Searching for some real non-touristy things to do in London? Here’s a local’s guide to the fun and authentic London experiences that locals enjoy everyday. Add these to your itinerary and you’ll save some money and feel like you live here. Bookmark this post and enjoy your next visit to the UK’s capital city like a Londoner. Updated 2025
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Use the London buses
The London Underground (the Tube) is the most obvious way to get around the capital – perhaps because of its simple diagrammatic map. But London’s iconic red buses are a cheap and efficient way to cross town and see the sights at the same time. Londoners use them every day so this is one of the most non-touristy things to do in London.
Many visitors think buses are ‘difficult ‘and so miss out on the chance to experience London transport the way Londoners do. But in some parts of central London a bus is best! The Transport for London website shows bus timetables and leisure routes that take in popular London sights. You can use Google maps to find a bus to your destination. But Londoners like the Citymapper app which makes it easy to find the quickest way from A to B and tells you when the next bus is due. Displays inside the buses track the route so you know when to get off too.
Hop on the No. 11 in the Strand and it will take you past Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey and out through Belgravia to the chic streets of Chelsea, all for less than £2 a ride. The best views are on the top deck!
Alternatively book a tour in an open-topped classic London Routemaster bus .
Cross Tower Bridge on foot
Tower Bridge is the grandest of the London bridges. It’s a bascule-operated roadway that opens to let tall ships pass up or down the Thames. And it was a symbol of the London Olympics in 2012 that was beamed around the world. Not only is it stunning in its own right but it stands right next to another London icon, The Tower of London.
You can simply cross Tower Bridge for free on the pavements that flank the road. The view up and down the Thames river is spectacular and it’s an everyday London experience for thousands of commuters.
Londoners and river users also know that the bridge lifts regularly, often several times a day. This makes for a great photo opportunity so don’t miss out – check here and you’ll find the schedule for bridge lifts during your stay.
For an even better view of London plus some interesting local history, it’s worth paying to enter the Tower Bridge exhibition. This includes the opportunity to cross the bridge on the walkway, 42 metres above the river. You’ll spot famous landmarks and even get a bird’s eye view through a section of glass floor panels.
In this part of town you can also explore the sights south of the river. Follow the riverside walk to the west, passing London Bridge to the Tate Modern gallery, Shakespeare’s Globe theatre and Borough Market with its street food stalls. This Bankside district is very popular with Londoners and you’ll find lots of restaurants, bars and cafes here.
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Enjoy a proper cup of tea
Afternoon tea is a uniquely British affair. It was invented in the 1840s by Anna, the Duchess of Bedford. We can all identify with the urge for a snack around 4pm and we have Anna to thank for doing something about it. She invited her friends to join her for refreshments in the afternoon. It soon became a fashionable social event in London drawing rooms and an excuse for ladies to dress up in their best gowns and hats.
Nowadays it seems that every hotel and cafe in central London has jumped on the bandwagon. Some are excellent, some are extremely expensive, depending on the location.
Londoners don’t make a habit of having afternoon tea anymore, except for special occasions. But quite a lot of us still make tea in a teapot, and it is this very British ritual which is part of the fun of afternoon tea, whether you’re sitting in a local cafe or living it up in the Ritz.
Where to try afternoon tea
The Rubens at the Palace hotel, is, as the name suggests, handy for Buckingham Palace. It also does an elegant afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and pretty pastries. It gets excellent reviews. Click here to book the Rubens afternoon tea with an optional champagne upgrade.
For an indulgent treat I love afternoon tea at the Hotel Cafe Royal on Regent Street. It’s welcoming, intimate and luxurious at the same time. You’ll want to dress up to match the gilded and mirrored Oscar Wilde Lounge, named after the playwright who once held court there.
For less of a splurge, Ivy Collection has a group of all-day brasseries across London most of which offer cream teas or afternoon teas. They combine all the trimmings of tea pots and cake stands along with smart service and very decorative surroundings for a reasonable price.
Many of London’s free museums also offer afternoon tea. At the British Museum it is served in the restaurant under the fabulous sweeping ceiling of the Great Court. Or visit the three historic cafe rooms at the Victoria and Albert museum in Kensington. They’re the perfect place to take tea and cake in a piece of living history.
See the King’s Guards without the crowds
Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace is one of the top tourist sights in London. And even though I’ve lived in London most of my life, I still enjoy catching sight of the marching bands and parading soldiers on horseback whenever I’m in the right part of town.
However it involves a lot of waiting to get a good view at the Palace gates, especially in peak season. So instead position yourself en route to watch the Guards approach or leave the Palace. At Wellington Barracks, St James’s Palace or along The Mall you can watch the marching bands or mounted Guards pass by. You can also see changing of the guard at Horseguard’s Parade. Check the official website here for more details.
Or, to be sure you don’t miss the best bits of this colourful, traditional ceremony, click here to book a walking tour that keeps pace with the soldiers as they march down The Mall.
And don’t go shopping at Oxford Circus….
Or rather, branch out into the adjoining streets. London has some of the best shopping in the world. But Londoners have a love/hate relationship with the area around Oxford Circus. It’s always busy and is packed with chain stores as well as tatty souvenirs. But this area is also home to the shops we love!
Step away from the hustle of Oxford Street and just a short walk along Regent Street is the beautiful black and white timbered storefront of up-scale Liberty. I love its Arts and Crafts interior and imaginative edit of furniture, rugs and accessories.
Department stores are your best bet on Oxford Street. A ten minute walk to the west will bring you to grand dame, Selfridges, with its world-class fashion and beauty floors. Or pop into the John Lewis flagship store, a true London experience and locals’ stand-by for stylish, reliable homewares, fabric, fashion, school uniform – well, everything!
With Oxford Circus as a base you can stroll along to Bond Street’s exclusive ateliers, head south down Regent Street to the hip independent stores of Soho. Or search out St Christopher’s Place for chic shops and restaurants.
Visit a London pub
The first inns arrived in Britain with the Romans. The British pub or ‘public house’ has been going strong ever since and for centuries has been licensed to sell beer and other alcoholic drinks. Popping into the pub for a ‘swift half’ (half a pint of beer or lager) is still a regular London experience for many office workers before the homebound commute. And a pint in a cosy pub is a quintessential London experience, especially on a London winter night.
London has literally hundreds of pubs and some are so old that Charles Dickens, even William Shakespeare, may have drunk there. For a glimpse of a real Victorian era pub take a look at the highly ornate Princess Louise in Holborn. Or enjoy the grand interiors of The Punchbowl in Farm Street, Mayfair.
A pub is also a good place to try traditional London food like bangers (sausage) and mash, pies or fish and chips.
Or better still, pick a pub that gets great reviews for its Sunday roast lunch. It’ll be packed with Londoners! You’ll find menus from basic to gourmet at pubs around the capital. And step away from the key tourist haunts to avoid inflated prices. Sunday lunch in a pub is one of the best non-touristy things to do in London on a rainy Sunday!
Catch a River Bus along the Thames
Thames Clipper runs a regular river bus service back and forth along the Thames between Barking in the east to Battersea or Putney in the west. You’ll spot the piers along the river sides where you can catch a boat. Commuters use the boats just as much as visitors and it’s a scenic way to get from A to B at an everyday price. Find out more about the river buses here.
See World-class Art for free
London’s museums and galleries are some of the best in the world. Whatever your interests you’ll find a collection that catches your attention and even better, you can visit more than 20 of London’s museums (including the most famous) for free.
From the mighty British Museum in Bloomsbury to more secret spots like the mysterious Roman Mithraeum in the City or the Wallace Collection in Marylebone, you’ll find plenty of locals as well as visitors in the free museums in London. Without the pressure of a pricey entry ticket you can pop in for half an hour and see a world-famous artwork or two.
Go for a walk in a London park
No matter where you are in London you’re never far from some mind-calming, leafy, free-access green space. Central London alone has six major parks. You can stroll through beautiful formal gardens, rent a pedalo on a lake, or simply sit on a park bench with an ice-cream.
Best London Parks
Regents Park The one with a zoo (although that does have a separate entrance fee) and bounded to the north by the Regent’s canal. See more than 12,000 roses in Queen Mary’s Gardens in early June, or hire a rowing boat on the lake.
Hyde Park One of the largest of the Royal Parks is also in the heart of London. Along with Green Park it is a venue for the Royal Gun Salutes on official occasions like the King’s birthday. You won’t always happen across the King’s Troop at full pelt, but don’t miss it if your visit coincides! It’s a little known ceremony full of pageantry and excitement as the Royal Horse Artillery gallop across the park and back to deliver the guns for the salute.
Kensington Gardens My favourite London park and home to Kensington Palace, the imaginative Princess Diana memorial playground, the Serpentine Gallery and the statue of J M Barrie’s Peter Pan. It lies to the west and adjoins Hyde Park.
Holland Park Visit for its Japanese Kyoto garden, the peacocks and open-air theatre in the summer.
St James Park Catch glimpses of the traditional comings and goings of the mounted Guard as they ride up and down the Mall for the Changing the Guard ceremony. You can hire stripy deckchairs too.
Battersea Park South of the river from Chelsea, this is very much a local’s park and a favourite of mine. Check out Pear Tree Cafe by the boating lake, which is a great place for coffee or pizza on a sunny weekday and a very non-touristy thing to do in London. It does get busy with locals on summer weekends though, especially when there’s live music.
Enjoy a free view of London
The Sky Garden was a bit of a London secret when it first opened – but this is no longer the case. However, you can still get free grandstand views of London: the Thames, St Pauls and the Tower of London as long as you book 2 or 3 weeks in advance. The Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street is on the 35th to 37th floors at the top of the building nicknamed the walkie talkie, thanks to its peculiar shape.
Aim to go early to avoid the crowds or, to side step the advance booking altogether, reserve a table for breakfast, lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants. Obviously it stops being free when you do this – but it’s an alternative to the London Eye or Shard viewing platform.
You can enjoy another free view, loved by Londoners, from Primrose Hill. This is a particularly non-touristy thing to do in London and you’ll be sharing the hillside with locals from this upmarket neighbourhood. Primrose Hill is a Grade 2 listed park and the top of the hill has one of the six protected viewpoints in London across Regent’s Park and out to the city skyline.
Browse the market stalls at Portobello or Brick Lane
London’s famous markets are vibrant, colourful affairs much loved by film makers. In West London, Portobello road market became world renowned after Hugh Grant took a stroll through the stalls in Notting Hill. Visit it for quirky gifts and antiques as well as a delicious variety of places to eat. Saturday is the busiest when the Antiques Arcades are open, Friday is good for vintage clothing and accessories.
For lots more vintage market finds as well as global food stalls, street art and fun independent shops head to Brick Lane and Columbia Road at the weekends. This popular East London zone is where locals come to browse and meet friends. Take the Tube to Aldgate East and then walk up Brick Lane from Whitechapel High Street.
Check out London’s Coolest Neighbourhoods
New generations adopt new cool areas. Chelsea and Kensington were hip back in the 1960s, but nowadays are more luxury than arty. Today the coolest neighbourhoods in London are to the East as the new generations have pushed out from the centre of London in search of cheaper rents and warehouse spaces.
Hackney Wick with its canalside location, Dalston, Clapton and Walthamstow are all artsy areas to explore. You’ll find indie stores, drip coffee, craft beer, galleries and thrift shops aplenty. Shoreditch is the place for nightlife. These are all non-touristy London neighbourhoods that’ll give you a taste of what it’s like to live here.
Explore London’s villages
If you have a half day to spare you might like to hop onto a train or tube and visit one of London’s suburban neighbourhoods. This is a particularly non-touristy thing to do in London and will show you a different side of London life.
Some of London’s villages are worth a day trip in their own right. In many cases they are centuries old and have grown and prospered around the edge of the metropolis.
North London Villages
Hampstead in North London has lovely urban lanes to explore with enviable period houses and pubs. Plus it has Hampstead Heath, 800 acres of woodland and meadows with swimming ponds and wonderful views from Parliament Hill.
On the other side of the Heath is Highgate Village where you’ll find pretty historic buildings, lovely Waterlow Park and Highgate Cemetery, the resting place of Karl Marx.
Or, even closer to central London, pay a visit to Little Venice. This pretty canalside district has waterside cafes and pubs, houseboats and Regency villas and you can walk or take a narrowboat trip from here to Camden Town.
South London Villages
Richmond to the south overlooks the river Thames. On a sunny day you could have lunch at a waterside pub like The White Cross. Afterwards go for a walk in Henry VIII’s Richmond Park where deer still roam the 2500 acres.
Or instead go to neighbouring Kew Gardens, a 300 acre botanical garden and UNESCO world heritage site. Explore the Victorian glass houses, climb the Chinese Pagoda or take a walking tour as an introduction to the vast collections of plants and trees. If you visit in November or December don’t miss the chance to see the Christmas at Kew evening light trail – a magical walk through the gardens with over a million lights twinkling around you.
Tennis enthusiasts will know all about Wimbledon, home of the Championships, the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. But Wimbledon village in south west London is worth a visit all year round. Browse the pretty boutiques, visit a cafe, have a drink at one of the pubs – you could even stay the night – then set off along the leafy pathways to walk or picnic on the Common. This huge stretch of public land has woods, ponds, a cafe and even a historic windmill to visit.
If you don’t have time to explore further afield, areas like Mayfair, Soho, Islington and Notting Hill still have a ‘village’ feel. Take a guidebook – or a guided tour – to dig deeper into the rich history of these centuries old communities.
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Watch a game of cricket
The rules may be obscure but there’s something quintessentially British about a cricket match. And where better to watch one than Lord’s Cricket Ground, the original home of the game. An all day match might be a bit much if you’ve never watched cricket before. But for a sports fan a T20 or Twenty20 is a shortened version, easier to follow and lots of fun on a summer evening.
There may be a serious air about the rows of business shirted spectators in the Members’ stand but the rest of the crowd is family friendly and relaxed. Cheer for the batsmen when they heroically hit 6s, applaud the bowlers who craftily send the bails flying to take a wicket, then raise a glass of Pimm’s to a fine old British sporting tradition.
Please note that all visitor information here is for guidance only. Please check the venues’ websites for the most up to date information on tickets, entrance requirements, opening times etc.
HERE’S A SELECTION OF LONDON TICKETS AND TOURS FROM GET YOUR GUIDE
What to read next
Visit London in Winter and enjoy it like a Londoner, with fewer crowds and plenty to entertain you.
For more inspiration on things to do in London read our post on 105 Things to Do in London with Teens.
And you must try our Itinerary for 2 Days in London.
Check out some of London’s fabulous free museums.
If you’re planning a visit to Kensington do factor in time for a quick drink or a bite to eat at a local pub.
If you’re looking for a day trip from London, Windsor could be just the ticket! Don’t miss the spectacular and free to visit Windsor Long Walk. Then afterwards stop off for lunch or a drink in an historic Windsor pub.
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