London
We’ve compiled the best of the best in London - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Leicester Square
Covent GardenLooking at the neon of the major movie houses, the fast-food outlets, and the gaudy casino and disco entrances, you'd never guess that Leicester Square (pronounced "Lester") was a model of aristocratic formality and refinement when it was first laid out around the 1670s (it was named after its first inhabitant, the 2nd Earl of Leicester). By the 19th century, the square was already bustling and disreputable, and although it's not a threatening place, you should still be on your guard, especially at night—any space so full of people is bound to attract pickpockets, and Leicester Square certainly does. Although there's an underlying glamour (major red-carpet blockbuster film premieres often happen here), Londoners generally tend to avoid the place, though it's worth a visit for its hustle and bustle, its mime artists, and the pleasant modern fountain at its center. Also in the middle is a famous statue of a sulking William Shakespeare, perhaps remembering the days when the movie houses were live theaters—burlesque houses, but live all the same. On the northeast corner, in Leicester Place, stands the Catholic church of Notre Dame de France, with a wonderful mural by Jean Cocteau in one of its side chapels. For more in the way of atmosphere, head north and west from here, through Chinatown and the narrow Georgian streets of Soho.
Leicester Sq., London, Greater London, WC2H 7JY, England -
2. Trafalgar Square
WestminsterThis is officially the center of London: a plaque on the corner of the Strand and Charing Cross Road marks the spot from which distances on U.K. signposts are measured. (London's actual geographic center is a rather dull bench on the Victoria Embankment.) Medieval kings once kept their aviaries of hawks and falcons here; today the humbler gray pigeons flock en masse to the open spaces around the ornate fountains (feeding them is banned). The square was designed in 1830 by John Nash, who envisaged a new public space with striking views of the Thames, the Houses of Parliament, and Buckingham Palace. Of those, only Parliament is still clearly visible from the square, but it remains an important spot for open-air concerts, political demonstrations, and national celebrations, such as New Year's Eve. Dominating the square is 168-foot Nelson's Column, erected as a monument to the great admiral in 1843. Note that the lampposts on the south side, heading down Whitehall, are topped with ships—they all face Portsmouth, home of the British navy. The column is flanked on either side by enormous bronze lions. Climbing them is a very popular photo op, but be extremely careful, as there are no guardrails and it's a long fall onto concrete if you slip. Four plinths border the square; three contain militaristic statues, but one was left empty—it's now used for contemporary art installations, often with a wry and controversial edge. Surprisingly enough, given that this was a square built to honor British military victories, the lawn at the north side, by the National Gallery, contains a statue of George Washington—a gift from the state of Virginia in 1921. At the southern point of the square is the equestrian statue of Charles I. After the Civil War and the king's execution, Oliver Cromwell, the antiroyalist leader, commissioned a brazier, John Rivett, to melt the statue down. The story goes that Rivett instead merely buried it in his garden. He made a fortune peddling knickknacks wrought, he claimed, from its metal, only to produce the statue miraculously unscathed after the restoration of the monarchy—and then made another fortune reselling it. In 1675 Charles II had it placed where it stands today, near the spot where his father was executed in 1649. Each year, on January 30, the day of the king's death, the Royal Stuart Society lays a wreath at the foot of the statue.
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3. Belgrave Square
BelgraviaThis is the heart of Belgravia, once the preferred address for some of London's grandest families, although it's now mostly occupied by organizations, embassies, and the international rich. The square and the streets leading off it share a remarkably consistent elegant architectural style thanks to all being part of a Regency redevelopment scheme commissioned by the Duke of Westminster and designed by Thomas Cubitt with George Basevi. The imposing, cream-colored stucco terraced houses, now mostly divided into apartments, were snapped up by aristocrats and politicians due to their proximity to Buckingham Palace just around the corner, and still command record prices on the rare occasions when they come onto the market. The private garden in the center is open to the public once a year. Walk down Belgrave Place toward Eaton Place and you pass two of Belgravia's most beautiful mews: Eaton Mews North and Eccleston Mews, both fronted by grand rusticated entrances right out of a 19th-century engraving. Traffic can really whip around Belgrave Square, so be careful.
View Tours and ActivitiesLondon, Greater London, SW1X 8PG, England -
4. Granary Square
King's CrossNow the heart of King's Cross, Granary Square is one of London's liveliest open spaces. Pride of place is given to the ever-changing 1,000-strong fountain display, which is even more spectacular by night when lights accompany the choreography. It's also home to The Outside Project (essentially a permanent alfresco art space) as well as the immense, six-story granary building—designed in 1852 to store wheat for London's bakers—that now houses University of the Arts London, plus a small selection of excellent bars and eateries. The square's south-facing steps double as an amphitheater for site-specific art events.
London, Greater London, N1C 4AA, England -
5. Grosvenor Square
MayfairPronounced "Grove-na," this leafy square was laid out in 1721–31 and is as desirable an address today as it was then. Americans have certainly always thought so—from John Adams, the second president, who as ambassador lived at No. 38, to Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose wartime headquarters was at No. 20. The entire west side of the square was home to the U.S. Embassy for more than 50 years until its relocation south of the river. In the square itself stand memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt and those who died on September 11, 2001. Grosvenor Chapel, completed in 1730 and used by Eisenhower's men during World War II, stands a couple of blocks south of the square on South Audley Street, with the entrance to pretty St. George's Gardens to its left.
London, Greater London, W1, England -
Recommended Fodor’s Video
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6. Parliament Square
WestminsterAccessing Parliament Square, the green space opposite the Palace of Westminster, isn't always easy—it's regularly filled with protestors hoping to get the attention of the lawmakers across the road. But it's worth the effort to get a closer look at the statues of political figures that line the square. Notable among the 12 are Winston Churchill; Sir Robert Peel, the 19th-century prime minister who created the modern police force (it's because of him that British police officers are known as "bobbies"); U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (this statue is a replica of the one in Chicago's Lincoln Park); Nelson Mandela; and Mahatma Gandhi. The newest statue, erected in 2018 as part of celebrations of the centenary of British women being granted the right to vote, portrays the women's rights campaigner Millicent Fawcett and is the first statue of a woman in the square; it was designed by Turner Prize–winning artist Gillian Wearing.
Parliament Sq., London, Greater London, SW1P 3BD, EnglandSight Details
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7. Piccadilly Circus
St. James'sThe origins of the name "Piccadilly" relate to a humble 17th-century tailor from the Strand named Robert Baker who sold piccadills—stiff ruffled collars all the rage in courtly circles—and built a house with the proceeds. Snobs dubbed his new-money mansion Piccadilly Hall, and the name stuck. Pride of place in the circus—a circular junction until the construction of Shaftesbury Avenue in 1886—belongs to the statue universally referred to as Eros, dating to 1893 (although even most Londoners don't know that it is, in reality, a representation of Eros's brother Anteros, the Greek god of requited love). The other instantly recognizable feature of Piccadilly Circus is the enormous bank of lit-up billboards on the north side; if you're passing at night, frame them behind the Tube entrance sign on the corner of Regent Street for a classic photograph.
View Tours and ActivitiesLondon, Greater London, W1J ODA, England -
8. St. James's Square
St. James'sOne of London's oldest squares, St. James's was first laid out in the 1660s. It soon became the capital's most fashionable address; by 1720, it was home to 14 dukes and earls. These days you're more likely to find it populated with office workers eating their lunches under the shade of its leafy old trees on a warm summer's day, but it still has some prestigious residents. Most famous among them is The London Library, at No. 14, one of several 18th-century residences spared by World War II bombs. Founded by Thomas Carlyle, it contains a million or so volumes, making it the world's largest independent lending library, and is also considered the best private humanities library in the land.
London, Greater London, SW1, England
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