It’s hard to believe that one card can open the door to most of the best activities in a city as large and historical as London, but that’s exactly what the London Pass does.
I spent three days touring England’s capital city with the pass, which includes free access to over 60 activities in the center and outskirts of the city as well as discounts on restaurants, shopping and entertainment. During that time I not only saw the quality of activities offered with the London Pass, but also how much people can save and what else is included.
Savings with the London Pass
HMS Belfast
I had a three-day, adult London Pass with Travel Card, which is priced at $151.55 on Viator.com. My daily itinerary and the prices of each activity as well as total cost if I had paid for each on its own are below.
Day One
I picked up my pass just after 10am near Leicester Square Tube Station. In and out in five minutes, I hopped back on the tube and headed to Wild & Wood Coffee in Holborn, my favorite coffee shop in the city, to plan my day. I arrived at the HMS Belfast, a British warship used in World War II, by noon and used their complimentary audio guide to tour the ship for an hour. In that time, I still didn’t see everything on the ship. The ship has so many stories, but I wanted to see what else my pass had to offer, so I walked to the London Bridge Experience and London Tombs. Located under the London Bridge, I learned a lot about the history of this area of the city in the first half of the tour and was screaming and grabbing onto the person in front of me in the second half of the haunted activity.
I grabbed a hot dog at Borough Market for lunch then took the tube to Barbican Station to continue touring the city. After a quick stop at three places that are free on their own, Museum of London; London Wall and Postman’s Park, I was on my way to St. Paul’s Cathedral, one of the city’s most iconic buildings and my next London Pass activity. I spent about 30 minutes in the church and walked 257 steps up to its Whispering Gallery, where, because of acoustics they say people can whisper into the wall and be heard by someone putting their ear up to it more than 100 feet away. Unfortunately, the other two galleries in the dome were closed for renovations during my visit, so I missed out on an epic view of the city.
To make up for it, I walked from St. Paul’s to the Monument and up the 311 steps to the top of it for another great view of the city. This monument marks where the Great Fire of London sparked in 1666. After, I walked across the London Bridge, followed Clink Street and the waterfront to Shakespeare’s Globe, but was too late for a tour, arriving at about at 5pm. I continued walking along the Thames and arrived at the National Theater to find out I just missed out their last tour of the day as well and that all tours over the next two days were full. I decided to call a quits then and head home.
1 x off-peak travel card (zone 1-6): £8.90 ($13.52)
HMS Belfast: £14.50 ($22.03)
London Bridge Experience and London Tombs: £21 ($31.90)
St. Paul’s Cathedral: £15 ($22.79)
The Monument: £3 ($4.56)
Total cost of activities for day one without the London Pass: £62.40 ($94.80)
Buckingham Palace
Day Two
I started day two at 10am with a coffee at Crussh Cafe on Kensington High Street, which is included in the pass (one per card). From there I headed to Royal Albert Hall to find out I just missed their 11am tour. Though they had another tour in an hour, I didn’t want to wait, so I booked a ticket for their 4pm tour and carried on traveling the city.
My next stop was Churchill War Rooms. Though I had to wait in line for about 20 minutes to enter, it was worth it. This is one of the best activities I’ve done in London. With a self-guided, audio tour, I traveled below street level to see where Winston Churchill and his cabinet hid during World War II. I saw where Churchill slept, where he and his cabinet discussed battle strategies and learned about the prime minister’s life in a museum dedicated to him. I spent an hour down there, and I could have spent more.
By the time I finished there, it was about 2:30pm and I thought I’d be cutting it close by stopping at one more attraction before returning to Royal Albert Hall for my 4pm tour, but I did it anyway. I stopped at the Queen’s Gallery near Buckingham Palace, where I had about 40 minutes to explore. It’s only a few rooms, so I finished seeing everything in about 30 minutes and was on the tube heading to Royal Albert Hall.
It was luck that I missed that first tour in the morning, because during my tour, Oasis front man Noel Gallagher was doing a sound check for a concert at the Hall that night and our group got to hear the whole thing. The guide was very animated and I learned a lot about the royal family and the theater’s history. After the one-hour tour, I headed to the Millennium Dome to visit the British Music Experience. I spent two hours playing in this interactive music museum, I would have spent more if they didn’t close. This was the furthest I ventured out of London’s city centre, but was totally worth the 20-minute commute from South Kensington Station.
1 x off-peak travel card (zone 1-6): £8.90 ($13.52)
Cappuccino at Crussh Cafe: £1.95 ($2.96)
Churchill War Rooms: £17 ($25.82)
The Queen’s Gallery: £9.25 ($14.05)
Royal Albert Hall tour: £11.50 ($17.47)
British Music Experience: £12 ($18.23)
Total cost of activities for day two without the London Pass: £60.60 ($92.05)
Day Three
Day three went exactly according to plan and my timing was perfect for everything. I arrived at the Somerset House, where the Courtauld Gallery is located, just after 10am and spent an hour looking at every piece in the gallery. It had an exhibit called Becoming Picasso, which featured early works by the artist.
I got back on the tube at Temple Station and rode it for one stop, getting off at Embankment to visit the Ben Franklin House. I arrived there just in time for their 12pm tour. This was something I never heard about in the city before the London Pass and am really happy I got to experience it. It’s a unique tour that includes recordings by actors and films projected on the walls to guide visitors through Franklin’s experience while staying in the house, which in theory is the first US embassy in England. He resided there from 1757 to 1775, 18 crucial years in English/American foreign relations.
The tour finished just before 1pm, so I had to rush to the Original London Visitor Center to make their Rock ‘n’ Roll Walk at 1pm, which was only a five-minute walk away. My two rock-enthusiastic guides led me and a couple around Soho for 90 minutes taking us past the building where Apple Studios, the Beatles’ own recording studio, was once located (the Beatles performed live on the roof there in 1969); Bag O’ Nails, members only club where Paul McCartney first met Linda Eastman in 1967; and Trident Studios, where songs like Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody were recorded and more.
There was no rush to make a 3:45pm showing of Side Effects at the Curzon Chelsea, which was my last activity using the London Pass.
1 x off-peak travel card (zone 1-6): £8.90 ($13.52)
The Courtauld Gallery: £6 ($9.11)
Benjamin Franklin House: £7 ($10.63)
Rock ‘n’ Roll Walk: £7 ($10.63)
Curzon Chelsea movie ticket: £10.50 ($15.95)
Total cost of activities for day three without the London Pass: £39.40 ($59.84)
Total cost of all activities without the London Pass: £162.40 ($246.69)
Total cost of the London Pass: £104.00 ($158.19)
This means I saved $95.14 by using the London Pass rather than purchasing each activity individually. Further, I saved another $6.64 by purchasing the Pass through Viator.
Quality of activities
Windsor Castle
The pass includes some very well-known sights and tours, like the Tower of London and Westminster Abbey as well as some very unique off-the-beaten-path activities that I don’t even think a lot of Londoners would know about, such as the Ben Franklin House.
I tried 13 of over 60 things available with the pass and enjoyed every single one of them. Most of the things I did, I didn’t know about prior to reading through my London Pass guidebook, including Churchill War Rooms, which might now be the best attraction I’ve been to in London.
On top of activities and tours, the guide includes things like a free coffee at select Crussh Cafes and a free movie ticket at Curzon theaters. I noticed it also includes train passes out to Windsor Castle, which makes the trip worry free.
Overall, the quality of the activities offered with the London Pass is fantastic. You’ll find something for everyone in there and even more than you would expect out of a courtesy travel guide.
Pick up and the London Pass in use
Only a five minute walk from Leicester Square Tube Station, the London Pass redemption desk is located in Tourist Island, a circular glass shop covered in promotions, in the middle of the Charing Cross Road. Make sure to have a print out of your pass. If you forget, there is an internet cafe across the street to print one out.
It’s the ideal place to start your London tour, because from this area people can book tickets to shows for that night. Leicester Square is in the middle of the West End, London’s theater district. Plus there is a Theater People desk inside the building that houses the London Pass redemption desk.
Some activities included in the pass are subject to availability like personal tours and tickets to movies. I went on three tours and to one movie without pre-booking. The only problem I had was at the National Theater, where I missed the last tour on day one and they were fully booked for every tour available during the following two days. If there is a tour or show you really want to see, it would be worth making a reservation for it prior to arrival.
Hampton Court Palace
Most of the activities included are only open between 9:30am and 7:30 pm, so you can really only fit so many of them into one day. If you fit three into a day, you’ll usually save money, but most people will be able to fit in four or five activities easily.
You’ll also accomplish a lot more sticking around central London. That said, the pass includes a few activities located outside the city center, such as Hampton Court and Windsor Castle that can’t really be missed. The more you plan ahead, the more you’ll fit in and the more money the London Pass will save you.
The London Pass comes with a guidebook that features activities available as well as directions to each place listed and helpful tips, like visit the Queen’s Gallery in the afternoon to avoid lines. The book also has maps of the city center, bus routes and tube routes to help you plan your transport.
The London pass is easy to use and can save travelers money. If you think you’ll be doing a lot of activities on your visit to London, check Viator’s website to see what is included. Even if you only see four things you want to do on the list, it’s worth getting the pass for one day, because you’re going to save money and get a free guide book.
The London Pass is sold in one, two, three or six day periods. What pass is right for you depends on the length of your entire stay and how many things appeal to you on the London Pass itinerary. Remember that London also has a lot of free museums, so plan entire days to cover them and save your London Pass for days when you”ll only be doing activities on their itinerary.
- Bobbi Lee Hitchon
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Saving Money and Seeing More with the London Pass from London Things to Do
