Home › Visitor guides

One Day in Central London: A W1 Itinerary From the Wallace Collection to a Soho Night

This one day in central London itinerary stays inside W1 and needs no Tube once you arrive. You start with old master paintings on Manchester Square, cross the newly traffic-free Oxford Street, stop at Liberty and Carnaby Street, have lunch in Soho, spend the afternoon at the Royal Academy and finish with dinner and a show. It works best from Tuesday to Saturday, and the opening times below were checked in early November 2026. Notes for Sundays and Mondays follow the timetable.

The day at a glance

10am: the Wallace Collection

Start at Hertford House on Manchester Square, a few minutes north of Oxford Street. The Wallace Collection opens every day from 10am to 5pm, and the permanent collection is free with no booking. It displays old masters, French furniture, porcelain and armour as they would have been in a private house, so an hour and a quarter is enough if you pick your rooms and do not try to see everything. The museum warns that some rooms can close at short notice, so check before you go if you want a particular gallery.

11.30am: the traffic-free Oxford Street

Walk south for a few minutes to Oxford Street, which has changed this autumn. Since Monday 26 October 2026 the stretch from Orchard Street to Great Portland Street has been closed to traffic, including buses, taxis and cycles. Selfridges is beside the western end of it, and you should spend some time there even if you buy nothing. Our page on Oxford Street pedestrianisation explains the new layout, and the Oxford Street shopping guide covers the shops.

12.15pm: Liberty and Carnaby Street

Keep going east to Oxford Circus and turn down Regent Street to Great Marlborough Street. Liberty is the mock-Tudor store built in the 1920s from the timbers of two Royal Navy warships. It is on festive hours at the moment: 10am to 9pm from Monday to Saturday and 11.30am to 6pm on Sundays. Go up through the atrium floors for the building as much as for the shopping.

Carnaby Street is directly behind it. The street is pedestrianised and has its own Christmas installation at this time of year; see the Carnaby Street guide and our page on Christmas lights in W1 for dates and a walking route.

1.30pm: lunch in Soho or Chinatown

By now you are on the edge of Soho, with more choice than you can use. Keep it quick and cheap to save your money for dinner: our list of cheap eats in Soho and Chinatown covers meals under £15, and our page on the best restaurants in Soho helps if you would rather sit down for longer. Avoid booking a long meal here if you want the full afternoon below.

3pm: the Royal Academy and Burlington Arcade

Walk south across Regent Street and along Piccadilly to Burlington House. The Royal Academy is closed on Mondays and opens from 10am to 6pm on Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday, and from 10am to 9pm on Friday and Saturday. Use the Burlington House entrance, as the Burlington Gardens side is closed until autumn 2027. Exhibitions usually need a paid ticket, so check what is on and book ahead for a big show. Allow about an hour.

Burlington Arcade is next door, and it has been under glass since 1819. For more on the area, see our guides to the best art galleries in Mayfair and Mayfair itself.

5pm: Savile Row and the lights

From the back of Burlington House it is a short walk to Savile Row. In November it will be dark by now, so you can head back to Regent Street for the Christmas lights before finding a drink. If it has been a long day, our list of the best pubs in W1 and our cocktail bar picks offer good places to rest your feet.

7pm: dinner, then a show or jazz

Soho is where the day should end. Have an early dinner so that you can make a 7.30pm curtain, then choose a West End show on Shaftesbury Avenue or a set at Ronnie Scott's on Frith Street, which has been open since 1959. Book the show first and the table second. If you would rather stay out without a ticket, the pubs and wine bars around Old Compton Street and Dean Street are the simple choice; our Soho night out questions page covers the practical details.

If your day is a Sunday or a Monday

• Sunday: Big shops generally trade only from noon to 6pm under Sunday trading rules, so swap the morning around. Marylebone Farmers' Market runs from 10am to 2pm and pairs well with the Wallace Collection. Liberty allows browsing only until noon.
• Monday: The Royal Academy is closed. Spend the afternoon at another free stop from our free things to do in W1 list, or see museums near Oxford Circus.
• A wet day: Everything on this route except the walking is indoors, and things to do in W1 in the rain has further options.

Getting there and staying longer

Bond Street station is the closest to the start, with step-free access via lifts at the Marylebone Lane entrance. Oxford Circus and Piccadilly Circus are useful along the route. Our getting around W1 page has the details, including the rerouted buses. If one day turns into two, follow our weekend in W1 itinerary, and if you just want one neighbourhood, there is a perfect day in Soho too. For where to sleep, see where to stay in W1, or go back to the W1 London homepage.