With little to no time in London its important to understand what the different neighborhoods have to offer so you can choose your time wisely. Below I’m highlighting my faves that I spent time in when visiting London.

Westminster – Ok so this is a must for your first time in London. You have to hit all of the tourist sites when visiting for the first time. Westminster is the area of town where you can find most of these. We stopped by Parliament Square, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abby, and my favorite the London Eye. The London Eye gives you a good view of the city, some history of London, and if you pay a little extra…all while siping a glass of champagne. What’s better than that!

Greenwich – We stumbled upon Greenwich not really knowing what it was. Correy had a race that was in a park there and on the way to his race we both noticed how different it was from the other areas we visited in London. If you need a break from the hustle and bustle of the city, Greenwich is a nice change. There’s a lot of naval history here if that’s what you’re looking for. One of the things I liked about it was the interesting quirky shops that lined the streets. They had cute little shops for shopping and a lot of bakeries and local food. I wish we got to spend more time there but it was a nice change!

Shoreditch – Shoreditch was recommended to our group as a place to hang out at night! The streets were lined with gastropubs, bars, and clubs. This neighborhood was buzzing at night! What we found was that after having a few drinks, there was also some great late night food places to eat! I don’t know if we were starving or we lucked up and found some delicious food. Either way, I left Shoreditch satisfied.

SoHo – One of the first stops we made in London was the SoHo neighborhood. One of my friends had some stuff she wanted to buy and we heard this neighborhood provided some good shopping! It didn’t disappoint! There were a ton of shops! Shops that I never heard of and others that are big in the states. They had Top Shop, Nike, Zara, Rag and Bone, some cool vintage shops and so much more! And when you get tired from shopping you can stop in one of the many eateries lining the street!

Brixton – Now to my honorable mention…..Brixton! I was really bummed that I didn’t get to visit Brixton but we just didn’t have the time. I heard this is the place to be to get some Caribbean inspired food. London has a huge Afro Caribbean community that has an impact on the city’s culture. Brixton is also home to a lot of London’s live music and nightlife venues. One of our Uber drivers told us that this was a must do if we’re looking for a good time! So even though I didn’t get to experience it for myself, I’m passing that knowledge on. You’re welcome.

Now you may be asking…what’s the best way to get to all of these neighborhoods?? I enjoyed taking the tube (subway) in London. It was quick, cheap, and pretty easy to navigate. The Ubers are so expensive so I wouldn’t recommend it unless you’re going somewhere far. I went to London as the first part of my 30th birthday. If you want more details on the trip you can read my Dirty 30 post! All of these neighborhoods are accessible by the tube so if you’re up for an adventure…hop on!

Did I miss any neighborhoods? Sound off in the comments below!