Central London: 1 Day Walk
See London's best central sights and landmarks, lunch in Borough Market, explore some famous shops and finish the day on a mini pub crawl to help rest your tired and well deserving feet.
Highlights
St Paul's Cathedral, Monument, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, The Shard, Borough Market, Shakespeare's Globe, Tate Modern, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Jermyn Street, Fortnum & Mason, Hatchards, Burlington Arcade, Savile Row, Hamleys, Liberty London, Carnaby Street, China Town, Leicester Square, Lamb and Flag, Punch and Judy, Covent Garden, Gordon's Wine Bar, Tattershall Castle.
Central London Walk Overview
Important Things to Know
- This is a big walk so you need to be reasonably fit and wear comfortable shoes.
- Expect a long but rewarding day and the realisation for all that you have seen there is a lot more..........and you will need to come back.
- Sunday and Monday the Yeomans Warder tour at Tower of London commences at 10.30am rather than 10am and then every 30 minutes from then.
- Sunday the shops close earlier 6pm so you wont get as much value.
- Sightseeing at St Pauls commences at 8.30am. The galleries open up at 9.30am (our suggested timetable means you will miss this)
- The easiest way to arrive at St Pauls is by tube and catching the train to St Pauls station. The best way is to catch 7.40am boat from Putney Pier to Blackfriars Pier arriving at 8.24am and then a short walk to St Pauls. You will need an Oyster Card to do this and catch train to Putney Bridge Station. Its a 10 minute walk from there so aim to be at Putney Bridge station by 7.20am!..........Note you can only catch the boat from Putney to Blackfriars on Mon-Friday.
- If doing this walk on a Friday the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery are open until 9pm and both free. They are based at Trafalgar Square.
Suggested Timetable
8.30am- 9.15am St Pauls Cathedral 9.15-9.30am Walk to Monument 9.30-9.40am Monument 9.40am-10am walk to Tower of London via St Dunston in the East Church Garden 10am-11am Yeoman Warder tour at the Tower of London (This is 10.30 on a Sun/Mon) 11.30-12.00 walk over Tower Bridge along the Thames passed the HMS Belfast to the Shard 12-12.30 Experience the view from the Shard 12.30-12.50pm Old Operating Theatre 12.50-1.30pm lunch at Borough Market 1.30pm-2.30pm Borough Market to Westminster Pier passing Shakespeares Globe, Tate Modern, Bankside Gallery, Oxo Tower Wharf, National Theatre, Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, London Eye, London Dungeon, Sealife Aquarium...and more as you get to Westminster Bridge. 2.30pm-3.15pm walk passed the Houses of Parliament to explore the famous Westminster Abbey 3.15pm-5pm Churchill War Rooms. 5pm-6pm Churchill War Rooms via St Jame's Park Bridge to Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square 6pm-8pm walk up to Piccadilly Circus, Jermyn Street, Fortnum and Mason, Hatchards, Burlington Arcade, Savile Row, Hamleys, Liberty London, Carnaby Street, Chinatown, Leicester Square. 8pm-11pm a mini pub crawl Lamb and Flag. Punch and Judy, Gordon's Wine Bar finishing the evening at Tattershall Castle..............not ready to go home walk back towards and passed Gordon's Wine Bar turn left down Villiers Street and have a sing along at Players Piano Bar.
Money Saving Tips
- Consider purchasing a London Pass (£75) using our timetable above this will get you into St Pauls, Monument, Tower of London, Shard, Old Operating Theatre, Westminster Abbey and Churchill War Rooms. (saving you at least £50!)....all attractions you can see are marked in brackets with "Lon Pass".
- Free attractions include Sky Gardens (must book prior and get a time that fits this schedule), Tate Modern.
Your Adventure
St Pauls Cathedral to Tower Bridge
Notes:
A= St Paul's Cathedral (Lon Pass) B= Monument (Lon Pass...dedicated to the 6 people who lost their lives to the Great Fire of London...but since 7 people have lost their lives committing suicide jumping off it!!!) C= St Dunstans in the East Garden Church D= Old Hallows by the Tower E= Tower of London (Lon Pass...make sure you do a Yeoman's Warder tour its free and the depart every 30 mins 10am Tues-sat and 10.30am Sun-Mon) F= Tower Bridge
Markers are for Blackfriars Pier (if prepared to get up early and catch boat from Putney Bridge Pier), St Paul's Station (easy way to get to St Pauls) and the Sky Garden (would need to book in advance and get the right time...it is free but an amazing view...Not included initially as substituted for the Shard)
Tower Bridge to the Shard
Notes: A= Tower Bridge B= Tower Bridge Experience (Lon Pass) C= Hays Galleria D= The View from the Shard (Lon Pass) E= Old Operating Theatre (Lon Pass)
Marker is for HMS Belfast (Lon Pass...you can't miss it)
Old Operating Theatre to Tate Modern
Notes
A= Old Operating Theatre B= Borough Market C= Original Site of the Globe D= Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (Lon Pass) E= Millenium Bridge F= Tate Modern (Free)
Tate Modern to Westminster Bridge
Notes:
A= Tate Modern (Free...good cafe with a view) B= Bankside Gallery (Free) C= Oxo Tower Wharf (good place for a drink with a view) D= National Theatre E/F= Southbank Centre & Royal Festival Hall G= London Eye H=London Dungeons I= Sealife Aquarium J= Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge to St Jame's Park Bridge
Notes:
A= Westminster Bridge B= Houses of Parliament C= Big Ben D= Palace of Westminster E=Westminster Abbey (Lon Pass) F= Household Cavalry (Lon Pass) Museum (Lon Pass) G= Horse Guards Parade H= Downing Street (where the PM lives) I= Churchill War Rooms (Lon Pass) J= St Jame's Park Bridge (great place for a photo)
St Jame's Park Bridge to Trafalgar Square
A= St James Park Bridge B= Buckingham Palace C= Trafalgar Square (National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery both free)
Trafalgar Square to Savile Row
Notes:
A= Trafalgar Square B= Piccadilly Circus (Eros Fountain & Lilywhites Sports Store) C= Jermyn Street (famous for shirt makers) D= Fortnum and Mason (Department store dating 1707 great for Strawberry Jam & Afternoon Tea) E= Hatchards (London's oldest bookshop 1797) F= Burlington Arcade (Shopping Mall dating 1819) G= Savile Row (famous for bespoke men's tailoring)
Savile Row to Leicester Square
Notes:
A= Savile Row B= Hamleys Toy Shop (dating back 1760 orginally known as Noah's Ark) C= Liberty London (Classic Tudor style department store dating 1875) D= Carnaby Street (Famous for being the home of cutting edge fashion during the swinging 60s) E= China Town Gate (China Town....take pick of around 80 Chinese restaurants) F= Leicester Square
Leicester Square to Tattershall Castle
Notes:
A= Leicester Square (home of cinema and the red carpet) B= Lamb and Flag (once known as the Buckets of Blood classic British Pub dating 1772) C= Punch and Judy (Great balcony to enjoy a drink and watch the buskers perform below D= Gordon's Wine Bar (Charming cave like wine bar dating back 1890) E= Tattershall Castle (enjoy a drink on a boat/pub overlooking many of London's famous landmarks) F= Embankment Station (Go home you should be tired but satisfied for an amazing day G= Players Piano Bar & Lounge (Not tired....have a traditional English Piano singalong)
