11 best things to do in London

Beyond the London Eye, Tower of London, and Buckingham Palace, London has a long list of bygone treasures certain to pique the interest of every type of traveler. Deciding the best things to do and see can be a daunting task, but we’re making it a little easier for you. Here’s are the top things to do in London, specifically not-to-be-missed experiences that make the city so enticing

Explore history and drama at the Sir John Soane’s Museum

Before the streaming TV series “Bridgerton”, there was Sir John Soane’s Museum, a Regency townhouse preserved much how the namesake architect left it in 1837. A classics nut and passionate collector, Soane furnished every square inch with art, antiquités and his own remarkable drawings. Visitors shouldn’t leave without seeing the portrait of Nora Brickenden hanging in his dressing room. “Soane, always susceptible to flattery and attention from women, was superficially ensnared by the impressionable vicar's daughter from Hereford,” says Gillian Darley, historian and author of the biography, “John Soane: An Accidental Romantic”. The famous architect and Brickenden were spotted together in 1813, while Soane’s wife Eliza was away in the country. To learn how it panned out, take the Highlights tour, offered daily at noon. 

Find your tribe in Hampstead Heath

Few wanderers would consider jumping in a beech-shaded pond in a wild, secluded corner of Hampstead Heath. And yet for a century, artists, poets, musicians and LGBTQ+ Londoners have bonded in the chilly depths of the Kenwood Ladies’ Bathing Pond – Europe’s only natural swimming pond for women. “Swimming here through the year provides an extraordinary connection with the changing seasons,” says Nicky Mayhew, a longtime wild swimmer from Hampstead. “For many of us, it’s a form of meditation.” Its purity and body-positivity have even inspired some regulars to wax lyrical for the essay collection At the Pond. 

Embark on a sailing adventure to Little Venice

A willow-shaded sanctuary for waterfowl and hobby fishermen, the Regent’s Canal was a major thoroughfare when it opened 200 years ago as a shortcut to the Thames. And the leafy pedestrian towpath was trod by ponies hauling merchant narrowboats. “You can still spot evidence of a 1874 explosion under Macclesfield Bridge, caused by a boat carrying gunpowder and leaking petrol fumes,” says Martin Sach, chair of the London Canal Museum. His bucolic narrowboat cruises depart Fridays from the museum’s charming location in a former icehouse and sail to the residential enclave of Little Venice, passing the bridge en route.  

Flex your cycling skills on this Olympic track

To Londoners, it’s known as “The Pringle” because of its potato-chip shape. However, the Lee Valley VeloPark, built for the 2012 Olympic Games, is a serious landmark, designed with input from gold-medal Olympian Chris Hoy to be efficient and lightweight, like a racing bike. Since then, welcoming cyclists of all levels has been part of the neighborhood mandate, building on what’s become a major cultural quarter. Newcomers can learn BMX or mountain bike skills, or race on the undulating course with high-end rental bikes. Entry fees are subsidized, so you may be able to stretch your budget to include a swim at the Aquatics Centre. 

Satiate your hunger for authentic curry

In London, some curry houses serve only English-invented dishes such as tikka masala. Others are suitable only after the pub, and a few greats have earned lifelong fans. “I’ve been going to Rasa since I was a kid – and, more importantly, when I used to be vegetarian,” says Leonie Cooper, food and drink editor of “Time Out London”. The hot pink-painted shoebox on Stoke Newington Church Street serves dishes from India’s Kerala region – creamy, meatless, and refreshingly light, according to Cooper. “For the bagar baingan, aubergines are made into a paste before being mixed with yogurt and a cashew sauce. Deeply savory.” Those who try it will never eat tikka again. 

Explore a secret tropical garden

Most people wouldn’t expect to see a Victorian greenhouse in Brutalist landmark like the Barbican Centre. In fact you won’t see it at all unless you bypass the concert hall, theatres, art galleries and Champagne bar for the massive top-floor Conservatory with its 1,500 tropical plants. A new mission to “activate” the space for contemporary art has spurred artists to experiment. “Installations across the greenhouse encourage people to spend time, slow down, observe,” says Shanay Jhaveri, Barbican’s head of visual arts. Open Friday evenings and Sundays only, it’s still something of a secret – and a weather-proof alternative to Kew Gardens. 

Uncover a classic pub’s hidden history 

While lesser pubs close their doors, Ye Olde Mitre thrives, serving cozy Elizabethan lore alongside Kent Golding Bitter, a local malt drawn from ancient wood casks. If you’re lucky enough to find its narrow passage marked 1546, you’ll pass the fossilized cherry tree a certain Virgin Queen danced around. “There’s a sense of magic in its concealed location,” says John Warland, a pub maven who gave it star billing in his book “Hidden Pubs of London”. “People love being in on the secret.” The landlady lives above the shop and makes certain all feel welcome… for the price of a pint. But plan well because the Mitre closes on weekends. 

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Let them entertain you at Cockatoo cabaret

East End celebs popped in regularly for garlic-caramel roast chicken after the ‘industrial chic’ Bistrotheque opened in 2004. But the Cockatoo piano bar downstairs might be its most dazzling legacy, making stars of cabaret queens like Robyn Herfellow, who insists, “It’s chic, but the place doesn’t forget its roots – the crockery is clean but the cabaret can still get pretty filthy.”

According to new headliner Don One, “You always get a few people who are new to seeing drag kings, and it feels like a great opportunity to introduce them to something new. As a singer who incorporates comedy into my performance, I move around the space interacting with the crowd, and everyone loves me.” 

Climb the sacred dome of a famous cathedral

If anything can top the view of St. Paul’s enchanting dome, it’s the so-called BBC view from the third-floor triforium, where the press filmed Charles and Di’s wedding. The Triforium Tour leads up a floating spiral staircase into the depths of the dome. “There’s a door you can pop your head out, step out onto the balcony, and look up – and you’re right underneath the mosaics, glittering in the light,” says Sandra Lynes Timbrel, director of visitor engagement. It continues into a library that features the first English-language bible, then to the nave: “That’s the money shot,” says Lynes Timbrel. From this unique vantage point, visitors get a sweeping view of the cathedral high above the people below. Architect Christopher Wren’s original scale model is located here, too. “It’s a bit of a squeeze to walk inside, but it draws an audible gasp when people walk in the room. David Bowie came in the last year of his life just to see it.”

Walk down to Electric Avenue

Brixton commuters get an eyeful of art as soon as they reach the train platform, where bronze statues, created in 1986, immortalize eight local residents. “They were the earliest identifiably Black portraits in England,” says Kelly Foster, a longtime guide and fifth-generation resident of this Afro-Caribbean community. While her walks cover heritage highlights, like oral histories and activist art from the Black Cultural Archives, she’s also an authority on Jamaican delights. Through Electric Avenue – yes, that Electric Avenue – you’ll find Etta’s Seafood, “where you can choose what fish Etta cooks for you.” Carry on to The Effra Hall Tavern – it has a great jazz session on Thursdays, a cross between Jamaican and be-bop that originated in 1960s London. 

Catch a free show on the South Bank

From afar, the Brutalist landmarks known collectively as the South Bank might seem foreboding. Only when you stroll past them on the promenade do you understand what the hype is really all about. Street jazz, performance art, madcap skateboarders, an interactive water feature designed by artist Jeppe Hein, and the year-long calendar of free events guarantee no dull moments are had on this bend in the Thames. High points are the toddy-fueled Winter Festival and June’s Meltdown, when a chosen artist (Chaka Khan, Grace Jones, David Byrne) curates a 10-day live music spectacle.

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