ORIENTATION TO LONDON - London 2015 - page 46

doesn't do floodlighting as well as, say, Paris ( £ 19, £ 15 online). From June through late
September, open-top buses depart at 19:00, 20:00, 20:45, 21:30, 22:10, and 22:55 from
Victoria Station (Jan-May and late Sept-late Dec departs at 19:00, 20:45, and 22:10 only
with closed-top bus, no tours between Christmas and New Year). Buses leave from near
Victoria Station (in front of Grosvenor Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road; or you can
board at any stop, such as Marble Arch, Trafalgar Square, London Eye, or Tower of Lon-
don; tel. [phone], www.london-by-night.net ). For a memorable and economical
evening, munch a scenic picnic dinner on the top deck. (There are plenty of take-away op-
tions within the train stations and near the various stops.)

Land and Sea Tours
A bright-yellow amphibious WWII-vintage vehicle (the model that landed troops on Nor-
mandy's beaches on D-Day) takes a gang of 30 tourists past some famous sights on
land—Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus—then splashes into the Thames for
a cruise. All in all, it's good fun at a rather steep price. The live guide works hard, and
it's kid-friendly to the point of goofiness. Beware: These book up in advance ( £ 21, April-
Sept daily, first tour 9:30 or 10:00, last tour usually 15:00, shorter hours Oct-March, 1-4/
hour, 1.25 hours—45 minutes on land and 30 minutes in the river, £ 3 booking fee by
phone or online, departs from Chicheley Street—you'll see the big, ugly vehicle parked
100 yards behind the London Eye, Tube: Waterloo or Westminster, tel. [phone],
www.londonducktours.co.uk ).

Driver-Guides
These three guides have cars or a minibus (particularly helpful for travelers with limited
mobility), and they also do walking-only tours: Robina Brown ( £ 330/half-day, £ 475/day,
£ 660 outside London, £ 40 more for groups of 4-6 people, also does overnight tours farther
afield, tel. [phone], www.driverguidetours.com , [e-mail] ),
Janine Barton ( £ 350/half-day, £ 470/day within London, £ 550 outside London, tel. 020/
7402-4600, http://seeitinstyle.synthasite.com , [e-mail] ) , and David Stubbs ( £ 195/
half-day, £ 245/day, about £ 50 more for groups of 4-6 people, also does tours to the
Cotswolds, Stonehenge, and Stratford, mobile [phone],

www.londoncountrytours.co.uk , [e-mail] ) .

▲▲▲ ON FOOT

Several times a day, top-notch local guides lead (sometimes big) groups through specific
slices of London's past. Look for brochures at TIs or ask at hotels, although the latter usu-
ally push higher-priced bus tours. Time Out, the weekly entertainment guide, lists some,