Hazlitt's in Soho is the most central of our ten, with Covent Garden ten minutes' walk and Trafalgar Square twelve. For Hyde Park and Oxford Street on foot, take Claridge's or The Zetter Marylebone; for the river, Borough Market and Tower Bridge, Shangri-La The Shard, London; for St Paul's and the City, The Ned.
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London has several centres rather than one, and the real choice is which of them you want outside the door. Inside the West End, walking usually beats the Tube: from Cambridge Circus, where Soho meets Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square is nine minutes on foot and the British Museum eleven, and Mayfair to Hyde Park or King's Cross to the British Museum are walks too. Save the Tube for the longer hops, under the river or out east.
Nine of our ten hotels qualify, each for a different stretch of the map: Soho, Marylebone and Mayfair for the West End, the South Bank and London Bridge for the river, the City for St Paul's, and King's Cross, Paddington and Pimlico at the edges. Pick the one whose walks you want, and leave the car at home: two nights of parking costs more than the train from the airport.
Hazlitt's is the most central of our ten, on Frith Street in Soho, half a kilometre from Piccadilly Circus. From the door, Soho Square is a minute away, Oxford Street and the Shaftesbury Avenue theatres about five, Covent Garden ten and Trafalgar Square twelve, and Quo Vadis, Barrafina, Koya and Hoppers are all two minutes away. Most days here need no Tube at all.
When they do, Tottenham Court Road is five minutes' walk, with the Central and Northern lines and the Elizabeth line straight to Heathrow, and Leicester Square, five minutes south, adds the Piccadilly line. Save the Tube for the Tower and the East End.
The room to book
Superior Double
23 m²£404 a night
The first category with room to spread out, averaging 23 square metres with a king or large king bed, which you will want after a day of walking the West End.
Claridge's is on Brook Street at the corner of Davies Street, three minutes from Bond Street station and about a kilometre from Piccadilly Circus. Grosvenor Square is five minutes on foot, Mount Street four, Oxford Street about seven and Berkeley Square five, with Hyde Park and the Royal Academy around a quarter of an hour, so Mayfair's galleries, tailors and parks are all walks. So is dinner: Hélène Darroze at The Connaught and Delfino are five minutes away, Scott's and Sketch seven.
For the longer hops, Bond Street has the Central, Jubilee and Elizabeth lines, with Heathrow 31 minutes away on the last.
The room to book
Mayfair Balcony Room
45 m²
The first category with a balcony, over Brook Street, Davies Street or Brook's Mews, so the Mayfair you walk all day is outside the window too.
On a theatre night, walk the 20 minutes from Bond Street to Shaftesbury Avenue, and take the Elizabeth line back from Tottenham Court Road, two minutes to Bond Street.
Shangri-La The Shard, London fills levels 34 to 52 of the Shard, two minutes from London Bridge station, and the walks from here follow the river. Borough Market is five minutes through the station and HMS Belfast nine; follow the Thames east and Tower Bridge is about fifteen minutes away, or west for Tate Modern in about the same. Trivet and Padella are six minutes from the door and The George Inn seven.
The West End is a train ride rather than a walk, since Covent Garden is 42 minutes on foot from the station, but the station makes the ride short: the Jubilee line is four minutes to Westminster and eight to Bond Street, the Northern line one stop to Bank, and Thameslink runs straight to Gatwick in about half an hour.
The room to book
Iconic City View Room
43 to 60 m²
The corner rooms have 180 degrees of glass, and the hotel names Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe among the views, so you can see the day's walk before you set out.
The Zetter Marylebone is 24 rooms on Seymour Street, on the Portman Estate's Georgian grid, with Oxford Street a minute away. Hyde Park and Speakers' Corner are about three minutes on foot, Selfridges four and Marylebone High Street about ten, and the street is good for dinner: KOL and The Grazing Goat are three minutes away, Lurra and AngloThai five, and Ranoush Juice on Edgware Road six.
Marble Arch station, three minutes away, is Central line only. For the Elizabeth line, walk eleven minutes to Bond Street, which is two minutes from Tottenham Court Road and 31 from Heathrow, so the rest of the West End is a short hop when you want one.
The room to book
Deluxe King
27 m²£375 a night
At 27 square metres with a king bed, eight more than the entry room, it has space to drop the shopping between walks.
The Standard, London faces St Pancras across Euston Road, so Eurostar and the six Tube lines at King's Cross St Pancras are over the road. On foot, the British Library is about five minutes and the British Museum about eighteen, and breakfast at Booking Office 1869 is four minutes away, Granger & Co seven.
Covent Garden is a longer walk, 35 minutes from the station, or six minutes on the Piccadilly line, and the Victoria and Piccadilly lines run all night on Fridays and Saturdays, so a late night in town ends with a short ride home.
The room to book
Premium King View
33 to 37 m²
Its bay window faces St Pancras or the wider city, and the soaking tub is the right end to a day on foot; ask for the station side.
The Ned is at the Bank junction, two minutes from Bank station, and the City's sights are close enough to walk between. Guildhall is four minutes, Leadenhall Market seven, St Paul's eight and the Tower of London twenty, and Borough Market is 14 minutes from the station across London Bridge. Sweetings, Koya City and Cabotte are all within four minutes.
Weekends are the time to walk it, when the City's workers go home, the streets go quiet and The Ned costs less than midweek. For the West End, the Central line from Bank reaches Tottenham Court Road in six minutes and runs all night on Fridays and Saturdays.
The room to book
Heritage
35 to 45 m²£745 a night
After a day of walking the City's old streets, the listed fifth floor puts Lutyens's original walnut panelling and a marble fireplace in your room.
Sea Containers London sits on the Thames Path by Blackfriars Bridge, five minutes along the river from Blackfriars station's Bankside entrance. East along the water, Tate Modern is under ten minutes and Shakespeare's Globe a few minutes further; west, the National Theatre is seven minutes and the London Eye around fifteen. Borough Market is about fifteen too, and the OXO Tower is a minute from the door.
The West End is one bridge away: from Waterloo station, Covent Garden is 17 minutes over Waterloo Bridge and Trafalgar Square the same. Southwark, on the Jubilee line, is nine minutes from the hotel, and Blackfriars has Thameslink straight to Gatwick.
The room to book
Riverview Deluxe Room
32 m²£369 a night
The first room over the water, so the river you walk beside all day is in the window at night; ask for a high room for Blackfriars Bridge and St Paul's.
The Pilgrm is on London Street, two minutes from Paddington, and the walks from the door go to the parks. Norfolk Square's garden is a minute away, Hyde Park about eight minutes south and Little Venice about fifteen north, with Marble Arch and Oxford Street around twenty. Market Halls, in the old post office, is three minutes away and The Victoria, a Victorian pub with a real fire, five.
The rest of London is a train ride, and Paddington makes it a short one: the Elizabeth line reaches Bond Street in three minutes and Tottenham Court Road in five, and the Heathrow Express is 15 minutes to the airport.
The room to book
Comfy
14 m²£219 a night
The one room with space to open a case, at about 14 square metres with a king or super-king, which is what a base for long days out needs.
Artist Residence London is on Cambridge Street in Pimlico, a residential grid of stucco terraces, eleven minutes' walk from Victoria and thirteen from Pimlico station. It suits people who like to walk: Sloane Square and the King's Road are about fifteen minutes away, and Buckingham Palace and Tate Britain about twenty. Seven good tables are within nine minutes of the door, A. Wong's two Michelin stars among them at eight.
Beyond Westminster the walks get long, and the Victoria line at Pimlico takes over, running all night on Fridays and Saturdays.
The room to book
Medium Room
£390 a night
A super king and leather armchairs on the second floor, one flight lower than the eaves rooms, so tired legs have less to climb.
Town Hall Hotel, in Bethnal Green, is further out, but its own corner of the East End is good on foot: Young V&A is four minutes away, Victoria Park about ten minutes away and Columbia Road about fifteen, and the Central line reaches Tottenham Court Road in 12.
From about £173 a night
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What is the best area to stay in London to walk everywhere?
For a first visit, Soho and Covent Garden. From Cambridge Circus, where the two meet, Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square are nine minutes on foot, the British Museum eleven and Westminster Abbey 23, with the theatres at the door; Hazlitt's is on Frith Street in Soho. Mayfair and Marylebone are the calmer choice, with Hyde Park and Oxford Street on foot from Claridge's and The Zetter Marylebone. On the South Bank, Sea Containers London has Tate Modern under ten minutes along the river.
Which London hotels are closest to a Tube station?
How long does it take to walk between London's main sights?
Inside the West End, not long: from Cambridge Circus, Covent Garden and Trafalgar Square are nine minutes and Westminster Abbey 23. From London Bridge station, the Tower of London is 13 minutes, Tate Modern 15 and St Paul's 21. From Bank station, St Paul's is ten and the Tower 16. Crossing between these centres is where the Tube helps: Covent Garden is 42 minutes on foot from London Bridge, and Tate Modern 39 from Cambridge Circus.
Do I need a car in London?
No, and it costs you. The Congestion Charge is 18 pounds a day, charged from 07:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 12:00 to 18:00 at weekends, and older vehicles pay 12.50 more a day for the ULEZ. Parking is scarce: Sea Containers London has a handful of spaces at 45 to 49.99 pounds per 24 hours, The Standard, London and The Pilgrm send drivers to public car parks, and The Zetter Marylebone has none. Tap in with a contactless card instead: the daily cap in zones 1 and 2 is 8.90 pounds.
Does the Tube run all night in London?
On Fridays and Saturdays, parts of it do. The Victoria and Piccadilly lines run all night through King's Cross St Pancras, across Euston Road from The Standard, London, and the Victoria line serves Pimlico for Artist Residence London. The Central line runs all night through Bank, two minutes from The Ned, and through Tottenham Court Road, five from Hazlitt's, so a late night in the West End ends with a short ride back to any of these four.
How did you choose these hotels?
Independently, through extensive research, trusted sources and first-hand visits. Hotels cannot pay to be included, and every one of the ten has to exist for a different reason.
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