Do I need cash in London as tourist?

Do I need to bring cash to the UK? It's a good idea to have small amounts of cash to hand. You may need coins or notes when parking, or require some for tipping. When paying for small items it can also be simpler to hand over a few coins than a card or a banknote.



As of March 2026, London is effectively a cashless city. You can spend an entire week in the capital without ever touching a physical banknote. All public transport (The Tube, buses, and trains) requires contactless payment (via credit/debit card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay) or an Oyster card; they literally do not accept cash. Almost every street performer, "Big Issue" seller, and market stall in places like Borough Market or Camden now uses portable card readers. The only very rare exceptions where you might want a small amount of cash (e.g., £20) are for leaving tips for hotel housekeeping, small independent "mom-and-pop" shops in rural areas outside London, or if a specific digital system goes down. For the modern tourist, a travel-friendly credit card with no foreign transaction fees is infinitely more useful than a wallet full of pounds. In fact, some trendy cafes and bars in Shoreditch and Soho have now gone "card only," making cash a burden rather than an asset.

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Walking around money - which may include a bit of shopping, a visit to the theatre, a newspaper, a taxi ride, meals, a pint at the pub - you know your own habits better than we do. As a rough estimate, though, perhaps 40-50GBP per day should do it - that's not including accommodation and travel expenses.

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It isn't enough for accomodation, not really even if the whole £500 is just for the accomodation. Accommodation would cost more than that, and you would have to have at least £300 for food. If you wanted to visit places like the Tower of London, and even St Paul's Cathedral you would need about £200 for that.

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Do you tip in London? It is customary to leave 10 to 15% of the bill as tip when eating out, though some restaurants add on a service charge instead. In London hotels, people often tip porters. It is polite to round up your taxi fare to the nearest pound for black cabs and licensed minicabs.

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In case you are planning a side trip to London while you're in Paris, you should be aware that you cannot use euros in London (or elsewhere in the United Kingdom), so you may also want to get some British pounds before you travel.

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While there are enough things to do in London to keep you busy for a lifetime, three days is enough to get a really good overview of the city. Focus on specific areas to avoid spending too long getting around, and make use of pre-booking and skip-the-line tickets to maximise your time.

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While you can see most of the main sights in London in one day or two days, for first-time visitors, I highly recommend spending at least 3-4 days in London. This should give you sufficient time to get acquainted with the city, see the main landmarks, and visit a few of the most popular tourist attractions in London.

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If your place to stay, airfare, and football tickets/tour aren't included in the £300, as you said, then you should be good to go. You can get by on £60 (60 pounds) a day for food (especially cheapie food) and drink (and transport), if you don't over do it.

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Identity theft and compromised personal information are potential dangers in a cashless economy, but privacy might be compromised in other ways too. When you pay digitally, you always leave a digital footprint, and this footprint is easily monitored by financial institutions.

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