Best Walks in London, England in 2026

If you really want to see the best of London, England, then you need to explore it on foot. While many tourists use the tube to get around, London is a walker’s city. London has a compact core, numerous parks, stunning buildings and great, out-of-the-way pubs, cafes and restaurants. Locals know that walking around London is the best way to experience the best of this great city.

Learn about our favourite walks in London, which take you through the wonders of London. Whether you want to explore historic monuments, take in world-class museums, or just find how locals live in London, check out the top walks in London, England. While in London, don’t forget to mix in some shopping, great meals or a cozy English pub with your walk.

Two of our most popular routes are the Hampstead to Highgate walk across Hampstead Heath and the Marylebone walking tour through Mayfair and Belgravia. Both are easy half-day strolls that show off very different sides of the city.

Best Walks in London

1. Marylebone, Mayfair and Belgravia (7.0 km, 71 m, 1.5 - 2.5 h): This is a classic London walk, taking you through the heart of the best neighborhoods, incredible shopping, Hyde Park, and some of the best museums in the world. Start at Baker Street Tube Station and end at South Kensington Tube Station. Highlights include Marylebone Village, Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Harrods, and the Natural History Museum. While short in distance, you could easily spend an entire day on this walk, stopping for meals and drinks along the way.
2. Waterloo to Westminster (6.7 km, 129 m, 1.5-2h): If you only have a short time to see the best of London, this may be the walk for you. This short but action-packed walk takes you past some of the best Central London has to offer. Highlights include the London Eye, Golden Jubilee Bridge, the Thames, the Strand, Trafalgar Square, Chinatown, Piccadilly Circus, St James Park, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament!
3. Charing Cross to Tate Modern (6.8 km, 124 m, 1.5-2.5h): Another brilliant walk to explore Central London. This walk is great for those who want to explore the best of London’s culture, museums, and history. This walk starts at Charing Cross Station before heading to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Regent Street, Soho, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, The Strand, St Paul’s and Tate Modern.
4. The Parks: St. James, Green, Hyde and Kensington (9.5 km, 161 m, 2.25 – 2.75h): This walk takes you through the wonderful parks that dot Central London. It’s hard to believe your walking through busy London as you enjoy the tranquil parks, including St James Park, Green Park, Hyde Park and Kensington Park. Along the way you will see highlights like Buckingham Palace, The Guards Museum, Churchill War Rooms, Trafalgar Square, The Mall, Shepherd Market, The Serpentine, Royal Albert Hall and High Street Kensington.
5. Along the Thames from Battersea Park to the Tower (13.1 km, 272 m, 3-4h): This route takes you from pretty Battersea Park to the Tower of London, with most of the route along the Thames. Along the way you will take in numerous landmarks including Battersea Power Station, Tate Britain, the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye, Southbank Centre, Tate Modern, The George Inn, Borough Market, Tower Bridge and the Tower.
6. Regent’s Park, Fitzrovia and the British Museum (9.3 km, 123 m, 2-3h): Enjoy a wonderful walk around Historical London through beautiful Regent’s Park to the British Museum. Along the way pass the Sherlock Holmes Museum, Primrose Hill, London Zoo, BT Tower, Bedford Square, Russel Square and the British Museum.
7. Regent’s Canal from Edgware Road to Camden Town (6.3 km, 75 m, 1.5-2.5h): This walk through Central London takes you along the Regent’s Canal to Camden Town. Along the way you walk through Paddington Basin, Little Venice, Regent’s Park, the London Zoo, Primrose Hill before reaching Camden Lock and the famous Camden Market.
8. Greenwich to The Tower via Canary Wharf and the Thames (12.0 km, 238 m, 2.5-3.5h): This great walk in London explores the maritime history of east London. The walk takes in Greenwich Market, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich Park, the Cutty Sark, Canary Wharf and the Docklands area, and the Thames as it winds to The Tower.
9. Kings Cross to the City of London (8.2 km, 193 m, 2.5-3.5h): This walk through Central London is another gem, and takes in some very interesting architecture and history. This walk starts with fewer popular tourist attractions, but shows a different side of London not often seen by tourists. You then come to Farringdon and the attractions pile up: St Paul’s, the Bank of England, Monument, incredible new architecture like the Gherkin and Cheese Grater, then to Brick Lane, Spitalfields Market and back to Liverpool Street Station.
10. Hampstead to Highgate (6.1 km, 134 m, 1.5 - 2 h): This wonderful walk explores stunning Hampstead Heath, one of London’s many great parks. This walk stops by the beautiful, but overgrown Highgate Cemetery, home to many famous people including Karl Marx, Douglas Adams, George Eliot, and punk's Malcolm McLaren. The walk finishes with a lovely stroll through the quaint village of Highgate.

What’s New in London in 2026

London is one of the few major cities where the best sightseeing is genuinely free. Every walk on this page is a self-guided route you can start whenever you like, with no booking required. A few things worth knowing for 2026: the Elizabeth line has made it much quicker to reach the start of central routes like Waterloo to Westminster and Charing Cross to Tate Modern, while the regeneration of Battersea Power Station, now served by its own Northern line station, has turned the riverside stretch of the Thames Path from Battersea to the Tower into one of the city’s most popular walking corridors. Spring (April to May) and early autumn (September) bring the most comfortable weather and smaller crowds; summer is busiest around the Royal Parks and the South Bank. London is walkable year-round, so pack a light rain layer in any season.

Best Walks in London by Type

Best Family-Friendly Walks in London

The walk through London’s Royal Parks (St James, Green, Hyde and Kensington) is a strong family-friendly choice. It stays almost entirely flat on wide paved paths, passes Buckingham Palace and the Serpentine, and gives kids plenty of green space to run around.

Best Half-Day Walks in London

The Waterloo to Westminster walk is a great half-day option that packs the London Eye, the South Bank, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey and Big Ben into about two hours, ideal if you only have a morning or afternoon. The Marylebone walking tour is another excellent half-day route, winding through Mayfair, Belgravia and Hyde Park past some of the city’s best shopping and museums.

Best Full-Day Walks in London

The Thames Path walk from Battersea Power Station to the Tower is one of the best full-day walks in London. At 13.1 km it follows the river past Tate Britain, the Houses of Parliament, the South Bank, Borough Market and Tower Bridge, with plenty of riverside pubs to break up the day.

Hiking Near London

London’s best green escapes are closer than you’d think. To the south, hiking in the South Downs offers rolling chalk hills and sea views less than two hours from the city, while to the northwest the Chiltern Hills walks wind through beech woods and pretty villages in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Both make easy day trips by train when you want to swap pavement for countryside, or browse all our city walks in England for more urban routes.

Self-Guided Walking Tours in England

If you want to turn a London visit into a longer walking holiday, explore our self-guided walking tours in Southern England, which string together the South Downs, the Cotswolds and the South West Coast Path, or browse the full range of England walking tours to plan a multi-day adventure with your accommodation and luggage transfers arranged for you. For a classic countryside escape close to the city, our self-guided Cotswold walking tours follow the Cotswold Way and its honey-stone villages, and for trips further afield you can browse our self-guided walking tours across Europe, covering hundreds of routes right across the continent.