Did the cruise as it was included in the Big Bus ticket. It was nice and informative. Wish it…read morewould've been round trip to where you got on at. So be prepared and plan in advance of where you're trying to be when it drops you off.

Seeing London from the River Thames was very nice. We boarded at the wharf inn Grennwich - headed…read moreto London. The scenery from the boat was great but the young man offering a narration was somewhat disappointing. Midway between Greenwich and London, the cruise makes one stop at the Millennium Pier for additional passengers. The first part of our cruise was enjoyable but the second part was somewhat less enjoyable due to a family of five (mom, dad and 3 rather unruly kids) who sat in front of us. The 3 kids was not well behaved and the parents did little to get them to behave. The boat was crowded at this point and moving to another seat was not an option. The views of the city from the water were great and well worth the price of the ticket. But, the narration did not add much value to the tour. And we could have done without the kids.

Obviously, if you take a cruise down the Thames, you're going to see some amazing stuff. This…read morecruise takes you past Big Ben, the Shard, under the Tower Bridge, under the London Bridge, etc. etc. The thing that sets this one apart is it stops in the heart of the city...which also makes it practical for travel within the city. My only beef is with the windows. PLEASE MBNA THAMES CLIPPERS STAFF WASH YOUR WINDOWS MORE FREQUENTLY!!!! I've got drips and streaks in my photos.

When tubing gets a little dull, hop on a ferry, buy a beverage of choice, grab a seat, get…read morecomfortable, relax, and enjoy the views. Very picturesque and perfect way to snap a few great pictures from afar. Ferry operates every 20mins, and the ride from Westminster (Victoria Embankment) to Greenwich takes about 35-40 mins. Remember to hang on to your ticket because it will be checked once disembarked. And if you don't have it, ferry conductor will throw you over board ... without any floating device, so I was told :) Brits have a great sense of humor, don't you know?!

My friends Steve, Terry and I decided to spend a day floating down the Thames and go to Richmond…read moreand just enjoy the summer day. We bought our tickets from at the ticket booth at Hampton Court located on the River Thames just across the Thames from the Big London Eye and directly across the street from Big Ben. If you have a Travel Card which is a daily travel pass, you can receive a 30% discount. Our 1100 departure came and went but eventully this smal boat arrived and docked closer to 1115am. The three person crew were very friendly, welcomed us aboard and off we went. We were lucky enough to be on The Connaught, a vintage ship from the Edwardian times celebrating her 99th year plying the Thames; fortunately, her engine and crew were not that old! This ship has an open deck up front as well as in the back but if you want to stay out of the wind and cool breezes there is a large covered area below with windows, tables and chairs and a bar! We became very friendly with the bar tender buying several pints of beer. The captain of the Connaught gave commentary along the way which was nice but he also just let us enjoy the peace and quiet to enjoy the beauty of the Thames. Immediately upon our departure, I realized how the Thames slices through Central London and winds its way through the city. If you are a Planespotter, you'll love this trip too because we pretty much followed the landing and take off patterns of London's Heathrow airport; we were lucky enough to be under Emirates new A380 from Dubai as it made its final approach to LHR, the wingspan seemed to dwarf that of the 747-400!. We passed many old buildings on the banks of the Thames, what were once loading dock areas of the past have been converted to very trendy lofts offering excellent views of the Thames. I especially liked the numerous bridges that we sailed underneath, some were built over 100 years ago and still operating! Each one seemed to have it's own personality, I would take this tour again just to see the bridges. As we continued closer to Richmond the city of London left us and the countryside welcomed us, lots of weeping willow trees on the banks, rustic flowers blooming in the late summer season and large estates began to appear with very large back yards and private launches for their own boats; that's the life! Eventually we arrived at the first lock we needed to get through to enter the next section of the Thames. If you have cruised through the Panama Canal you will understand how this works, this was a miniature version but using the same engineering. Within 10-15minutes we had risen about 8-10feet, the lock in front of us was opened and we continued on our way to Kew. On this trip we did not leave the Connaught at Kew but I highly recommend going to Kew Gardens, they are absolutely beautiful and the conservatory has one of the best displays of Orchids I have seen. We picked up a few more customers and left for Richmond. At this point we were truly in the country and there's nothing to do but just sit back and enjoy the gentle motion of the ship, take in the sunshine, have a sip of your beer and be thankful for a wonderful day. We arrived in beautiful Richmond, many restaurants and pubs along the river and incase you don't want to take the ship back to London there is a train that will whisk you back to Waterloo station in just 25minutes. I truly enjoyed this trip and recommend it for anyone who is visiting, traveling by boat/ship beats riding the underground anyday.

We had spent a very nice morning at Hampton Court Palace, enjoying a picnic in the sun until about…read more3.00pm when we decided to take a river boat ride back into Central London for our train home. We boarded our river boat just beside Hampton Court Palace and were heading back to Westminster Pier. I did take a seat under the awning for the trip as it was a blazing hot day and am glad I did. The journey back to Westminster Pier took 3 hours, but only made a few stops along the way. Those that sat up top predictably got quite sunburnt. The most picturesque part of the route is from Hampton Court, through the river as far as Barnes and Mortlake. You can see some beautiful properties which lie beside the banks of the river and it's extremely pretty. Once you are past Putney, it's mainly a few parks and office buildings, but the journey itself is very pleasant, relaxing and a great chance to chat with friends, have a beer/wine or whatever and just relax.

We had planned to visit Camden Market and found this fun, easy way to get there …read more We booked online the morning we wanted to go and found the London Venice area a short 5 minute walk from the Tube Station. Boarding was quick and easy and it is a lovely minute ride down the canal directly to Camden Market. There is great commentary throughout with useful information about the local sites including some of the multi-million pound mansions you will see along the way and also we got to see local wildlife including ducks with their newly hatched ducklings. It was such a fun thing to do, well priced and a lot of fun. My only recommendation to the company would be to have a QR code for tips as they had a cash jar and as very few places in London take cash, no one appeared to have any to give! Really a fun thing to do and it drops you right into the heart of Camden

The London Waterbus is a wonderful way to see London, especially when arriving to London early and…read morewhen experiencing jet lag! My husband and I caught the waterbus in Little Venice and cruised to Camden early on a Saturday morning. This was a slower and smaller crowd and we were able to relax and just take in the sites while hearing interesting information from the tour guides. Greta value and a unique experience!

Myself and my brother took my mum on one of these once for fun! It was great! I sometimes find…read moreboat's to be a little boring but this is something very different. You being on land driving around and end up in the sea! The London Duck Tours are slightly better but this one is just as good really. At first you feel freaked out that a bus is sinking into the sea but as soon as things get floaty then it's just good fun!

I really enjoyed this market, we actually stumbled upon it after getting coffee nearby and arrived…read morewhile the vendors were still setting up. Since we were so early we were able to browse the market, vendors and food options without big crowds or lines. There were two areas of the market along with the brick and mortar stores in the area. The food options were great, and if we had more time during our visit I would have made this a regular spot for us to visit so we could try more of the options. There's a wide variety of cuisine offered from Dirty Bagel's pulled pork sandwiches, which we bought, to hand pulled noodles, coffee, chai, baked items, and so much more. I wish we had tried more of the food vendors! The other vendors had a lot of clothing, gifts, art and accessories and there were some that seemed to have more than one booth, while others were very unique. There was free wifi in the market, which was great since our hotel had terrible wifi. They also had plenty of seating for those who wanted to enjoy food. Next time we're in the area we will be back!

This is a pretty cool space, which is attached to Spitalfields Market. There are a bunch of places…read moreto grab food, grab drinks, or shop. Well worth stopping by.

Hever Castle is one of the most popular castle to visit. This castle is one of the top castle in my…read morelist. The castle is about 1 hour drive from London. The castle is beautiful. It has several beautiful gardens, two mazes, jousting tournament, falconry, and night tale. The garden includes the Italian gardens, rose gardens, sister lawn, faith garden. The compound has one garden maze and a water maze. The compound also has 4 other attractions. At the back of castle is the owner housing. The castle has good decoration. The interior was well decorated. The castle requires tickets. But it worth the visit. The entire visit can be half day and more. Great for adults and kids.

Thatcher would be proud…read more Looking around Hever, many would be left with the impression that the owners are enormous fans of Anne Boleyn. The unfortunate wife of Henry VIII is, after all, the main focus of the exhibition and makes an appearance on much of the marketing material. But look a bit closer, and the more astute visitor may notice a different, more 'true blue', streak permeating the house. Yes, Labour voters clutch your pearls, but the proprietors appear to be worshippers of none other than Margaret Thatcher. (More so than Ms Boleyn, I would wager.) In the castle, visitors are treated to a near life-size oil painting of the union basher. And for those lucky enough to stay in the guest house for the price of £300 per night, they will find a letter written by the Iron Lady to thank the castle for her stay that has been framed and hung in one of the hallways. Among the owners personal possessions, I note Ms Boleyn has not received a similar dose of affection. Of interest is also the fact that this castle, its stunning gardens and water maze, owe their amazing condition to our friends across the Atlantic. Most stately homes in Britain are now virtually on their knees, with years of decline and underinvestment in the country reflected in their faded carpets, moth-eaten curtains and peeling paintwork. Hever, however, has avoided this fate for the good reason that it was bought by... gasp... an AMERICAN. Horrifying as it may sound, Mr Astor - who owes his astounding wealth to the rise of New York City - purchased the castle and injected nothing short of a fortune into it in order to create the attraction that we see today. Demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit so often absent in Britain, he then had the vision to order the construction of a second moat, a lake, a walled Italian garden complete with artefacts from Pompeii, a 'wall waterfall' and to direct the gardeners to shape some bushes like a chess set. I don't think he was involved in the water maze, so loved locally, but its presence reflects Hever's enduring ambitious spirit. Perhaps it was this spirit that so inspired Margaret Thatcher to write of Hever: 'I have seen several castles and large country houses but none as perfect as Hever.'

The Wallace Collection is a free museum in a beautiful townhome near Manchester Square. I visited…read morewith my husband about two weeks ago to see their current temporary exhibit (more on that below), and we had a great visit. The museum is located in the former townhouse of the Seymore family - the Marquesses of Hertford. The museum is named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built a collection of fine and decorative arts from the 1th to the 19th centuries along, with the Marquesses of Hertford. The collection opened to public view in 1900. The townhouse itself is gorgeous. From the second I walked in and saw the staircase in the Entrance Hall, I knew I was in for a treat. With several gorgeous rooms, the museum is worth visiting to see a beautifully preserved 19th century London townhome. Each room has beautiful chandeliers, furniture, paintings, sculptures, and more. The museum also has a collection of European arms and armor, which take several rooms to display. In addition to their permanent collections, they also show temporary exhibitions. Right now and through November 29, their exhibit is "Winston Churchill: The Painter," which is the first major retrospective of Sir Winston Churchill's paintings since his death and brings together more than 50 of his works (half of which come from private collections). While visiting the museum is free, there is a fee to visit the temporary exhibit (20 pounds for adults, 18 if you buy online ahead of time). The exhibit was incredible and well worth a visit. I learned a lot about Churchill that I didn't know prior to the exhibit (most of what I knew about him concerned his political leadership), and I found many of his paintings quite beautiful and moving. Whether you're visiting for a temporary exhibit or just to see the townhouse and its permanent collection, the Wallace Collection is incredible. It's a special museum in London, well worth including on an itinerary for a trip to London.

I went to see the exhibition of Churchill paintings. It was absolutely stunning! It was well…read morecurated, and the audio guide really gave you a sense of importance of painting in his life. I walked through the rest of the collection, which is almost overwhelming. There is a lot to see there. You really do need to use the audio guide, because there is so much art in a small space. I also appreciated the staff. They were helpful, without being intrusive. One of the things I enjoy the most was that people there were truly interested in art. They stopped and looked. Unlike the crowd at the National Gallery, which just went up to a painting, took a photo, and left without ever even looking at it.