Bored of buying fridge magnets, keyrings and mugs? We’ve turned your itinerary of essential London attractions into a souvenir shopping list with these cool and affordable gift ideas.
The 20 Best London Souvenirs Under £20:
1. Harrods: Teddy bear
This is one of the most famous shops in London (and a great selfie opportunity at night when it is lit up). There are branded tea towels, tote bags and water bottles available within budget, but we had to go for the classic Harrods teddy bear. Unmistakable with its embroidered foot and snazzy ribbon, this will make a fabulous gift – if you can ‘bear’ to give it away.
Price: £20.00
2. London Transport Museum: Tube map jigsaw
Geek out in this surprisingly engaging museum of London’s public transport systems. You could opt to buy glasses cases, mugs or socks with TfL designs for under £20, or a clever Mind The Gap card game, but this 1000-piece jigsaw of Henry C Beck’s iconic tube map will keep that puzzle-fiend pal of yours happy for hours.
Price: £16.00
3. Kensington Palace: Lady Diana earrings
Inspired by Lady Diana’s iconic engagement ring, these faux sapphire and diamond earrings will mean even more to the royalist in your life once they know you bought them from her actual London home, Kensington Palace.
Note: if you are planning on having a traditional afternoon tea while you’re in town, the one in the Orangery at Kensington Palace is a good one. Booking is essential; enjoy the top-class tea and admire the beautiful fine bone china plates, hand finished in 22ct gold and decorated with royal motifs (also available to buy, if you’re feeling flush) as well as the elegant view.
Price: £15.00
4. Platform 9 and 3/4, King’s Cross Station: Tin of magical sweets
There’s a lot of film locations for Harry Potter fans to visit in London but you can’t beat a photo of you pushing a luggage trolley through the wall at Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross station. The Ollivander-esque shop nearby sells all the magical merch; the baseball caps are cool and we love the plush toy Death Eater for fans with a dark side, but the sweet selection is just irresistible.
Either mix-and-match smaller treats including butterbeer jellybeans, peppermint toads, fudge flies, chocolate frogs, fizzing whizzbees and exploding bon bons, or go for a permanent keepsake with the Bertie Botts Beans souvenir tin – flavours include tutti-frutti, marshmallow, soap, grass and earwax.
Price: £15.95
5. Portobello Road: G&T made with London gin
Portobello Road market is a must-visit and it is worth browsing the stalls and shops for budget antiques or old maps and prints. One souvenir that you don’t have to leave to chance though is a classic G&T made with London gin. Portobello Road has its own gin distillery and, while bottles cost a little more, you can get pre-mixed cans to go within budget.
Price: £2.50 per 250ml can
6. Fortnum & Mason: Musical biscuit tin
You know the only thing wrong with the music boxes of your childhood? Insufficient biscuits.
This cute merry-go-round biscuit tin contains half milk chocolate-coated Dulce de Leche biscuits. Place it on a flat surface, turn it anti-clockwise to wind it up and it will play The Carousel Waltz as it revolves. Alternatively, for £19.95 you could go for a larger tin shaped like the iconic store itself, filled with a classic selection of lemon curd, stem ginger and Valhrona chocolate pearl biscuits, which plays Handel’s Water Music.
Fortnums is also a wonderful place to buy some tea: English Breakfast or Royal Blend tea for maximum souvenir vibes. The tins are beautiful but the loose leaf tea section is a joy to behold.
Price: £16.95 for 150g
7. Manze’s Pie & Mash shop: T-shirt
The flagship London branch is in Tower Bridge; take a seat, order the pie and mash double double with liquor (parsley sauce, not booze) and a cup of tea, and become part of London’s culinary history. Then celebrate getting your Guy Ritchie on with this covetably cool t-shirt.
Price: £15.00
8. Tower Bridge: Chopping board
Walk off your pie and mash with a trip to nearby Tower Bridge. Once you’ve toured the engine room and walked over the glass floor, don’t miss the gift shop. We like the tube lines chopping board for a genuinely useful and stylish souvenir, but if you are seriously strapped for cash then go wild with their selection of good-quality enamel pins at just £2.50 each.
Price: £17.50
9. Tower of London: Umbrella
Beefeaters are the iconic guardians of the Tower, and there are plenty of gift options on this theme, but don’t forget the ravens. Legend has it that the Tower and kingdom will fall if the ravens ever leave; consequently they are cosseted by an official Ravenmaster.
There are keyrings and badges, tote bags and tankards, even a raven feather pen; but let’s get real, you’re going to need an umbrella. Choose between the black and gold crown design, or the altogether more mysterious ravens version.
Price: £20.00
10. Shakespeare’s Globe: Shakespeare socks
Watching Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre on the banks of the Thames is a uniquely London experience – and an affordable one, if you are happy to be a groundling. We were fleetingly tempted by their fabric pot plant holder but ultimately couldn’t resist the silliness of the William Shakes-feet socks.
Price: £12.50
11. Tate Modern: London poster
One of London’s most popular tourist destinations (and much-loved by locals too), the Tate Modern is free to visit and just moments from the Globe. There are art-themed gifts and mementoes aplenty – with a particularly cool selection for kids – but if you’re going to take home a poster of London it should really be from the Tate. We like this appropriately modern one by Peter Judson.
Price: £15.00
12. St Paul’s Cathedral: Set of coasters
Book a sightseeing tour or just wander in for free and relax for a few moments listening to the choir. St Paul’s is a stunning building with a fascinating history; there are several books you can pick up if you are interested, but if you’re looking for something with a more general appeal then how about these coasters? Featuring a local artist’s illustrations of four iconic London images including a telephone box and a black cab, they are perfect for that cup of expertly-brewed tea you’ll be making on your return.
Price: £18.00
13. Borough Market: Arty tea towel
If you were looking for stuff to stock up the fridge in your Airbnb we would be here all day, but with so many regulations about what you can take back we’ve stuck to non-food items – although please do at least check out the wonderful range of British cheeses while you’re there. That narrows it down to one of the excellent cookbooks from the Borough Market store (you may have to shop around online to squeak in under budget) or something from Richard Bramble’s wonderful selection of homeware. We wouldn’t normally consider a tea towel much of a gift, to be fair, but these are like art for the kitchen.
Price: £13.95
14. Hamley’s: Paddington Bear
If you happen to be travelling to or from Paddington Station then you can stop off at a shop there to buy London’s most famous bear, but the flagship Hamley’s toyshop on Regent Street should be on your list of London sights anyway. It’s a seven-storey wonderland for kids of all ages.
Price: £10.99
15. E Pellici’s: Tote bag
No trip to London is complete without trying a proper full English breakfast, served with a side of East London banter. Pellici’s has been the OG spot for over a century, and now you can take home an IYKYK tote bag to commemorate your visit.
Price: £10.00
16. Brick Lane Souvenirs: Football-themed street sign
If you are a British footie fan and are visiting one of the stadiums then you can pick up an official souvenir there; otherwise, stop off on your way to try the legendary salt beef beigel from Beigel Bake and pick up a replica street sign at this Aladdin’s cave of souvenirs. If you schedule it towards the end of your trip, you’ll be able to tick those last few tricky relatives off your list with everything to solar-powered waving monarchs to Banksy t-shirts.
Price: £10.00
17. Liberty: Notebook
Built in the 1920s in Tudor Revival style, using timbers from ancient battleships, Liberty is a dreamlike maze of rooms, each a treasure trove of luxury fabrics and furnishings. One of their notebooks or journals with a classic Liberty print cover is a classy gift, or a special keepsake.
Price: £15.99
18. Houses of Parliament and Big Ben: Shortbread and fudge
Ideal for that trivia fan with a sweet tooth, this Big Ben (aka Elizabeth Tower) themed tin is decorated with interesting facts about the iconic clock tower. You can’t leave London without a tin of clotted cream shortbread and fudge – and at this price, you can gift one and keep one.
Price: £10.00
19. Royal Observatory Greenwich: 50 year calendar
Contemplate the vastness of space in the observatory, stand in both Eastern and Western hemispheres at the same time across the Prime Meridian and then choose a suitably thought-provoking keepsake or gift. The Astronomy Puzzle Book will test your brain but we were intrigued by this paperweight with a 50 year brass calendar – hopefully, you know someone who will be too.
Price: £20.00
20. Buckingham Palace: Hand towels
Whatever your views on the monarchy, watching the Changing of the Guard at the King’s official London residence of Buckingham Palace is about as quintessential a London experience as you can get. Celebrate it by picking up an irreverent and quirky rubber duck version of a Guardsman, complete with red coat and busby, or perhaps a rather more sedate set of hand towels embroidered in gold with the Buckingham Palace crest for your mum.
Price: £19.96
While we do our best to ensure it is correct, information is subject to change.
