World City Guide

Tours of the City

The London Tourist Board (see Tourist Information above) can provide full details on all tour providers in London.

Walking Tours
A variety of guided walks are available from several operators, although the most comprehensive tours are offered by The Original London Walks (tel: (020) 7624 3978 or 7624 9255 (recorded information); website: www.walks.com). The price is 5.50 for a two-hour tour (concessions are available). The company also offers themed tours on a huge variety of subjects, including ‘Jack the Ripper’ and ‘The Beatles’. Tours start and finish near a Tube station; there is no need to book and walkers can just turn up at the appropriate station, all of which are listed on the website’s ‘timetable’. London Mystery Walks (tel: (020) 8526 7755; website: www.tourguides.org.uk) also offer ‘Jack the Ripper’ tours, as well as ‘Haunted London’. Both cost 5 (students pay 4), take approximately two hours and depart from Aldgate station and St Paul’s station respectively. Booking is required for the ‘Haunted London’ tour.

Alternatively, for self-guided walks, the Silver Jubilee Walkway (website: www.jubileewalkway.com) has been extended from the original 3km (2miles) along the South Bank of the River Thames (between Lambeth and Tower bridges) to include much of the City and the West End. It now covers 23 km (14 miles). Also, starting at the Tower of London, 21 explanatory plaques trace a route along the Roman London Wall.

Bus Tours
Various competing companies offer similar bus tours of London’s sights. Tickets are usually valid for 24 hours and passengers can hop on and off at various attractions en route. The Big Bus Company (tel: (020) 7233 9533; website: www.bigbus.co.uk) offers three different 90-minute sightseeing routes at 18 each (8 for children), with departure points close to many of London’s attractions. Original London Sightseeing Tours (tel: (020) 8877 1722; website: www.theoriginaltour.com) also offers various sightseeing bus tours.

Boat Tours
Westminster Pier is the main embarkation point for river trips. From here, there are services east (downstream) or west (upstream). City Cruises (tel: (020) 7740 0400; website: www.citycruises.com) operates sightseeing cruises east to Tower Pier, costing 5.60single or 6.80 return (journey time – 30 minutes each way), and Greenwich Pier, costing 6.80 single or 8.60 return (journey time – 1 hour each way) per adult (concessions are available). City Cruises also offers a ‘Red Rover’ day pass for its tours, enabling visitors to hop on and off at four different stops for 9 (concessions available). Tickets must be purchased at the ticket office before boarding.

Going west, summer services by WPSA (tel: (020) 7930 2062 or 4721; website: www.wpsa.co.uk) depart from Westminster Pier upriver to Kew Gardens, Richmond and Hampton Court. Tickets must be purchased before boarding and cost 10.50 single or 16.50 return for the 90-minute cruise to Kew, or 13.50 (single) or 19.50 (return) to Hampton Court, which takes over three hours (each way). Concessions available.

Catamaran Cruises (tel: (020) 7987 1185; website: www.catamarancruisers.co.uk) provides multi-lingual cruises from Waterloo, Westminster and Embankment Piers. These 50-minute non-stop circular cruises cost 8 (concessions available). Catamaran Cruises also operates a hop-on, hop-on service, covering Embankment Pier, Waterloo Pier, Bankside, Tower Pier and Greenwich Pier. Prices start from 3, although a day’s worth of unlimited travel on all Catamaran Cruises services is available with the ‘Hopper Pass’. Tickets cost 9 (concessions available) and must be purchased at the ticket office before boarding. Concessions are available.

Other Tours
London Duck Tours (tel: (020) 7928 3132; website: www.londonducktours.co.uk) runs unconventional tours on an amphibious craft, which depart from County Hall and rumble through London’s streets, taking in Whitehall, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, before plunging into the River Thames for a 30-minute cruise. Single tickets for the 70-minute tour cost 17.50, concessions are available.