London’s Great Tourist Fun

One of the best ways to see as many of London’s top attractions as possible is to take one of the open top bus tours. The big two are The Original Tour and The Big Bus which are in fierce competition with each other which makes their customers very happy as they get very good value for money.

Both companies use open-top (“double-decker”) buses: The Original Tour, the red ones, and The Big Bus, the brown ones. They follow similar routes, visiting the same main attractions, although they try to approach them from different directions. You will no doubt see red and brown buses in the most popular areas of central London.

The main idea behind these two tours is that a single ticket allows 24-hour use of the buses that run to London’s top attractions. Both companies have dozens of stops and ticket holders can get on and off the buses at any of the stops as many times as they like.

The Original Tour has four tours available: The Original Tour (marked in yellow, with commentary in English and live guides; approximately 2 hours), City Sightseeing Tour (red, with commentary in languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian , Russian, Japanese, plus Kids Club – in English; approx 2 hours), The Loop Line (green – with live guides; connects London’s West End with Westminster and Waterloo International Rail Station; approx 50 minutes ) and Museum Link (blue; provides easy access to many of London’s best museums, shops and attractions (approximately 1.5 hours). Departures are every 15-20 minutes; tickets can be purchased from staff at major departure points, on buses, at hotel concierges, various official agents, by phone at 020-8877-2120, or online – at http://www.theoriginaltour.com (it’s cheaper to buy online! ).

This company also offers Fast Track tickets for some of the most popular attractions where their buses stop (for example, Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London, Kensington Palace, the London Eye, etc.). Your clients are also offered a complimentary river cruise and can choose between the 50 minute non-stop Circular Thames Cruise with professional multilingual commentary in 7 languages ​​or the Point-to-Point Cruise, to Greenwich or Waterloo, with the “Captain’s Commentary” live by the Catamaran crew. Point-to-point cruises are available from Embankment, Waterloo, Bankside, Tower and historic Greenwich.

The Big Bus also has several routes and they will ticket you and sell you tickets to favorite places like Madame Tussauds and the Tower of London, saving you long waits in lines. Use the Blue Tour that runs every 10-20 minutes and listen to recorded commentary in one of eight languages. The Red Tour offers live commentary from an English-speaking guide and runs every 5 to 15 minutes. The Green Link runs every 20-30 minutes between Russell Square and Aldwych (no commentary). The daily departures of all their tours are between 8:30 am and 6 pm; tickets are valid for 24 hours. The ticket entitles the holder to take the free Thames River cruise and take part in one of Big Bus Co’s walking tours. These very popular walking tours last between 1 ½ and 2 hours and depart from Trafalgar Square (the bus stop). bus station is outside the Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery). You can take the following walking tours free of charge with a valid Big Bus ticket: Royal London Walk (ends at the Big Bus Information Center stop), Da Vinci Code Walk (ends at Trafalgar Square), Move Location Walk ( ends at Covent Garden), the Big Bus Beatles Walk (ends at Piccadilly Circus), Ghosts By Gaslight (ends at one of the tube stations). Those free rides start every day at various times. For more information visit the Big Bus Information Centre, 48 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1 or telephone 020-723-9533. You can buy tickets there, or through your hotel concierge, official agent, by mail, or online at http://www.bigbustours.com. When you visit their information center, you’ll receive a free rewards card (discounts and extras on a variety of meals in London) and a free copy of USA Today (subject to availability). That will make you feel at home.

There is one more sightseeing tour in operation in London, perhaps not as popular as the first two, but greatly enjoyed by those who find it. It is the London Duck Tour which lasts approximately 80 minutes and will take you on a amphibious vehicle for a ride around London’s top attractions and then you will have a spectacular launch into the River Thames from the slipway at Vauxhall to continue the exciting tour on the London Duck Tour! water! The tour departs from Chicheley Street (SE1 7PJ), about 100 meters from the back of the London Eye. The booking office is located at 55 York Road, London, SE1 7NJ, approximately 50 yards from the departure point. For more information or to book online, visit their exciting website at http://www.londonducktours.co.uk or call 020-7928-3132. Hours of operation are from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.