Planning considerations for your London business trip itinerary

Before you start planning for your activities on your London business trip, below are some planning considerations to think about.

Getting around London

It can’t get any easier getting around London especially with a full network of trains and buses connecting most parts of the capital. There are a total of 11 Underground (or also called the tube) lines in addition to 6 Overground lines, 7 Dockland Light Rail routes and the Elizabeth line. Most of the time, you’ll be able to find at least one station within walking distance from you. Even if not, there is also a comprehensive network of buses serving most parts of the capital.

You can simply use your contactless credit or debit cards to pay for your transport, but make sure to use the same card each time to enjoy the daily cap of £8.90 (zones 1-2). Visit the Transport for London (TFL) website for the transport map and zones. Otherwise, you can also rely on Google Maps to provide you with the best options to travel within London.

Take note though, that there may be planned maintenance and closures or unexpected delays (which can be quite common). Always check the TFL website for network updates before travelling.

So, it’s not going to be difficult trying to explore the city after your office hours in London! You may have to deal with the peak traffic London crowd though.

Where to stay

If you are in London for business, then the chances are that you will be staying close to your work office. But in case you have a choice, finding a place of accommodation within the City of London, City of Westminster or the London Borough of Camden puts you right into the heart of London. The Canary Wharf or Tower Hill (where the Tower of London and Tower Bridge are) areas are also great places to stay in in the Borough of Tower Hamlets. Staying in these areas makes it easier to reach the key places of London, especially when you are just limited to time after work.

London is generally a very safe city, though petty crimes such as pickpocketing and mobile phone thefts can be common. In terms of accommodation, I’d recommend choosing a location that is close to a touristic place or attraction. This is because there can be some dodgy neighbourhoods dotted around the city, but they are mostly away from the tourists.

If for some reason you are on a tight budget, I have noticed that accommodation around the region of King’s Cross, Paddington and Marylebone areas can be slightly cheaper.

London Explorer Pass

Passes are typically not suited to business travellers, especially if you will be spending most of your time at work, rather than visiting the attractions.

However, the London Explorer Pass (one of the two variants of the London Pass on offer) works by allowing visits to a fixed number of attractions (between 2 and 7) within a 30-day validity period. This is therefore great for business travellers who intend to visit only up to 7 different attractions during the business trip. You can make use of this pass during your weekends or the late afternoons or evenings.

Generally, this is worthwhile if you choose to use the pass on the more expensive attractions. For example, the Tower of London, London Eye, Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral.

Activities after office hours for your London business trip itinerary

Now that you have an overview as well as the planning considerations for London, lets get to the action on how you can maximise your visit to London after work!

I will first cover the activities that can be done during any season (in no particular order), though depending on the month of your visit, you can be doing these activities in daylight or after-dark.

Then I will cover the ‘Summer Bonus‘ activities that you can do if you are visiting in summer. This is because many places have extended opening hours coinciding with the longer daylight, which gives you a few more options if your business trip happens at that time.

I will then briefly discuss a couple of winter options too.

1. Evening walk of London icons

There is no better way to begin than to take an evening walk around the key London icons. Even if you can’t get to visit their interior, you at least get to see these icons and capture pictures of them. Of course, if you can end work earlier than 5pm, you will have the bonus of being able to do that. These icons include those such as the Tower Bridge, London Eye as well as the Westminster Abbey.

To repeat, depending on the season of your visit, you may be doing these evening walks in bright daylight or after-dark.

The following is a couple of walking routes that I recommend you take in order to cover the key London icons.

Bank – Tower Hill – River Thames Walk

This walking route in particular, starts from the business district of Bank. It is a very convenient walk to do especially if your office is located here. Starting from the Bank underground station, the walk takes you to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, across the River Thames and along the Queen’s Walk for a good view of the London skyline.

Unfortunately, most of the sights along this route will be closed after office hours, but they are still great photo stops.

The entire route from Bank to St Paul’s station is less than 5 km in length and can be completed in a couple of hours, though you can also split it up into two separate walks. If you do so, then you will start from either Bank or St Paul’s stations, and end at the London Bridge station.

Westminster walk

This walk starts from the Waterloo tube station, covers the key Westminster landmarks before ending in the Leicester Square, Covent Garden and Soho areas. These areas are ideal for roaming freely at night because of the numerous restaurants, shops and musicals. Therefore, I have not highlighted specific walking routes in this area on the map below so you are free to explore.

This walk will allow you to see a few of the most important icons of London such as the Big Ben and London Eye. Then you can end your walk with a nice dinner in Covent Garden or a musical of your choice (most musicals start at 7.30pm on a weekday).

Without the detour to Buckingham Palace, this walking route of under 3 km should generally take you just over an hour to complete.

Although I have indicated that the London Eye will be open in the evenings, do take note that it closes 6pm in winter and 8.30pm in summer. So, depending on which season you are doing this walk, the London Eye may not be in operation during your evening walk. Advance booking is highly recommended if you wish to ride on the London Eye.

2. Shopping and nightlife

This then leads on to the next activity of shopping and nightlife. There are many areas in Central London that are dotted with shops that are open at night, as well as pubs and bars where you can have a drink and chat.

High street shopping

For more high street shopping of international brands or luxury goods, you should certainly head to Oxford Street. Stretching up to 2 km in length, Oxford Street is often considered to be Europe’s busiest shopping street, especially with over 300 shops and departmental stores lined on both sides. Shops here are generally open till 9pm on a weekday. So definitely you will have some time after work to spend time here. Also, the area is served by 3 tube stations, specifically Tottenham Court Road, Bond Street and Marble Arch.

Boutique shopping

For more boutique and family-owned shopping, head towards Soho, Carnaby Street, Leicester Square, Seven Dials as well as Covent Gardens. However, these shops do close earlier than Oxford Street, typically around 7 or 8pm or even earlier.

Malls

In case you prefer somewhere indoors, you may choose to shop in a mall. The largest mall in London is Westfield London at Shepherd’s Bush (West London), where you can find nearly all brands available in London. I would describe Westfield London as almost the entire Oxford Street compacted into a mall. Closer to the east of London but much smaller, is Westfield Stratford.

Another mall to note, is Harrods at Knightsbridge if you are keen on luxury departmental store shopping. It is home to over 3000 different luxury brands, designer fashion, food as well as furniture.

Nightlife

Also around the same areas discussed above, there are bars, pubs, nightclubs and casinos where you can enjoy some nightlife. Whether you prefer just a drink and chat over a bar, or a football match over drinks, or showing off your dance moves, or making your money work for you, there are definitely numerous options for you.

Especially after office hours, you will find that most pubs will be filled with people standing around and having a pint or two. Your local colleagues might also be doing the same!

3. Watch a musical

While the US has got the New York Broadway, the UK has got the London West End. Also around the Leicester Square, Covent Garden area, you will find numerous different musical and play theatres dotted all over.

What musicals are there?

The variety of musicals and plays is more than just incredible. And in case you are in London over summer, you are spoilt with even more choices. This is because there are many special musical short term runs. For example, this year in 2025, we had two months of performances for ‘101 Dalmatians’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’.

Even if you are not here during the summer, the number of long term musicals is significant. There are the long term classics such as ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Les Miserables’, children-friendly ones such as ‘The Lion King’, modern classics such as ‘Mamma Mia’ or even adult-themed ones such as ‘The Book of Mormons’. You will definitely be able to find one that suits your taste!

Not to forget, if you are a Harry Potter fan, then the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child play is one that you shouldn’t miss.

General Information 

Take note that most musicals and plays begin at 7.30pm on a weekday, so you should plan for your dinner accordingly. Including a short interval, the musicals and plays should normally end around 10pm. Tickets can be purchased either from their respective online websites, at the respective theatres or a third party distributor (sometimes at discounted prices). One example of such distributor is TKTS, located at a booth at Leicester Square.

4. River Thames Cruise

A cruise along the River Thames is considered one of the highlights of London, because of the amazing views you can get within an hour of cruising. This includes views of the city skyline, the important landmarks such as the Shard, London Eye and the Big Ben, as well as going under the main bridges including the Tower Bridge.

While most cruises operate mainly only in the daytime, there are still a few evening cruises to choose from. There are cruises with a dinner option, or cruises that serve only snacks. But the exhilarating option is a speed-boat tour. Below are three of the options that have night departures*:

5. Visit a museum

There is a huge variety of museums in London, and you will be happy to know that a number of them offer a late night opening, especially on a Friday night. To list some of the more popular ones:

British Museum

This is not only the most visited museum, but also the most visited attraction in the UK with a total of 6.5 million visitors in 2024. It features a total of 8 million artefacts around the world covering 2 million years of human history, art and culture. In particular, the Ancient Egypt and Greece sections are most popular, with the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies the top highlights.

Entry is free and opens till 8.30pm on Friday nights (last entry 7.30pm). 

National Gallery

This is an art museum located at Trafalgar Square, featuring 2,300 different Western European paintings from the late 13th century to early 20th century and including artworks from artists such as Van Gogh and da Vinci.

Entry is free and opens till 9pm on Friday nights. 

Victoria & Albert Museum

The Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum houses an impressive collection of all things art, with 2.8 million art pieces over 5,000 years all around the world. Whether it’s paintings, furniture and ceramics, or textiles, costumes and jewellery, you name it and have it. It is no wonder the world’s largest museum of applied arts!

Entry is free and opens till 10pm on Friday nights (last entry 9pm). 

Tate Modern

The Tate Modern is a museum housing international modern and contemporary art, including large collections from artists such as Andy Warhol. Within its permanent exhibits is a collection of over 70,000 art pieces.

Due to its location opposite the St Paul’s Cathedral and across the River Thames, the third level of Tate Modern offers some great views of the London icon.

Entry is free for permanent exhibits and opens till 9pm on Friday nights (last entry 8.30pm). Temporary exhibits may require a nominal fee.

Bank of England Museum

This is an interesting museum showcasing the history of the Bank of England as well as the evolution of money and the economics. You also get to touch and lift a real gold bar! Furthermore, there are numerous interactive exhibits suitable for children and for them to understand a little bit more about money. It is a small and cozy museum that can be easily visited in an hour, so if your place of work is nearby, you can even do so during lunch!

Entry is free and opens till 8pm on the third Thursday of the month (last entry 7.30pm).

6. Dinner with a view

After a full day of work, you might like having a nice dinner, especially one that gives you a good view of London! There is an abundance of such dinner places, whether located in one of the skyscrapers, or along the River Thames in full view of the Tower Bridge. You not only then get to enjoy great food, but also get a bird’s eye view of the capital!

Straightaway, a few of such restaurants come to mind. But of course, this list is only a tip of the iceberg and there are many more that also offer incredible views and vibes!

Duck and Waffle

Firstly, there is Duck and Waffle located on the 40th floor of Heron Tower. Most significantly, they are open 24 hours so you can even go there late at night or if you feel jetlagged. Their most signature dish is literally a duck leg confit served over waffles and topped with a fried egg and maple syrup! This place is extremely popular, so I highly recommend that you make your reservations as early as weeks before!

A restaurant at the Shard

Secondly, you can choose to dine in one of the fine restaurants located in the Shard, the UK’s tallest building. These include a British restaurant Aqua Shard on the 31st floor, a modern grill bar Oblix on the 32nd floor, a Northern Chinese restaurant Hutong on the 33rd floor as well as a few others within the Shangri-La Hotel in the tower.

Lucky Cat

Thirdly, Lucky Cat is a recently opened Gordon Ramsey Asian restaurant located on the 60th floor of 22 Bishopgate. In fact, this is the highest located restaurant in Europe! How cool does that sound? Its high vantage point gives you an incredible view of the various landmarks around the capital.

Darwin Brasserie

Another restaurant with great bird’s eye views of the city is Darwin Brasserie, located in Sky Garden on the 36th floor of the Fernchurch Building (also called Walkie-Talkie). I had breakfast twice here before and I’m confident that the dinners served here will also be as good! After or before your meal, you can also enjoy the semi-indoor garden and the amazing views all round!

Le Pont de la Tour

Located at Butler’s Wharf along the River Thames, this French restaurant offers incredible views of the Tower Bridge. There aren’t many other restaurants that give you such views of the river and the Tower Bridge, especially on the terrace.

7. Visit the markets

While a number of markets in London close at 5pm or 5.30pm (Leadenhall Market and Borough Market for example), there are a few that do stretch later into the evenings or nights. These will be perfect especially if you have a busy work day.

The weekday night markets

• Camden Market (till 7pm) – Has a huge variety of shops from boutique to the quirky, as well as food stalls. Souvenir shops also line the street leading to the market from the Camden Town tube station.
• Portobello Market (till 7pm) – Similar to Camden Market but slightly further. Some stalls especially food stalls may close earlier than 7pm when they run out.
• Brick Lane (till 6.30pm) – Lots of food stalls and interesting shops in the Shoreditch area among beautiful arrays of street art
• Maltby Street Market (Summer Fridays only – till 8.30pm) and Southbank Centre Food Market (Fridays only – till 9.30pm) – Both of these are mainly food markets and are open till late on Fridays only.

Other markets

Of course, there are other markets that are open on weekday nights, mostly smaller ones. A number of them are located within the Soho, Leicester Square and Covent Garden area, so if you are exploring them you may stumble upon a couple of them.

8. Join a London night tour

A good way to know more about London during your limited off-work time is to join a tour and listen to a guide feed you with information. There are a number of different options you can take, whether walking tours or bus tours. The night tours though, tend to lean a bit more towards the ghoulish and murderous themes. But of course, there are others, such as immersing yourself into the British culture by joining a pub crawl tour! Below are some examples I can think of, but the list is definitely nowhere near exhaustive.

Jack the Ripper tour

Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer in London who was active in 1888, specifically in the Whitechapel district. There are a number of different tour operators and they generally start off in the evenings varying from 5pm to 7.30pm. To sum up, these tours bring you to the various crime scenes as well as explain the various victims, suspects and the investigations conducted.

Ghosts of Greenwich tour

The tour brings you into the 15th century past of Greenwich with tales and mysteries of that era, and at the same time takes you to various landmarks of the district. Landmarks include those such as the impressive Cutty Sark ship as well as the Old Royal Naval College.

Pub crawls

How else to experience one of the British favourite past-times than to join a pub crawl tour? A typical tour takes you to several pubs where you get to have a drink at each of them. They are designed to be more of a social tour when you can get to meet fellow tourists or business travellers. If you enjoy experiencing some nightlife in London, then this is one that you shouldn’t miss.

9. Tower of London Ceremony of the Keys

The Tower of London is one of the key attractions among visitors to the capital city, partly due to the Crown Jewels on display. It also served as a royal palace, fortress and prison from the 11th century, with numerous exhibits about its past. However, the Tower of London is rarely opened to visitors at night. And so if you are unable to visit it during office hours, the best bet to seeing the castle is by joining the Ceremony of the Keys.

The Ceremony of the Keys refers to an ancient ritual held every evening at the Tower of London. This is a tradition when the main gates are locked for the night.

Tickets are very affordable at £5, and so is not surprising that they sell out really fast. But the ceremony is fairly short and completes in only about 30 minutes. They can be purchased online only, and are released for the entire month at 4pm on the first non-Friday working day of the month. That is to say, if the first working day of the month falls on a Friday, the tickets will be released on the following Monday.

With tickets, you will be let in to the castle at 9.30pm, following which you will be let out at 10.05pm after the ceremony.

10. Watch a weekday football match

There is without doubt that the British live and breathe football. Furthermore, the English Premier League is arguably the most watched and talked-about league in the world. And therefore, if you are a fan of any of the London clubs, you should definitely not miss the opportunity to watch your team play live! So if you are in the capital during the week when there is a weekday football match – be it the Premier League, Champions League or any of the other cup matches, this is something not to miss!

Although weekday night tickets are generally lower in demand than the weekend matches, some matches do sell out very quickly. Especially those with heavyweight match-ups! So do source for tickets as soon as your business trip is confirmed!

11. Attempt to get on to Platform 9 3/4

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, then this is something you cannot miss! Located at the Kings Cross station, you can make a dash onto Platform 9 3/4 and have a photo taken during your attempt. Besides that, there is also a Harry Potter mechandise shop right next to it where you can find all things Harry Potter – from magic wands and house ties to the earwax flavour beans and butter beer!

Take note though, that over the years, this has gotten more and more touristy. So do expect to see huge crowds and queues to get your photos taken.

Time to test if you have wizardry blood or are muggle-born!

Summer bonus

If you are lucky enough to have your London business trip happen in summer, you not only get to enjoy longer days but also extended hours for a number of attractions! Below are some of the most popular attractions that you can get to enjoy after office hours during summer.

London Eye

Only during the summer months, the London Eye (a permanent ferris wheel located along the River Thames and opposite the Big Ben) operates until 8.30pm. In addition, the extended hours may also happen during the festive periods such as Halloween and Christmas. Therefore, do check their daily opening times in case you are in luck! A ride on the London Eye generally takes about 30 minutes.

I highly recommend that you purchase your tickets online in advance because they are cheaper, and it very much guarantees your entry. However, you should still expect to queue for around 30-45 minutes unless you purchase a Fast Track ticket (at a 50% premium).

Greenwich Royal Observatory

While most visitors come here for the excitement of standing on the Prime Meridian Line (which marks the Greenwich Mean Time, GMT, separating the eastern and western hemispheres), there are also many other things to do here.

This includes exhibits such as the Great Equatorial Telescope (one of the largest telescopes in the UK), information and demonstrations on astronomy, as well as a planetarium show.

The observatory is open until 7.45pm during the summer months of June, July and August only. At the same time, you can also enjoy the neighbouring Greenwich Park where you get an incredible view of Canary Wharf.

Buckingham Palace

The Buckingham Palace is a working royal residence for the King, and so its State Rooms and Palace Gardens are not normally open to public most parts of the year. However in summer, when the King is normally not in residence at the palace, its State Rooms and Palace Gardens are open to visitors for around 10 weeks. Advance booking is required as tickets often sell out before hand.

From 10 July to 31 August, the palace is open till 7.30pm, with last entry at 5.15pm, therefore allowing you a comfortable 2-hour period to explore the State Rooms and gardens.

Visit the parks

Because of the longer and warmer days in summer, the parks in Central London are often filled with people having picnics and ice cream, walking their dogs or having catch ups with family and friends. Footballs, frisbees and sometimes cricket balls are also usual sights. It is generally a very happy and warm sight just walking through the parks.

Some of the most popular parks include Greenwich Park, Regent’s Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, St James Park as well as Battersea Park.

If sitting around parks is not a thing for you, you can still visit the parks for a walk-around to see some key monuments. For example, the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park, the Albert Memorial at Kensington Garden or the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain at Hyde Park.

Winter options

While there are perks to enjoy when you are in London during summer, it doesn’t mean there is nothing special in winter. In fact, it is the opposite. That’s because this is the season when you can get to experience the Christmas markets and the festive lightings! Furthermore, you can get to enjoy the annual Winter Wonderland held at Hyde Park. Winter Wonderland offers a variety of amusement rides, games as well as food – and it operates from mid November, all the way to early January.

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