Two Days in London: The Itinerary I'd Actually Repeat (Chelsea, Hyde Park, Museums & a Hidden Gastropub)
Palace of Westminster and Westminster Bridge
A couple of days in London, shaped by history, good food, and a wander that lets the city unfold naturally.
Most people visit London and spend two days rushing between the same five postcodes wondering where the time went. This trip was me trying something different, ditching the usual checklist and letting the city slow down a little. What I ended up with was probably the most satisfying two days I've had in a city I've visited more times than I can count.
One thing I’ve always neglected was visiting the museums in London which is one of the first things I try and do when I am out the country as I find this provides an immersive understanding of local history, art, and culture, allowing you to connect with the nation's heritage beyond typical tourist spots.
I visited both the National Gallery and the British Museum, both were busy as I had expected but it still gave me the chance to stand in front of world class paintings before getting completely lost in the vast collections and history housed inside the British Museum. There were slower stretches too, like walking through Hyde Park with no real distraction other than the parakeets loud kyeeh-kyeeh-kyeeh calls and the sunshine, meaning I had to have an ice cream.
Highlight of the trip was the evening meal at The Surprise that more than lived up to its name, and a very comfortable stay at Numa Stay Chelsea that made Chelsea feel like a base rather than just a postcode. Then all rounded off with a final wander along South Bank and through Westminster, where the city always seems to remind me just how much is happening and how much history sits in plain sight.
The Short Read
STAYED: Numa London Chelsea Green: £141 (member rate). Clean, contactless, ideal location.
DAY 1: Chelsea → Hyde Park → The Surprise Chelsea
DAY 2: Leto breakfast → National Gallery → British Museum → South Bank → Westminster
BEST TIP: Download Stasher before you arrive to save the whole early check-in problem
BEST MEAL: The Surprise Chelsea but book ahead and sit upstairs
CAMERA KIT: Leica M11 + Summicron-M 35mm f/2, DJI Osmo Pocket 3, iPhone with Spectre Camera app
Final Thoughts: London delivers every time, even in just two days, balancing iconic views with new experiences. From world class galleries to slow walks, good food and a final wander through Westminster, it’s a city that doesn’t always need a plan.
Keep Scrolling for the Long Read and Pictures
Where I Stayed
I’ve stayed in Numa Stays before in Berlin and loved both my times staying with them. I chose the large room option which as a member I got for £141.10 for the night. It is worth becoming a member (its free, you just sign up via email) as you get several benefits such as; 15% off direct bookings on the website, free welcome drinks & snacks in your room, cancel last-minute, check in early and check out late.
Numa Stays Chelsea Green worked really well for me as a base for this trip. It’s clean, modern, and in a great location (very safe) with plenty of places to eat and explore nearby, which made it easy to settle into the area.
The whole Numa Stays setup is contactless with independent check-in and a 24/7 online reception, which suited me.
I would 100% stay with Numa Stays again at this venue and others but one thing I think Numa Stays could do better is have a section on the app to show if the luggage storage is in use. After arriving early at Euston, I made my way to drop off my bag to find that the luggage was full.
The one travel app genuinely worth downloading before any London trip: Stasher If you're arriving before check-in or killing time before your train home, Stasher finds you a nearby shop, café or hotel that'll hold your bags safely, it’s fully insured up to £1,000 and for around £5–6 per bag. I used it twice on this trip, once near Chelsea and once at Euston, and it changed the whole day. No more locker queues at the station, no dragging luggage through museums.
Chelsea and Hyde Park
Spring Flowers on a Quiet Chelsea Street
I arrived at Euston early, the city already loud but not quite fully awake. One note if you arrive at Euston: skip the Signal Box , £17.50 for a full English that tasted of almost nothing. Save the appetite. Day two's breakfast at Leto in Chelsea more than made up for it.
Following this I grabbed an uber to my Numa Stays, sorted out the bags with the stasher app and began to wander through Chelsea and then towards Hyde Park.
Chelsea in early spring is worth timing a London visit around. The tree-lined streets were just coming back into colour, outdoor cafés starting to fill up in the afternoon sun, and that particular Chelsea atmosphere was fully intact too, Barbour jackets, perfectly groomed dogs, Range Rovers lining the streets and the occasional Ferrari drifting past as if that's just a normal Tuesday. It still has a quiet sense of prestige that you feel on foot in a way you don't from a cab window.
Another quick drink and it was off to Hyde Park to enjoy the sun.
It was nice just to wander and explore with no real purpose or no real distraction other than the sunshine and the parakeets hidden in the trees. Around the park, others had more active ideas of running or even roller skating along the paths. It was nice to just sit on a bench and take it all in for a while.
I stopped off at Serpentine Bar & Kitchen for a cold drink and an ice cream overlooking the lake, for another chance to people-watch, its a great sport to see people out on the lake pedal boating in the late afternoon sun before heading back to Numa Stays to access my room.
The Surprise Chelsea
Tucked away on a quiet Chelsea side street, The Surprise is exactly like the kind of place you hope to stumble across in London, (the photos above off my phone just don’t do it the justice it deserves).
It was a busy night with people outside and inside at the bar but you could feel straight away that it had a warm vintage feel, one with cosy corners, soft lighting, old artwork, and the sort of atmosphere where people settle in for hours chatting rather than rushing through their pint.
It is best to reserve a table ahead of your planned visits to avoid disappointment as this is a popular spot to eat at. Once I’d made my way through the busy bar I was led upstairs to sit at a table at the back of the room with a window view.
For food, I started with the pork belly from the specials menu before moving onto the baked Cornish cod with mangetout, braised artichoke, Jersey Royal potatoes, Yorkshire rhubarb, and honey beurre blanc. The cod was cooked beautifully, soft and flaky without losing texture, while the beurre blanc added just enough richness without overpowering everything else on the plate. It felt like proper seasonal British cooking done really well, refined enough to justify the Michelin recommendation, but still a proper treat.
The service was excellent throughout the whole of the evening too, friendly without feeling over the top, and it matched the welcoming neighbourhood feel that so many reviews talk about, reviews that made me pick this as my go to for my evening meal.
I kept things simple on the drinks a non-alcoholic beer, which suited the atmosphere perfectly.
The service was warm and unhurried throughout, friendly without being over-attentive. Main courses are roughly £20–28 and felt like good value.
Book a table before you go and ask to sit upstairs.
Day 2: Museums and Westminster
The British Museum Great Court in Black and White
Visitors Outside The National Gallery
The second day started differently, I treated myself to the best Buttermilk Pancake berries, maple syrup @letocaffe.official to get going. Before heading straight back to Euston for the next stasher for the bags and then over to Trafalgar Square, to finally do something I’ve been meaning to do for years, actually explore beyond my usual spots and go into the museums, which definitely didn’t disappoint.
I visited the National Portrait Gallery and the British Museum, both of which I’ve somehow ignored all this time. Both are free to enter (you can book ahead or just turn up, and drop a fiver donation if you can).
The British Museum brings together stories from across the world in one place, covering over two million years of history. From Egyptian mummies and the Parthenon Sculptures to collections from Africa, China and Roman Britain, every space feels completely different. It took a good couple of hours to wander around and view everything. Sadly the samurai exhibition was full and I couldn’t view that on my visit.
The photo on the left above is from the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, right at the centre of the museum which was opened in 2000 and designed by Foster and Partners, it’s the largest covered public square in Europe, with that incredible glass roof and the Reading Room sitting in the middle.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIP — THE BRITISH MUSEUM GREAT COURT
For the Great Court, I used the Spectre Camera app on iPhone, a single tap gives you a long-exposure effect that blurs moving visitors against the sharp glass roof structure. It's free, takes about 3 seconds to set up, and the results are far more interesting than a standard frame packed with tourists.
Worth having on your phone before you visit.
Then it was off to have proper wander through the national gallery, of late I become a huge art lover so this was always going to be a bit of a treat for me as I’ve literally walked past it more times than I can count. It’s easy to forget it’s there when you’re walking about London with a camera.
Something I’m trying to do is see all the major artworks, so seeing Still Life: Vase with Fourteen Sunflowers in person was top of my list when visiting as I’ve seen Van Gogh’s Starry Night Over the Rhône and Self Portrait both of which are in the Musée d’Orsay Paris.
Standing in front of Sunflowers is different to seeing it in a book or on a screen, the yellows are messy, layered, almost restless. I'd already seen Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhône and his Self Portrait at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, so this felt like completing something.
Turn around from Sunflowers and you'll find Van Gogh's Chair and Two Crabs on the opposite wall, in fact there are seven Van Goghs in the National Gallery total, which I hadn't realised before visiting.
Then turn another corner and the scale changes completely. Whistlejacket by George Stubbs, an eighteenth century painting of a racehorse, life-size, on an enormous canvas that just commands the room.
It stopped me mid-step.
That contrast between intimacy and scale is what makes an afternoon here feel like three different museums.
The vast range of work from different centuries, artists, style and influence from around the world is what I enjoyed most about this visit. Whilst I’d ticked off Van Gogh, it’s important not to rush between rooms as there are plenty of other incredible artist’s work that should be equally admired, so just taking time, noticing the small things, and let each piece land in its own way is important.
Again, the National Gallery is free to walk in (but make a donation if you can), and enjoy losing a few hours and you will have a great time.
The London Eye
“The skyline of London is one of the greatest in the world, and the London Eye gives you the perfect view of it.” – Richard Rogers.
After the National Gallery, I had a wander over to Covent Garden where I had Ramen, which was average at best but after having ramen in Japan maybe I’m being a bit harsh.
One thing about walking through London is that I always manage to get good steps in, 40k over two days wasn’t too bad, which is probably needed after also sneaking in a cheeky little Wagamama for some chilli squid down on Southbank.
The images below are from my normal walk in Westminster that I do when I am down with the camera (I’m definitely a creature of habit) as it's always full of different things happening with tourists amongst the main landmarks that draw them in their vast numbers.
Final Thoughts
If you're planning a similar two days, here's the version I'd hand someone:
Day 1: Arrive, drop bags with Stasher, walk through Chelsea slowly and don't rush it. Hyde Park in the afternoon, Serpentine Bar for a drink and people-watching by the lake. Evening at The Surprise Chelsea (book ahead, sit upstairs, order the cod if it's on).
Day 2: Breakfast at Leto. National Gallery first (quieter in the morning, go straight to the Van Gogh rooms then let yourself get lost). British Museum after lunch and use the Spectre app in the Great Court. South Bank and Westminster with the camera as the light drops.
Even over just two days, you have completely different experiences, from standing in silence in front of world famous paintings to sitting in Hyde Park listening to parakeets while roller skaters and runners pass by in the spring sunshine. This trip was a good balance especially with the sun, as the last few times I’ve been it has been chucking it down with rain.
Wandering through Chelsea, spending hours inside museums I’d ignored for years, stopping for food without rushing, and ending the days around Westminster and South Bank with the camera in hand felt far more rewarding than trying to cram in a checklist of attractions. I always feel a little chaotic when I have come down for the day to do some street photography rushing from one spot to the other and jumping off and on the tube.
It also reinforced something I probably already knew, that London always gives you another reason to come back. There are still galleries I’ve not explored properly, streets I’ve never walked down, and countless places to eat hidden between the landmarks everyone already knows. Even after all these years of visiting, it still manages to surprise me.
Follow along on Instagram @deanomooreo and if you've got a London food or coffee spot I should know about, drop it in the comments.