United Kingdom | The London Pass: useful or futile?

To buy or not to buy the “London Pass” during your next tourist trip to the British capital? By purchasing this passport, you are promised savings to discover “the best of London”. It is still expensive. Do you get what you pay for? The Press tested it for you.

(London) “Save up to 50% on your tours and choose from over 90 activities in the British capital. »

The London Pass offer is sure to appeal.

We then assure that by purchasing this discount card which gives access to “its most Instagrammable monuments” and “its best-kept secrets”, we will discover “the best of London”.

So we purchased the five-day package for an adult and a child at a cost of 229 pounds ($388.27 CAN). The price varies depending on age (adult or child) and number of days.

So, is it worth the cost or not?

Actually, it depends on what kind of traveler you are. And what type of little travelers you are sightseeing with.

During a nine-day mother-son stay in London, we fulfilled Son’s dream of following in the footsteps of Harry Potter by visiting different filming locations – including the Warner Bros. studios. – where the film saga was filmed.

First downside here: the popular studios – which are expensive to visit – are not among the attractions for which we get a discount with the London Pass.

Another big disappointment for families looking to save money: the popular London Eye – Europe’s largest Ferris wheel at 135m high – is not included either. Now, all the children passing through London obviously want to go up there.

In South Bank, on the banks of the Thames, you board one of its 32 glass pods for a 30-minute tour. We are treated to a magnificent view of the parliament, just opposite, but it all goes by very quickly… at an exorbitant cost: 85.50 pounds ($146.45 CAN).

Son loved it, but let’s say a discount wouldn’t have been a no-no. Same disappointing observation for the archipopular London Aquarium and London Dungeon, also located in South Bank.

Knowing that essential family activities are missing from the discount book, let’s say that the expression “the best of London” is a bit exaggerated.

To arrive at the number of “more than 90” activities, the London Pass offers very niche ones, such as a visit to the Fan Museum or even a cricket stadium.

Some savings, and discoveries

That being said, if you are the type of hyperactive traveler – visiting several attractions per day – or, like Son, having prepared a long, very long list of places “not to be missed” in the British capital, it there are savings to be made.

But if you like wandering around museums and exploring neighborhoods on foot, stopping here and there at a cute cafe or pub that looks nice, the London Pass may not be for you. Indeed, the most popular museums in the British capital, such as the British Museum, the National Gallery or the National History Museum, are free (except temporary exhibitions). And it’s easy to spend several hours there (so less time to do the visits included in the London Pass if you only spend a few days in the British capital).

So we maximized our visits. During this marathon, let’s highlight several favorites. Among them, two sure hits with children: the zoo and the Tower of London. The latter, a medieval fortress, served over the centuries as a royal residence, observatory, arsenal, menagerie, prison and… place of execution. These two visits alone take at least half a day each because there is so much to see (and walk!).

Beyond the savings, the London Pass motivated us to visit attractions that weren’t on our “must-see” list and which turned out to be great discoveries.

After all, these attractions were included in our package, so why not take a look? Let’s mention the visit to the interior of Tower Bridge. Without the discount, we would have just admired it from the outside.

However, Fiston loved his route of exhibitions presenting his rich history, especially since it was perfectly adapted to children (both informative and entertaining!). And he will remember for a long time his passage on the emblematic glass-floored footbridge perched 42 meters high.

The London Pass also gave us the opportunity to vary our means of transport to discover the different districts of London. We were entitled to a ticket valid for one day aboard a panoramic bus with multiple stops (of the type hop-on/hop-off). And on a second day, we took advantage of the same concept, but this time on the water, aboard a river shuttle (Uber boat).

Son particularly liked what we called “our Thames cruise”, during which we were able to have a different perspective on several emblematic sites and districts of London. We passed Westminster, Enbankment, Blackfriars and under London Bridge, among others.

Without the London Pass, we would have favored traveling by metro – more economical – but the river shuttle was more pleasant, especially since we chose a sunny day. Yes, yes, it’s possible during the London autumn!

The transportation costs for this trip were paid by Air Transat, which had no say in the content of this report.

Activities carried out in five days with the London Pass

• London Zoo
• The tower of London
• Westminster Abbey
• Saint Paul’s Cathedral
• Tower Bridge
• Uber Boat River Shuttle (1-day tickets)
• Scenic type bus hop-on/hop-off (one day ticket)
• Guided tour on the theme of palaces and parliament