From the Creed boutique in iconic Covent Garden to the trendiest hotels and the most exquisite restaurants, England’s capital city offers an abundance of treasures. Read on to discover the best places to explore in London within a single day.
Dynamic, quirky, inspirational – in the past 25 years England’s capital has hosted the Olympics, two royal jubilees and a change of monarch. Skyscrapers have risen, east of the city is trendy, Soho has gentrified, and the popular new Elizabeth Line train even runs on time (nearly).
Of course, a trip to St James’s Park or an afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason’s (en route to the new Creed boutiques) are still de rigueur but do also check out the award-winning spa at the Corinthia, the cool Connaught bar (as hip as a James Bond set), and for supper, dip into one of the city’s new Michelin-star restaurants, then black cab it home, taking in the magical lights and bridges of the Thames.
Creed 99 Mount Street, 80-82 Regent Street and 14 King Street
Built in 1819, the Grade II-listed John Nash façades of Regent Street could never be considered anything other than handsome but, since the street’s recent regeneration, the ‘Mile of Style’ has never looked better. Our first new Creed boutique sits on Regent Street’s sweet spot, at the heart of the scene between the legendary Hotel Café Royal and the historic Quadrant Arcade. And, our very latest outpost is on King Street in Covent Garden, where we stock our most extensive range in the UK. The surroundings are equally rarefied, cosseting shoppers in a gilded space of marble, plush green velvet and old-school reeded glass.
Hotel Café Royal, 10 Air Street
Walk a few steps on from Creed’s Regent Street boutique and you’ll spot two top-hatted gentlemen standing beside a discreet revolving door – this is the entrance to Hotel Café Royal, perhaps London’s most star-studded, five-star hotel but certainly its most understated. No doubt this is why, since 1865, the great and the good have patronised the Café Royal – including Oscar Wilde, kings Edward VIII and George VI and, more recently, David Bowie and Harry Styles – because these doors mark a portal into a private world of elegant extravagance. Even The Grill Room, its afternoon tearoom, is Grade II-listed: gold-and-mirrored, with chandeliers and red-velvet banquettes, it feels as if you’re stepping into an antique jewellery box (in fact, a painting of the room hangs in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris). The hotel’s suites are a more modern affair, with contemporary oak panelling, marble baths and statement lighting.
Liberty, Regent Street
This must be the only department store on the planet where the building is as famous as the brands within – that’s because this spectacular Tudor revival store frontage was constructed using oak and teak timber from historic ships HMS Impregnable and Hindusthan. You’ll hear the wooden floorboards creak beneath your feet as you peruse cult British fashion brands Rixo and Barbour and international labels such as Ganni, while the in-store fireplaces and painted glass windows are enough to distract even the most committed shoppers. It was founder Sir Arthur Lasenby Liberty’s dream that he could ‘dock a ship’ in central London, ‘laden with treasures sourced from the four corners of the globe’, so if you visit only one department, make it his Oriental Carpet Room on the fourth floor.
Red Room, 16 Carlos Place
Not content with being awarded the World’s Best Bar title, The Connaught hotel has just opened its new drinking den – Red Room – which is accessed via velvet curtains within its Champagne Room; expect a lengthy wait (there are no reservations). Those lucky enough to gain entry will find themselves in a realm filled with red artworks by four female artists (including a claret-coloured hologram by the late Louise Bourgeois) and a drinks menu with a focus on wine, predominantly red. There is also a carefully curated cocktail list, with each concoction containing wine. We recommend the White Martini – Sancerre mixed with pink grapefruit, basil and pepper syrup and Silent Pool Rare Citrus gin.
Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly
There are London afternoon teas… and then there is the Fortnum & Mason afternoon tea. The latter is a rite of passage for any visitor to the capital, served in the exquisite Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, a room opened by Queen Elizabeth in 2012 (who was said to do her own annual Christmas shopping in the store – presumably after hours). Coronation chicken sandwiches and scones with Somerset clotted cream are delivered to your table on the iconic St James bone-china. And the tea to choose? Fortnum’s Royal Blend, of course.
Dover Street Market, 18 Haymarket
Yes, you read that correctly – Dover Street Market is actually on Haymarket. This is because the emporium of cool outgrew its original home on Dover Street, Mayfair, and now occupies five storeys in a striking Regency building south of Piccadilly. Founded by Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, the store sells her own label, but also champions smaller indie brands such as Noah, ERL and Molly Goddard’s fabulous frilly dresses. Alongside these, you’ll find pieces – presented as if this were a contemporary art gallery – from Ferragamo, Gucci and Miu Miu. When you’re all shopped out, we find that the pistachio cake served at Rose Bakery, the market’s café, hits the spot.
ESPA Life at Corinthia, Whitehall Place
If you didn’t know you were in London and were teleported to the Corinthia spa with its black-marble walls, waterfalls, open fires and glass passageways, you would assume you were in: a) some extraordinary Swiss medi-spa in the snow-capped Alps, or b) a film set. It is, without doubt, the best city spa we have ever set our slippers in, with multiple levels, endless thermal pools, and not to mention frivolous extras such as marble heated-loungers and private sleep pods. And that’s before you consider the therapies, some of which are unique to Corinthia, including Theragun massage, cryotherapy, Kansa wand rituals, and gong baths among other traditional Chinese medicinal practices.
Shepherd Market
Even many Londoners don’t know about this little enclave of boutiques, independent restaurants and pretty Victorian pubs wedged between Piccadilly and Curzon Street. The main players sit right on Shepherd Market square – L’Artiste Muscle bistro, Jack the Clipper barbershop, Ye Grapes Pub – but the cobbled side streets are also home to some wonderful finds, including the Shepherds Tavern and the Maddox Gallery (which sells originals by Banksy and Hockney). The combination of working cobblers, stationers and century-old pubs on Shepherd Market alongside ‘Hedge Fund Alley’ (Curzon Street) and bustling Piccadilly could only happen in London.
St James’s Park
For such a small park, St James’s packs in plenty of London must-sees. With Buckingham Palace at its western edge, Westminster and Downing Street at the east, plus Pall Mall northwards, this flower-and-bird-filled patch is a non-negotiable sight for visitors. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, take your position at the Palace corner to watch the Changing of the Guard (10.45am-11.30am) accompanied by uplifting music from the Guards Band. Also, at this corner there is a brilliant children’s playground, and at the other end the St James’s Café, a contemporary timber-and-glass restaurant with picture windows and a roof terrace overlooking Duck Island.
The King’s Gallery and The Royal Mews, Buckingham Palace
Tickets to Buckingham Palace are as rare as rocking-horse droppings but gaining entry to the lesser-known King’s Gallery and Royal Mews is an easier feat for savvy travellers. The gallery shows the finest works from the Royal Collection, including rare furniture, old master paintings and, in 2024, there is a Royal Portraits: A Century of Photography exhibition with images taken by Cecil Beaton and the royal family themselves. The Royal Mews offers the chance to see behind the scenes at the palace’s working stables and get up close to the 260-year-old Gold State Coach used at Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation in 1953 and Platinum Jubilee in 2022.
Royal Opera House, Bow Street
So crucial is the Royal Opera House to this neighbourhood that many theatre-goers simply call it ‘Covent Garden’. The historic building is home to both the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet, with performances of the two genres running concurrently – thus visitors to London can watch both Tosca and Swan Lake in the same week. If you can’t get hold of tickets or you’re a hardcore theatre fan looking for the inside track, take a behind-the-scenes tour. These run year-round and act as a backstage pass to all those spaces the public don’t normally see, such as the costume workshop and rehearsal spaces.
Burlington Arcade, Piccadilly
Shoppers visiting Burlington Arcade get free time-travel thrown in – truly, it’s like stepping back into the 1800s when you wander around this mosaic-floored parade. For starters, instead of modern security, the arcade has ‘beadles’– the men in top hat and tails who make up the smallest and oldest police force in Britain. (You can take a tour with the head beadle who will reveal secret passageways where shop boys used to deliver parcels to waiting carriages outside). Nowadays, the beadles are a warm, welcoming team rather than law enforcement, happy to show you where to find a drink (the Bollinger Bar), limited-edition sneakers (Kick Game) or diamonds for your loved one (Michael Rose).
The Audley Public House, 41-43 Mount Street
Restored by the same architects who create spaces for global gallerists Hauser & Wirth, The Audley pub in Mayfair is as much an art fair as an old-fashioned boozer. Thanks to the close connection with H&W, there are contemporary works on the walls and a spectacular ceiling collage, which somehow work perfectly against the Victorian mirrored bar and arched windows of yesteryear. That said, the menu is very 1888, with London Particular (a classic soup), eel, bone marrow, Scotch eggs and beef-and-ale pie all making appearances. Above The Audley is Mount St – its sister restaurant and the London restaurant of the moment.
Visit theaudleypublichouse.com or visit mountstrestaurant.com
Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park and Mayfair Hotels
This is a special two-for-one entry: firstly, a capital hotel stay that suits the classic traveller, just moments from Buckingham Palace and Harrods (Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park), and secondly, a new hotel for modern-design hunters who love to watch a neighbourhood in regeneration (Mandarin Oriental Mayfair). The latter opening in Hanover Square this spring was designed by renowned architects RSHP (Rogers, Stirk, Harbour and Partners), responsible for buildings from the 1970s Pompidou Centre in Paris through to London’s space-age Millennium Dome. Interiors at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park are Art Deco-inspired, with velvets, gilt and gorgeous glasswork, while suites by Studio Indigo at Mandarin Oriental Mayfair are more muted, with a calm palette of willow-pattern blue and creams.
