If you prefer video content, check out my Instagram story highlights for a video recap.
Hotel Location
The most important thing when planning a short trip to London is location. London is huge, similar to Los Angeles County (if you know you know), so it’s important to stay in a central part of the city. The best area to stay in London is Covent Garden, especially if you’re a first-time visitor.
Covent Garden has London’s top attractions, is closest to the luxury shopping streets, and walking distance to Westminster, Trafalgar Square, Soho and Piccadilly Circus. I made the mistake of booking a hotel in Dorsett City and it turned into a pain hoping in an Uber for 20 minutes every time to head to Covent Garden.
Cost & Expenses
London was semi-expensive. It was American pricing for just about everything, except for Uber which I found it to be cheaper. However, things felt a bit pricier because the exchange rate wasn’t in Americans favor. I found hotels to be the most expensive part of my time there.
Transportation
The best and easiest way around London is to Uber everywhere! Like I said, it’s not as expensive as American Ubers. However, if you stay in the Covent Garden area everything is walking distance, so although you spend more on the hotel, you will cut costs on transportation. The tube i.e., the train system around London is great, but with only 48 hours it made more sense to Uber.
Top Tourist Attractions
With only 48 hours in London, I made sure to see the big-ticket attractions. If you have more time, I recommend getting the London Go City Pass and adding more sights and experiences to your itinerary. The City Pass will list all the highly recommended attractions, doing most of the leg work for you. Attractions I visited:
- Big Ben
- London Eye
- Tower Bridge
- Covent Garden
- Westminster Abbey – where the royal weddings take place
- Buckingham Palace – FYI Google when the changing of the guard’s ceremony occurs
- Bond St – home of luxury shopping, even if you don’t buy anything it is still worth taking a stroll and window shopping, it’s a beautiful area!
Restaurants & Nightlife
I visited London during carnival weekend, and whewwww, it was lit! I spent both nights hopping around the SoHo Houses, all which had carnival themed parties. It was definitely a vibe. The SoHo locations visited were Shoreditch, 180 House, and 40 Greek St. (this one isn’t as impressive but it was the first SoHo house created, so it’s a right of passage to check it out).
Restaurants:
- Array Essex – good food, fusion, hookah & drinks (but far from downtown London)
- Coco London – drinks and lounge!
- Hakkasan
- Amazonico
- Sexy Fish
- Buccocino
Overall, I loved my time in London and can’t wait to return!
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