London Sightseeing Tours (The Original London Sightseeing Tour)

Member Name: rji0907

Product:	The Original London Sightseeing Tour
Date:	08/08/09 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A fantastic way to see the sights of London

Disadvantages: Rather expensive

I took a trip to London yesterday with family to see a theatre show. As it was a coach trip we arrived in London early afternoon with the performance not due to start until 8:30pm so we have a few hours to kill before the start of the show so decided to take a trip on the famous London Sightseeing Tour.

The tours are not cheap but are well worth it in my opinion as you get to see so many great British landmarks all in the space of an hour and without the hassle of trying to get yourself around in your own transport without getting lost and having to tackle the London congestion.

You can pick the tour up from pretty much any bus stop in the main London/Westminster area. We picked ours up from Leicester Square. The tours are priced at £24.00 for adults and £12.00 for children so as I said, not cheap.

The tours are done from red open topped double decker buses which generally have an undercover area at the front of the bus for those rainy days! As there are so many buses covering the tour all at once you tend to find that each bus isn't fully packed, leaving you more room to take photos etc. You are able to see on the bottom deck of the bus should you wish but you in no way get the same effect as you would at the top of the bus.

There is a tour guide with you who takes you through all the history of the landmarks on the way round, revealing some fascinating facts and figures of Londons heritage along the way.

The tour took us around the most famous of landmarks such as Nelsons Column, Marble Arch, Houses of Parliment, Tower Bridge, St Pauls Cathedral, Hyde Park, Big Ben etc, stopping for a few seconds at each one to allow you adequate time for photos/videos etc. The only place the tour is not allowed to get near is Buckingham Palace. You do drive past the gates of the Palace but there is a law that states that double decker buses are not allowed near to the palace.

You also get to see places of interest such as Harrods, the Dorchester Hotel, the Hilton empire and you get to drive past the front doors of celebs such as Roger Moore and Joan Collins in the more plush areas of London.

The price of your ticket includes a tour down the River Thames on a tour boat giving you a different perspective on London life. We personally didn't get time to do the river tour but I heard other people say that this too was fascinating.

The tour itself lasted about an hour should you complete the whole tour and get off the bus at the same place you started. With your tickets you are able to hop on and off the buses at whichever points you wish should you wish to spend more time exploring certain landmarks - just don't lose your ticket or you will end up paying again!!!

All in all I believe this tour was well worth the money. Very pricey for an hours bus drive but you get to see all of Londons and Westminsters most famous landmarks all in one go which I don't believe you would get to do any other way in such a short space of time and if like us you have a knowledgeable tour guide you get a really fascinating history lesson on London as well as some minor trivia thrown in on the not such famous parts of London but can be just as interesting.

I am really pleased I did this tour. I found it so interesting and learnt a lot too. Should you take a trip to London anytime in the future I completely recommend these tours. A fascinating way to spend an hour!

Summary: A fab way to see London!