London Packing List
A good London packing list comes down to three things: a waterproof layer with a hood, shoes you could walk six miles in without thinking about it, and a Type G plug adapter. London rarely gets brutally cold or brutally hot. What it does, in every single month of the year, is get damp and gray with almost no warning, and it makes you walk a lot further than you expected. Pack for drizzle and mileage, and the rest sorts itself out.
Build your version in about two minutes with our free packing list generator, then use the season sections below to fine-tune it.
Updated September 2026. Entry requirements for the UK changed recently, and most visa-exempt travelers now need an approved Electronic Travel Authorization before they board. Apply through the official UK government ETA page and nowhere else. A fee applies, and third-party sites charge you extra to fill in the same form.
Why London Punishes the Wrong Packing
Three specific things about the city change what you should bring.
You walk further than you plan to. Museums are big, the streets are not on a grid, and the gap between two Tube stops is often a pleasant ten-minute stroll. Visitors routinely hit seven or eight miles a day without setting out to. Shoes are the single most important item in your bag.
The rain is rarely dramatic. It is usually a fine, sideways mist that soaks you slowly over twenty minutes. That kind of rain defeats a cheap umbrella and beats a stylish wool coat, but it barely bothers a hood. If the trip continues north to Edinburgh or the Highlands, our Scotland packing list covers the colder, windier version of the same weather.
Indoor spaces are hot. The Tube in particular runs warm all year, and it is genuinely uncomfortable in summer. Anything you wear needs to come off easily and pack down small in your day bag.
Once you accept those three facts, packing gets simple. Everything is a layer, the outer layer sheds water, and nothing you wear is precious.
The London Packing List, Season by Season
Start with the year-round core, then add the seasonal column.
| Category | Every season | Add for winter | Add for summer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outer layer | Waterproof jacket with a hood | Insulated coat or a warm midlayer under the shell | Packable rain jacket only |
| Midlayers | Two light sweaters or fleeces | Thermal top, warm scarf | One light cardigan for cold interiors |
| Bottoms | Two pairs of pants that dry fast | Lined or heavier pants | One pair of shorts, at most |
| Shoes | Broken-in waterproof walking shoes | Same, plus wool socks | Same, plus sandals you can walk in |
| Socks | Five pairs, wool or synthetic | Wool, thicker | Thin wool, still not cotton |
| Accessories | Small crossbody bag, Type G adapter | Gloves, warm hat | Sunglasses, refillable bottle |
| Extras | Compact umbrella, foldable tote | Hand cream, lip balm | Light layer for air-conditioned trains |
That is the whole thing. You will notice there is no separate "smart" outfit in the table, and that is on purpose. London is far less formal than visitors expect, and one pair of dark pants with a decent shirt or a simple dress covers dinner, theater, and anything else on a normal trip.
Winter in London
Cold, dark, and damp rather than freezing. Daytime temperatures usually hover in the 40s Fahrenheit, and the sun sets in the middle of the afternoon in December. That combination makes you feel colder than the number suggests.
Pack a warm layer under a waterproof shell rather than one thick wool coat. Wool holds water, and once it is wet it stays wet for the rest of the day. A hat and gloves are worth the space. So is a scarf, which does more for your comfort than an extra sweater.
Skip the heavy snow boots. Real snow in central London is uncommon and usually gone by lunchtime, but wet pavement is guaranteed, so waterproof shoes with grip are the useful version of the same idea.
Spring in London
The most unpredictable stretch of the year. A single day can hand you sun, wind, cold rain, and sun again. Pack the full layering kit and expect to use all of it.
Bring one more midlayer than you think you need and one fewer heavy item. Spring is also the season where a packable rain jacket earns its space, because you will carry it in your bag more often than you wear it. Our guide to how to use packing cubes helps here, since a compressed layer is the difference between carrying options and leaving them at the hotel.
Summer in London
Warm, occasionally properly hot, and famously short on air conditioning. Many hotels, older restaurants, and a lot of the Tube network do not have it.
Pack breathable fabrics, and pack fewer of them than you would for a US summer city. Linen and light cotton beat anything synthetic on a hot Tube platform. Bring a refillable bottle, because drinking fountains are common in parks and stations now and tap water is fine everywhere.
Do not leave the rain layer at home. A summer London day can still hand you an hour of steady drizzle, and the version you want in July is thin, hooded, and stuffs into a pocket.
Fall in London
Arguably the best packing season, because the weather is consistent enough to plan for. Cool, damp, and comfortable. The winter list minus the heaviest layer is almost exactly right.
Fall is when waterproof shoes stop being optional. Leaves plus rain plus stone pavement is a slippery combination, and wet feet at 10 a.m. ruins the whole day.
Shoes: the Item That Decides Your Trip
If you take one thing from this page, take this. Bring shoes you have already walked at least five miles in, and make sure they handle water. Our guide to the best walking shoes for travel explains what to look for if your current pair is not up to it.
The failure pattern is predictable. Visitors bring new sneakers or fashionable flats, walk eleven thousand steps on day one, and spend day three limping around a pharmacy looking for blister pads. It happens on nearly every first trip.
What works:
- A waterproof walking sneaker or a light hiking shoe with a real sole
- Chelsea boots or ankle boots that are actually broken in
- Wool or synthetic socks, never cotton, because cotton holds sweat and cotton plus friction equals blisters
- A second pair, so wet shoes get a day to dry
What does not work:
- Brand new anything
- Canvas sneakers, which soak through in ten minutes
- Heels, on streets that are frequently cobbled or uneven
- One pair only, which leaves you with nothing when they get soaked
Two pairs of shoes is the right number for almost any London trip. Wear the bulkier pair on the plane and pack the lighter one.
Worked Example: Five Days in London in October
Here is a real, complete pile for one adult, packed into a carry-on with room to spare.
Worn on the plane: waterproof walking shoes, dark pants, a t-shirt, a light fleece, and the rain jacket over the top.
In the bag:
| Item | Quantity | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Tops | 5 | Four casual, one nicer for dinner |
| Pants | 2 | One dark pair doubles for evenings |
| Sweater or fleece | 1 | Second one is worn on the plane |
| Underwear | 6 | Plan one sink wash mid-trip |
| Socks | 5 | Wool, no cotton |
| Sleepwear | 1 set | Hotels run warm |
| Second shoes | 1 pair | Lighter, for dry days |
| Scarf | 1 | Doubles as a plane blanket |
| Compact umbrella | 1 | For the horizontal rain days |
| Type G adapter | 2 | One for the wall, one for the nightstand |
| Toiletries | 1 quart bag | See the liquid rules below |
| Foldable tote | 1 | Groceries, market finds, museum shop |
That is five days of clothing plus everything else, and it fits in a standard 22 x 14 x 9 inch bag with the fleece worn rather than packed. If you are unsure whether your suitcase actually measures up, check it against our carry-on size checker before you get to the airport, because the wheels and handle count toward the measurement.
Electronics and Adapters
The UK uses a Type G plug, the big rectangular three-pin one, and runs on 230 volts. Two things follow from that.
You need an adapter, not a converter, for most modern devices. Phone chargers, laptop bricks, camera chargers, and tablets are almost always dual voltage. Look for "100 to 240V" printed in tiny letters on the brick. If it says that, a simple plug adapter is all you need.
Anything that makes heat is the exception. US hair dryers, flat irons, and curling irons are usually single voltage, and plugging one into a UK socket will destroy it or trip the outlet, sometimes memorably. Leave them home. Nearly every hotel has a hair dryer, and a dual-voltage travel version is worth owning if you use one daily.
Bring two adapters. Hotel rooms in older London buildings often have exactly one accessible outlet, and sharing it between two phones and a camera at midnight is a small nightly annoyance you can prevent with a spare.
If you are traveling with more gear than that, our guide to traveling with electronics covers batteries, chargers, and what the airline rules actually say about them.
Documents and the Boring Stuff That Matters
- Passport. Check the expiration date now, not the night before. Some onward destinations require validity beyond your trip dates, which we cover in the six month passport rule guide.
- ETA approval. Apply well ahead through gov.uk. Most approvals come through quickly, but "most" is not "all," and you cannot board without one if you need it.
- Contactless card or phone. London transit runs on tap-to-pay. Your contactless credit card or phone works directly at the gates, and daily and weekly caps apply automatically. Check the Transport for London site for current details before you travel.
- A card with no foreign transaction charge. Card is accepted essentially everywhere, and cash is close to optional now.
- Travel insurance details saved offline, plus a photo of your passport page stored somewhere that is not your phone's camera roll.
Our full travel document checklist walks through the rest, including what to leave at home.
Toiletries and the Liquid Rules
Pack liquids in a single quart-size bag if you are carrying on. TSA's 3-1-1 rule allows containers of 3.4 ounces or less, and the current requirements are always posted on TSA.gov. UK airports have been upgrading their scanners, and the allowances at Heathrow and Gatwick have changed more than once during that rollout, so pack for the strictest version and check your departure airport's own page before the return flight.
Two London-specific notes. Hard water is real here, and a lot of visitors find their hair and skin behave differently after a few days, so bring the conditioner you actually like rather than trusting the hotel bottle. And bring lip balm in every season, because cold wind and dry heated rooms are a year-round combination.
What to Leave at Home
- A full-size umbrella. It will not survive a windy day on Waterloo Bridge, and every corner shop sells a replacement.
- A separate outfit for every day. Nobody is tracking your repeats, and you will want the space for the return trip.
- Heavy jewelry and anything irreplaceable. Busy tourist streets and crowded Tube cars are where bags get opened.
- A voltage converter, unless you are bringing a heat styling tool, which you should not.
- Beach-weight sandals outside of a genuine heat wave.
- More than one bag, if you can avoid it. Stairs at older Tube stations are everywhere, and elevators are not.
For the wider version of this reasoning, our Europe packing list explains why one bag beats two on almost every trip across the Atlantic.
Day Bag Setup
Carry a small crossbody with a zipper, worn across the body and in front of you in crowds. That is not paranoia, it is just the local habit. Phone theft in busy areas is common enough that Londoners hold their phones differently than Americans do.
Inside it: a rain layer, a refillable bottle, a battery pack, your card, lip balm, and a foldable tote. That tote handles supermarket runs, museum shops, and the market finds you did not plan on. On a December trip it earns its place twice over, as our Christmas markets Europe packing list explains.
Leave the backpack for travel days. On crowded trains it takes up two people's worth of space, and you cannot see the zippers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many days of clothes should a London packing list cover?
Four to five days of clothing covers a trip of any length, as long as you can do a sink wash or find a laundromat. London hotel rooms are small, radiators dry things overnight in winter, and dragging seven days of outfits up a staircase at a Tube station gets old fast.
Do I really need waterproof shoes for London?
In fall, winter, and spring, yes. Summer you can get away with water-resistant. The rain is light but persistent, and once your shoes are wet in a cool damp climate they stay wet for a day or more, which turns into blisters and a miserable afternoon.
What kind of plug adapter does London use?
Type G, the three rectangular pins. Check your chargers for "100 to 240V" and bring plug adapters only. Leave single voltage hair dryers and flat irons at home, because 230 volts will destroy them.
Is London formal? Do I need dress clothes?
Not really. Most restaurants, pubs, and theaters are fine with smart casual, which means dark pants or a simple dress and clean shoes. Only a handful of places enforce a jacket rule, and if you have booked one of those you already know.
What should I pack for London with kids?
Add a change of clothes per younger child in your day bag, a compact stroller that folds for the Tube stairs, snacks, and rain covers. Our family vacation packing list has the full framework, and the ratios there work for a city trip with minor tweaks.
Can I pack carry-on only for a week in London?
Yes, and it is the better option. Between the stairs, the small hotel rooms, and the train luggage racks, a carry-on plus a personal item is genuinely easier. Our guide to how to pack carry-on only covers the method, and the laundry step is what makes it work.
When is the rainiest time to visit London?
There is no dry season, which is the honest answer. Rain is spread through the year rather than concentrated, and fall and winter feel wetter mostly because the days are shorter and colder. Pack the rain layer in July as readily as in January.
