London: What to Know Before You Go

The Tube map is a diagram, not a map, and it hides how far apart places are, or how close. Leicester Square and Covent Garden are a few minutes' walk apart, while two stations on the same line in the suburbs can be a long way off. Look at a street map before you go underground.

How the city is laid out

The Thames curves through the middle from west to east. On the north bank, Westminster holds Parliament, the Abbey and the palaces. The West End (Soho, Covent Garden, Mayfair) is the shopping and theatre district, and the City, the old Roman square mile, is now the financial district, busy on weekdays and eerily quiet on Sundays. The South Bank and Southwark face them across the river. Our 3-day itinerary takes them in a sensible order.

Entry

Visitors who don't need a visa, including citizens of EU countries, the US and Canada, now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before travelling. Since February 2026 airlines, ferries and Eurostar check for it before boarding. Apply through the official UK ETA app or the GOV.UK website, not lookalike sites, and allow a few working days. Irish citizens are exempt.

Paying for transport

You don't need a special travel card. Tap a contactless bank card or phone on the yellow readers at the start and end of every Tube or train journey, and just once on buses. Fares are capped daily and weekly, so you never pay more than a set amount however much you travel. Use the same card, or the same phone, all day (not the card one time and the phone the next), or the cap won't work, and give each traveller their own. Buses don't take cash.

Money and tipping

Cards are accepted almost everywhere, even for a coffee. Many restaurants add a service charge, usually around 12.5 percent, to the bill. If it's there, you don't need to tip again. In pubs you order and pay at the bar, and nobody expects a tip.

Booking ahead

The free museums are best booked with a free timed ticket. Pay in advance for the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and the Churchill War Rooms, and plan the free Sky Garden weeks ahead. The museums guide explains which collections need a booking.

Stand on the right on escalators. The left is for walking, and Londoners notice. Plugs are the British three-pin type, 230V. Tap water is safe everywhere. Check the Transport for London website before the weekend, when lines often close for engineering work.