Greetings from Tower Bridge!
England 🏴
From Shakespeare to Harry Potter, England has fascinated me since I was a teenager.
It was the first trip I planned at age sixteen, and I’ve since taken five additional trips across the pond because of this incredible country’s long history and fantastical stories!
London, my first true travel love, is home to the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and many iconic sites, like the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, and Kensington Palace. You’ll feel at home with a pint and fish and chips at a local pub after a day of exploring.
Or journey into the countryside to see Warwickshire and Wiltshire, where literary destinations abound, including William Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon and sites that inspired J.R.R. Tolkien, such as Avebury Stone Circle.
Whether you’re planning a solo or family vacation, these England travel blogs will help you plan an epic, budget-friendly trip to these English destinations.
What are the best places to visit in England for first-timers?
England’s best trip combines historic cities, countryside, and small towns rather than sticking to London alone. Start in London for major sites (Tower of London, London Eye, Buckingham Palace), then head to the Cotswolds and nearby countryside for the towns of Avebury and Stratford-upon-Avon, and finish in a small Roman city like Chester for a different pace. I’ve personally visited six times over the years, most recently in 2025—enough to know it’s worth spending time beyond London.
Fun Facts About England
- 🎭 Shakespeare’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon has been a tourist magnet since 1769, when actor David Garrick put it on the map by creating the Shakespeare Jubilee at a time when nobody considered the small market town much to write home about.
- 🍺 England takes its pub culture seriously: The average British pub is over 100 years old, many serve traditional fish and chips worthy of a Guinness pairing (or cider), and some (like the Red Lion in Avebury) come with resident ghosts!
- 🗿 Avebury Stone Circle is Europe’s largest prehistoric stone circle—its 100 stones are arranged around an entire village, and unlike Stonehenge, it’s completely free, and you can walk right up and touch the 5,000-year-old megaliths!
- 🔍 The Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221B Baker Street exists at an address that didn’t officially exist when Arthur Conan Doyle wrote the famous detective—the street was renumbered in 1930.
- ☕ Brits drink about 100 million cups of tea every day—that’s roughly 36 billion cups annually, or 900 cups per person per year! So if you’re looking for a place to get high tea, you couldn’t be traveling to a better one!
- 🏰 Hampton Court Palace is where Henry VIII’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, allegedly haunts, as she was dragged screaming through the halls before her execution. It also boasts over 1,000 rooms, 60 acres of gardens, and the oldest surviving hedge maze in Britain, where people STILL get lost today!
The Best Time to Visit England
Why I prefer shoulder season:
- Temperatures are mild enough for all-day walking tours—perfect for exploring Stratford-upon-Avon or wandering around London without melting
- Tourist crowds are manageable, especially at major sites like Hampton Court Palace and the Tower of London
- Accommodation prices drop 30-40% compared to summer—that Georgian mansion hostel in Stratford? Much cheaper
- London’s museums aren’t overrun with school groups, and you can actually enjoy afternoon tea without fighting for a table
- The countryside is stunning—wildflowers in spring, golden leaves in autumn
My experience: I’ve visited England twice in early June and found it very pleasant! A bit rainy, but not sweltering or too crowded.
Meanwhile, on two other trips in July and August, it was broiling, and I got a sunburn. Hotels don’t often have A/C, so be forewarned.
Late November through New Year’s is beautiful but EXPENSIVE and crowded. If you want festive vibes without the chaos, visit the first two weeks of December or just before NYE. I visited just after Christmas one year. While it was pricey, the crowds had mostly died down. I returned in January and found the prices more manageable.
Things to Know Before You Go
England uses Sterling (£)
You can exchange money before a trip, but I find it best to withdraw cash at a local ATM on an as-needed basis.
They speak English
Accents differ greatly by region, but with patience, understanding them is completely manageable.
A visa isn’t needed
For short tourist visits (6 months), no visa is needed. However, you need an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) even if you are just passing through UK airports. It is valid for two years or the remaining period of validity on your passport, whichever is shorter.
Download the Omio and Citymapper App
Use the Omio app for long train and bus journeys. For local transport, use the Citymapper app for live info. I travel extensively by tube within London, then use the train for journeys throughout the country.
England Travel Tools
Below are the exact tools I used to plan my English adventure! England is incredibly rewarding but requires more advanced planning than you’d think.
To avoid any mistakes and secure spots at sold-out attractions, here are my essential planning tips:
- 🚆 Book trains early or pay TRIPLE: London to Stratford-upon-Avon starts at £15 if booked 8-12 weeks ahead, but jumps to £45-65 same-day. London to Bath? £22 advance vs. £70+ walk-up. I locked in advance fares and had my pick of departure times—plus traveling after 9:30 AM (off-peak) saves serious money
- 🚇 Master London’s tap-to-pay system or waste money: Use any contactless card or phone to tap on/off Tube and buses—it automatically caps your spending at £5.25 daily for buses and £8.90 for the Tube. ALWAYS tap the same card/device, or you’ll be charged full fare twice (buses don’t require tap-off, just tap on).
- 🧑💼 Pre-book walking tours or risk disappointment: Popular walking tours such as Jack the Ripper or Harry Potter can sell out, especially during summer, so book ahead
- 🎟️ These attractions WILL turn you away without advance tickets: Tower of London enforces timed entry slots, Warner Bros. Studio Tour (Harry Potter) requires 6-8 weeks advance booking with walk-ups severely limited (even though I called what I thought was ‘early,’ I had to pull a favor from my old coworker at WB to get in), and the London Eye requires booking a specific time slot to guarantee entry, especially during busy times
