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The London Pass Sightseeing Pass Discussed

Identify if the London Pass is suitable for your individual needs when sightseeing in London

The London Pass is a convenient way of planning ahead and budgeting for your visit to London.

The London Pass is a flat rate sightseeing pass to many (but not all) of London's main attractions. You can buy a London pass for 1,2,3 or 6 day durations.

It gives you entry into around 55 London tourist attractions. You have paid a set sum per person in advance and then you just show your card at the entrance or ticket office of any attraction included on the London Pass, they will swipe it through a card reader and you will be allowed entry, some attractions you will get fast track entry.

You can also opt to have a public transport pass included (very similar to a London Travelcard) as no transport is included.

You can have the London Pass shipped to your home address (for a shipping charge) or you can collect the tickets in London for which there is no charge. If you choose to collect your order in London you will need to print and bring with you the London Pass voucher which is emailed to you on completion of your online order. The collection point is off Trafalgar Square which is geographically the centre of London.

What Attractions Are Covered ?

Unlike many tourist passes that have lots of third tier attractions included you would not normally visit the London Pass has most but not all of the main attractions.

Top tier attractions include Hampton Court, Kensington Palace, London Zoo, Kew Gardens, the Tower of London, St Paul's Cathedral, the Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum and Windsor Castle.

The notable omissions are the London Eye, Madame Tussauds and Westminster Abbey.

Note: most of the major museums and art galleries in London are free including the British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Science Museum, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Maritime Museum, Imperial War Museum and British Library.

Probability is that you will want to visit at least one of these.

Sometimes the London Pass lists one of the above free attractions as being covered by the London Pass. This will not be for admission but for something like an audio guide or a special exhibition.

Is The Transport Pass Option Worthwhile ?

The standard London pass doesn't provide any transport facility apart from a short river cruise.

For a supplement you can purchase a Travelcard extension to your London Pass. This is basically an off peak London Travelcard for zones 1 to 6.

The Travelcard provides unlimited travel on public transport (bus, underground and train) during validity. An off - peak Travelcard you cannot use before 9:30 a.m. Monday to Fridays.

If you buy a 6 day London Pass, you get a 7 day Travelcard as a bonus.

Note: Children under 11 travel free on buses and the Underground in London.

One of the main attractions within the London Pass is Windsor Castle which is outside the London area and coverage of Travelcard. The London Pass with transport also cover the train out to Windsor from London.

Any Other Benefits To The London Pass?

One of the main attractions of the London pass to many people is that some of the admittances covered give you fast track, skip the line entrance.

This can be a big deal particularly if you're coming to London in summer when lines build up fast at the popular attractions. Some of the attractions covered by the London pass with fast track like the Tower of London are infamous for the length of queues.

To help you plan your sightseeing adventure each pass comes with a full colour, informative, comprehensive 160 page guidebook. This guide is packed full of information about all of our participating attractions in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese.

There are also special offers and discounts for a range of things in London. Every little helps.

Will I save Money With The London Pass?

That's the million dollar question, and there is no universal answer. For some it works financially for others it doesn't. I'm afraid to really know you have to set aside an evening and have a good idea what you want to visit and work it out yourself.

The key aspect is planning. You obviously get more value for your money if you visit several attractions in a day. Many of the attractions have late opening. A visit to Windsor Castle and Hampton Court will take at least half a day each.

Its probably a good idea as a starting point to jot down what you want to see and for how long you anticipate visiting without looking whether the London Pass supports this - everyone is different. Its a false economy after probably spending a lot of money on getting to London and staying there to not do and see what you want because its not supported by the London Pass.