London: getting there from five airports, neighbourhoods, admission prices, climate and costs

London is the most visited city in the United Kingdom: VisitBritain counted almost 21 million overnight visits from abroad in 2024, while Edinburgh in 2nd place had around 2.6 million (as of August 2025). The city suits you if you are looking for major museums without admission charges, a dense rail network and World Heritage within the city limits.

The British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern and Natural History Museum charge no admission for their permanent collections. With the historic buildings it is the other way round: the Tower of London costs adults £37, Westminster Abbey £31 (as of September 2026). Four of the UK's 35 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in London, including these two.

For getting around in between there is a cap: the Tube and rail in zones 1 and 2 cost at most £8.90 a day with the same card (as of 2026).

Getting there and from the airport into the city

Around 3.9 million passengers from the main German airports had London as their destination in 2025, which put it in 3rd place among all foreign destinations (Destatis). Just over 2.4 million of them flew to Heathrow, just under 950,000 to Stansted. The rest were spread across Gatwick, London City, Luton and Southend.

Heathrow: Piccadilly line, Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express

Heathrow has three Tube stations: one shared by Terminals 2 and 3, and one each at Terminal 4 and Terminal 5. Fare zone 6 applies to all three. Three rail routes lead into the centre, and they differ mainly in price.

Piccadilly line (Tube): It stops at all terminals and, in the city, at King's Cross St. Pancras, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus, among others. It takes about 50 minutes to the centre, and according to Heathrow you should never have to wait more than ten minutes for a train. As far as Piccadilly Circus you pay £5.90 contactless or with Oyster, £7.00 with a paper ticket (as of September 2026).

According to Heathrow, the line runs from 05:00 to 23:30. On Fridays and Saturdays it runs all night as the Night Tube, six times an hour, though it does not serve Terminal 4 then. In addition, the N9 night bus runs every 30 minutes from Terminal 5 and the Heathrow Central Bus Station into the city.

Elizabeth line: It takes 28 minutes between Heathrow and Paddington. In the city it stops at Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf, among others. All six trains an hour reach Terminals 2 and 3, four of them Terminal 4, and two Terminal 5, at half-hour intervals. From Terminals 2 and 3 the fare to Paddington is £14.60 and to Tottenham Court Road £15.50, at any time of day (as of September 2026). Between the terminals you travel on the Elizabeth line free of charge.

Heathrow Express: The train runs every 15 minutes without an intermediate stop and takes only 15 minutes from Paddington to Terminals 2 and 3, six minutes more to Terminal 5. You reach Terminal 4 with a free change in a further four minutes. The first train leaves Paddington at 04:34 (Sundays 04:55), the last at 23:25. A single in Standard costs £26, in PREMIER+ £32 (as of September 2026).

If you book at least 30 days ahead, a single costs from just £10 per person. Children up to 15 years travel free in Standard with a paying adult. However, the Express does not count towards the TfL daily cap, and Travelcards are not valid on it.

Gatwick, Stansted, London City and Luton at a glance

Peak on these journeys into the city means Monday to Friday from 06:30 to 09:30.

Gatwick: The station is at the South Terminal; a free shuttle takes about two minutes to the North Terminal. Thameslink runs direct to London Bridge, Blackfriars, Farringdon and St Pancras International. Contactless and Oyster are valid between Gatwick and London, but not for destinations south of the airport. If you need to get on to Heathrow, you change from Thameslink to the Elizabeth line at Farringdon and, according to the airport, should allow about an hour and a half.

Stansted: From the terminal to the station below it is a two-minute walk without steps. On the Stansted Express you pay contactless; an Oyster card is not accepted on the journey to the airport and back. The last train from the airport leaves at 00:30.

Luton: The Luton DART shuttles around the clock, taking about four minutes between the station and the terminal. Walking the roughly 1.6 kilometres, including a steep slope, takes about 30 minutes. The Luton Airport Express departs every 30 minutes from the upper level of St Pancras International.

Where to stay: the neighbourhoods compared

The table compares six areas by the lines that stop there and names a drawback where there is evidence for one.

According to Westminster's 2026 analysis (data from 2023 and 2024), the West End core zone covers 0.68 km² and a quarter of all licensed venues in the borough. 40 per cent of the crimes that Westminster recorded between 18:00 and 06:00 happened there. The 2023 study gives details: in the evening, thefts are concentrated in Soho north of Shaftesbury Avenue, for example in Old Compton, Greek and Frith Street. Covent Garden had markedly fewer thefts than Soho, which lies further to the west.

In Shoreditch, crimes and emergency call-outs fell sharply from 2019 to 2022, but crime remained high.

Sights: admission, opening hours and booking

British Museum: free, with a timed-entry ticket

Admission to the permanent collection costs nothing. It is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00, on Fridays until 20:30, and closed from 24 to 26 December (as of September 2026). The museum recommends a free timed-entry ticket, which gives priority at entry when it is busy. Anyone arriving without a ticket is let in depending on how busy it is and has to queue at peak times.

National Gallery: free, entrance on Trafalgar Square

Admission is free; only some special exhibitions charge. It is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, on Fridays until 21:00 (as of September 2026). The main entrance is in the Sainsbury Wing on Trafalgar Square; the cloakroom costs £3 per item.

Tate Modern: free, open until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays

Admission is free here too; for special exhibitions you need a ticket or a membership. It is open Sunday to Thursday from 10:00 to 18:00, Friday and Saturday until 21:00 (as of September 2026). The building is on Bankside, about 600 m from Southwark station (Jubilee line).

Natural History Museum: free, closed on 9 October

Admission is free, and you can book a free ticket in advance. It is open daily from 10:00 to 17:50, last entry 17:30 (as of September 2026). On Friday, 9 October 2026, the museum is closed because of a gala.

Tower of London: £37, quieter in the afternoon

Adults aged 18 to 64 pay £37, those aged 65 and over and students £29.50 (as of September 2026, excluding the voluntary donation). Children aged 5 to 15 and young people aged 16 and 17 pay £18.50 each; under five admission is free. The ticket includes the Crown Jewels, the White Tower, the wall walks and the Bloody Tower, among other things, plus, depending on availability, the Yeoman Warders' tour. During the holidays the operator advises booking online.

It is open Tuesday to Saturday from 09:00 to 17:30, on Sundays and Mondays usually only from 10:00, with last entry at 16:30 (as of September 2026). In November the Tower closes as early as 16:30. It is quieter after midday, and you should allow two to three hours.

Westminster Abbey: £31, services only on Sundays

It is open Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 16:30 (last entry 15:30), on Saturdays from 9:00 to 16:00 (last entry 15:00). On Sundays the church opens only for services (as of September 2026). Adults pay £31, those aged 65 and over and students £28, children aged 6 to 17 £14, younger children nothing. Up to four children aged up to eleven get free admission per parent.

At peak times the Abbey strongly advises booking in advance. Tickets bought online can be converted into an annual pass on site free of charge, which gives you three visits for the price of one. The Abbey has been a World Heritage Site since 1987, together with the Palace of Westminster and St Margaret's Church.

St Paul's Cathedral: £27, 528 steps to the very top

You can visit the cathedral Monday to Saturday from 8:30, with last entry usually at 16:00. The dome galleries open at 9:30, with last entry at 16:15 (as of September 2026). On Sundays until 25 October 2026 only the three dome galleries are accessible.

Adults pay £27, those aged 65 and over and students £24, children aged 6 to 17 £10.50, up to five years it is free. You can reach the galleries only by stairs: 257 steps to the Whispering Gallery, 376 to the Stone Gallery, 528 to the Golden Gallery.

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace: Monday, Wednesday, Friday

The King's Guard is changed at Buckingham Palace on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. According to the Household Division, the ceremony begins at 10:45 and lasts about 45 minutes, while the page header says 11:00 (as of September 2026). If you want a good view, arrive early.

In rain the Changing of the Guard is sometimes cancelled or runs differently, with the decision sometimes made only at 10:45. The Household Division also warns of pickpockets in the area.

Kew Gardens: £25 online, £10 on Tuesdays

The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew have been a World Heritage Site since 2003. From 2 September to 31 October adults pay £25 online, £28 at the ticket office (as of September 2026). Every Tuesday from 8 September to 29 December 2026 admission for adults costs only £10 per person. From November to January the regular price falls to £17 online and £20 at the ticket office.

In September it is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00 (last entry 18:00), from 1 to 24 October 2026 from 10:00 to 18:00. Kew Gardens station in zone 3 is 500 m from Victoria Gate; the District line and Overground stop there.

Maritime Greenwich: Prime Meridian for £24, museum free

Maritime Greenwich has been a World Heritage Site since 1997. At the Royal Observatory you stand on the Prime Meridian; adults pay £24, students £18, children £12, under four years it is free (as of September 2026). In September it is open from 10:00 to 18:00, otherwise until 17:00. Online booking is recommended.

The National Maritime Museum and the Queen's House charge no admission and are open daily from 10:00 to 17:00. For the Cutty Sark adults pay £22 admission (as of September 2026).

Best time to travel: sun, rain and temperatures

The climate figures come from the Met Office, Heathrow weather station, 1991 to 2020 standard period. From May to August the sun shines for more than 200 hours a month on average, longest in July with 218 hours. July and September have the fewest rain days, 7.9 each.

Source of the table: Met Office. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (opens in a new tab).

December is the dullest month with 55 hours of sunshine, and January has the most rain days at 11.5. Frost occurs mainly in December (7.2 days) and January (6.8 days), and not at all from June to September.

If you want to spend a lot of time outdoors, plan between May and September. In September there are also longer opening hours: Kew Gardens until 19:00, the Royal Observatory until 18:00.

Costs: public transport, admission and road charges

On the Tube and rail you hold your card to the reader when entering and when leaving, on buses and trams only when boarding. Anyone who forgets risks the maximum fare. According to TfL, contactless cards, phones and watches work on all TfL services. Peak on the Tube and rail is Monday to Friday from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00, except on public holidays.

The table deliberately does not give hotel, flight or car hire prices; for food and taxis there was no reliable source.

The daily cap applies to journeys from 04:30 until 04:29 the next day. If your stay starts mid-week, say on a Thursday, a 7-day Travelcard can be cheaper according to TfL. For zones 1–2 it costs £44.70 (as of 2026).

Children under eleven travel free on buses and trams, and on the Tube, DLR, Overground and Elizabeth line when accompanied by an adult. This applies to up to four children per adult.

The Visitor Oyster Card is available only before arrival; unused credit of up to £10 is refunded. With cards from abroad, foreign transaction fees may apply.

Practical information: money, time, electricity and emergency calls

Money: You pay in pounds sterling. Banknotes come in £5, £10, £20 and £50, all made of polymer (as of September 2026). Cash is not accepted on London buses; you pay contactless, with Oyster or with a Travelcard.

Time: In winter Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) applies, in summer British Summer Time (BST), which is one hour ahead. In 2026 the clocks go back on 25 October.

Electricity: According to the regulations, the mains voltage is 230 volts at 50 hertz. Plugs and sockets follow the British standard BS 1363, which specifies fused 13-ampere plugs. British appliances have three-pin plugs, and every socket has its own switch, which you have to turn on. Adapters are available at the airport and in shops.

Emergency calls: The numbers are 999 and the Europe-wide 112. Both reach the fire brigade, ambulance service, police and coastguard.

Getting around: Traffic drives on the left in the United Kingdom. The Night Tube runs overnight on Fridays and Saturdays on the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Windrush lines, at off-peak fares.

The current rules on entry, safety and health are set out by the German Foreign Office.

Who London is not for

• If you have to save on admission: the Tower of London £37, Westminster Abbey £31 and St Paul's Cathedral £27 each cost that much per adult (as of September 2026).
• If you are looking for sun and dry days: at Heathrow station it rains on almost 112 days a year, at least 1 mm, and December brings only 55 hours of sunshine.
• If you want to get away from the airport quickly and cheaply: on the day of travel the Heathrow Express costs £26, the Gatwick Express £24, the Stansted Express £21 to £23 contactless.
• If you want a quiet night's sleep in the nightlife district: according to the borough's 2026 analysis, the West End is a hotspot for noise and crime between 18:00 and 06:00. In Shoreditch, according to the 2023 analysis, most crimes happened at night.
• If you want to avoid crowds: Liverpool Street (98.0 million entries and exits) and Waterloo (70.4 million) were the two busiest stations in Britain in 2024/25.
• If you want to visit churches on a Sunday: Westminster Abbey opens on Sundays only for services, and St Paul's then shows only the dome galleries, until 25 October 2026.