Anyone ever use the LondonPass?

[DrivesLikeMario]

If so, was it easy to get into the included attractions? Did you use it for discounts on food or riding the Tube?

 

Just trying to decide if it's worth the $424 for our family of 4. Thanks for the help!

[slkmcs]

It depends entirely on how much you use it. I know that sounds trite but if you only plan on using the tube a couple of times and only go to a couple of the sites listed.. then it probaby isn't worth the price. However if you go every where by tube or bus..which we did, and go to a number of the sites included it is worth it weight in gold. Also saves time queing up for admission tickets to the more popular places line the Tower.

[Aussie Gal]

We bought a London card for our visit in 1998 and used it extensively. We used the tube a lot, as we were staying right near Baker Street Station in Regent Park and we were alsoable to get into quite a lot of attractions including the Tower of London and I am sure Greenwich as well as many other places. If you have time, catch the ferry to Greenwich and go through the observatory, I am sure if you have children they would find it most interesting.

 

The one place that I have always been glad we visited was Buckingham Palace. We were there in early September and were able to buy our tickets and then go through the Palace half an hour later. It was a memorable visit and well worth the money. I think at the time the tickets were ten pounds each and at the exchange rate of the day that worked out at $30AUD each, which was a lot but am glad we did it.

 

Jennie

[DrivesLikeMario]

I forgot about the easier entrance into attractions like the Tower of London! Were you able to just jump to the front of the line or how did it work?

 

Did they honor your LondonPass without a hassle at all the included venues? Or did they make you feel like dirt for using a discount card?

 

Thanks so much for the great information and help! I appreciate it!

[Aussie Gal]

Lady Jag,

 

I now remember we bought a London Pass and a Museum Pass. The London Pass had to be validated and exchanged for a special pass at the first tube station we went to. The Museum Pass was great, as we were able to use it all over Great Britain and Scotland.

 

The best thing with the passes is that you do go to the head of the queue and you don't feel badly at all. That is one of the perks of having a pass.

 

This is especially true in Paris. We love the Musee D'Orsay and we have had a museum pass there both times. The queue for the Musee went for miles, but we were able to walk straight up to the ticket box, show our pass and go in.

 

Don't worry about feeling embarrassed as all savvy travellers have these passes. It saves so much money, especially on the tube in London and the Metro in Paris. We are going to Paris for a week after our cruise next month and I have purchased a 7 day Metro pass, I know we will have saved heaps of money, as we use the Metro all the time over there.

 

Jennie

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks, Jennie! I feel much better now! I was just adding up the entrance fees to all the places we want to visit vs. the cost of the LondonPass and although it's cheaper a la carte, we may want to do more things than I'm anticipating and it could easily run more than the LondonPass.

 

I didn't realize there's a Metro Pass! Do you happen to know the website for that? I'd like to get one of those too.

 

Thanks again!!

[Aussie Gal]

Lady Jag,

 

Unfortunately for us here in Oz we can do only order this through our T.A. We also can only book our Euro trains through our T.A. and not on the net I have never bothered to look this up as I know the rules. It is a great bonus though and does save a lot of money as well as not having the hassle of having to buy a ticket each time you use the Metro. You can get I think three, five and seven day passes and for zone 1 which covers all of inner Paris but if you are considering going to Versailles or Fontainbleu buy the next zone which covers those to areas. It is a little more in price but well worth it.;)

 

Jennie

[DrivesLikeMario]

I'll search around for a website for Paris' Metro. We could probably use a 3-day pass. Thanks!

[Tania]

Lady Jag...I regret not buying the London Pass...we saw so much more than we had intended to. However, I remember pricing it out with and without the tube extension and it was cheaper to buy the London Pass and a weekly tube pass separately in 2002. Might still hold true.

 

The same thing happened in Paris in 2003, but that time I was smart enought to buy the Pass and we saw more than we intended to. For example, from Notre Dame, it is a ONE minute walk to the Crypte de Paris (Roman excavations), something I wouldn't have paid extra for but very interesting all the same. Bypassing the lines at the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay are terrific too! Even shorter lines like the Sainte Chapelle are fun to bypass as well.

[DrivesLikeMario]

That's what I was thinking too-that as long as we had the Pass, we might as well go to a few more venues. If I separately price the attractions I know we want to see and the Tube/Metro, it's cheaper, but I'm afraid that once we're there, I'll want to add on a few more attractions and I'll end up kicking myself for not buying the Pass to begin with. You know how it is - you're just finishing one attraction and then walk by another one that looks interesting...

 

Thanks again!

[Cruise Junky]

I just got back from a day in London...It's amazing what you can fit into a day. Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[slkmcs]

In London there were no "dirty looks" when using the museum pass. There are rarely ques to get into attraction but there are to buy the tickets. As far at the tube/bus pass you just show it at boarding the bus. On the tube it runs through the ticket reader and come out the other side (don't forget to pick it up!!!). No human ever sees it.

As far as the Paris Metro pass that can be purchased at any metro station with no trouble at all.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Sounds like both passes save a lot of time. Since we hate lines, this may be the way to go in both cities. Thanks for the feedback!

[Aussie Gal]

Lady Jag,

 

I received my Paris passes for the Metro from our T.A. today. These are ones that have to be bought out of France. They are called Paris Visite passes and you can choose a 1-5 zone or a 1-3 zone and they come in one day, two day, three day or five day passes.

There is a reduced rate for children 4-11 years. It is for unlimited travel on the Metro, buses, RER trains and SCNF ile de france trains. You also receive some vouchers which gives you a reduction on certain tourist attractions ie. Bateaux, Canauxrama, Moulin Rouge etc.

 

We have found them to be worth their weight in gold as they save quite a lot of money and the best thing is time as you do not need to queue up for a ticket each time you use the Metro.

 

Jennie.

[DrivesLikeMario]

What areas did you get yours for? I think they'd be great to have because it'd be that much less cash we'd have to carry around with us. I know I want a 3-day pass, but have no idea what zones we should get. I was thinking 1-3 because we'd only be doing things in central Paris. Does that sound right?

[Aussie Gal]

Lady Jag,

 

If you are just doing the main attractions of Paris then a 1-3 zone is fine.

 

We have been to Paris a number of times and over the years have bought the 1-5 zone card. We wanted to see Versailles one time - which to me is a must - and another we went to Fontainbleau which isn't nearly as good as Versailles but still interesting.

 

If you have limited time in Paris, say three days only then just get the 1-3 zone card as Versailles takes a full day to see everything and there is so much to see in Paris proper. The card is handy to get from A-B and does save a lot of walking and time.

 

Jennie

[sandydownunder]

We were surprised that many of the Museums that we had previously paid to enter on past trips to London were on our last visit in 2002 free. This did not include the Tower of London or St Paul's (which is very pricey in my opinion). It might be worth while checking on the free places of interest before you get a pass. Greenwich, Tate Modern, Imperial War Museum, British Museum were some of the sites we visited that did not charge.

[Mike Andrews]

As Sandy says,most of the major museums and galleries now have free entrance so the benefits of the London Pass might not be so attractive.

[TedC]

We just got back from a theatre week in London. We always buy a 7-day Tube pass that's also good on buses. I think the pass for just Zone 1 was 17 pounds. The price goes up as you add zones.

 

The British Museum, National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, Tate are all free but we enjoy them so much we do make a donation.

 

If you enjoy theater we suggest : Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the National Theatre; Journey's End at the Playhouse, Old Masters at the Comedy.

 

 

Many tickets are available at the half-price TKTS booth in Leicester Square. It's the stand-alone building in the park with a clock on top - beware of rip-off joints that advertise half-price tickets all around Leicester Square.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Okay, sounds like zones 1-3 for Paris will be sufficient for us since we'll just be doing the usual ones in the City center.

 

I like the fact that the LondonPass has transportation and other attractions on one card. I like the simplicity of that. It's definitely more expensive that if we bought the tickets piece-meal, but we may want to more than I think we will once we get there.

 

Thanks again for the help!!

[tadjr]

Try this site. http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/the_london_pass.htm I've used it before to buy passes for London and also Eurail/Britrail passes.

I havent bought the "London Pass", but can tell you it is handy to have some kind of tube/bus pass. We werent going to be doing all the attractions last time we were there so didnt get the London Pass, but definitely a bus/tube pass is worth it. We just walked until we got tired and then hopped on a bus and traveled until we saw something that interested us and then hopped off again. No hassle and they go almost everywhere. This is the website info for just the London Travel Card (bus/tube) http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/london_travel_card.htm

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks for the link. I think it's cheaper to buy the transportation pass along with the LondonPass. I'll probably do the all-in-one pass and buy it ahead of time so we have that much less cash we need to bring with us. (and get stolen). Thanks again!