Tours of the City
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Walking Tours
A variety of guided walks are available from several operators, including The Original London Walks (tel: (020) 7624 3978; website: www.walks.com) and Historical Walks of London (tel: (020) 8668 4019). Among many themed tours are The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour (tel: (020) 7624 3978) and the Jack the Ripper Mystery Walk (tel: (020) 8558 9446). Guided walking tours usually take around two hours and cost £5. Alternatively, for self-guided walks, the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Walkway stretches for three kilometres (two miles) along the South Bank of the River Thames (between Lambeth and Tower bridges), while 21 explanatory plaques trace a route along the Roman London Wall, starting at the Tower of London.
Bus Tours
Various competing companies offer similar bus tours of London’s sights, lasting between 40 and 90 minutes. Tickets start at around £14 and are valid for 24 hours and passengers can hop on and off at attractions en route. The main operators include Big Bus Company (tel: (0800) 169 1365 or (020) 7233 9533; website: www.bigbus.co.uk) and Original London Sightseeing Tours (tel: (020) 8877 1722; website: www.theoriginaltour.com).
Boat Tours
Westminster Pier is the main embarkation point for river trips. From here there are services east or downstream to Tower Pier, Greenwich Pier and the Thames Barrier by City Cruises (tel: (020) 7237 5134; website: www.citycruises.com). These one-hour Westminster to Greenwich cruises cost £6.30 (single) and £7.80 (return) – travellers must purchase tickets at the ticket office before boarding. Going west, summer services by WPSA (tel: (020) 7930 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 £9 (single) or £15 (return) for the one-and-a-half-hour cruise to Kew, or £12 (single) or £18 (return) to Hampton Court, which takes over three hours (each way).
Catamaran Cruises (tel: (020) 7987 1185; website: www.catamarancruises.co.uk) provides multi-lingual cruises from Waterloo and Embankment Piers. These 50-minute circular cruises cost £7. A day’s worth of unlimited travel on all Catamaran Cruises’ sightseeing services is available with the River Pass, which must be purchased at the ticket office, before boarding, and costs £10.50.
Frog Tours (tel: (020) 7928 3132; website: www.frogtours.com) run unconventional tours on an amphibious craft, which starts at County Hall and rumbles 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 £15.
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