How to visit London by Bus

Every major city has their particular version of the open-top sightseeing bus, and London is no exception.

As much as we’d all love to be able to say that we navigate the streets on our own, there is still nothing that can rival being driven around all of the major tourist attractions, on a top deck, being able to listen to a running commentary as you go. But there’s something a little bit too easy about this and, in a city like the English capital, if you really want to see and experience London by bus, you don’t have to look any further than the two normal red buses below.

• Bus Number 14

You might not immediately think that a 7 mile trip from Warren St to Putney Heath is going to make you want to reach for your camera but wait until you hear what sights this bus passes on its estimated hour long journey.

Start at Warren St in central London, then you’ll make your way along Tottenham Court Road before you hit one of the busiest spots in the whole of London: Centre Point. Have a quick glance up Oxford Street and see the crowds before it carries on past the shops and then left into the Theatre Land of Shaftesbury Avenue. This is where you’ll be taking in a show later in the day so don’t forget where you are.

You’ll know where you next come to before you are told. The lights and the throngs of people will reveal Piccadilly Circus in all its glory. Then you’ll turn down Haymarket before finally landing on the long simply named Piccadilly, which takes you past the Royal Academy of Arts and a certain hotel called The Ritz. If you look to your left you might see the Queen at Buckingham Palace through Green Park, but it’s not long before you’re at the mighty Hyde Park Corner, with the huge Wellington Arch showing off the glorious Duke.

Then you’ve another one named road called Knightsbridge, where it’s hard to miss the dominating Harrods building half way down. After that the bus will head into a very posh part of town and through the haughty streets of Kensington, where you can step off and take in the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the V&A Museum. After this you are heading towards the more residential areas of Fulham and Putney so you might want to jump off at South Kensington.

• Bus Number 8

Away from the busy West End, another recommended red London bus ride is the 8, which takes in the East End of London and the City. Starting at Victoria station, you follow a very similar route to the 14 until you get to Centre Point, where the 8 now takes you east towards the land of the law courts and law firms around Holborn and Chancery Lane. Then you’ll see one of the most famous skyline images: St Paul’s Cathedral as you make your way past all the tall office buildings towards the aptly named Bank. At the intersect at Bank the road forks off in all directions and you’ll head north-east towards Liverpool Street. If you’re at Bank at the weekend then you might not see a soul, but in the week it’s crawling with men and women in suits.

After Liverpool Street you encounter two very different sides to the East End of London. First you have the super-cool part of town on Shoreditch High Street, which is littered with the very elite fashion victims, people in bands, DJs and everything in between. This isn’t the East End of old though and you might not find many cockneys until you get to Bethnal Green, Old Ford Road and then eventually Bow. If you were born within the sound of the church bell at Bow then you were a true cockney.

Photo of  London Routmaster Bus originally posted by malias 

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About the author

Phil is a freelance writer working on various writing and editing projects ranging from feature film scripts to travel writing. He enjoys writing from experience and sharing information on the many places he has visited over the years