Hotels in London, Cross-Referenced Across Every Major List
The family hotels London's parents, bloggers and the travel press actually agree on: which room sleeps two adults and two children, what it costs to add a cot, and whether there's a pool. Prices are for one room for two adults and two children on a November weekday.
Plan your trip
The Best Time to Visit London: Weather, Crowds and Cost, Month by Month
Average highs, rainfall and daylight from the Met Office, 2026-27 school holidays and bank holidays, and confirmed dates for the Boat Race, Chelsea, Wimbledon, Notting Hill Carnival and Christmas — what actually changes in London from January to December.
Plan your trip
Luggage Storage in London: Left Luggage at Every Station, Airport and Storage App
Which London stations and airports have a staffed left-luggage desk, what Stasher, Bounce and the other storage apps charge per bag, and which attractions won't let a suitcase through the door — prices, hours and rules from each operator's own site, checked 17 September 2026.
Plan your trip
Money in London: Cash, Cards, Cash Machines and Tipping Explained
Whether London takes cash, what the contactless limit actually is, which cash machines charge, how to change money without losing on the rate, and what to tip — sourced to the Bank of England, the FCA, TfL, LINK and UK Finance.
Stay
The Best Budget Hotels in London, Cross-Referenced and Price-Checked
The budget hotels London's lists agree on, each priced on five nights across the year. Most of the central favourites cost more than £150 a night. These are the ones that don't.
Stay
Where to Stay in Bloomsbury — Hostel Bunks to a Grand Hotel, Minutes Apart
Generator's dorm beds and the newly rebuilt Imperial sit about eight minutes' walk apart in Bloomsbury. Every price tier compared, hotel by hotel, with the detail each one leaves off its own listing.
Food and drink
Kosher Restaurants in London: The Certified List, and How to Read It
Four authorities license London's kosher restaurants and each publishes a different list. What is on them, why meat and dairy sit next door to each other, and the register that has gone offline.
Stay
Best Areas to Stay in London: Where to Sleep, Not Where to Visit
The area you most want to visit is often the worst one to sleep in. London's areas compared on what a room costs, how much you can walk to, and what is open in the evening.
Stay
London Aparthotels: When a Kitchen Beats a Hotel Room
London aparthotels and serviced apartments compared by area: Locke, Native, Cheval, Supercity, Staycity and Wilde, which have washing machines or bedrooms, and when a kitchen saves money.
Plan your trip
Is the London Pass Worth It? What It Saves, and When It Doesn't
A 2-day pass is £149. The classic big five cost £142.00 at the gate. Here is exactly which itineraries the London Pass pays on, which it loses on, and the memberships that beat it outright.
Stay
Where to Stay in Westminster, Victoria and Pimlico: From Whitehall's Grand Hotels to the Belgrave Road B&Bs
Hotels in Westminster, St James's, Victoria and Pimlico compared: the grand hotels on Whitehall, the practical base for Gatwick and the coach station, and the Pimlico B&Bs, several with no lift.
Stay
Where to Stay in Notting Hill and Bayswater: Portobello, Queensway and the Park Edge
Notting Hill and Bayswater hotels from £97 studios on Prince's Square to Six Senses in the old Whiteleys, sorted by the five pockets of the area, with the Carnival weekend explained.
Getting around London
Step-Free London: Getting Around the City Without Stairs
Which London stations are step-free, why step-free to the platform is not the same as step-free to the train, how turn up and go works, and what every big attraction says about its own access — sourced to TfL, National Rail and each operator, checked 21 September 2026.
Plan your trip
The UK ETA: Who Needs One Before Flying to London, and What It Costs
Most visa-free visitors to London now need a UK ETA before they travel, not on arrival. Who needs one, who's exempt, what it costs, how long it takes, and how to avoid the lookalike sites that overcharge for it.
Stay
Where to Stay in Covent Garden — and What the Premium Actually Buys
The identical hotel room is £100 in Covent Garden and £70 ten minutes east in Holborn. The hotels compared, the windowless rooms nobody flags, and where to stay instead.
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Where to Stay in Bermondsey and London Bridge — and the Walk Nobody Prices In
Bermondsey hotels from a £180 boutique to a room in the Shard. The night train that actually serves the area, and why its two ends are three-quarters of a mile apart.
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Where to Stay in Soho and the West End
West End hotels compared — including the windowless rooms that make Piccadilly Circus cheaper than its reputation — plus the quieter areas five minutes out.
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Where to Stay in King's Cross and St Pancras
Eurostar wants you inside St Pancras 75 minutes before departure and the first Tube is 05:29. King's Cross hotels compared, plus the cheaper areas just outside.
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Windowless Hotel Rooms in London: Every Operator, and What the Window Costs
Six operators sell London rooms with no window at all, and all twelve Z Hotels branches have one. What you get, what daylight costs at each, and who should not book one.
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Where to Stay in Shoreditch — and the Cheaper Streets Just Outside It
Shoreditch hotels compared, which streets are loud at 2am, and the areas within fifteen minutes where the same night costs half as much.
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Pod Hotels in London: What a Night in a Capsule Is Really Like
A pod hotel in London means a capsule hotel, and there are five, from about £33 a night by Piccadilly Circus. What the berth is like, what's shared, which to book.
Plan your trip
Tax-Free Shopping in London: There Is No VAT Refund — Here's What Actually Works
No: visitors can't claim VAT back on shopping in London, and haven't since 2021. The one way to buy tax-free, the shops that do it, and what airport duty free really saves.
Plan your trip
London on a Budget: What a Day Actually Costs
A careful day in London costs about £32 and a comfortable one about £150. What you actually pay for a bed, a meal and a day's travel — and every route to paying less for each.
Stay
London Hotels With a Pool You Can Actually Use: Rooftop, Family and Spa Pools
London hotels with a swimming pool, checked against each hotel's own rules: the length, indoor or rooftop, whether guests swim free, the children's hours and the adults-only limits. Plus the famous 'pools' that are only vitality pools.
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Where to Stay in Greenwich: The Town, the Park, the Peninsula and Deptford
Greenwich hotels sorted by the part of Greenwich they are in: the town centre by the Cutty Sark, Blackheath and the park's edges, the O2 peninsula and Deptford Bridge. The station each is nearest, the trains, boats and buses into town, and how to get back after midnight.
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Where to Stay on the South Bank — Waterloo, Bankside and London Bridge Compared
South Bank hotels from a £53 capsule to Sea Containers on the river, sorted by Waterloo, Bankside and London Bridge, with the room grades that actually face the Thames.
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Where to Stay in Canary Wharf: Aparthotels, the Docks and the Cheap Night
Canary Wharf hotels and aparthotels by area: West India Quay, the estate, Wood Wharf and Marsh Wall. The station each is nearest, which have kitchens, and why Sunday is cheaper than Saturday.
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Where to Stay in Chelsea and Knightsbridge
Chelsea and Knightsbridge hotels by street, from an £89 windowless room in Knightsbridge to The Lanesborough at Hyde Park Corner, with the nearest station, the typical price and the one thing that decides each.
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Where to Stay in Kensington, Earl's Court and Olympia
Kensington, Earl's Court and Olympia hotels, from hostel beds and £119 doubles in Earl's Court to The Milestone opposite Kensington Palace, sorted by sub-area, with the nearest station, the price and the one thing that decides each.
Things to do
Westminster Abbey: Tickets, Opening Times, Evensong and the Verger Tour
2026 admission prices and the £1 rate for benefits claimants; what the £10 verger tour gets you to; free Choral Evensong times; and the current bag and photography rules.
Plan your trip
Is London Safe? Crime Data, Common Scams and Who to Call for Help
The Metropolitan Police's own crime trend, what the US and Canadian governments' travel advice says, where phone theft actually concentrates, the scams aimed at visitors, and exactly who to call — sourced and dated throughout.
Plan your trip
Healthcare in London for Visitors: NHS, A&E, GPs and What It Costs
What to do if you're ill or hurt in London: 999 or 111, A&E versus an urgent treatment centre, what's free on the NHS and what visitors pay, GHIC/EHIC and reciprocal cover, and the current prescription charge — from NHS and GOV.UK's own rules.
Stay
The Best Hostels in London: What You Get Before You Book
Fifteen London hostels compared on the things booking sites bury: which dorms are en-suite, which have real female-only rooms, the age limits that refuse you, and what costs extra at the desk.
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Where to Stay in South Kensington: Hotels by the Museums
A 433-metre tiled tunnel runs from the Tube to the museums, and makes sleeping here worthwhile. South Kensington hotels compared, the evening nobody warns you about, and the areas nearby.