- Staying in Paddington and having direct access to the attractions
- Having a properly planned itinerary for seeing the attractions
A common mistake first time visitors to London make (myself included) is trying to figure out on the fly how to get around to the attractions. It’s not unusual to see tourists standing on the street with A-Z map books, trying to determine which attraction they want to get to and how to get there.
Let’s address the ‘Which Attraction’ issue first. The smart way to see London’s tourist attractions is by seeing attractions is groups according to a geographical area. For example, let’s say you’ve decided on your first day to see Big Ben and Parliament, which are accessed from the Westminster Tube Station. It’s very common for tourists to do just that; make their way to Big Ben and Parliament, then setting off for another tourist attraction much further away. Then the next day they may decide on seeing Buckingham Palace, which means they are once again going back to the same general area that they were in the day before when visiting Big Ben and Parliament. The key to saving time when sightseeing in London is to spend the day in an area and seeing all the attractions in that particular area.
Here is an example of additional attractions you can see, all within walking distance, in the area of Big Ben and Parliament:
- Buckingham Palace
- Westminster Abbey
- London Eye
- Churchill War Rooms
- 10 Downing Street
- Trafalgar Square
Many first time tourists, and again, myself included, end up coming back to this area at another time because they had no prior knowledge that all of these attractions are in the same vicinity.
Now to address the ‘How to get there” issue. The most commonly used forms of transportation in London are:
- Railway (The Tube)
- Taxis
- Buses
Buses take the longest time to get to the attractions but provide you wonderful views along the way. Taxis are generally the quickest (depending on traffic) way to get around but by far the most expensive mode of transportation. The Tube will take around half or less time to get you around than the bus and a with a single journey costing around £2.40 by using a contactless credit card or an Oyster card.
If you’re staying in Paddington the Tube will get you to this most of the major attractions 20 minutes or less. The longest travel time you’ll have to a major attraction will be approximately 35 minutes which would be Tower Bridge and The Tower of London.
