Some hop-on hop-off operators leave you alone with a headset. Golden Tours puts an actual human on the bus: on the Classic route a live English-speaking guide talks you round the loop. It is the smallest of London’s four main operators, so buses come less often, but the live guide and two included walking tours give it a real reason to pick it. You will see it badged as Golden Tours Gray Line on some sites.
Golden Tours London Tickets
One ticket, with everything bundled into it: all three routes, both walking tours and the cruise. The only real choice is how many days you want it for.
🔵 Golden Tours Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour
All three routes, audio commentary in eleven languages, a live guide on selected Blue Route departures, both guided walking tours, and a one-way Thames cruise.
Good to know
- One ticket covers all three routes, so you switch between them freely.
- The river cruise is a one-way leg and stays valid for seven days from your first day on the buses, so it does not have to be the same day.
- Live guides run on selected Blue Route departures. The other routes use the recorded multilingual audio.
- Both walking tours leave at fixed times daily, so build your day around them rather than hoping to catch one.
- Buses run less often in winter, which is the main trade-off with the smaller operator.
What Makes Golden Tours Different
Golden Tours is the smallest of London’s four main sightseeing bus operators, and it competes on what it puts in the ticket rather than on how many buses it runs. Fewer buses, more included.
Three Things It Does Well
A live guide, not just a headset
Selected Classic route departures carry a live English-speaking guide who talks you round the loop. Every other route uses recorded commentary in eleven languages, with a separate children’s track.
Two walking tours included
Royal London leaves at 10am from the Palace and ends at Westminster Abbey. Jack the Ripper leaves at 3:30pm from Tower Hill. Both run daily and neither costs extra.
A river cruise you can use later
One cruise leg between Westminster, Tower Millennium and Greenwich piers, valid for seven days from your first day on the buses. It does not have to be the same afternoon.
The trade-off is frequency. Golden Tours runs fewer buses than Big Bus or Tootbus, and the gaps get noticeably longer outside the summer. If your plan depends on hopping off and catching the next bus ten minutes later, one of the bigger operators suits you better. If you would rather have a guide, two walks and a boat in one ticket, this is the better buy.
The Routes
Three routes, one ticket, and they all connect. The stops are numbered across the whole network rather than per route, so the same number means the same stop wherever you see it. Victoria, Paddington and the London Eye are the main interchanges.
The Blue Route, and the one to ride first. 20 stops covering almost everything people come to London to see, from the London Eye round through the City to the Tower and back via Westminster and the Palace. This is also the route with the live English-speaking guide on selected departures, which is the single best reason to pick Golden Tours over a bigger operator. Buses run roughly every 20 minutes.
1. London Eye
Belvedere Road, where the Classic route starts. SEA LIFE, the London Dungeon and the river cruise pier are all on the same stretch.
2. Covent Garden
Aldwych, outside No.1. The market building, the Royal Opera House and the London Transport Museum.
3. St Paul’s Cathedral
Ludgate Hill. The Millennium Bridge over to Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe starts here.
4. Monument
King William Street, by London Bridge. Climb the column if you want the view without the queue at the Shard.
5. London Bridge
Tooley Street. The stop for Borough Market, though the market is at its worst on a Saturday.
6. Hay’s Galleria
Tooley Street by London Bridge station, for HMS Belfast and the river walk to City Hall.
7. Tooley Street
The second Tooley Street stop, handy for the London Bridge Experience and the Shard entrance.
8. Tower of London
Tower Hill, opposite the station, with Tower Bridge alongside. Entry to the Tower is bought separately.
9. Temple
Victoria Embankment, opposite Temple station, heading west past the Royal Courts of Justice.
10. Westminster Pier
Where the included river cruise leaves from. Westminster Abbey and Big Ben are both a short walk.
11. Parliament Square
Parliament Street, outside HM Treasury. For Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and the Churchill War Rooms.
12. Horse Guards Parade
Whitehall. Time it right and you catch the mounted guard change rather than the crowds at the Palace.
13. Trafalgar Square
Cockspur Street. The National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery are both free and both on the square.
14. Piccadilly Circus
The busiest stop on the route. Leicester Square, Chinatown, Hamleys and Carnaby Street are all within a few minutes.
15. Green Park Station
Piccadilly, for Green Park and the walk down the Mall towards the Palace.
16. Hyde Park Corner
Piccadilly, by Wellington Arch and Apsley House at the southeast corner of the park.
17. Victoria
Buckingham Palace Road. The interchange stop, shared with both other routes.
18. Victoria Station
Outside the Thistle hotel. Useful if you arrive by train or at the coach station.
19. Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Gate. Get here early if the Changing of the Guard is the reason you came.
20. County Hall
Westminster Bridge Road, closing the loop back at the London Eye.
The Red Route, and the one that adds the north of the centre. 32 stops, taking in Bloomsbury, the British Museum, the Euston and King’s Cross stations and Regent’s Park before rejoining the Classic route through the City. Useful if you are arriving on the Eurostar or staying north of Oxford Street. Buses run roughly every 20 minutes.
21. Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace Road, where the Essential route starts, on the south side of the river opposite Parliament.
22. Abingdon Street
Right by the Houses of Parliament and the Jewel Tower.
23. Westminster Abbey
Tothill Street. The Abbey charges for entry, but the cloisters and St Margaret’s are worth knowing about.
24. Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Gate, opposite the King’s Gallery. The Royal Mews entrance is along the same road.
17. Victoria
Buckingham Palace Road. Change here for the Classic and Museum routes.
18. Victoria Station
Outside the Thistle hotel, for trains and the coach station.
25. Queen Elizabeth Gate
Park Lane, at the southeast corner of Hyde Park.
26. Speakers’ Corner
Marble Arch, Park Lane. The top of Oxford Street and the Moco Museum are both close.
27. Paddington
Norfolk Place, on the near side of the station.
28. Praed Street
Paddington, outside the post office. The stop to use if you come in on the Heathrow Express.
29. Madame Tussauds
Baker Street station, Marylebone Road, and the same stop for the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
30. Regent’s Park
For the park itself, the Open Air Theatre in summer and the walk up to London Zoo.
31. Euston Station
Euston Road, for trains to the northwest and the British Library a few minutes along the road.
32. King’s Cross St Pancras
Pancras Road. Platform 9 3/4 is inside the station if you have children in tow.
33. St Pancras International
Midland Road. The stop to know if you arrive on the Eurostar.
34. Upper Woburn Place
A Bloomsbury stop that mostly exists for the hotels along the road.
35. Russell Square
Woburn Place, in the heart of Bloomsbury.
36. Southampton Row
The other side of the square, and the quieter approach to the British Museum.
37. British Museum
Great Russell Street. Free to enter, and one of the few places worth building a whole afternoon around.
38. Haymarket
Outside No 29 to 31, on the edge of the West End theatres.
39. Pall Mall East
West of Trafalgar Square, for the ICA and the walk down to St James’s Park.
40. St Martin-in-the-Fields
Duncannon Street, on Trafalgar Square. The crypt cafe below the church is a useful thing to know about.
41. Covent Garden
Aldwych, outside the Waldorf. Somerset House is just along the Strand.
3. St Paul’s Cathedral
Ludgate Hill, where the Essential route joins the Classic route’s eastern stops.
4. Monument
King William Street, by London Bridge.
5. London Bridge
Tooley Street, for Borough Market and the Shard.
6. Hay’s Galleria
Tooley Street by London Bridge station, for HMS Belfast.
7. Tooley Street
The second Tooley Street stop on the south bank.
8. Tower of London
Tower Hill, opposite the station, and where the Jack the Ripper walk begins in the afternoon.
9. Temple
Victoria Embankment, opposite Temple station.
10. Westminster Pier
The river cruise pier, and the Abbey and Big Ben a short walk away.
20. County Hall
Westminster Bridge Road at the London Eye, closing the loop.
The Orange Route, and the one to take for the free museums. 33 stops covering South Kensington, Kensington Palace and Notting Hill, then back through Regent Street and Whitehall. It runs less often than the other two, roughly every 30 minutes, with an evening feeder service at the end of the day, so check the time before you plan around it.
16. Hyde Park Corner
Piccadilly, opposite the Hard Rock Cafe, where the Museum route starts.
17. Victoria
Buckingham Palace Road. The interchange onto the other two routes.
18. Victoria Station
Outside the Thistle hotel, for trains and coaches.
42. Knightsbridge
By the Lanesborough hotel, at the Hyde Park Corner end of Knightsbridge.
43. Harrods
Brompton Road, right outside. The food halls are worth a look even if you buy nothing.
44. V&A Museum
The Victoria and Albert, free to enter, and the most underrated of the three South Kensington museums.
45. South Kensington
The stop for the Natural History Museum and the Science Museum, both free and both within a few minutes.
46. Gloucester Road Station
South of Cromwell Road. A quieter way into the museum quarter when the main entrances are queued.
47. Palace Gate
The eastern entrance to Kensington Gardens, near the Albert Memorial.
48. Kensington Palace
For the palace, the Sunken Garden and the Orangery.
49. Kensington Church Street
The southern end, at the Kensington High Street junction.
50. Kensington Church Street
The middle of the street, for the antique shops.
51. Notting Hill Gate
West of Clanricarde Gardens, and the walk down to Portobello Road Market. Saturday for the full market, any other day for a calmer look.
52. Bayswater Road
By the Thistle Kensington Garden hotel, on the north edge of the gardens.
53. Bayswater Road
Further along by the Columbia hotel, near Lancaster Gate.
27. Paddington
Norfolk Place, where the Museum route meets the Essential route.
28. Praed Street
Paddington, outside the post office.
29. Madame Tussauds
Baker Street station, Marylebone Road.
54. Regent Street
For Oxford Street, Hamleys and the top of the shopping run.
55. Regent Street
The middle of the curve, for Liberty and Carnaby Street.
56. Regent Street
The southern end, dropping down towards Piccadilly Circus.
57. Haymarket
On the edge of the theatre district.
58. Trafalgar Square
The Whitehall side of the square, for the National Gallery.
59. Banqueting House
Whitehall. The Rubens ceiling inside is the reason to stop, and Downing Street is a few doors along.
20. County Hall
Westminster Bridge Road, at the London Eye.
60. York Road
Northbound, behind the London Eye on the South Bank.
61. Waterloo Station
York Road, north of Chicheley Street, for the Southbank Centre and the National Theatre.
62. London Eye
Westminster Bridge Road, opposite County Hall, on the return leg.
11. Parliament Square
Parliament Street, outside HM Treasury, for Big Ben and the Churchill War Rooms.
12. Horse Guards Parade
Whitehall, for the mounted guard change.
13. Trafalgar Square
Cockspur Street, on the far side of the square.
14. Piccadilly Circus
For Leicester Square, Chinatown and the West End.
15. Green Park Station
Piccadilly, the last stop before the loop closes.
What’s Included
- All three routes for the full duration of your pass, with free hopping between them.
- Audio commentary in eleven languages, plus a separate commentary track written for children.
- A live English-speaking guide on selected Classic route departures.
- The Royal London walking tour, daily at 10am, roughly two hours, from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.
- The Jack the Ripper walking tour, daily at 3:30pm, roughly ninety minutes, from Tower Hill into the East End.
- A one-way Thames cruise, valid for seven days from your first bus day.
- Free WiFi on board and free cancellation and amendments.
What is not included
Entry to anything the bus stops at. The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s, Madame Tussauds and the London Eye are all bought separately. The bus gets you to the door, nothing more, and that catches people out when they have budgeted for a day of sightseeing on one ticket.
Who It’s Best For
Worth it if you want a guide rather than a headset, you would actually use two guided walks and a boat trip, or you are staying near Paddington, Bloomsbury or South Kensington, where the Essential and Museum routes are genuinely convenient.
Look elsewhere if you are visiting in the depths of winter and want frequent buses, you are only in London for a day and need to move fast, or you want the biggest possible stop network. Big Bus and Tootbus both run more buses more often.
Good to Know
Four things that decide whether this ticket is good value or a wasted morning.
Build the day around the walks
Both walking tours leave at fixed times, so plan the bus around them. Doing both means the Palace at 10am and Tower Hill by 3:30pm, which is full but manageable.
Winter is a different service
Buses run noticeably less often in the colder months, and the gap on the Museum route can stretch to an hour. Check the timetable on the day.
The top deck is open
There is covered seating downstairs, but the views are upstairs and upstairs is open to the weather. Take a layer and something waterproof.
Your pass starts when you board
The clock runs from your first bus, not from the date you booked. A 24-hour pass boarded at 2pm is good until 2pm the next day.
FAQ
Is a river cruise included with Golden Tours?
Yes, one way. The ticket includes a single cruise leg between Westminster, Tower Millennium and Greenwich piers, and it stays valid for seven days from the first day you use the buses. That is unusual: most operators sell the cruise as an add-on, and it does not have to be done on the same day as the bus.
Are the two walking tours really included?
They are, at no extra cost. Royal London leaves at 10am from the tourist bus stop by the King’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and finishes at Westminster Abbey, taking about two hours. Jack the Ripper leaves at 3:30pm from Tower Hill and runs about ninety minutes. Both go daily, so plan your bus around the start times.
Is there a live guide on the bus?
On selected Classic route departures, yes, and it is the main reason to pick Golden Tours over a larger operator. The other routes use recorded commentary. If a live guide matters to you, ask at the stop which departures have one rather than assuming.
How many routes and stops are there?
Three routes covering more than 55 stops. Classic is the central loop with 20 stops, Essential adds Bloomsbury and the northern stations with 32, and Museum covers South Kensington, Kensington and Notting Hill with 33. One ticket covers all three.
How often do the buses run?
Roughly every 20 minutes on the Classic and Essential routes and every 30 on the Museum route, with an evening feeder service at the end of the day. Buses run less often in winter, and that is the real trade-off against the bigger operators.
What languages is the commentary in?
Eleven, plus a separate track written for children. The Classic route also carries a live English-speaking guide on selected departures.
When does my ticket start counting down?
From the moment you first board, not from when you booked. A 24-hour pass first used at 2pm runs until 2pm the next day, so starting late in the afternoon wastes a chunk of it.
Can I use my Oyster card or contactless on the bus?
No. This is a sightseeing tour bus rather than a Transport for London service, so Oyster, contactless and Travelcards are not valid. You need a Golden Tours ticket.
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