# 3 days in London: a day-by-day itinerary for a first visit > 3 days in London, day by day: Westminster and the Thames, the Tower and Borough Market, the British Museum, with opening hours, prices and Tube fares. - URL: https://traypass.app/blog/3-days-in-london - By: Gonzalo Fuentes, Traypass - 2026-10-23 - [es](https://traypass.app/es/blog/londres-en-3-dias) · [fr](https://traypass.app/fr/blog/londres-en-3-jours) · [de](https://traypass.app/de/blog/london-in-3-tagen) · [it](https://traypass.app/it/blog/londra-in-3-giorni) · [ja](https://traypass.app/ja/blog/london-3-day-itinerary) ## In short - **Day 1, Westminster**: Westminster Abbey at 9:30 a.m., St James's Park and Buckingham Palace, the National Gallery, then Big Ben and the London Eye at dusk. - **Day 2, the Tower and the river**: the Tower of London when it opens, Tower Bridge, lunch at Borough Market, Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge, a West End show at night. - **Day 3, the museums**: the British Museum, lunch in Covent Garden, the Natural History Museum, dinner in Soho. - **Money**: the big museums are free. The Abbey is £32, the Tower £38, and the Tube stops charging at £8.90 a day in zones 1–2. 3 days in London is enough for the sights most people come for if you give each day one part of the city: Westminster first, then the Tower and the river, then the museums. You walk from one stop to the next and take the Tube once or twice a day. This is the plan as we built it in Traypass for a sample trip in mid-November. We land at Heathrow the afternoon before day 1 and fly home the morning after day 3, so the app’s screens count five days: our day 2 is its day 3. The prices were checked on October 22, 2026. - Tube, per day: £8.90The most you pay in zones 1–2 with contactless - Westminster Abbey: £32Adult ticket, audio guide included - Tower of London: £38Adult ticket, Crown Jewels included - The big museums: FreeBritish Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, Natural History Museum ## Day 1: Westminster, St James’s Park and the river Start at Westminster Abbey at 9:30 a.m., when it opens to visitors. It is a working church: closed for sightseeing on Sundays, with last entry at 3:30 p.m. on weekdays (3:00 p.m. on Saturdays). The **£32** ticket includes the audio guide; book it online, as few are sold at the door. Ask Traypass to plan the day and it suggests one stop at a time. It called this day “Abbey, palace and the river” and put the Abbey first. Tap the check mark to keep a stop, or the X to skip it. ![Traypass suggesting a London day called “Abbey, palace and the river”, one card at a time: Westminster Abbey at 9:30, an hour, with an X to skip it and a check mark to keep it](/_astro/ldn-ai-deck-front.DnanDxkq_Z2bGhM9.webp) ![The north front of Westminster Abbey in London, with its rose window, between the trees](/_astro/photo-abbey.OIp7y9-T_2vuB8f.webp)[Ian Branch · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/8Dg0kxH2t0A?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral) From the Abbey, walk through St James’s Park to Buckingham Palace, about 15 minutes along the lake. The Changing of the Guard is at 11:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in October and November, and can be canceled in heavy rain. That is why this plan gives the Abbey an hour: leave at 10:30 a.m. and you are at the railings by 10:45. The palace’s State Rooms only open in summer, so in November you see it from the gates. ![The lake in St James's Park, London, with trees on both banks and the London Eye in the distance](/_astro/photo-st-james.DCnVFCmi_ZvL8Hr.webp)[Antonio Vivace · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/_cCd2ne81BQ?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral) After lunch, walk up The Mall to the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, which is free and open until 6:00 p.m. (9:00 p.m. on Fridays). Two hours is enough for Van Gogh’s _Sunflowers_, Holbein’s _The Ambassadors_ and the Turners. Then walk down Whitehall to Westminster Bridge: in mid-November the sun sets around 4:10 p.m., and Big Ben and Parliament light up behind you as you cross to the London Eye. Tickets start at **£29** online and cost £39 at the ticket office. **Day 1 · Westminster (London)** 1. 09:30 — Westminster Abbey — 1 h · £32 2. 10:30 — St James's Park — A stroll · 15 min 3. 10:45 — Buckingham Palace — Changing of the Guard · 45 min 4. 14:00 — National Gallery — 2 h · free 5. 16:15 — Big Ben from Westminster Bridge — Sunset about 16:10 6. 17:00 — London Eye — 45 min · from £29 7. 19:00 — Dinner on the South Bank — 1 h 30 ## Day 2: the Tower of London, Borough Market and Bankside Be at the Tower of London when it opens: 9:00 a.m. from Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. on Sundays and Mondays in November. Go straight to the Crown Jewels before the queue builds, then join a Yeoman Warder tour (the last one leaves at 2:30 p.m.). The adult ticket is **£38**. Each morning of the trip, Traypass opens on that day: what comes next, how long it takes to get there from your hotel and the free time between stops. ![The Today screen in Traypass on the second day of sightseeing (day 3 of 5 in the app): the Tower of London next at 9:00, 28 minutes by transit from the Strand Palace Hotel, then Tower Bridge, lunch at Borough Market and Tate Modern](/_astro/ldn-today-2-front.BT4XCRVq_D7hyh.webp) ![The Tower of London from the river, with its stone walls and the White Tower behind them](/_astro/photo-tower.ljVjSXHJ_ZbDFwH.webp)[Juhi Sewchurran · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/jQT_vyYRsv4?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral) Cross Tower Bridge on foot (free) and follow the river west to Borough Market for lunch. It is closed on Mondays; the rest of the week it opens at 10:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. on Saturdays), so on a Monday eat at the Tower and save the market for another day. ![The Borough Market sign over the stalls and the crowd under the market's glass roof in London](/_astro/photo-borough.BvdM8gxy_Z97RXz.webp)[Cody Martin · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/EnpqTIGPN4g?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral) From the market it is a 10-minute walk along Bankside to Tate Modern, which is free: see the Turbine Hall and the views from the upper floors. Cross the Millennium Bridge to St Paul’s Cathedral. Tickets are £27 and last entry is usually at 4:00 p.m., so on this plan you see it from outside; to go in, visit it before Tate Modern. In the evening, see a West End show: book ahead, or try the TKTS booth in Leicester Square for same-day discounts. ![The Millennium Bridge over the Thames leading to the dome of St Paul's Cathedral in London](/_astro/photo-millennium.QOmkzJEI_Z1X2xFY.webp)[Akhil Pawar · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/VNQJyoFgbJ4?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral) **Day 2 · The Tower and the river (London)** 1. 09:00 — Tower of London — 2 h 30 · £38 2. 11:45 — Tower Bridge — On foot · free 3. 12:45 — Lunch at Borough Market — Closed on Mondays 4. 14:30 — Tate Modern — 1 h 30 · free 5. 16:15 — Millennium Bridge to St Paul's — 30 min 6. 19:30 — A West End show — 2 h 30 ## Day 3: the British Museum and South Kensington The British Museum opens at 10:00 a.m. and is free; book a timed ticket (also free) on its website to skip the queue, and leave large bags at the hotel, since they are not allowed. Two and a half hours covers the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures and the Egyptian galleries. ![The Today screen in Traypass on the third day of sightseeing (day 4 of 5 in the app): the British Museum next at 10:00, a 24-minute walk from the Strand Palace Hotel, then lunch in Covent Garden, the Natural History Museum and dinner in Soho](/_astro/ldn-today-3-front.BLMJbG7Z_Z2pIxXt.webp) ![The Great Court of the British Museum in London, with its glass roof over the round Reading Room and visitors below](/_astro/photo-british-museum.D_m6YDj7_4eWBD.webp)[Rabih Ramadan · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/NlIaB4IMySc?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral) Covent Garden is a 15-minute walk south: have lunch in the market hall or around the piazza. Then take the Piccadilly line from Covent Garden to South Kensington for the Natural History Museum (free, open until 5:50 p.m.). The V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum), across the road, is free too and stays open until 10:00 p.m. on Fridays. Finish with dinner in Soho. ![Hintze Hall in the Natural History Museum, London, with the blue whale skeleton hanging under the arches](/_astro/photo-nhm.BXIY-cV0_2rAibp.webp)[Maksim Shutov · Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/photos/Rsc99RPbNHM?utm_source=traypass&utm_medium=referral) **Day 3 · The museums (London)** 1. 10:00 — British Museum — 2 h 30 · free, book a time 2. 12:45 — Lunch in Covent Garden — 1 h 15 3. 14:30 — Natural History Museum — 2 h · free 4. 19:00 — Dinner in Soho — 1 h 30 The three days in London 1. **Westminster Abbey** — Day 1, 9:30 2. **Buckingham Palace** — Day 1, through the park 3. **National Gallery** — Day 1, free 4. **London Eye** — Day 1, at dusk 5. **Tower of London** — Day 2, 9:00 6. **Borough Market** — Day 2, lunch 7. **Tate Modern** — Day 2, free 8. **St Paul's Cathedral** — Day 2, across the bridge 9. **British Museum** — Day 3, 10:00 10. **Natural History Museum** — Day 3, free ## Getting around London Tap in and out with a contactless card or your phone: it costs the same as an Oyster card, and the daily cap means you never pay more than **£8.90** a day for the Tube in zones 1–2. Buses are cheaper, and you can change buses as often as you like within an hour for one fare. How One trip Good to know Tube, zone 1 £3.00–3.10 £8.90 a day (zones 1–2) Bus £1.85 £5.55 a day Uber Boat on the Thames About £10–12 No daily cap Elizabeth line from Heathrow £15.50 28 min to Paddington Heathrow Express £26 (from £10 in advance) 15 min to Paddington Peak fares apply on weekdays from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. From Heathrow, the Piccadilly line is the cheapest way in (about £4–6) but takes about an hour. ## Where to stay for 3 days in London Stay central so you can walk back to your hotel at night. Covent Garden and the Strand put Westminster, the West End and the river within 20 minutes on foot; our sample trip stays at the Strand Palace Hotel. Bloomsbury is quieter and next to the British Museum. The South Bank and Southwark are good for the river and Borough Market. ## Before you go Visitors who don’t need a visa, including EU (except Irish), US and Japanese citizens, now need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) to enter the UK: it costs £20 and lasts two years (or until your passport expires), and you apply on gov.uk or in the official UK ETA app. Airlines check it at check-in. Book the Abbey, the London Eye and any show a few days ahead. In Traypass, bookings like these become tasks with a date, listed before departure next to the ETA and the online check-in for your flight. In November, expect highs of about 11°C (52°F) and rain on one day in three, so pack a rain jacket, a warm layer and comfortable walking shoes. The Traypass [packing list](/packing-list) adds a UK (type G) plug adapter for you. ![Traypass 24 days before a London trip: the run-up with four tasks, “Apply for the UK ETA”, “Book Westminster Abbey”, “Book the West End show” and “Online check-in IB 3170”, then the departure on Sunday, November 15](/_astro/ldn-prep-front.D5JP7_Vl_23NPlG.webp) ## Your three days in the app Add your flights and hotel to a trip and Traypass lays them out in order, with each day planned stop by stop. The [itinerary planner](/itinerary-planner) builds the days with you, and the Today screen shows the next stop and how to get there. ## Questions people ask ### Is 3 days in London enough? Yes, for the sights most people come for, if you group them by area so you don't cross the city twice a day: Westminster, the Tower and Bankside, the British Museum and South Kensington. A fourth day leaves time for Greenwich, Camden or a day trip. ### What is the best order for 3 days in London? Westminster on the first day, the Tower of London and the river on the second and the museums on the third. The Abbey and the Tower both draw queues from late morning, so put each at the start of its day. ### When is the Changing of the Guard in November? At 11:00 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in October and November 2026, with a parade at 10:00 a.m. on most Sundays. It can be canceled in heavy rain, so check the Household Division's calendar that morning. ### How much does the Tube cost per day? With a contactless card or Oyster, a single journey in zone 1 is £3.00 to £3.10, and you never pay more than £8.90 a day in zones 1–2. Use the same card for every journey and the cap applies automatically. ### Do I need an ETA to visit London? Yes, if you travel on an EU (except Irish), US or Japanese passport, among others: the UK's electronic travel authorisation costs £20 and lasts two years (or until your passport expires), and you apply on gov.uk or in the official UK ETA app. Airlines check it at check-in. --- Plan this trip in Traypass. Free to plan a trip, pack it and share it. iPhone, iOS 26. https://apps.apple.com/app/id6806640640