London Calling: A 4-Day Itinerary Full of Scones, Shows & Sights

Written By Keri Leigh

Come outta the cupboard, ya boys and girls... London’s calling, and it’s not just about tea. 🫖

If you’re planning a trip to London and want to hit the highlights without losing your mind (or missing out on vegan eats), I got you. 

This 4-day London itinerary is packed with iconic sights, delicious plant-based food, and enough Harry Potter references to make your inner 11-year-old scream.

✨ Before You Go: What to Know About This Itinerary

  • Public Transport: Just tap your phone or credit card when entering the Tube (London’s underground). No need to buy a separate travel card.

  • Navigation: Use Google Maps! It shows Tube routes and tells you which platform to be on. This is a total lifesaver.

  • Hop On/Hop Off Bus: If you’re not comofrtable with taking the Tube, I highly recommend getting tickets for the Hop On/Hop Off Bus! It will take you to all of the sites without the stress or hassle.

  • Flying into Heathrow? The airport is huge, and the walk from the gate to the train station took us 45 minutes. No joke. So if you plan to take the train from the airport into the city – keep that in mind!

  • Vegan Finds: Options will be listed throughout the itinerary—you're in a vegan-friendly city!

  • Walking Shoes: Even though you can take the Tube easily, you will still be walking A LOT. Be sure to bring shoes you can walk in for hours on end!

Overview of Itinerary:

DAY ONE: West End, Theatre & a Splash of Soho

Neals Yard

Estimated Time: 15 - 30 minutes (or longer for shopping)

A hidden courtyard full of colorful buildings, coffee shops, and that “did I just find a secret London garden?” vibe. A quick stroll or photo stop is perfect here.

Piccadilly Circus

Estimated Time: 15 - 30 min

Huge LED screens, red double-decker buses, and enough people-watching to keep you entertained for hours. Think of it like London’s Times Square!

West End

Estimated TIme: 45 min - 1 hour

This is the theater district—packed with historic venues, shops, and restaurants. Even if you’re not seeing a show, it’s worth a wander.

But if you can, you should see a show! 🎭

📝Personal Note: We saw Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It’s a 2-part show from 1PM–8PM with a 1-hour break for food (which was surprisingly easy to manage).

🌱 Vegan Options:

  • Plants by Deliciously Ella

  • KIN Cafe

  • Doughnut Time

  • Mildreds (Soho)

  • Club Mexicana

  • Neat Burger (perfect for a quick bite during intermission)

DAY TWO: Classic London Landmarks + Afternoon Tea

Westminster Abbey

Estimated Time: 2 hours

This is where kings and queens are crowned, and famous folks are buried. It’s stunning and packed with history.

🎟 Book tickets ahead of time!

Big Ben

Estimated TIme: 15 min - 2 hours (if you’re touring the inside)

Big Ben is the iconic clock tower that’s...well, big. Next to it is the UK Parliament, where all the official political drama happens.

You can also go inside Big Ben, but you need tickets ahead of time!

London Eye

Estimated Time: 1.5 hour

A giant Ferris wheel with glass pods giving panoramic views of London. Super chill and surprisingly not terrifying. And it’s also got A/C which is a nice break on a hot day (speaking from experience🥵)

Buckingham Palace

Estimated Time: 30 minutes - 2 hours (if you’re lucky enough to tour the inside)

Home to the royals! Catch the Changing of the Guard if you can, or tour inside if it's the right time of year. 💂

Afternoon Tea with Bus Bridget

A double-decker bus turned rolling tea room. You cruise around the city while sipping tea and nibbling finger sandwiches while jamming out to some classics. And yes—they’ve got vegan options!

This is also a great way to get a break from the heat if you’re there in the summer!

🎟️ Book here

Hyde Park

Estimated Time: 2 hours or longer!

Massive park perfect for a stroll or picnic. Don’t miss the beautiful Diana Memorial at this park to pay your respects to the People’s Princess. 👑

🌱 Vegan Options:

  • Dirty Vegan (Fully Vegan)

  • Solros (Vegetarian)

  • Daily Pot

  • Enjoy Saigon (Vegetarian)

  • Holy Cow

  • Horn of Africa

  • Los Tacos

  • Lovetann Kaffebar

DAY THREE: History, Markets & Muggles

St Paul’s Cathedral

Estimated Time: 1.5 - 3 hours

Stunning cathedral with a massive dome you can climb for epic city views.

There is also a staircase used here in Harry Potter, but I forgot and didn’t go see it.

You can grab the tickets once you’re there and it includes going up to the top to get a view of London! Be wary though as there are a lot of steps and small spaces!

Millennium Bridge

Estimated Time: 15 - 30 minutes

From St. Paul’s Cathedral to your next stop, you will take a pedestrian-only bridge; the Millennium Bridge! Also know as wobbly bridge to locals.

You’ll take a stroll over the Thames River and take in the sites from the bridge!

You may also notice that this bridge was used in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when the Death Eaters attack London!

Shakespeare Globe

Estimated Time: 1 hour

A reconstruction of the original Globe Theatre. You can take a tour and imagine what it was like watching Hamlet with no snacks or air conditioning… or bathroom. Yeah…

Note that the last tour is at 11:30 because of shows in the afternoon/evening! We grabbed tickets once we were here, but you can buy them ahead of time!

Harry Potter Walking Tour (Tour for Muggles)

Estimated Time: 2 hours

We did the Tour for Muggles in London and honestly, it was so much fun. It’s a 2-hour walking tour that takes you to a bunch of Harry Potter filming locations around the city, with a super knowledgeable and fun guide.

Bonus: No money from this tour goes to J.K. Rowling or the official franchise—so if you still love the magic but don’t want to support her personally, this is a great way to engage with the story responsibly.

Here is the tour we used and we took the 2:00pm tour: https://www.tourformuggles.com/

Borough Market

Estimated Time: 1 - 2 hours

London’s most famous food market! Street food, fresh produce, cheese stands, and—yes—plenty of vegan options.

If you take the Tour for Muggles, it ends here so it’s the perfect time to explore and get a little snacky snack!

Tower Bridge

Estimated Time: 30 minutes - 1.5 hours (if you go inside)

Not to be confused with London Bridge (which is… well, much less exciting), Tower Bridge is the gorgeous blue-and-white drawbridge you’ve probably seen in every London postcard. You can walk across for free, but if you want the full experience, grab a ticket to go inside and up to the glass-floor walkway for killer views of the Thames and the city below.

Tower of London

Estimated Time: 2 -3 hours

A medieval fortress with major drama: royal executions, crown jewels, and ghost stories.

🎟 Book your tickets online!

🌱 Vegan Options:

  • Mallow

    • Honestly this place was a lil too bougie for me which I did not expect. I’d go here more so for a nice dinner where i wasnt sweating and wearing a tank top and leggings trying to keep cool while site seeign

  • Unity Diner

  • MukBap

DAY FOUR: Warner Bros. Studio Tour… or Not

If you're a Harry Potter fan, the Warner Bros. Studio Tour is a dream—props, sets, costumes, Butterbeer, the whole magical shebang. It's located just outside the city, but definitely worth the day trip.

There are vegan options at the studio so you can have lunch here and not worry!

Ways to get there:

  • Bus with a tour - round trip and includes the tickets however this does limit the amount of time you spend

    • We took the bus there, but once we got there, we realized how much there was to see and didn’t want to be limited on time, so we took the train back

  • Train

    • You will take the train to Watford

  • Car

    • Although I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re planning on keeping the car to drive to other destinations after this

BUT—if you're someone who’s stepped away from the franchise because of J.K. Rowling’s views, I completely get it. So if you're wanting skipping it for that reason (or you really are just not into HP), here are some alternative ideas:

Other fun Day 4 options:

🎶 Abbey Road

Live your Beatles fantasy. Yes, you’ll have to dodge traffic for that crosswalk pic. Worth it.

🛍 Portobello Road

Charming pastel houses + London’s most famous antique and vintage market. Come for the vibes, stay for the quirky finds.

👑 Windsor Day Trip

Home of Windsor Castle (aka where the royals weekend). No need to book this with a tour if you don’t want — just hop a train, wander, and enjoy!

From here, we continued on to Oxford (which you can read about here).

But whether you're heading home or off on your next adventure, I hope London wowed you like it wowed us.

Safe travels, eat all the scones, and don’t forget to mind the gap!

Catch you next trip! 👋🇬🇧

Keri Leigh
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