Maria Elena Pueyo Ruiz

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.

Explore The West End

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Latest Stories from The West End

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout The West End.

  • Church

    Westminster Abbey

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

  • Museum

    British Museum

    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,…

  • Gallery

    National Gallery

    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…

  • Historic Building

    Houses of Parliament

    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…

  • Museum

    Sir John Soane's Museum

    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…

  • Square

    Trafalgar Square

    Opened to the public in 1844, Trafalgar Sq is the true centre of London, where rallies and marches take place, tens of thousands of revellers usher in the…

  • Gallery

    Tate Britain

    On the site of the former Millbank Penitentiary, the older and more venerable of the two Tate siblings opened in 1892 and celebrates British art from 1500…

  • Gallery

    Royal Academy of Arts

    Britain’s oldest society devoted to fine arts was founded in 1768 and moved here to Burlington House a century later. For its 250th birthday in 2018, the…

  • Palace

    Buckingham Palace

    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…

  • Gallery

    National Portrait Gallery

    What makes the National Portrait Gallery so compelling is its familiarity; in many cases, you will have heard of the subject (royals, scientists,…

  • Museum

    Madame Tussauds

    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…

  • Gallery

    Wallace Collection

    Arguably London’s finest smaller gallery, the Wallace Collection is an enthralling glimpse into 18th-century aristocratic life. The sumptuously restored…

  • Church

    Temple Church

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

  • Museum

    Churchill War Rooms

    Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill helped coordinate the Allied resistance against Nazi Germany on a Bakelite telephone from this underground complex…

  • Historic Building

    Somerset House

    Designed in 1775 for government departments and royal societies – perhaps the world's first office block – Somerset House now contains galleries,…

  • Church

    St James’s Piccadilly

    The only church (1684) Christopher Wren built from scratch and one of a handful established on a new site (most of the other London churches are…

  • Museum

    London Transport Museum

    Housed in Covent Garden's former flower-market building, this captivating museum looks at how London developed as a result of better transport. It's…

  • Church

    Westminster Cathedral

    With its distinctive candy-striped red-brick and white-stone tower features, John Francis Bentley’s 19th-century Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, the…

  • Area

    Soho

    In a district that was once pastureland, the name Soho is thought to have evolved from a hunting cry. While the centre of London nightlife has shifted…

  • Landmark

    Covent Garden Piazza

    London’s wholesale fruit-and-vegetable market until 1974 is now mostly the preserve of visitors, who flock here to shop among the quaint Italian-style…

Top experiences

Whether it’s a guided tour of a historic landmark, private tasting of local delicacies, or an off-road adventure — explore the best experiences in The West End.