London in August

Like NYC, London is always open.

Its Summer so places will be swarming with locals and tourists.

Trust me the English are nothing like the French.

We were just there last month. As Claudia says, it’s all open, and being summer, there are extra outdoor activities, too, like the Opera at Holland Park.

Any Londoners out of town on holiday will be more than made up for with tourists in town from other places.

I, too was there last month. It was as busy as always. Nothing closes.

As Claudia, Cyn, & Frank II have indicated London is always open.

I use to travel to the UK & London the last half of August and first half of September which included the August Bank Holiday. For the last several years I've been traveling to London in October to as late as November. In my experience London doesn't slow down and it's always busy and hopping.

Londoners do go away in August and it’s the month with the lowest number of tube journeys taken. It’s a good time to visit as it’s less busy and you can get some good hotel deals due to lack of business travel. Most British people won’t visit London in August much for tourist reasons because it’s the month for beach holidays.

Londoners do go away in August and it’s the month with the lowest number of tube journeys taken.

Yes. Public transport is noticeably quieter in August. I don't often use the tube these days but it's very obvious in how busy the buses are. Outside of central London roads are much quieter in the morning because of no school run. When I worked at one of the well known art institutions I'd take August off in whole or in part because the senior management I worked alongside would head back to Italy and France, clearing their diary at work for the whole month.

It may not be as noticeable for the visitor if you don't have experience of other times to benchmark against. It's still a busy time for foreign tourists.