Looking down Argyll Street to Liberty Department Store, West End.

Geoff Stringer

The West End

Encompassing many of London’s poshest neighbourhoods as well as superlative restaurants, hotels and shops, the West End should be your first port of call. Iconic locations (Trafalgar Sq, Piccadilly Circus), buildings and museums (Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, British Museum), nightlife (Soho), shopping (Oxford St, Covent Garden, New and Old Bond Sts), parks (St James’s Park) and theatres – they are all in the West End.

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Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Westminster Abbey.

    Westminster Abbey

    The West End

    A splendid mixture of architectural styles, Westminster Abbey is considered the finest example of Early English Gothic. It's not merely a beautiful place…

  • Great Court, British Museum, Bloomsbury, London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

    British Museum

    The West End

    With almost six million visitors trooping through its doors annually, the British Museum in Bloomsbury, one of the oldest and finest museums in the world,…

  • Evening Big Ben

    Houses of Parliament

    The West End

    Both the elected House of Commons and the House of Lords, who are appointed or hereditary, sit in the sumptuous Houses of Parliament, officially called…

  • Buckingham Palace in London, United Kingdom.

    Buckingham Palace

    The West End

    Built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, Buckingham Palace replaced St James's Palace as the monarch's official London residence in 1837. Queen Elizabeth…

  • LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 22, 2016: Jamaican runner Usaine Bolt, Madame Tussauds wax museum. It is a major tourist attraction in London; Shutterstock ID 460048255; Your name (First / Last): Claire Naylor; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online-Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: London with kids article

    Madame Tussauds

    The West End

    Packed with waxwork likenesses of celebrities, Madame Tussauds is kitschy and pricey, but makes for a fun-filled day. There are plenty of personalities to…

  • The Temple Church, a late-12th-century church in London, England

    Temple Church

    The West End

    The magnificent Temple Church was built by the secretive Knights Templar, an order of crusading monks founded in the 12th century to protect pilgrims…

  • Public space and tourist attraction

    National Gallery

    The West End

    With more than 2300 European masterpieces in its collection, this is one of the world's great galleries, with seminal works from the 13th to the mid-20th…

  • UNITED KINGDOM - CIRCA 2002: The toilette, by William Hogarth (1697-1764), from the series A rake's progress. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images); London, Sir John Soane'S Museum. (Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images)

    Sir John Soane's Museum

    The West End

    This museum is one of the most atmospheric and fascinating in London. The Georgian building was the beautiful, bewitching home of architect Sir John Soane…

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Articles

Latest stories from The West End

Celebrities West End Braodway - Gwendoline Christie leads the cast of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Bridge Theatre, London. Gwendoline stands in front of the other cast members, posed around a wrought iron bed, in a floor-length, white silk gown © Perou

Art

Celebrities on stage: what and who to see in the West End and Broadway

May 24, 2019 • 5 min read

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Guidebooks

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