Things to do in North London

Hyde Park is one of London’s largest and most well-known parks. The park connects with Kensington Gardens and the two combined cover 630 acres (253 hectares). Together they form the centrepiece of a network of parks known as “London’s Green Lung.” Once the private hunting grounds of King Henry VIII, today the park is filled with heritage sites, monuments and events to attend all year-round.

When you spot Big Ben standing proud beside the River Thames, you couldn’t be anywhere else in the world other than London. One of the city’s best-loved icons, it is an immediately recognisable fixture of the London cityscape next to Westminster Bridge.

Lying at the junction between Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, Piccadilly and Haymarket, Piccadilly Circus is one of the busiest spots in the whole of central London. A hub for traffic of all kinds, it connects the key areas in the heart of the city, including Trafalgar Square, Soho, Chinatown and Leicester Square.

Since 1837, Buckingham Palace has been the home of British royalty. During these years, the palace walls have been the backdrop to political change and have seen many advances in society, as well as being used to welcome guests from all over the world. But the palace itself has remained constant as an emblem of the monarchy, admired by guests who flock here. In fact, it’s one of the world’s most visited spots.

As many as 40,000 vehicles cross over Tower Bridge every single day, making it a key player in the city’s transport infrastructure – as well as a popular attraction for visitors, famed for its iconic Gothic towers.

London Bridge is easily one of the most famously named bridges in the world, and the site of the oldest recorded crossing of the River Thames. Walk across the landmark structure, enjoy gorgeous river views and pick up insights into the bridge’s history in its underground vaults.

More than 30 million tourists pass through this focal point in the heart of London every year, all watched over by Admiral Lord Nelson at the top of his column and the surrounding Four Lions. A tribute to the British Navy’s military victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, this spot has witnessed celebrations, political rallies and protests for well over a century.

Originally established to house the collections bequeathed by well-to-do Brits who explored the world at the peak of the British Empire, the British Museum has grown through the years to become a monument to humanity itself. It contains as many as eight million artefacts brought from every continent. There’s so much to explore here, it’s impossible to fit everything in in a single day – but it still has plenty to offer visitors with only a couple of hours to spare.

The Tower of London is among Britain’s top tourist attractions. Although it’s mainly known as a place of imprisonment and execution, this remarkable building has also served as palace, mint, archive, armory, barracks and royal menagerie over the years. See the legendary crown jewels and learn about the tower’s often brutal history.