London’s West End is the beating heart of central London. It’s the place where shoppers rack up serious debt on Oxford Street, theatre nuts coo over the latest plays and musicals and tourists flock to soak up the delights of Covent Garden and its surroundings.
It’s also where you’ll find plenty of London’s best restaurants, bars and clubs, many of them somewhere on the narrow streets of Soho, the city’s most reliably buzzy party district. But the West End’s not all about expense and excess – it’s also home to some of London's best free things to do, including the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Plan a perfect trip to central London with our guide to the best things to do, see, eat and drink in the West End.
RECOMMENDED: Our London area guides.