The best time to visit London, month by month
Written and checked by the Best London Tours editorial team. .
May and September are the best months to visit London, with 15 hours 36 minutes and 12 hours 40 minutes of daylight and none of August's prices. April is the driest month at 40mm and October the wettest at 77mm. The two facts that catch visitors out are the London Eye closing for all of January and the total transport shutdown on 25 December.
London at a glance, all twelve months
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain | Wet days | Daylight | Sunset | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.7C | 1.7C | 61mm | 12 | 8h 21m | 16:20 | Cheapest, coldest, London Eye shut |
| February | 9.2C | 2.6C | 54mm | 11 | 10h 00m | 17:15 | Driest winter month, Eye reopens |
| March | 11C | 3.8C | 58mm | 13 | 11h 49m | 18:04 | Tower back on summer hours |
| April | 13.8C | 4.8C | 40mm | 10 | 13h 51m | 19:56 | Driest month of the year |
| May | 17.4C | 8.4C | 57mm | 11 | 15h 36m | 20:45 | Longest days, palace still shut |
| June | 20.8C | 11.7C | 61mm | 11 | 16h 36m | 21:19 | Peak daylight, 16h 36m |
| July | 22.6C | 13.9C | 60mm | 11 | 16h 11m | 21:11 | Warmest month, palace opens |
| August | 22.3C | 13.7C | 57mm | 10 | 14h 37m | 20:23 | Fewest wet days, palace open |
| September | 19.7C | 11.5C | 64mm | 11 | 12h 40m | 19:15 | Best all-round, one deadline |
| October | 15.5C | 8.8C | 77mm | 12 | 10h 43m | 18:07 | Wettest month, clocks go back |
| November | 11C | 5.2C | 66mm | 12 | 8h 53m | 16:11 | Winter season opens mid-month |
| December | 9.2C | 4.3C | 66mm | 12 | 7h 52m | 15:51 | Shortest days, 25 Dec shutdown |
Temperature, rainfall and wet days are the 2015 to 2024 means from ERA5 reanalysis for central London, 2015 to 2024, via the Open-Meteo historical archive. Daylight and sunset are for the 15th of each month, from timeanddate.com sunrise and sunset tables for London. A wet day is a day with 1mm of precipitation or more.
The short answer
If you want the longest days, go in May. Sunset is 20:45 on the 15th and 21:06 by the 31st, average highs are 17.4C, and hotel rates sit well below the August peak for very nearly the same weather. If you want the best all-round balance, go in September: 19.7C highs, the school holidays over from the first week, and Open House putting several hundred normally-closed buildings on show free of charge from 12 to 20 September.
If the weather itself is the deciding factor, go in April. It is the driest month of the year at 40mm across ten wet days, well ahead of February at 54mm, and by mid-month the sun does not set until 19:56. In 2027 it has an additional advantage, because Easter falls on 28 March, which moves the family holiday crowds out of April entirely.
If price is what matters, go in January after the 4th, or in the first ten days of November. Both are periods where nothing seasonal is running, and both put zone 1 hotels at their annual floor. January is the cheaper and the colder, at 7.7C average highs and 1.7C lows.
Five London facts that change what you can book
- The London Eye closes for the whole of January for annual maintenance. There is no partial operation and no workaround. It reopens in February.
- Buckingham Palace State Rooms open only in summer. The 2026 season ran 9 July to 27 September. For the other nine months the Palace opens on selected dates for a limited number of guided tours only.
- Changing the Guard runs Monday, Wednesday and Friday, not daily, and can be cancelled at short notice in bad weather. Nearly every competing guide gets this wrong.
- On 25 December there is no public transport at all in London. No Underground, no bus, no National Rail, no Overground, no DLR, no Elizabeth line.
- The Tower of London closes on 24, 25 and 26 December and runs shorter winter hours from November, returning to summer hours on 1 March.
London in January
7.7C average high, 1.7C average low, 61mm across 12 wet days, 8h 21m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 16:20.
The coldest month at 7.7C highs and 1.7C lows, and the cheapest from about the 4th. It is also the one month the London Eye does not run at all, closing for annual maintenance. Hogwarts in the Snow finishes on 17 January and the Somerset House rink on the 10th.
London in February
9.2C average high, 2.6C average low, 54mm across 11 wet days, 10h 00m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 17:15.
The driest of the winter months at 54mm across eleven wet days, and the month the London Eye reopens after its January shutdown. Chinese New Year falls on 6 February and half-term runs 15 to 19 February. Daylight crosses ten hours by the middle of the month.
London in March
11C average high, 3.8C average low, 58mm across 13 wet days, 11h 49m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 18:04.
The Tower of London returns to summer hours on 1 March and the clocks go forward on the 28th, adding an hour to the evening overnight. March gains 1 hour 59 minutes of daylight, more than any month. It also has thirteen wet days, the highest count of the year.
London in April
13.8C average high, 4.8C average low, 40mm across 10 wet days, 13h 51m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 19:56.
The driest month in London at 40mm across ten wet days, with sunset at 19:56 mid-month. Easter fell in March this year, so the family crowds have already gone. The one constraint is the London Marathon, which runs as a two-day event on 24 and 25 April.
London in May
17.4C average high, 8.4C average low, 57mm across 11 wet days, 15h 36m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 20:45.
The longest days in this guide at 15 hours 36 minutes, with sunset at 20:45 and 17.4C average highs. Two bank holidays fall on 3 and 31 May and RHS Chelsea runs 18 to 22 May. Buckingham Palace is still closed: its State Rooms open only for a summer season.
London in June
20.8C average high, 11.7C average low, 61mm across 11 wet days, 16h 36m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 21:19.
The longest days of the year, 16 hours 36 minutes on the 15th with sunset at 21:19, and average highs of 20.8C. Rainfall creeps back to 61mm across eleven wet days. Buckingham Palace is still closed for most of the month, since its summer season starts in July.
We publish full month guides for August through May. For June, the figures above and the note on Buckingham Palace are the essentials; the nearest full guides are London in May and London in August.
London in July
22.6C average high, 13.9C average low, 60mm across 11 wet days, 16h 11m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 21:11.
The warmest month on the ten-year mean at 22.6C highs and 13.9C lows, with 16 hours 11 minutes of daylight on the 15th. It is also when the Buckingham Palace State Rooms open: the 2026 season began on 9 July. School holidays start in the second half of the month.
We publish full month guides for August through May. For July, the figures above and the note on Buckingham Palace are the essentials; the nearest full guides are London in May and London in August.
London in August
22.3C average high, 13.7C average low, 57mm across 10 wet days, 14h 37m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 20:23.
The month with the fewest wet days of the year at ten, average highs of 22.3C and sunset at 20:23 mid-month. The Buckingham Palace State Rooms are open until 27 September. Notting Hill Carnival closes roads across W10 and W11 on 30 and 31 August.
London in September
19.7C average high, 11.5C average low, 64mm across 11 wet days, 12h 40m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 19:15.
The best-balanced month, with 19.7C highs, school crowds gone from the first week and Open House opening several hundred buildings free from 12 to 20 September. The deadline is 27 September, when the Buckingham Palace State Rooms close for nine months.
London in October
15.5C average high, 8.8C average low, 77mm across 12 wet days, 10h 43m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 18:07.
The wettest month of the year at 77mm across twelve wet days, and the month the evenings collapse. The clocks go back on Sunday 25 October and sunset falls from 17:48 to 16:46 overnight. Half-term, Diwali and a Saturday Halloween all land in the last ten days.
London in November
11C average high, 5.2C average low, 66mm across 12 wet days, 8h 53m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 16:11.
Sunset is 16:11 mid-month and highs are down to 11C, but three winter attractions open in four days: the Somerset House rink on 11 November, Christmas at Kew on the 13th and Hogwarts in the Snow on the 14th. The first ten days are among the cheapest of the year.
London in December
9.2C average high, 4.3C average low, 66mm across 12 wet days, 7h 52m of daylight mid-month with sunset at 15:51.
The shortest days of the year at 7 hours 52 minutes, with sunset at 15:51. On 25 December there is no Underground, no bus and no National Rail service anywhere in London. The Tower of London is closed on 24, 25 and 26 December, three consecutive days.
Where the numbers come from
Temperature, rainfall and wet days are the 2015 to 2024 means for the central London grid point at 51.49N, 0.16W, taken from the ERA5 reanalysis through the Open-Meteo historical archive. A wet day is a day recording 1mm of precipitation or more. Daylight, sunrise and sunset are the figures for the 15th of each month from the timeanddate.com sunrise and sunset tables for London, in local time. Buckingham Palace season dates come from the Royal Collection Trust, and Changing the Guard days from the Household Division.
Where we could not confirm something from an official source, we leave it out rather than fill the gap. That currently applies to the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland dates for this winter, to the 2027 Buckingham Palace summer season, to the 2027 dates for Christmas at Kew and the Somerset House rink, and to English school holiday dates beyond the February half-term, which are set by individual local authorities rather than nationally.
Every tour price, star rating and review count in these guides was checked against the live GetYourGuide listing on 28 July 2026. We do not publish a rating or a review count we have not verified, and we do not list an attraction in a ranked top ten during a month when it is closed.
Best time to visit London: FAQs
What is the best month to visit London?
May and September, for different reasons. May has the longest daylight of the ten months covered here at 15 hours 36 minutes mid-month, with 17.4C average highs and prices well below August. September has the best balance, with 19.7C highs, the school crowds gone from the first week and Open House opening several hundred buildings free from 12 to 20 September. May's one drawback is that Buckingham Palace is closed.
What is the driest month in London?
April, at 40mm of rain across ten wet days on the 2015 to 2024 mean, comfortably drier than any other month. February is next at 54mm and August at 57mm. The wettest month is October at 77mm across twelve wet days. March has the most wet days of any month at thirteen, even though its 58mm total is modest.
What is the cheapest time to visit London?
January from about the 4th, and the first ten days of November. Both are periods when no seasonal attraction is running, the previous month's crowds have gone and zone 1 hotel rates reach their annual floor. January is the cheaper of the two but it is also the coldest month, at 7.7C average highs and 1.7C lows, and the London Eye is closed for the whole of it.
Is the London Eye ever closed?
Yes, for the whole of January every year, for its annual maintenance programme. There is no partial operation during that period and it reopens in February. It is the most-booked attraction on this site and almost no month-by-month guide mentions the closure, which is why it appears at the top of our January page rather than buried in it.
Does Changing the Guard happen every day in London?
No. The ceremony at Buckingham Palace takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, not daily, and it can be cancelled at short notice in bad weather. The schedule is published about a month ahead by the Household Division. Most guides say it runs daily, which is the most commonly repeated error about visiting London.
When can you go inside Buckingham Palace?
Only during the summer State Rooms season, which in 2026 ran from 9 July to 27 September. For the rest of the year the Palace opens on selected dates for a limited number of ticketed guided tours. The 2027 season dates had not been published by the Royal Collection Trust when this page was written, so we do not state one.
What happens in London on Christmas Day?
There is no public transport at all. No Underground, no bus, no National Rail, no Overground, no DLR and no Elizabeth line service runs anywhere in London on 25 December. It is a complete shutdown rather than a reduced service, and almost every paid attraction is closed. If you are in London that day, plan it on foot.
When do the clocks change in London?
They go back at 02:00 on Sunday 25 October 2026 and forward at 01:00 on Sunday 28 March 2027. The effect is immediate and large: sunset falls from 17:48 on 24 October to 16:46 on the 25th, and rises from 18:24 on 27 March to 19:26 on the 28th. That is 1 hour 2 minutes of evening daylight moved overnight in each direction.
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