A Quick Guide To London’s Popular Tourist Neighbourhoods

When we were planning our first trip to London, one of the most difficult decisions to make was figuring out and then deciding which neighbourhood to stay in.

Someone said to me “you should stay in Covent Garden, and I would think Great! okay… Now what?

So then how do I get to my must-see attractions from there? Or what kind of restaurants are nearby? I’d have a million questions popping up.

I’m a planner. I like to know what to expect or at the very least have an idea of what I’m doing. So we’ve put together a popular neighbourhood guide that should hopefully help make it a bit easier for you when deciding where to stay in London.

Make sure to read our post A Guide For Your First Trip To London for helpful tips and advice for all about visiting London for the first time.

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*Please note that some of these neighbourhoods do overlap one another. 

For instance, the neighbourhoods of Covent Garden and St.James are located inside the City of Westminster. 

South Bank & Southwark

Hotels

London Marriot Country Hall

Sea Containers London

The Mad Hatter Hotel

The City of London

Hotels

The Vintry & Mercer

You might be interested in reading our post all about our stay at the London hotel: The Vintry & Mercer.

The Ned

Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square

Covent Garden

Hotels

Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street

Covent Garden Hotel

One Aldwych

St. James

Hotels

Conrad London St.James

Sofitel London St. James

Duke London

Westminister

Hotels

Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences

The Royal Horseguards

Hotel 41

Bloomsbury & Regents Park

Hotels

Kimpton Fitzroy London

The Montague On The Gardens

The Academy

Kensington

Hotels

100 Queen’s Gate Hotel London, Curio Collection by Hilton

Baglioni Hotel London

Mercure London Hyde Park

Mayfair

Leicester Square

This is a lively area of London that’s full of restaurants, shopping, and tourist attractions. You’ll find lot’s of shopping here that is targeted to tourists namely a giant Lego Store and huge M n’ M Store.

In this area, you’ll find many big-name chain restaurants such as the Rainforest Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, Bubba Gump’s Shrimp, Planet Hollywood, and TGI Fridays.

Hotels in the area Hotel Indigo London, and the Victory House London

If you are looking for an area dedicated to tourists and love hustle and bustle this is a great area for you! If you like quiet and less “touristy” areas you may want to choose a hotel in a different neighbourhood.

Conclusion

Planning a trip to London (especially your first) is so exciting!

But figuring out which areas of London you’ll want to visit or stay in can be so overwhelming. It will be important to stay somewhere that is convenient and has easy access to transportation such as the tube.

So hopefully, with the help of this guide and maps plus a few other planning tools (such as this –> tube map), you’ll be on your way to planning and having a wonderful holiday in London!

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