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. Primrose Hill
Regent's ParkMore conventionally parklike than Hampstead Heath, the rolling lawns of Primrose Hill, the northerly extension of Regent's Park, rise to 213 feet and provide outstanding views over the city to the southeast, encompassing Canary Wharf and the London Eye. Formerly the site of boxing matches and duels but now filled with families and picnickers in nice weather, it has been featured in several books—it was here that Pongo engaged in “twilight barking” in The Hundred and One Dalmatians and the Martians set up an encampment in H. G. Wells’s The War of The Worlds. It's also been mentioned in songs by Blur, Madness, and Paul McCartney, among others, and served as a location for films, including Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Paddington.
Regent's Park Rd., London, Greater London, NW3 3NA, England0300-061–2300Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
2. Regent's Park
Regent's ParkThe formal cultivated Regent's Park, more country-house grounds than municipal amenity, began life in 1812, when John Nash was commissioned by the Prince Regent (later George IV) to create a master plan for the former royal hunting ground. Nash's original plan included a summer palace for the prince and 56 villas for friends, none of which were realized except for eight villas (only two survive). But the grand neoclassical terraced houses on the south, east, and west edges of the park were built by Nash and reflect the scope of his ambitions. Today the 395-acre park, with the largest outdoor sports area in central London, draws the athletically inclined from around the city. At the center of the park is Queen Mary's Gardens, created in the 1930s, a fragrant 17-acre circle containing more than 400 varieties of roses that is a favorite spot for weddings. Just to the east of the gardens is the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and the Boating Lake, which you can explore by renting a pedalo or a rowboat. Heading east from the rose gardens along Chester Road past the Broad Walk will bring you to Nash's renowned white-stucco Cumberland Terrace, with its central Ionic columns surmounted by a triangular Wedgwood-blue pediment. At the north end of the Broad Walk, you'll find London Zoo, while to the northwest of the central circle is The Hub, a state-of-the-art community sports center that has changing rooms, exercise classes, and a café with 360-degree views of the surrounding sports fields, used for soccer, rugby, cricket, field hockey, and softball. There are also tennis courts toward the park's southeast (Baker Street) entrance, and the park is a favorite north–south route for cyclists. Regent's Park also hosts two annual events: the prestigious Frieze London art fair and Taste of London, a foodie-oriented extravaganza.
Chester Rd., London, Greater London, NW1 4NR, England0300-061–2300Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free -
3. ZSL London Zoo
Regent's ParkWith an emphasis on education, wildlife conservation, and the breeding of endangered species, London Zoo offers visitors the chance to see tigers, gorillas, meerkats, and more in something resembling a natural environment rather than a cage. Operated by the nonprofit Zoological Society of London, the zoo was begun with the royal animals collection, moved here from the Tower of London in 1828; the zoo itself did not open to the public until 1847. Big attractions include Land of the Lions, a walk-through re-creation of an Indian forest where you can see two resident Asiatic lions relaxing at close range; Gorilla Kingdom, which provides a similar re-created habitat (in this case an African rain forest) for its colony of six Western Lowland Gorillas; and the Attenborough Komodo Dragon House, renamed to honor the renowned naturalist. The zoo also offers the chance to get up close and personal with 15 ring-tailed lemurs. The Giants of the Galapagos is a lagoon inhabited by the resident giant tortoises while Rainforest Life is an indoor tropical rainforest (complete with humidity) inhabited by the likes of armadillos, monkeys, and sloths. A special nighttime section offers glimpses of nocturnal creatures like slow lorises and bats. The Animal Adventure playground allows kids to closely observe coatis, as well as interact with llamas, donkeys, small pigs, sheep, and goats. An ever-popular attraction, especially at feeding time (noon in winter and 4:20 pm in other months), is Penguin Beach, an enclosure and pool that hosts a colony of Humboldt penguins. If you're feeling flush, try to book tickets for VIP experiences (£54) that offer a 20-minute guided close encounter where you can feed and interact with meerkats (1:30 pm), monkeys (2 pm), giraffes (9:30 am), and even komodo dragons (9 am, £110). Other zoo highlights include a Butterfly Paradise and the Tiger Territory, an enclosure for four beautiful endangered Sumatran tigers (including two cubs born at the zoo). There are also early evening (6:15 pm) "relaxed tours" for the neurodiverse from June to August (they're also offered at 8:30 am before the usual opening hours in other months) to ensure a calmer experience. Adults-only Zoo Twilights are held Friday nights in June and July, featuring street food, alcoholic drinks, and entertainment. You can also experience the zoo after-hours by booking an overnight stay in one of the cozy cabins near (not in) the lion enclosure. Check the website or the information board out front for free events, including creature close encounters and "ask the keeper" sessions. Booking in advance online for all tickets is required.
View Tours and ActivitiesOuter Circle, London, Greater London, NW1 4RY, England0844-225–1826Sight Details
Rate Includes: From £27.73 -
4. Cecil Sharp House
Primrose HillThe home of the English Folk Dance and Song Society, this soaring building from 1930 has hosted concerts by artists ranging from Mumford & Sons and Laura Marling to the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain. It also offers céilidhs (Irish barn dances), workshops where you can learn to play folk songs, and an open-mic folk club night. Meet the locals at one of the drop-in dance classes offering English and Irish folk dancing as well as international traditional dances. There are also temporary exhibitions on British folk art, a café and bar, and an outstanding specialist library with an extensive collection of recordings, manuscripts, sheet music, and images relating to British folk songs, dances, and regional cultures in general.
2 Regent's Park Rd., London, Greater London, NW1 7AY, England020-7485–2206Sight Details
Rate Includes: Free, classes from £8.50, Library closed Aug., mid-Dec.–New Year\'s, Sun., Mon., and 2nd and 4th Sat. of each month -
5. Lord's Cricket Ground & MCC Museum
St. John's WoodThe spiritual home of this most English of games—and the headquarters of the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club)—opens its "behind the scenes" areas to visitors during a 100-minute tour. Highlights include the beautiful Long Room, a VIP viewing area where portraits of cricketing greats are on display (you can also book a traditional afternoon tea here); the players' dressing rooms; and the world's oldest sporting museum, where cricket's 400-year progress from gentlemanly village-green game to worldwide sport is charted via memorabilia, equipment, trophies, and footage of memorable performances. Don't miss the prize exhibit: the urn known as the Ashes—allegedly the remains of a cricket bail (part of the wicket assembly) presented to the English captain in 1883 by a group of Australian women, a jokey allusion to a newspaper's satirical obituary for the death of English cricket published after a resounding defeat. It's been a symbol of the two nations' long-running rivalry ever since. They still play for possession of the Ashes—an official (as opposed to joke) trophy only since 1998—every two years. A Waterford crystal version changes hands these days, although the winners still hold a replica of the original urn aloft. There is no separate non-tour admittance to the museum, except for match ticket holders. All tours must be booked in advance and are not available during matches. Tour itineraries can change due to grounds maintenance.
St. John's Wood Rd., London, Greater London, NW8 8QN, England020-7616–8595Sight Details
Rate Includes: Tour £29.95; museum £3 with county match ticket, free with major match or grounds tour ticket, No tours Apr.–Sept. on major match days, preparation days, and event days; limited availability on other match days -
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