Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
London is committed to creating more bike paths, and many of its best sights can be laced
together with a pleasant pedal through its parks. A bike tour is a fun way to see the sights
and enjoy the city on two wheels.
London Bicycle Tour Company
Three tours covering London are offered daily from their base at Gabriel's Wharf on
the South Bank of the Thames. Sunday is the best, as there is less car traffic (
Central
Tour
—
£
24, daily at 10:30, 6 miles, 3 hours, includes Westminster, Buckingham Palace,
Covent Garden, and St. Paul's;
West End Tour
—
£
24, April-Oct daily at 14:30, Nov-
March daily at 12:00 as long as at least 4 people show up, 7 miles, 3 hours, includes West-
minster, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, Soho, and Covent Garden;
East Tour
—
£
27.50,
April-Oct Sat-Sun at 14:00, Nov-March only on Sat-Sun at 12:00, 9 miles, 3.5 hours, in-
cludes south side of the river to Tower Bridge, then The City to the East End; book ahead
for off-season tours). They also rent bikes (
£
3.50/hour,
£
20/day; office open daily April-
Oct 9:30-18:00, Nov-March 10:00-16:00, west of Blackfriars Bridge on the South Bank, 1
Gabriel's Wharf, tel. 020/7928-6838,
www.londonbicycle.com
)
.
Fat Tire Bike Tours
Daily bike tours cover the highlights of downtown London, on two different itineraries (
£
2
discount with this topic):
Royal London
(
£
20, daily March-Nov at 11:00, mid-May-mid-
Sept also at 15:30, 7 miles, 4 hours, meet at Queensway Tube station; includes Parliament,
Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, and Trafalgar Square) and
River Thames
(
£
28, March-
Nov Thu-Sat at 10:30, nearly daily in summer, 4.5 hours, meet just outside Southwark
Tube Station; includes London Eye, St. Paul's, Tower of London, and London Bridge).
Their guiding style wears its learning lightly, mixing history with humor. Reservations are
easy online, and required for River Thames tours and kids' bikes (off-season tours can be
arranged, mobile 078-8233-8779,
www.fattirebiketourslondon.com
)
. Confirm the sched-
ule online or by phone. They also offer a range of walking tours that include a fish-and-
chips dinner, a beer-tasting pub tour, and theater packages (details online or by phone).
London offers many made-for-tourist cruises, most on slow-moving, open-top boats ac-
companied by entertaining commentary about passing sights. Several companies offer es-
sentially the same trip. Generally speaking, you can either do a
short city-center cruise
by
riding a boat 30 minutes from Westminster Pier to Tower Pier (particularly handy if you're
