How to spend 5 Days in London when visiting for the First Time

Last Updated on June 19, 2019 by Jane

We traveled to London last fall for the first time. We didn’t do an organized tour but instead spent the time touring London all on our own. Two of our days were travel days but the rest of our time was spent pounding the pavement viewing as much as we could in London. This is how to spend 5 days in London when visiting for the first time.

Since we flew during the night from Toronto to London we arrived in London at 9 am. Still most of the day was getting from the airport to our hotel we didn’t plan to visit anything the first day. However we did end up walking from our hotel to Tower Bridge. We turned around and walked back to get ready for our first night out eating in London.

Before we left we ordered the London Pass with an Oyster Card. We chose the 6 day pass as they don’t sell a 5 day pass and we wanted to be seeing things every day of our trip. What sold us on using the London Pass was the convenience of having our touristy stuff paid for and not needing cash while we were in London. We could tap our Oyster Card on the bus or Tube and flash the London Pass when we got to an attraction. Plus using the London Pass saves you time and money as opposed to paying when you get to the attraction.

One of the things that you get as part of your London Pass is a Hop on Hop off Bus tour. You get to choose from two providers and they have a number of different routes around the city. Our first full day of touring we picked up the Big Bus at the Tower Bridge stop and spent the entire day touring around London. We were lucky that the weather was perfect to sit on the top deck all day. The Hop on Hop off bus was great to get ourselves oriented to the city and helped us figure out what we wanted to see next.

We did the bus tour one full time before jumping off to see Kings Cross Station (had to see platform 9 3/4!) and having some very good Fish & Chips.

Our second day touring London we started our day at the Tower of London. We got there before it opened and while we had to wait in line to get through security checks we didn’t have to buy a ticket just flashed our London Pass. At the Tower of London we could see the Crown Jewels, Beefeaters and wander through the towers.

After the Tower of London we walked further into the City of London. First we went to St. Dunstan in the East. This is a church ruin is beautiful casualty of the London Blitz.

After St. Dunstans we walked over the Ledenhall Market which is a 14th Century covered market. It was also part of Harry Potter and the Philosopers Stone as the entrance to Diagon Alley.

After Ledenhall Market we crossed the Thames and walked the south bank to Shakespere Globe. We decided to move on since to see the Globe Theater you have to go through with the whole tour which to be honest we weren’t really interested in. We crossed over the Millenium Bridge next and went into St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Our London Card came in handy at St. Pauls Cathedral. The line up to get in was enormous. Our London Pass got us right into St. Pauls because we get to fast track the line and our admission is prepaid on the card. Inside we climbed the spiral staircase up to the dome. I waited at this level whilst my husband went up the next set of stairs to the view outside.

This is the day we weren’t able to get into Temple Church as the whole area was being used for filming the new season of Jack Ryan. So we moved onto find Neal’s Yard. This was a bit of a disappointment. It was very busy and not as cool as it appears on Instagram. It was time for lunch. Writing this now I can hardly believe we did all of this in one day! After lunch it was time to go to the Shard.

The View from the Shard is included in your London Pass however it doesn’t really fast track you at all. You still have to line up and go through the ticketing process and then line up for the elevators. Still it is worth jumping through all the hoops because once you get to the top the view is amazing. You can see so much and so far!

That was it for day two of touring. We were definitely tired after this very full day. The next day we had rain so we headed to the British Museum. We weren’t the only ones. When we arrived there wasn’t much of a line as we got there close to opening. But when we left the line was crazy long.

The British Museum is massive and there is so much to see. You could easily spend a whole day at this Museum. The wing with the Rosetta stone and all the Egyptian artifacts was the most busy while we were there, to the point where it was hard to move around. Other exhibits were more manageable. After the British Museum we decided to have a true British Sunday Pub dinner.

After our roast dinner (which was fabulous by the way, go to the Lamb and Flag if you can), we took the tube to see the Tardis. Then that was it for the day. The next day we took the train out to Windsor Castle.

Read More: Must Visit Pubs in London

Windsor Castle was exactly what you would expect. 900 years of history is crammed into what you are able to tour around. St. George’s Chapel is worth the visit. The town is also worth wandering around as there is loads of shopping and restaurants. I think we got the full experience as it was overcast and drizzly while we were touring.

Windsor Castle admission and the train fare is included in the London Pass. The trip out to Windsor Castle isn’t too far out of London either, only about half an hour from Paddington Station.

Our last full day of touring we took the bus out to Notting Hill. It was time to seek out that famous Travel Book Shop and some insta-famous sights. We wandered down Portobello Road and past the Chruchill Arms. Wandering through Notting Hill is worth it just to see all the beautiful houses.

We wandered to Kensington next to visit Kensington Palace. This was my favourite castle and the one that least looked like a castle; more like a very large home. We visited all the exhibits including the Diana exhibit which I think is a must visit. Entrance to Kensington Palace is included with the London Pass and all exhibits are included with the pass.

On our way to check out Buckingham Palace we stumbled across the Royal Mews. Entrance was covered so we popped in to check it out. The Royal Mews is a working stable. It is also where the royal coaches and some of the Royal cars are housed. We continued on to Buckinham Palace, but since there really isn’t much to see since you can’t go inside we didn’t stay long. We opted to wait until later in the day to avoid the crowds that come to see the changing of the guard. The last thing we visited was Westminster Abbey.

Westminster was quite the experience. Kings and Queens, famous authors and scientists have all been buried here. It feels like you are walking through the ages walking through this church. It is also somewhere we wanted to visit because it is featured in Davinci Code. The London card covers entrance to Westminster.

A week in London wasn’t long enough to see everything. I feel like we just scratched the surface. And yet we saw SO MUCH. This trip wasn’t a relaxing slow vacation. I will go to an all inclusive for that. No instead we pounded the pavement and saw as much as we could in five days. So that is how to spend 5 days in London when visiting for the first time, from a first timer.