Sightseeing when vacationing in the best cities in the world is necessary. London travel offers several options for sightseeing tours, including double decker bus tours, ferry tours, river boat tours, duck tours and London views from the London Eye.
London Travel
We choose a bus tour with Big Bus Tours. Our hotel concierge recommended them based on the number of buses they have.
London Sightseeing in Photos
We purchased a single day bus tour pass which provided us the ability to jump on and off at any time for exploration on foot. In specific locations such as Trafalgar Square, Big Bus Tours also offers walking tours which you can connect with using your original ticket.
Their exists several different bus lines identified by a color. A complete bus tour without exiting the bus will take up to 3 hours. Pay special attention to the red and blue bus lines which are the main bus tours throughout the city. The Blue line offers pre-recorded commentary in many different languages. The Red line has live commentary by guides. Personally, we prefer the guides, which are more lively and entertaining. The downside, is that it’s difficult to hear them when you sit on the top in the open air section. There are no speakers near you, which was a bit of a disappointment. The audio of the guide did not run through the headsets.
London Bus Tours
Bus tours have always been considered too touristy, or rather a distant method of experiencing a place or culture. This is true, I don’t argue that fact, but there are also many benefits to sightseeing on bus tours. It’s difficult to make your way around an entire city, such as London, on your own. You may not have a car, city transportation doesn’t have an open top roof and it’s difficult to take pictures and drive at the same time. We enjoy bus tours, but we also realize it’s important to get out on foot and explore the local culture and people to get a real feel for the atmosphere.
With so many attractions to see in the big city of London, a bus tour is a great option. When we visit the best cities to travel in the world, we book a bus tour. Unless you plan to quickly visit other tourist destinations in Europe via cheap flights to Paris or Florence, take your time in London and pay a little extra to extend your bus tour to 2-days. The advantage is that you can use it for your normal transportation needs throughout the city. Taxis are not cheap in London and the city’s buses are £2 each way, but you will wait longer for that tour bus.
River Thames
One of the most scenic areas is London is on the River Thames. A ride on a sightseeing river boat provides the best views of London’s famous bridges, including London’s Tower Bridge. The 30 minute river boat tour was included in our Big Bus Tour ticket price.
London Proper / The City of London
Downtown London is often referred to as “the City”, you might recognize it as a financial district or London’s Wall Street. Here you can find one of London’s greatest architectural marvels, St. Paul’s Cathedral, considered the nation’s church.
London Attractions
What can you expect to see on your London sightseeing bus tour? A lot!
Hyde Park Corner, Wellington Arch
Upscale Berkeley Street, London
London Proper, or the "City" of London
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
A London Staple. Pret A Manger is everywhere! Get your sandwiches here, at every block.
London's Outdoor Cafes serving English Breakfast and Fish and Chips
I adore London! I think those hop-on hop-off tours are a good way to get to know a city, especially if you’re staying for a short time. Then you can go back to the places you liked the most. BTW, you snapped some nice shots
Thanks Ana, we had a really great time in London and we agree. Tour buses do have a some good benefits.
Wow, great pics of the city. I hope to get over to London someday! Nice post!
Karl
Thanks Karl, it’s a top city in the world to travel.
Going to London this week and planning to take our first hop on/hop off tour. We will be there for 5 days and thought a bus tour first thing would help us orient and plan our stay. Thanks for the post!
Absolutely Stephanie, it’s best to begin with a bus tour and the revisit the areas you found most interesting or want to explore more.
I’ve never been the biggest fan of London, but seeing these photos makes me want to go back and give it one more try. Maybe even do a bus tour!!
Yup, I know as cheesy as it sounds, we have been doing bus tours as a way to get a good glimpse of the entire city. After that, we then go explore the places we wanted to see more of on foot.
incredible photography….i just love this post….