Forget paying a fortune to go on one of the many organised London siteseeing bus tours. Do it yourself for under a fiver using London's own transport system and experience London life as Londoners do.

All you need is a London Transport One Day bus pass and the details provided on this site.

This self-guided London sightseeing tour will take you out to west London, then back across the West End and through the City to the east end of London, travelling along both north and south sides of the Thames.

You will pass many famous London tourist attractions including Harrods, Madame Tussauds, Kensington Palace, St Pauls, the Tower of London and Big Ben.

Information about this tour

How to do this Tour using a London Bus Pass

This "tour" has been created in response to requests for cheaper ways of doing London sightseeing by bus. To do it, you simply need a one day London bus pass which you can buy from any newsagent or some tube stations. They cost less than a fiver. That's it.

You can use the bus pass any day of the week and as often as you wish up until midnight of the day of purchase. You can also travel in any direction and re-board buses so you can easily do this tour with it, jumping on and off at leisure.



Using London Buses

Most buses are driver-only operated and require you to board at the front (showing the driver your bus pass) and exit from the back (at one of the regular stops.) There is only one class of fare so once aboard the bus you can sit where you want.

If you happen to be lucky enough to be able to board a Routemaster bus (these run on routes 9 and 15), you get on and off at the back. These buses have conductors and you simply board the bus and take a seat, then wait for the conductor to come to you to see your pass.

To board a bus, firstly find the stop for the bus you want. (It should have the number of the bus marked on the sign at the stop). Then check the timetable displayed to see the direction the bus is going in - or ask someone else who is waiting at the stop. Finally, when the bus arrives at the stop it will normally pull in and open its front doors - but there's no harm in putting your arm out to signal it to do so, just in case.

For this tour, I have provided details of both the buses and the stops you need to change at. But feel free to jump on and off wherever and as often as you want - the pass allows you to do this.



General Route

( more detailed directions are included in tour details )
Start at Piccadilly Circus- Number 9 bus to Kensington Palace - Number 49 bus to Cromwell Road - Number 74 bus to Baker St Station - Number 453 bus to Trafalgar Square - Number 15 bus to Tower of London - Number RV1 bus to London Eye - Number 12 bus back to Piccadilly Circus



Time Required

Allow half a day



Best time to do it

During weekdays after 9.30 am and before 4pm



Last Updated

This tour was first published in 2006