If you love the idea of exploring London’s landmarks, catching a jaw-dropping West End show or sampling its diverse cuisine, you might have placed London at the top of your travel bucket list.
Like any big city, there are great and bad times to visit the English capital, and you might need to learn more about the city to pinpoint the correct moment to visit the Big Smoke.
Don’t look back on the city break with regrets and choose the best time to visit London.
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Some of the most popular tours in London:
Avoid Seasonal Events and Bank Holidays
Unless you have your heart set on visiting London during Christmas, Easter, or Halloween, you’d be wise to avoid London during seasonal events and bank holidays. Otherwise, you might pay a substantial sum for flights, accommodation, and event tickets.
However, you could always browse the next good deals to stay in London to save money throughout the year, even during peak periods.
It will stretch your travel budget further, ensuring you have more money to spend on food, public transport, and shopping in the capital’s best stores.
Skip Crowds by Visiting Off-Season
As London is popular with local and international tourists, you can expect crowds at any point in the year. However, if you want to avoid long queues and much hustle and bustle, consider travelling to the English capital off-season, which is between January to April and September to November.
Bear in mind, off-season periods are more likely to have rainier days than during peak seasons. For instance, June to August is often busier in London due to higher temperatures. However, it might help to know that the English capital is one of the driest cities in Britain.
If you love the chaos of city life, you might revel in London’s atmosphere during its busy months of August and December. Also, Christmas tends to be the most popular month to visit London due to the shopping, shows, Christmas lights and winter markets, which might help you fall further in love with the city.
Travel During Summer for Sports
If you are a huge sports fan, summer is the best time to visit London, but you’ll need to buy event tickets as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
It’s a must-visit season for tennis fans, as Wimbledon typically starts in July, allowing you to watch the best players in action on the historic courts.
Also, horse racing fans will never forget a trip to Royal Ascot, which offers exciting races, plenty of Pimms, and many celebrity spotting opportunities, which may even include King Charles III.
There is never a wrong time to visit London, but there are seasons that might better suit your specific needs.
For instance, if you are happy to bask in the sunshine and absorb the hustle and bustle of city life, summer might be a perfect time to visit.
Before you book a trip, you would be wise to check the capital’s calendar for events, public holidays, and typical temperatures to ensure you travel at the best time for your budget and preferences.
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- Book Your Flight Find deals on airlines on my favorite search engine: Skyscanner. Be sure to read my How to find cheap flights article.
- Rent A Car Rental Cars is a great site for comparing car prices to find the best deal.
- Book Accommodation Booking.com is my favorite hotel search engine. But Hotels.com and Hilton Hotels have very interesting reward programs.
- Protect Your Trip Don’t forget travel insurance! I always use World Nomads for short-term trips and SafetyWing for long-term ones. Find out why Travel Insurance: Much More Than a Precaution, a Necessity.
- Book Tours in Advance Book unforgettable experiences and skip-the-line tickets with GetYourGuide or Viator .
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- Luggage Solutions Rent your luggage with Cargo or if you need to drop off your own luggage and enjoy your time without dragging it all over a city, find a LuggageHero shop here.
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- Packing Guide Check out my How to Pack a Carry-on Luggage For a Five-month Trip to help you start packing for your trip. Don’t forget your camera, chargers and other useful travel accessories. World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers in over 100 countries. As an affiliate, we receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is information only and not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.