After spending four days in London this past month, I wanted to share a list of London travel recommendations.

Below, you will find a quick travel guide to London and my recommendations hotels, restaurants we enjoyed, museums to visit, shops with adorable children’s clothing, and more!

Of course, I am NO London expert so there are certainly countless other travel guides that might be more helpful but nonetheless, I hope these suggestions might be a great jumping off point as you start to plan your trip.

Where to Stay:

• The Stafford Hotel – 16-18 St James’s Pl, St. James’s, London SW1A 1NJ. This is where we stayed on our April 2023 trip and had a lovely stay! We appreciated the smaller boutique size of the hotel, how the location felt tucked away but also convenient general location, the service, the fun bar and all our meals.
• Firmdale Hotels – various locations. We have stayed at these beautiful hotels on past London trips and they are lovely! Each of the hotels are designed by Kit Kemp, so all the bedrooms are beautiful!

Activities: 

• Sir John Soane Museum – Our friend, Lilse McKenna, suggested that we take the guided tour, so we did just that and I am so glad we did! The tour was really informative and you get to see rooms/spaces in the home you cant see if you visit the museum on your own.
• Kensington Palace – We went on a tour of the Crown to Couture exhibit and truthfully I can’t rave about the exhibit (it just was a bit odd) but we did enjoy seeing the property as a whole. 
• Buckingham Palace – Guided tours are only available during specific weeks throughout the year. So we were not able to go on a tour during this April 2023 visit but we did go on a tour during a previous trip and enjoyed it! 
• The Wallace Collection – this came highly recommended as a nice smaller museum (it could perhaps be compared to The Frick.) 

Children’s Shops: 

• La Coqueta – 61 Ledbury Rd, London W11 2AA.
• Pepa & Co– 40 Elizabeth St, London SW1W 9NZ. (Afterward, pop into Poilane,a great French bakery that is right down the street.) 
• Trotters– 34 King’s Rd, London SW3 4UD.
• Dragons of Walton Street – 150 Walton St, London SW3 2JJ. (Note, this physical shop is currently closed but wanted to include as it is a fun brand!)
• Blue Almonds – 166 Walton St, London SW3 2JL.
• Amaia Kids – 14 Cale St, London SW3 3QU.
• Il Porticciolo– by appointment only. 123 Sydney St, London SW3 6NR.
• Hamley’s Toy Store  – 188-196 Regent St., London W1B 5BT.

Decor Shops: 

• Wicklewood – 13 Stratford Rd, London W8 6RF.
• Summerill & Bishop – two locations. 100 Portland Rd, London W11 4LQ and 58 Elizabeth Street, London, SW1W 9PB.
• Villa Bologna Pottery – 102 Portland Road, London W11 4LX (right across the street from Summerill)
• Monogrammed Linen Shop –  158 Walton St, London SW3 2JL.
• Trove by Studio Duggan – 99 Golborne Rd, London W10 5N.
• Choose Keeping  – 21 Tower St, London WC2H 9NS.
• Pentreath & Hall – 17 Rugby St, London WC1N 3QT.
• Penny Morrison– 9 Langton St, London SW10 0JL.

Fashion + More: 

• Anya Hindmarch ‘The Village’ – 17, 15 Pont St, London SW1X 9EH.
• Matches – various locations, we went to the Mayfair location (5 Carlos Pl, London W1K 3AP.)
• Selfridges – 400 Oxford St, London W1A 1AB.
• Smythson – various locations 
• Harrods – 87-135 Brompton Rd, London SW1X 7XL.
• Liberty of London – Regent St., Carnaby, London W1B 5AH.
• Fortnum & Mason – 181 Piccadilly, St. James’s, London W1A 1ER.

Restaurants: 

• Chiltern Firehouse – 1 Chiltern St, London W1U 7PA.
• The Ivy Chelsea Garden – 195 197 King’s Rd, London SW3 5EQ.
• Daphne’s – 112 Draycott Ave, London SW3 3AE.
• Sessions Arts Club  – 24 Clerkenwell Grn, London EC1R 0NA.
• Granger & Co – various locations – fun for breakfast / brunch!
• Margot – 45 Great Queen St, London WC2B 5TD. (We went here for lunch after going to Sir John Soane Museum.)
• The Dorchester – 53 Park Ln, London W1K 1QA – a great spot for a traditional afternoon high tea!
• American Bar – at The Stafford Hotel – 16-18 St James’s Pl, London SW1A 1NJ.