I’ve lived in London for over 15 years and have only just taken the opportunity to go on an open top bus tour, courtesy of Big Bus Tours.

This is a great, value for money thing to do in London – whether you’re a born and bred Londoner or a visiting tourist.

Tickets last 48 hours, giving you plenty of time to hop on and off at whatever stops you wish, and then hop on again to continue. Tickets also include a short River Thames Cruise, which is a great way to give you a taste of it if it’s new to you.

The bus we started off on was an all-English narrated bus – with a live commentator speaking through a mic throughout the entire route. However, if you require another

language, there are other buses that offer headsets  – you plug in and select your language of choice (including English) and listen to the pre-recorded narration.

Particularly for those new to London, these buses are a very easy way to get around most of the main tourist attractions in central London, you get to gather a sense of your surroundings and landmarks throughout. Dare I say it  there are a lot of Londoners who don’t get out much and really ought to take advantage of what is on their doorstep so….give it a go!

I took a few pictures but honestly, there is so much to see as you are on the move, you’ll be challenged to capture it all!!

 

For those of us who are out and about quite a lot, its quite nice to ‘be a tourist’ for a change and just take everything in, rather than being in rush mode all the time.

Any down-sides? Not really, only the fact that (due to traffic) you don’t always get much time for photographs while the bus is moving – understandably, but you can get off or return to stops that interest you.

Tickets were £32, and when you see how much you get for your money, it’s worth every single penny.

Chose a day when the weather forecast is dry, I honestly don’t think you will get much out of this unless you sit on the top deck – open top area, so wrap up warm – it gets a bit chilly up there!!

See some of the few buildings to have survived the great fire, like this one on Fleet Street:

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