W1 London / Things to do

A Weekend in Central London Itinerary: Two Days in W1 on Foot

This weekend in central London itinerary keeps you inside W1 for two days and never needs the Tube. Saturday is Mayfair and Soho, when the galleries and arcades are open and the West End is at its liveliest. Sunday is Marylebone, which is at its best on the one morning its farmers' market runs. Every opening time below was checked in September 2026, and the free stops are marked so you can see where the money actually goes.

Shoppers at a flower and vegetable stall at Marylebone Farmers' Market
A Sunday morning at Marylebone Farmers' Market. Photo: Marylebone Farmers' Market by Magnus D (CC BY 2.0), via Flickr.

Why the days fall this way round

Two fixed points decide the order. Marylebone Farmers' Market runs every Sunday from 10am to 2pm and not on Saturday. The Royal Academy is open Tuesday to Saturday, and big shops on Oxford Street and Regent Street can only trade for six hours on a Sunday under the Sunday trading rules, which in practice means noon to 6pm. So Saturday goes to the galleries and the shopping streets, and Sunday to the market and the museums that open every day.

Saturday: Mayfair and Soho

10am: Handel Hendrix House, Brook Street

Two musicians, two centuries apart, lived next door to each other in Mayfair. George Frideric Handel lived and wrote at 25 Brook Street; Jimi Hendrix lived in the top-floor flat at 23. One ticket covers both. The house opens Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm with last entry at 4pm, and an adult ticket is £14.50. Allow an hour.

11.15am: Burlington Arcade

Walk south through Mayfair to Piccadilly, about ten minutes. The arcade has been under glass since 1819 and still has its own beadles. It opens at 9am on Saturdays and 11am on Sundays, so Saturday morning is the quiet time to see it.

Noon: the Royal Academy

Burlington House is next door. The paid exhibitions change through the year, but the RA Collection Gallery and the John Madejski Fine Rooms are free. Hours are 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday, and until 9pm on Fridays; it is closed on Mondays. One change to know about: until spring 2027 every visitor uses the Burlington House entrance on Piccadilly, because 6 Burlington Gardens at the back is closed while the collection gallery is expanded.

1.30pm: lunch in Soho

Cross Regent Street into Soho. Our day out in Soho itinerary has the detail on markets, record shops and where to eat, so this is the point to borrow a few hours from it.

3pm: Carnaby Street and Liberty

Carnaby Street and the lanes off it are pedestrianised, and Liberty's mock-Tudor store on Great Marlborough Street is worth going inside even if you buy nothing. Saturday is the day to do this: on Sunday the big stores open late and close early.

Evening: dinner and a show

Shaftesbury Avenue's theatres sit on the southern edge of W1, and Soho has more restaurants per street than anywhere else in London. Book both. A Saturday table in Soho after 7pm without a booking is a long wait.

Sunday: Marylebone and Fitzrovia

10am: Marylebone Farmers' Market

One of London Farmers' Markets' flagship markets, set up in June 2003, on St Vincent Street, Aybrook Street and the top of Moxon Street (W1U 4DF). It runs every Sunday from 10am to 2pm, rain or shine. Producers sell what they grow, rear or make, not all stalls come every week, and some take cards. Go early for the bakers.

11am: Marylebone High Street

Two minutes' walk away. The independent shops, cafés and bookshops make this the easiest street in W1 to spend an hour on without planning anything. Our Marylebone guide goes street by street.

Noon: the Wallace Collection, Manchester Square

The best free museum in W1 and one of the best in London: a townhouse full of Old Master paintings, French furniture and armour, with Fragonard's The Swing among its best-known works. It is open daily from 10am to 5pm and entry to the permanent collection is free. Allow ninety minutes, and have coffee in the glass-roofed courtyard.

2pm: a late Sunday lunch

Marylebone and Fitzrovia do a proper Sunday roast. Our best Sunday roast in W1 list has the pubs and restaurants worth booking.

Afternoon: Fitzrovia or Oxford Street

If you want shops, Oxford Street's department stores will be open by now. If you do not, walk east into Fitzrovia, along Charlotte Street and through Fitzroy Square, one of the quietest Georgian squares in central London, and end at the park at the top of Portland Place.

What the weekend costs

Following this plan, the only fixed ticket is Handel Hendrix House at £14.50. The Wallace Collection, the RA's free displays, Burlington Arcade, the market and every street on the route cost nothing. The real costs are the meals, a theatre ticket and where you sleep, and our cost of a weekend in central London page prices those line by line. If the forecast turns, swap the walking stretches for our rainy day list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is two days enough for central London?

Two days is enough for one part of it done properly. Staying inside W1 means everything is walkable, with no time lost on the Tube, and Mayfair, Soho, Marylebone and Fitzrovia together give you galleries, markets, shopping, theatre and some of the best restaurants in the city.

What is open on a Sunday in Marylebone?

Marylebone Farmers' Market runs every Sunday from 10am to 2pm, the Wallace Collection opens daily from 10am to 5pm with free entry, and the independent shops on Marylebone High Street mostly open late morning. Large stores open for six hours, usually noon to 6pm.

Is the Royal Academy free?

Its collection displays are. The RA Collection Gallery and the John Madejski Fine Rooms are free, while the main exhibitions are ticketed. The RA is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm, until 9pm on Fridays, and closed on Mondays.

When is Handel Hendrix House open?

Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm, with last entry at 4pm. It is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. An adult ticket costs £14.50 and covers both Handel's house at 25 Brook Street and Hendrix's flat next door.

Where should I stay for a weekend in W1?

Marylebone is the quietest base and puts you next to Sunday's market; Mayfair is the most expensive; Soho is the loudest late at night. Anywhere inside W1 keeps both days of this plan on foot.

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