VISITING a major city for the first time can be overwhelming - especially if you have a long list of must-see spots. Luckily, most big cities offer an easy and relatively inexpensive way to sightsee . I've now visited London , England, four separate times both for work and play.
The history and architecture are two of my favorite aspects of this beautiful city. So one of my favorite ways to explore all the best and biggest sites is to climb aboard a hop-on-hop-off bus. My British coworkers laughed upon learning that I'd opted to pay for the double-decker sightseeing bus yet again.
But I firmly believe it's the best way to cram in as much sightseeing as possible - especially if you're limited on time and want to cover miles of the city. On my most recent trip, I only had about four hours of designated sightseeing time with a friend who hadn't previously been to London. Naturally, we wound up walking onto a hop-on-hop-off bus, buying a ticket, and riding the entire loop.
We used our time wisely, choosing to hop off the bus at Big Ben to snap some photos and stretch our legs before climbing back aboard and continuing the loop right back to our hotel. We checked off all the biggest landmarks, including Big Ben and Parliament, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square, and Buckingham Palace.
It happened to be a beautiful day so we even had the opportunity to sit on the top level and enjoy the sunshine and breeze. But even if it's rainy, the buses are a great.
