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Travel kit
Not a shopping list — the things that answer the rules our guides keep running into: bag size limits, no cloakrooms, outdoor queues and audio tours that run on your own phone.
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Sun and rain
- Sun hat paid linkLondon and Paris queues are mostly outdoors — the Eye, Tower Bridge, the Eiffel Tower.
- Rain poncho paid linkPacks into a pocket. Buckingham Palace makes you check umbrellas in; a poncho stays with you.
- Sunscreen paid linkFor the long outdoor queues and the open-air galleries at the top of St Paul's and the Eiffel Tower.
Power and audio
- Travel power bank paid linkMaps, tickets on your phone, photos and QR-code audio tours all drain a battery by mid-afternoon.
- Headphones paid linkTower Bridge's audio tour runs on your own phone, and the operator asks you to bring headphones.
- Earbuds paid linkThe pocketable option for phone audio tours and the Natural History Museum's free online guides.
- Budget earbuds paid linkThe cheaper choice if they're only for audio tours.
- Budget headphones paid linkThe cheaper over-ear option for the flight and the train.
- Universal travel adapter paid linkThe UK uses Type G sockets; France uses Type C/E. One adapter covers both.
- Wireless charging station paid linkCharges phone, earbuds and watch overnight from one socket in a hotel room.
Bags
- Foldable backpack paid linkWithin the strict bag limits at St Paul's (45 × 30 × 25 cm) and Tower Bridge (45 × 35 × 20 cm), and allowed where large bags aren't — the Eye and Westminster Abbey.
- Carry-on bag paid linkFor the journey, not the visit: none of these attractions will take a wheeled case inside.
- Suitcase paid linkFor the journey. Most London attractions have no cloakroom, so drop it at the hotel first.
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The rules behind the list
- St Paul's CathedralBags max 45 × 30 × 25 cm, no cloakroom
- Tower BridgeBags max 45 × 35 × 20 cm, no water on site, bring headphones
- Westminster AbbeyNo cloakroom, large backpacks not admitted
- London EyeNo large bags on board; storage charged per item
- Buckingham PalaceBackpacks carried, not worn; umbrellas checked in
- Natural History MuseumCloakroom charged per item, subject to space