London Tour Bus

[sue.young]

There are two hop on hop off tour buses in London, The Original London Tour Bus and The Big Bus Company. Does anyone have any comments or recommedations for either of these tours? Should we book our tickets ahead of time?

[katisdale]

We used the Big Bus for our hop-on hop-off tour of London. We really enjoyed it. If I remember correctly there were three routes (color coded) and you could ride all day on all three lines as well as do some walking tours and take a short Thames cruise for one price. We bought our tickets on the bus but I think I read that you could get them early as well. I don't remember what we paid.

[cberge]

I agree, the Big Bus is great with all their routes.The other one is similar as well,but not as extensive.You can pick up brochures when you are in London and pick which one you think you may want to do.You save 2£'s by booking on line.I think it is 28£'s pp for the whole day,all the routes and a river cruise as well.Enjoy..:)

[sue.young]

Thanks Kati and Karen, look like the Big Bus it is. We will be in London for 3 days, any other hints?

[cberge]

Thanks Kati and Karen, look like the Big Bus it is. We will be in London for 3 days, any other hints?

 

Boy, that is a tough one as there is sooo much to see and do.I would walk around Covent Garden area for shops as well as sights,you may want to go back to some of the sights you saw on the bus tour,do a walking tour on your own of places you may have missed,visit a museum. You don't say when you will be there,but In August Buckingham Palace is open for tours...there is just so much to tell you to do.Oxford Street is the main shopping street.IMHO I would skip harrod's,but a walk through just to see would be ok.And on and on...ENJOY..:)Oh, if it is raining..brass rubbing in the crypt at St.Martins-in- the -Field right near Trafalgar Square,and they have a great palce to eat lunch as well.

[sue.young]

Hi Karen,

 

Have you done the changing of the guard? Was kind of thinking of the COG and then tour Buc. Palace? What is a brass rubbing?

[cberge]

Hi Karen,

 

Have you done the changing of the guard? Was kind of thinking of the COG and then tour Buc. Palace? What is a brass rubbing?

 

Yes, have done COG several times as I have taken friends to London that have never been,but we were spending a lot of time in London.Since you are on a cruise,and then only 3 days in London I would not spend the time to do it.If you want to see it you will have to get there early and wait,and that is just to much time IMHO wasted.You can get the tickets at the kiosk in the park near the palace for the palace tour and then they give you a time to be in line..it is another wait in line of time,but the line does move and you do get to see the palace.If you happne to be there in the AM when they have the COG then that would be fine.Also, while there, make sure to see the carriage house where the state carriages are kept.

Brass rubbings are generally the plaques that were on the tombstones in the old crypt's and graveyards that people did,but now they have them on plaques you can pick out and do in the crypt in the church.They make wondeful souveniers,and are fun to do.You can do them at Westminster as well.Anyway, you will have so much to see and do in your 3 days it will be hard to decide what to do,but ENJOY.I wish I were going this year.

[sue.young]

Karen,

 

Thanks for the info, maybe you should go as our tour guide. The rubbings shound great, what is the best way to do them?

[cberge]

Karen,

 

Thanks for the info, maybe you should go as our tour guide. The rubbings shound great, what is the best way to do them?

 

 

You are more than welcome and I would love to go as your tour guide...:) I will miss going to London this year,but we are doing 3 weeks in Italy.

As to the rubbings...when you go down into the crypt you will see a desk to purchase a plaque for rubbing and they give you the paper and the wax crayons are there as well...they will help you. I do mine in gold and black,but there are other choices as well.Have fun.

BTW,if you like good skin care products while you are in London check out Boots..they are the local drugstore and they make great skincare prodicts..that a lot of us load up on when we are there.Great footspray for tired feet as well...:)

[sue.young]

Karen, I just love the CC boards. I have learned so much from wonderful people like you. The rubbings sound like a perfect way to remember our trip. Thanks for the tips on Boots. With the exchange rate so high, this maybe a great gift for friends back home. Thanks again.Have you ever been to Covent Gardens during the carnival? Looks like it is the Sunday and Monday that we are in London. The Monday we are there is a Bank holiday. Will that affect any tourist stuff?

[Globaliser]

We will be in London for 3 days, any other hints?

My top recommendations, other than whatever catches your eye on the bus, is to fly on the London Eye and do a river cruise all the way to Greenwich and have a look around there. In particular, there's an interesting (covered) market on Sundays as well as all the nautical things, and you can easily walk up to the Royal Observatory and see the meridian line - where time begins.

 

You don't have to come back on the river if you think it's going to take too long; you can catch the DLR (Docklands Light Railway) from Cutty Sark station right in the middle of Greenwich to Canary Wharf (to change to the Jubilee Line of the Tube), Tower Gateway (to change to the Circle and District Lines at Tower Hill) or Bank (to change to the Central Line).

Have you ever been to Covent Gardens during the carnival? Looks like it is the Sunday and Monday that we are in London. The Monday we are there is a Bank holiday. Will that affect any tourist stuff?

If you're in Covent Garden, you wouldn't even know that the Carnival was on. That takes place in west London, in the Notting Hill area. You'll find some information about it on the local authority's website.

 

As for it being a Bank Holiday on the Monday, you can expect banks (of course), post offices and most offices to be shut. However, as for the stuff that visitors need in the centre of town, it'll just be another "weekend" day. All the sights, attractions, restaurants etc. should be open and as busy as (if not busier than) normal. The only exception might be theatres - but then theatre show times are now much less hidebound by law and tradition than they used to be.

[lesleyfb]

Try http://www.visitlondon.com and click on special offers

Also try http://www.thisislondon.co.uk and go to the insiders guide

 

Also type in big red bus tour London into your search engine and the choices are plentiful.

 

I went on an open top bus tour last Sunday but made the mistake of getting off at the pier and taking the river cruise which lasted about 3 hrs!!!! I should have stayed on the bus for a whole circuit then decided where to get off and explore. The pass was valid for 24 hrs so I could have used it for part of the next day. If you do book beforehand you should pay about £12 instead of £15 on the day.

[karmaflor]

Has anyone seen any shows in London that they would recommend?

 

Thanks.

Karen

[Globaliser]

Although not for those who are easily offended, Jerry Springer - the Opera is the absolute top tip for London. The first half is an acutely acerbic satire on the show itself, underlined by the operatic medium, and the second half ascends or descends into surreal territory that is the very stuff of real opera, in which some very deep questions are probed. And, throughout, it is side-splittingly funny.

 

If you want something more "family friendly", all these are highly recommended - I have seen them all and love them:-

• Anything Goes
  
• Mamma Mia
  
• The Lion King
  

[Mike Andrews]

My top four shows would be The Phantom of the Opera,Mamma Mia,Lion King and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang all of which offer a good nights entertainment.

[sue.young]

Thanks to everyone for all the great info. Sorry I got a little confused about Notting Hill and Covent Gardens. My sister recommended Covent Gardens for a good place to go in the evening. I know Hugh Grant will be waiting to see me in Notting Hill (Ha, Ha). With so little time you have helped me narrow my choices. Will do the hop-on hop-off bus and then then keep our options open. We just booked the Jewel TA for May of 05 so looks like we will get to spend some more time in London next year!

[lesleyfb]

When I was in London 2 wks ago I was passing Leicester Square when I noticed a booth where people were in a line. There was one line for evening performances and one line for matinees (it was a Saturday). The kiosk opened at 10.00am and at 9.30am I was about 6th in line for the matinee. I got a £40 ticket for £25 and was in the 3rd row. There was tickets for most of the shows, even the Phantom of the Opera although the reduction was only 25% less. "Anything Goes" has been well recommended as a real toe-tapper. I saw Thoroughly Modern Millie but it was the last day of the show so I was lucky I caught it.

There are lots of kiosks and booths selling discount tickets so you should be able to get a deal. The TKTS booth was the one I used which is similar to the one in New York.

[TWOFERTWO]

Will do the hop-on hop-off bus and then then keep our options open. We just booked the Jewel TA for May of 05 so looks like we will get to spend some more time in London next year!

 

sue.young on an earlier post, you mentioned the Changing of the Guards and Buckingham Palace. We just booked tours for the Palace yesterday through this site. We also plan to be there for the changing. If time allows, these tours are something! :D

 

https://www.the-royal-collection.com/royaltickets/group/default.asp?ID=108605998063796444

[pvmkmyer]

I just got back from London a week ago. We took the Big Bus, which was great. I think it was 18 pounds each. It's a bit less if you book in advance. If you don't you just pay before you get on board. It's good for 24 hours. Be sure you take a bus with a live guide; one route has only a taped patter, and it's not as good.

 

We went to the theatre 5 times and by far the best musical was "Anything Goes." It's a terrific production and the cast was great. And it has every great Cole Porter song in the score. You'll be humming out the door and all the way home. It's playing at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. You can tickets in advance on-line, or go to the box office when you arrive in London. It's been playing for over a year so tickets aren't hard to come by. Another great production, which just opened, is "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum." It's at the Olivier at the National Theatre. It will probably be hard to get tickets since it just opened, but it's a great production. There's lots of Shakespeare in town, if that's your thing.

 

Please be aware that London is expensive. Just double the price of anything in the States and that's about what you'll pay. For a reasonable lunch on the run, go to any of the dozens of Pret A Manger restaurants for a sandwich or salad. They are very good and very fresh. The rest of London will be queueing up with you. My one concession to American food on this trip was a quick lunch at Burger King while waiting for the Big Bus to arrive. Would you believe 4 whoppers, 2 fries and 4 drinks cost $33??? Just grin and bear it; it's a fabulous city.

[Mike Andrews]

The ticket booth Lesley writes of is at http://WWW.tkts.co.uk and is the OFFICIAL half price ticket booth in Leicester Square and should be your first stop if you are looking for theatre tickets.

[sue.young]

Thanks for the info on the tour and theater tickets.

 

Twofertwo looks like we will be just ahead of you by a week.

[katisdale]

One out of the way museum I really enjoyed was the one about Florence Nightingale at St. Thomas hospital. It is walking distance from the London Eye which was also great fun. (I am a nurse so that may color my opinion of Nightingale.) Also, if you can reserve a space for the Keys ceremony at the Tower of London I think this is worthwhile. It must be reserved ahead of time and takes place at about 10 PM each evening.