The best time to visit London
The best month for the weather is not always the best for the ticket
- Least rain
- August: 7 rainy days, 18.2 °C on average
- State Rooms
- Summer only
- Closed
- The Tower 24–26 December and 1 January
A month in London is chosen twice, once for the weather and once for what is open, and the two answers rarely agree. The city is not as wet as its reputation, so the weather question is easy. The harder one is the Tower closing at 4.30pm in winter, the State Rooms of Buckingham Palace opening only in summer, and the London Eye shutting for maintenance in the grey weeks of January.
London is not always rainy. Rainy days run from 7 to 15 a month, and August has the fewest at 7, with an average of 18.2 °C. January is the cold end, 4.5 °C on average and 11 rainy days, which is bearable if the plan is indoors. What winter takes away is daylight on every ticket, and that is where the rest of the page goes. August looks like the safe choice on rain alone, yet it is also the month of the Notting Hill Carnival weekend, so the driest month is not automatically the calmest one.
Through the year
When the opening hours change
The Tower keeps its longest hours from March to October: Tue–Sat 9am–5.30pm, Sun–Mon 10am–5.30pm, last entry 4.30pm. From the start of November it closes at 4.30pm. The London Eye follows the season too. In summer, at weekends and on holidays the wheel runs late, and on winter weekdays the window is shorter: 11am–6pm on weekdays out of season; weekends, holidays and summer until 8.30pm; entry stops 30–45 minutes before closing.
The State Rooms of Buckingham Palace open only in summer. In 2026 the season was 9 July–27 September 2026, with a visit every day until 31 August and from Thursday to Monday in September. For about two weeks in January the London Eye closes for maintenance, so a January trip should not hang on the wheel.
The switch to winter hours is at the start of November.
hostel, dorm bed, per night
Events that move the crowds and the prices
Wimbledon in 2027 runs from the end of June into the first days of July, and the courts of SW19 set the mood for those weeks. The Chelsea Flower Show is on 18–22 May, with public days from Thursday to Saturday. If your dates touch either, book the bed first and the sights second, because a single big event can turn a quiet weekend into a full one.
Notting Hill Carnival fills the August bank holiday weekend, and in 2026 it was Sunday 30 and Monday 31 August. Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park runs from 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 and is closed on Christmas Day, which makes the weeks before Christmas the time to add a park evening to a museum day.
Christmas and New Year: what is closed
The days around 25 December change the map of the city more than any month does. Doors that open every other day of the year stay shut, so list the closures before you build a day around a single entrance.
- The Tower of London is closed 24–26 December and 1 January.
- The National Gallery, the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum close on 24–26 December, and the National Gallery also on 1 January.
- The London Eye is closed on 25 December.
- Westminster Abbey is closed on 25 and 26 December.
Our pick
Go in June: 16.7 °C on average and 9 rainy days, which is a mild balance and long evenings for walking between sights. The catch is the palace. The State Rooms were not open in June in 2026, so anyone who wants them should come from July, and the fallback is the first half of September, when the rooms are still open from Thursday to Monday, though the month has 12 rainy days. Skip August only if the Carnival crowd is a problem. A winter trip flips the logic: aim it at the museums, which keep long hours on Fridays, and put the Tower in a morning slot, well before the 4.30pm closing.
Where to next
Getting around London
→London is paid for with a bank card tapped at both ends of the journey, and from then on the system does the sums: the daily cap, the one-hour bus hop and the cheaper night fare.
Brighton · 76 km
→A seaside you look at rather than swim in, and a city that's better for it
How well does London suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
If you like London
Three places with the closest scores, from any country.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is January a good time to visit London?
It suits museums more than sights. January is the coldest month, the Tower closes at 4.30pm from November, and the London Eye shuts for about two weeks for maintenance. If the plan is galleries and long lunches, it works, and the crowds are lighter.
When do the Buckingham Palace State Rooms open?
In summer only. In 2026 they opened on 9 July and closed on 27 September, with a visit every day until 31 August and from Thursday to Monday in September. Royal Collection Trust publishes the dates for 2027 later.
When is Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park?
In 2026 it ran from 19 November to 3 January 2027, and it is closed on Christmas Day.
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