Heathrow Airport 33 min
Hyde Park (43 min)
Huge green space, home to Diana Memorial Fountain, with boating and swimming in the Serpentine lake. Thorpe Park Resort (29 min)
Rides and slides for all ages, plus annual passes, events and a large choice of food outlets. Trafalgar Square (51 min)
Nelson's Column rises above this iconic square's LED-lit fountains, artworks and lion statues. The National Gallery (51 min)
Trafalgar Square art museum whose masterworks trace the development of Western European painting. Palace of Westminster (48 min)
Neo-Gothic masterpiece and seat of the UK government. Guided tours on Saturdays and in summer. Buckingham Palace (47 min)
Visitors can tour the palace's opulent private and state rooms or watch the changing of the guard. Kensington Palace (40 min)
Royal palace and gardens, with exhibits on former residents like Queen Victoria and Princess Diana. Westminster Abbey (49 min)
Protestant abbey hosting daily services and every English and British coronation since 1066. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (24 min)
Trees and flowers from around the globe in vast gardens with huge greenhouses and Treetop Walkway. lastminute.com London Eye (50 min)
Huge observation wheel giving passengers a privileged bird's-eye view of the city's landmarks. Victoria and Albert Museum (39 min)
Blockbuster exhibitions and permanent decorative arts collection, with design shop and ornate cafe. Natural History Museum (38 min)
Landmark museum of animals and natural phenomena, with hands-on exhibits and animatronic dinosaurs. Richmond Park (26 min)
Expansive walled park, originally a 17th-century hunting ground and still home to hundreds of deer. Hampton Court Palace (8 min)
Famous seat of Henry VIII and his many wives, this palace received elegant Stuart-era modernisation. Big Ben (50 min)
16-storey Gothic clocktower and national symbol at the Eastern end of the Houses of Parliament. | 
