London Tourist Attractions...MUST SEE!!!

Top London tourist attractions you must never miss. We started discovering London with our passes in backpacks, pounds in pockets. The Tube is actually quite straight-forward though you can get hopelessly lost and just as quickly found because of the countless ways of going to the same place.

The trains are silver, sleek and sinuous. The train operators were more relaxed and interactive than those in America, chatting to the riders over the loudspeakers and put us at ease riding before we popped up in Bond Street.

A bus to London Bridge station, then a quick walking detour in sight of incredibly massive bascule Tower Bridge, stretching impressively across the Thames.

I want to recommend going to Shakespeare's Globe Theater to anyone who visits London. Using our london passes, we explored the three-tiered Tudor stage, watched sword-fighting and tried on the costumes of old.

I was swept away by the idea that Shakespeare actually preformed on this very stage (granted, the stage had been completely restored). The next day, we decided to take the London Sightseeing Tour.

It was a guided tour, it was kid-friendly, it was cheap, and we could have a get time hopping on and off the red double-decker bus. We rode in style on the top of one of the red buses and chattered about all the different attractions: London Eye, Big Ben, Horseguard's Parade, Tower of London and Peter Pan Statue. The British Airways London Eye is a 30-minute ride which takes you 135m high.

It gives you views of St Paul's Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster, Windsor Castle and the city. With 4 million visitors each year, the giant wheel is Britain's most popular paid-for tourist attraction.

Tower of London
The tower is a must see as there is so much history packed into such a small place. Someone once said, "Going to London without visiting the Tower of London is like going to Washington, D.C. without visiting the Capitol." I can't agree less.

The in-house guides or what I call walking historians wander around inside the grounds. From time to time they stop and give a talk about life in the old days, or an example of something that was common many years ago.

We got off and took a quick excursion to the Sherlock Holmes museum, and then back on the bus. We also visited Kensington Palace, a royal home for more than 300 years. Parts of it remain a private residence for members of the Royal Family.

Looking for free london attractions? We could not get over that almost all the museums and gallaries are free! We also spend a lot of time walking around neighbourhoods, checking out cheap or free activities such as speaker's corner (one of the coolest things I've seen anywhere) and Camden market.

There is also the Museum of London, which chronicles the city's history. The Tate Modern, which showcases modern and contemporary art. The National Portrait Gallery where you can easily spend half a day! There are basically lots of museums -- the Natural History Museum alone could takes days to see, and the British Museum has the Rosetta Stone and the Bog Man, both of which are quite interesting.

On the third day, we went to the London Zoo, braving the Tube again and presenting our London Passes at the gate. Although the zoo had the usual animals as did zoos in the states, the idea of animals in another country fascinated the children.

On the fourth day of our London vacation, we splurged (though still using our discounts) and ate an early dinner at the City Cruise - London Showboat you have to book ahead.

The boat is incredibly lavish and we got all gussied up to glide around on the Thames. Although the kids didn't like the food (wanting fish and chips again rather than the fancy fare and simply hung over the railing and watching the river go by), but, it was a spectacular experience for a London Vacation!

We also went to the London Dungeon. The Dungeon is rather scary. I was repulsed the entire time - blood, many severed heads, hangings, Jack the Ripper.

Right next door to one-another were Madame Tussauds waxwork exhibition and the London Planetarium - book ahead again because the lines (or, should I say, the queues) are appalling. The trick to beat this is to book your Madame Tussauds tickets online before taking off for your London vacation.

More blood and severed heads again, but also amazing amounts of uncannily realistic wax celebrities. The sea green, curved Planetarium was small and crowded, but the kids liked "Magic Skies". Another arrangement hand in hand was the Natural History Museum and Science Museum.

Unfortunately, we did have to wait in line for both but they were worth it. On the final day of sightseeing, after we packed (because of all the knick-knacks accumulated, our bags were much heavier than when we started out), we went tubing down to the Australia embassy - or, as the kids called the structure, Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

We peered in the front door but guards barred the way in any further. So we took more pictures of the outside and then took a taxi back to the Embankment.

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