ORIENTATION TO LONDON - London 2015 - page 45

For a grand and efficient intro to London, consider catching an 8:30 departure of a
hop-on, hop-off overview bus tour, riding 90 percent of the loop (which takes just
over two hours, depending on traffic), and hopping off at Buckingham Palace in
time to find a good spot to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony at 11:30. You
could start the tour as early as 8:00 if you take the Big Bus tour (catch it at Victoria
Station); the Original tour starts at 8:30 (at Grosvenor Gardens a block from Victor-
ia Station). If you miss the first bus, you could take the next one (generally about 20
minutes later), though it may get you to the ceremony late (check with the driver).
Original London Sightseeing Bus Tour
They offer two versions of their basic highlights loop: The Original Tour (live guide,
marked with a yellow triangle on the front of the bus) and the City Sightseeing Tour
(essentially the same route but with recorded narration, a kids' soundtrack option, and
a stop at Madame Tussauds; bus marked with a red triangle). Other routes include the
blue-triangle Museum Tour (connecting far-flung museums and major shopping stops),
and green, black, and purple triangle routes (linking major train stations to the central
route). All routes are covered by the same ticket. Keep it simple and just take one of
the city highlights tours ( £ 29, £ 4 less with this topic, limit four discounts per book,
they'll rip off the corner of this page—raise bloody hell if the staff or driver won't honor
this discount; also online deals, info center at 17 Cockspur Street, tel. [phone],
www.theoriginaltour.com ) .
Big Bus London Tours
For £ 30 (up to 30 percent discount online—print tickets or have them delivered to your
phone), you get the same basic overview tours: Red buses come with a live guide, while
the blue route has a recorded narration and a one-hour longer path that goes around Hyde
Park. These pricier Big Bus tours tend to have more departures—meaning shorter waits for
those hopping on and off; they also have an early starting departure from Victoria Station
at 8:00 (daily 8:00-18:00, winter until 16:30, tel. [phone], www.bigbustours.com ) .
BY BUS OR CAR
London by Night Sightseeing Tour
This tour offers a 1.5-hour circuit, but after hours, with no extras (e.g., walks, river
cruises), and at a lower price. While the narration can be pretty lame, the views at twilight
are grand—though note that it stays light until late on summer nights, and London just