A Hop On, Hop Off Day in London

 The itinerary for my visit to England was to do the Greater London area and Cotswolds visiting some places that I'd never been before - like Hampton Court, Windsor Castle and some of the small Cotswolds towns. But I also wanted to squeeze in a day in London. If you've been there, then you know you could easily spend a lifetime wandering and sightseeing, so how to do just a day? A Hop On, Hop Off bus tour, that's how! So come along and see how much of London I was able to visit via double decker red bus! (Hint: it was a long day but I was able to do a good amount of the main tourist spots)

We left our hotel by Heathrow and rode the train into Paddington Station. We had researched a luggage storage locker there - and after checking our luggage in - we headed outside to get on the bus. Due to some road works, we had to walk a bit longer than we had planned but once we were on, we relaxed and were ready to see the city! 

There are 2 routes - blue and red - with some stops available on both. We spent the better part of the day riding and listening to the commentary so we were able to see a good bit of the main tourist parts of London. Here are the stops that we saw and rode by:

Wellington Arch

Trafalgar Square

Tower Bridge

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

Harrods

Around lunch time we got off for our only stop of the day. We departed to see St. Paul's Cathedral, ate some lunch at a Pret A Manger and walked across the Millenium Bridge to the Tate Modern. I think we made a fantastic choice as all of these were close together. And then we were right back on the bus again to finish out the day!

We did have some rain - this was spring in the UK after all - and all photos were taken from a moving bus. 

There are various companies that will transport you around London - we used Big Bus London with a one day ticket costing 29 pounds - or 38 dollars. There are other add ons including a river cruise, walking tour or evening cruise that you can choose too. Most have an app and you can purchase tickets online in advance or at the bus stops from ticket sellers.

In all, it was a successful day that allowed us to see a good bit of the main part of London. 

How about you? Have you enjoyed a Hop On/Hop Off bus tour?

Linking up with: My Corner of the World at Photographing New Zealand!