London Budget Per Day: How Much Does a Trip Cost? — Trip Planner

What things cost in London

Transport caps at 8.90 pounds a day within zones 1 and 2. A pint in a central pub costs 6 to 8 pounds, more in Mayfair. A meal deal of sandwich, crisps and drink from Boots or Tesco is roughly 4 to 5 pounds and is what much of the city eats at lunch. The major museums cost nothing, so the real ticket budget goes on theatre, where day seats and lotteries beat full price.

What to eat in London

London's food identity is other people's cooking done seriously: Brick Lane and Whitechapel for Bangladeshi curry, Southall and Tooting for South Asian, Chinatown around Gerrard Street, Peckham for West African. Borough Market is genuinely good but priced for visitors. The native claims are a pub Sunday roast, a proper full English, and fish and chips fried in beef dripping. Salt beef beigels on Brick Lane trade 24 hours.

What first-timers get wrong in London

Do not buy a paper travelcard. Tap a contactless card or phone and the daily cap handles it: 8.90 pounds across zones 1 and 2, or 44.70 pounds weekly if you use the same card all week. Tap in and out on the Tube but only in on buses. Stand on the right on escalators. Tipping runs around 10 percent, and many restaurants already add service to the bill.

London with kids, realistically

Nearly every major museum is free and built with children in mind, from the Science Museum's Wonderlab to the Natural History Museum's blue whale and the Horniman's aquarium in Forest Hill. Buses beat the Tube with a pushchair, since all are low-floor, and under-11s travel free on both bus and Tube. Only some Tube stations have step-free access, marked on the map. The Diana Memorial Playground fills an afternoon.

When the weather turns in London

This is the city with the most indoor options per square mile, and rain is simply the default assumption. Beyond the free national museums, the Barbican Conservatory opens on selected days, Leadenhall Market and the Royal Arcade are covered, Sir John Soane's fills a dry hour, and Kew's Temperate House is glass throughout. An umbrella matters less than a hood, because the rain here arrives sideways.

When to go to London

The month to avoid is January — around 8°C (46°F) with roughly 11 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: August is the sweet spot, January the month most people skip.

Pack for peak season: Summer clothes, plus one light layer for air-con and evenings, A packable rain shell or compact umbrella earns its space, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.

Where to base yourself in London

• South Bank — Riverside walk, Tate Modern, the National Theatre, Borough Market.
• Shoreditch — Street art, indie coffee, late-night bars.
• Notting Hill — Pastel houses, Portobello Market on Saturdays.
• Camden — Market, music venues, the alt-culture heart.