48-Hour London Stopover: Essential Activities for Your Visit

Grab some grub at breakfast (60 minutes)

After a good night’s sleep, you’ll be feeling fresh and energized for the day ahead! Chow down on a hearty breakfast and get ready to explore. A great place to eat is within one of London’s trendy little cafe’s on Kings Road. Tom’s Kitchen is a firm favourite, where they’ll serve breakfast no matter what time it is! 🙂

Discover a world-class museum (150 minutes)

London has some of the best (and free) museums in the entire world. Although you won’t be able to see them all, you can certainly choose to visit your very favourite.

My suggestions would be to explore the British Museum, complete with thousands of worldly artifacts from across the world.

Top tip: You’ll need much more than 150 minutes here, so prioritize what you want to see and stick to a plan… you could spend a week in each one!

Watch scientists at work in the Natural History Museum (150 minutes)

You’ve just got to make the most of London’s amazing collections, so I’d suggest quickly popping down to the Natural History Museum to discover some dinosaurs, spot a Dodo (not alive, of course), and even watch scientists at work in their laboratories.

Top tip: If Natural History isn’t your thing, you can pop into the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is literally across the road!

Grab a bite to eat at Duck and Waffle (120 minutes, including 30 minutes travelling time)

By now, you’ll no doubt have worked up an appetite, take the tube straight to Liverpool Street Station, where you’ll head over to Duck and Waffle for, you guessed it, some duck and waffles!

Almost at the top of the skyscraper, Duck and Waffle serves a mighty lunch, all whilst overlooking the expanse that is London!

Top tip: A lunch will cost around £30 but it’s well worth it considering you’d pay almost £30 to go to the top of the Shard! Admittedly higher but certainly not more delicious! 😉

Discover alternative London at Camden Town (150 minutes)

Camden Town is one of the coolest neighbourhoods in London! From its bustling markets, vintage stalls to its alternative music and cultural scene – Camden Town is a must-see area of our city.

See Platform 9¾ at Kings Cross Station (30 minutes)

Harry Potter fans rejoice! After leaving Camden town by tube, make sure to hop-off at Kings Cross Station for a quick photo opportunity at one of the most famous platforms in the entire world!

Head to Shoreditch for an evening of grub, fun and frolics! (240 minutes)

After a long day exploring London, head over to Shoreditch to chill out and relax in one of its many hip bars! You’ll also find a multitude of restaurants that will most definitely take your fancy! Expect lots of music, crowds, and relatively high prices for some of the cooler bars!

See the famous landmarks (240 minutes)

As you’ve got 2 whole days in the city, you can set aside 4 hours to explore some of the cities best known sites. One of the easiest ways I’ve found to do this is by taking a regular TFL London bus (with your Oyster card it’ll cost less than £2!), rather than the tour buses that charge upwards of £30 per person.

Take the 453 bus from Paddington Station, southbound – it’ll pass lots of the ‘major sites’, hop on and off as often as you want, all in the knowledge that you’ll never spend more than £9 with the daily Oyster card cap!

Top tip: Sit on the top deck and watch the city from the front of the bus!

Grab a ‘farm to mouth’ lunch in Notting Hill (120 minutes, including 30 minutes travel time)

After a morning of fun and frolics, hop on board the tube and make your way east to Notting Hill to discover the neighbourhood and grab a bite to eat. One of the best places to stop is Daylesford Organic Farm shop and restaurant where you can eat a whole range of delicious produce that’s grown at their Gloucestershire farm.

See a forgotten Royal palace (150 minutes including 30 minutes travel time)

Most of us will think of Buckingham Palace when we think of places in London but there’s one that all of us should see… Eltham Palace in Greenwich is one place that most of us forget to explore. Head inside to experience one of the Crown Estates only art-deco palaces in the country while discovering a whole new perspective on what a Royal Palace looks like.

Top tip: Take the overground from Central London to Eltham Railway Station, it’s the fastest way to get there.

See St. Paul’s Cathedral (60 minutes, including 30 minutes travel time)

St Paul’s Cathedral stands as one of the city’s most iconic landmarks. Head across the Millennium Bridge (that no longer wobbles) and enjoy a unique perspective of its impressive dome and grand architecture.

Top tip: Payment is required to visit, but if you are religious, you can enter for free for prayer during certain times.

Explore the Whitechapel gallery (90 minutes, including 30 minutes travel time)

One of London’s most iconic galleries, this small space has historically focused on fringe artists that wanted to show some of the best new art from across the world.

They were even one of the first places to showcase the work of Picasso in the UK… way ahead of anywhere else in the world!

Top tip: Make sure to visit in the daylight hours to see the beautiful leaf sculpture that now lines the outside of the building.

Catch some Zzzzz’s (12 hours)

After a long day, sleep soundly and wake up with a hearty breakfast to start your day!

Don’t have enough time? See our 6-hour London Itinerary is below:

Don’t have enough time? See our 24-hour London Itinerary is below:

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