How to make the most of your visit to London

Last Updated on November 27, 2016

Three ways to make the most of your London Visit

Visiting London, whether for the first time or on a return trip, can be quite overwhelming.  Our Capital City has a history dating back to Roman times and there are a wealth of places to visit and things to do.

What’s the best way to make the most of your trip?  Well, you might start with a London City Pass from Turbopass.  With the London City Pass, you get a booklet of vouchers that you can use whenever you want within a ten-day period.  So, even if you’d planned to take the river cruise, you can change your mind if it rains or if you just fancy doing something else – and just postpone for another day. The vouchers cover the cost of some of London’s best attractions too.

I’d strongly recommend making sure your London City Pass includes the Visitor Oyster Card option.  The Oyster Card is a smart card issued by Transport for London which is specially designed to allow you to travel around London for less.  You can buy yours as part of your London City Pass.  With your oyster card, public transport around London becomes easier, faster and cheaper – tickets for the underground and DLR are heavily discounted.  Right now, if you paid to travel from Oxford Street to St Paul’s, a single ticket would cost you £4.90 while you’d only pay £2.40 with your oyster card.  And, most London buses don’t take cash at all.  The Oyster Card also has its own set of discounts, from free drinks when you eat in certain bars and restaurants to 2 for 1 theatre tickets.

There are three things I advise all visitors to London to do.  And all of them are made easy with the London City Pass.

 1.  Travel along the Thames

First, take a river cruise.  Your London City Pass includes one for free.  City Cruises offer great guided tours along the river – I’d recommend boarding at Westminster (you can take a look at the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Cathedral at the same time).  Then, depending on your own itinerary, you can stay on the river cruiser up to the Tower of London, or continue up to Greenwich, where you’ll find the National Maritime Museum, the Royal Observatory and the historic Meridian line which divides the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres of the Earth. I love the river cruises offered by City Cruises – there are indoor and outdoor decks and, travelling along the river with one of their excellent guides, you’ll have the opportunity to really learn about the history of London without having to burn through your shoe leather, at a gentle pace and yet, taking no more than an hour or so of your time.

2.  See London from on high

Secondly, go up onto the Viewing Deck at the Shard.  Again, this is free of charge with your London City Pass and you’ll also get Priority Entrance and be able to skip the queues.  The Shard offers a 360-degree view around London.  Make sure you take a look through the intelliscopes – rather special viewing telescopes which come with a computer monitor.  You can home in on a particular building and click to find out more about it – heritage and current use.  And, you can also play god and change the time of day just with the click of a button – so you can see what a particular place would like at night or early in the morning for example.

3.  Step back in time and go to jail!

Finally, do make sure you visit the Tower of London.  With your London City Pass, you get a ‘Central London Royal Pass’ which will let you into the Tower, the Banqueting House and Kensington Palace free of charge as well as giving you fast track entry.  All three are worth a visit for their splendid architecture and fascinating heritage.  The Tower of London is arguably the most iconic building in London and one where during the peak holiday season you can have to wait for admission.  So, your London City Pass with the inclusive fast track entry will really help!

The London City Pass comes with a number of vouchers for free admission to London attractions.  And with discounts on yet more – including special guided walking tours.  It’s an excellent way to make the most of your budget when you are visiting London.  It’s flexible – you can do as much or as little as you like within a ten day period – and it is very convenient – you’ll find you can skip queues!

There are three different price options too.

STARTER (£79.90) lets you enter 7 of the main attractions.
CLASSIC (£99.90) additionally includes access to the Shard viewing deck.
BEST (£129.90) adds the Shard, the Banqueting House and you do not have to choose between Tower of London and Kensington Palace.

Definitely a must-have on any visitor’s shopping list for London.  You can get your London City Pass online before you travel too!

Disclosure:  This post is written in conjunction with London City Pass

Thinking of visiting London?  why not pin this post for later!