London is unusual among major capitals: its flagship museums cost nothing. That changes what tours are for here — the ones worth buying give you access to places you cannot otherwise enter, not commentary on things that are already free.
Worth paying for
The Tower of London. Book ahead; it fills by 11am and the Crown Jewels queue is the bottleneck. The Yeoman Warder tours are included in admission rather than being an extra — the Warders are former senior servicemen who live at the Tower, and the tour is genuinely good.
Two to three hours. Go at opening.
Westminster Abbey. Ticketed, queues long, and worth going inside — a thousand years of coronations and burials in one building. The included audio guide is narrated by an actor and is better than most.
The Houses of Parliament. Underused. Guided and audio tours run when Parliament is not sitting, typically Saturdays and during recesses, and UK residents can arrange free tours through their MP. Far less visited than the Tower.
Churchill War Rooms. The underground bunker preserved as it was left in 1945. Book ahead.
The free list, which is most of the good stuff
All with free general admission:
British Museum — Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures, Egyptian galleries. Free timed slot advisable.
National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, late opening on Fridays.
Natural History Museum and Science Museum, 300 metres apart in South Kensington.
V&A, next door, and the better choice for most adults.
Tate Modern and Tate Britain, linked by a boat along the river.
Special exhibitions are ticketed; permanent collections are not. Attempting the three South Kensington museums in one day is a mistake — pick one, or two at most.
The river
Skip the sightseeing cruises. The Uber Boat by Thames Clippers commuter service covers the same water, accepts contactless at a river fare, and runs between Westminster, the South Bank, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and Greenwich.
It is transport and a river trip simultaneously, and the Greenwich run is the best value hour in London.
Walking tours
London's paid walking tours are among the better ones in Europe, particularly the specialist operators covering Roman London, the Blitz, Jack the Ripper and legal London.
Free tip-based tours also operate, with €10–15 expected. Good for a first-day orientation of Westminster and the City.
Booking summary
| Site | Book | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tower of London | Yes | Paid |
| Westminster Abbey | Yes | Paid |
| London Eye | Yes | Paid |
| Churchill War Rooms | Yes | Paid |
| Parliament | Yes, limited days | Paid |
| All national museums | Free slot advisable | Free |
| West End show | Yes | Paid |
For theatre, the official TKTS booth in Leicester Square sells genuine same-day discounts. The street sellers nearby are not the same thing.
The pass question
The London Pass only pays off at three or more paid attractions a day, every day. Since the flagship museums are free, it largely covers sights many visitors would otherwise skip.
For a typical trip with two or three paid sites in total, individual tickets are cheaper.