Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on the capital every day to pay their respects to the Queen ahead of her funeral on Monday.

Westminster Hall will be the centre of the nation's attention over the coming days as her coffin spends four days lying-in-state, where it is expected to be visited by people from across the UK and around the world.

The public will be able to visit from 5pm Wednesday until 6.30am on Monday - just hours before the start of Her Majesty's State Funeral and the beginning of one of the biggest events the country is likely to ever witness.

With a bank holiday having been declared, and schools, shops, businesses, supermarkets and attractions across the country closing, those planning on travelling to the capital are being told to plan ahead, leave plenty of time for their journey and to expect large crowds on most major routes.

If you're considering venturing to the capital in the next few days here's some of the things you might need to know.

Lying-in-state

Large crowds are expected to line the streets on Wednesday to see the Queen's coffin leave Buckingham Palace for the final time as it is moved to spend four days on view to the public ahead of her funeral.

The procession from her official London residence to the Palace of Westminster will include the King and members of the Royal Family - while guns will be fired at Hyde Park and Big Ben will toll.

The cortege is expected to leave Buckingham Palace at 2.22pm on Wednesday afternoon and make its way along Queen's Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, into Whitehall, Parliament Street and Parliament Square before arriving at its Westminster resting place.

It's a journey which is expected to take 38 minutes and her coffin should reach Westminster Hall at 3pm before the Hall is opened to the public at 5pm on Wednesday evening. It will remain open 24-hours a day to enable as many people as possible to file past, before closing early on Monday morning.

Those wishing to take part in this historic occasion and pay their respects to the Queen are being warned they may need to wait for many hours or even overnight in queues expected to stretch back for miles. People also will face very strict airport-style security systems before being allowed to enter the Palace of Westminster itself.

The queue's official route will start on Albert Embankment close to Lambeth Bridge and work its way down the edge of the River Thames to Southwark Park - a length of almost five miles.

Extra toilets and water stations are expected to be put in place with attractions, cafes and other local businesses also expected to be open late into the night to serve food and drink to those waiting in the line.

At BFI Soutbank there also plans to show footage of the Queen on a large screen, which can also be watched by those lining up.

There is also not expected to be many opportunities for those waiting in line to be able to sit down once in the queue, but the Prime Minister's official spokesman said 'everything possible' was being done to help those who may not be able to wait for long periods.

He added: "A lot of people understandably will want to see the lying-in-state and we will do everything possible to facilitate as many people as possible, including those who may not be physically able to wait that long, because of disabilities, for example."

Anyone wanting to join the queue should bring clothes or waterproofs suitable for the weather, an additional phone battery charger, any essential medication or medical equipment and food and drink that will have to be disposed of before passing through the security point.

Small bags are also only permitted and while there is a bag drop facility, capacity say organisers will be limited, and there is no guarantee of space with anyone waiting for bag storage likely to also face longer queueing times.

A number of items are also not allowed to be brought into Westminster Hall through the security check points. These include:

* Bags larger than 40cm x 30cm x 20cm in size, bags or rucksacks with expandable compartments, bags or rucksacks with multiple pockets or complex openings, solid-sided bags, or bags on wheels.

* Flasks or water bottles, except clear water bottles, which must be emptied before entering security.

* Food and liquid of any kind

* Flowers or other tribute items, including candles, soft toys, and photographs. Anyone with floral tributes will be directed to take them to dedicated areas in Green Park or Hyde Park.

* Sharp items, including knives, Swiss Army knives, scissors or cutlery

* Banners, placards or flags

* Coolers, hampers, sleeping bags, blankets, folding chairs, or any camping equipment.

* Non-foldable pushchairs.

Visitors are also being asked to dress appropriately for the occasion and to not wear any clothing with 'offensive slogans'. Full admission details can be found here.

The Queen's funeral

The State Funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday at 11am.

On the morning of the funeral itself, the lying-in-state will end and the Queen's coffin will be taken, on the State Gun Carriage, on the relatively short journey from the Palace of Westminster to nearby Westminster Abbey, where the service will take place.

Senior members of the Royal Family are expected to follow behind, just as they did during Princess Diana's funeral 25 years ago.

Following Her Majesty's funeral, the coffin will be drawn in a walking procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch - near Hyde Park Corner - where it will be transferred to a waiting hearse and driven to Windsor.

Once there, the State Hearse will travel in another procession to St George's Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle via the Long Walk before a Committal Service takes place.

While there are a number of points at which people may be able to see the cortege and its processions, the streets are expected to be packed with people, many having queued for days before to find a spot in which to watch from and so police are asking any visitors to be prepared for large crowds.

Travelling by train

A small number of additional train services are to run through the night between Kent and London to help transport the thousands of people expected to make their way to the capital.

But anyone wishing to journey into London over the mourning period or on the day of the funeral should expect both the city and transport services to be 'extremely busy' say planners.

Train operating company Southeastern, which runs services from Kent to the capital, is asking people to allow as much time as possible for their journey and to check before setting off in the event that changes are made to train services.

There are also expected to be alterations to normal routes in and around stations in order to manage the number of people and demands for space on trains and platforms.

But additional overnight trains, running around every two hours, will be available from Wednesday night until Monday - stopping at a limited number of stations in the county.

A Southeastern spokesman said: "To help our customers get home from London after paying their respects to Her Majesty The Queen at Westminster Hall, we will be running a very limited number of additional services throughout the night between Wednesday and Monday.

"Services will run approximately every two hours, stopping at a limited number of stations: London Victoria to Dartford, Gillingham, Orpington and Ashford, London Charing Cross to Orpington and Tunbridge Wells, St Pancras International to Ashford International."

Any customers who thinks they might wish to make use of the additional trains is being advised to pay close attention to the up-to-date online journey planner here for further details and any changes.

All planned engineering work from Wednesday to Monday (inclusive) has also been cancelled or scaled back and RMT train strikes schedule to take place have been abandoned.

A Network Rail spokesman said all changes to services would show themselves on live journey planners and staff were doing all they can to manage such large numbers of people wanting to use the trains.

They added: "The rail industry is doing all it can to ensure people can travel to pay their respects during the period of mourning.

"Where possible, we will be running some extra services, including a very limited service operating through the night on some routes, and postponing engineering work. Customers should check journey planners for the most up-to-date information."

On the day of the funeral itself, off-peak restrictions will not apply, says Southeastern, and so off-peak tickets can be used to travel throughout the day on Monday.

Coach travel

National Express says its services are currently running as normal but there will be changes to coaches going to and from the capital as the date of the Queen's funeral gets closer and road closures in London are put in place.

In particular, says the company, London Victoria Coach Station will be out of use on Monday, September 19 because of its close proximity to events.

All services due to depart and arrive into London Victoria Coach Station will instead move to Wembley Stadium in most cases, where passengers who still wish to travel on this date will then need to use alternative arrangements to reach Central London.

Using public transport in London

Travellers are being told to rely on rail services and the London Underground to get around the centre of the city this week.

The Elizabeth line will run a special service with 12 trains per hour on the central section from Paddington to Abbey Wood on Sunday to provide further transport options for travellers, while the east and west sections will operate as normal.

London Underground will run as normal, says Transport for London, but some stations will be busier than usual and travellers should expect some short-term safety measures to be brought in such as queuing, closures, non-stopping trains or changes to the way customers enter or exit underground stations.

People are also being asked to avoid Green Park tube station to allow it to keep capacity for customers who need step-free access. Other tube stations such as Victoria, Piccadilly Circus and St James' Park are all within a short walk of Buckingham Palace.

Due to road closures, some bus services will also have to be diverted or will stop short of their destination and some may be forced to operate a reduced service.

Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: "Roads and public transport in central London will be very busy, so we advise everyone to allow plenty of extra time for their journeys and to avoid driving where possible.

"All Londoners and visitors to the capital over the coming days should check before they travel using the latest real-time travel information, which is available on our TfL Go app and on tfl.gov.uk. Additional TfL Travel Ambassadors will be on hand across our network to answer questions and to provide travel advice to anyone who needs it."