Ilya Grigorik, CC BY-SA 3.0
London
London is the UK's capital on the Thames: the Tower, Westminster, the great museums, and the West End's theatres.
Where to stay, by what matters to you
- Places to stay within 10 minutes' walk of the beach in London
- Places to stay with a level walk to the beach in London
- Places to stay in London that work without a car
- Quiet places to stay in London: few bars nearby
- Lively places to stay in London: bars and clubs close by
- Within 30 minutes by car of Heathrow Airport
- Within 30 minutes by car of Windsor Castle (day trip)
- Within 20 minutes of The British Museum
- Within 20 minutes of Buckingham Palace
- Within 20 minutes of Westminster Abbey
- Within 20 minutes of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
- Within 20 minutes of The London Eye
- Within 20 minutes of St Paul's Cathedral
Best things to do in London
The one thing not to miss
See Buckingham Palace, the official residence and headquarters of the British monarch.
Buckingham Palace1. Buckingham Palace
The official residence and administrative headquarters of the monarch, in the City of Westminster.
Inside visits are seasonal; check the dates.
57,669 readers a month
2. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
The Great Bell of the clock tower at the north end of the Palace of Westminster, and by extension the tower itself.
54,953 readers a month
3. The Tower of London
A historic royal palace and fortress on the north bank of the Thames.
52,483 readers a month
4. Westminster Abbey
The Anglican church where 40 English and British monarchs have been crowned since 1066.
48,763 readers a month
5. Windsor Castle (day trip)
The royal residence at Windsor, about 25 miles (40 km) west of central London.
46,164 readers a month
6. St Paul's Cathedral
The Anglican cathedral of the Bishop of London.
44,744 readers a month
7. The British Museum
The museum of human history, art and culture in Bloomsbury, with a permanent collection of eight million objects.
35,487 readers a month
8. Tower Bridge
The bascule and suspension bridge built between 1886 and 1894 beside the Tower of London.
29,716 readers a month
9. The Shard
Renzo Piano's 95-storey pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Southwark.
28,978 readers a month
10. The London Eye
The cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank, the world's tallest of its kind.
20,904 readers a month
Just missed the list: Victoria and Albert Museum (11th by readers); Hyde Park (12th by readers)
How we ranked these
By how many people read about each place on English Wikipedia in a typical month, measured October 2026. It is a popularity measure, not our opinion. Buckingham Palace leads with about 57,669 readers a month. Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are on each photo.
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