City Sightseeing London - A Complete Review (2025)
- DDL
- Jul 1, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 12
You've probably heard of City Sightseeing - it's one of the most well-known sightseeing operators worldwide. Recently, they've made their appearance in the London market, quickly becoming one of the top double decker tour bus operators.
In this post, I’ll share everything I know about this operator, giving you a totally honest and unbiased City Sightseeing London review. I’ll go into as much detail as possible to help you make the right choice for your trip. I’ll cover the pros and cons and take a deeper look at things that aren’t so obvious from the outside.
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Summary:
City Sightseeing offers a wider range of languages
Competitive pricing
One day ticket without the cruise
Self-Guided Royal London Tour
Worldwide network
Direct link from The London Eye to The British Museum
1. Why choose City Sightseeing London?
City Sightseeing London is part of the well-known City Sightseeing Worldwide network, running tours in over 100 cities. Since they’ve got a reputation to keep up, they’re always working on improving their service. I have watched them closely for a while and I can say that I am truly impressed with their ability to adapt and catch up with the competition so fast.
Their hop-on hop-off buses are easily recognizable with their eye-catching, beautifully designed red exteriors, making them the true and pretty much the only fully red bus tour in London. They truly stand out as you explore the city.
2. Advantages over other companies
Commentary
City Sightseeing London stands out by offering a wider range of languages in their options compared to Big Bus and Toot . While the later 2 offer English, Spanish, French, German and Italian, City Sightseeing offers Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Arabic in addition. If you happen to speak one of the languages offered, it makes them the clear choice for you.
Discounts
If you have an old City Sightseeing ticket, you can usually get a 10% discount! If you don’t have one yet, be sure to keep this one if you decide to go with them. It might save you money on your next trip, even in a different city!
One-day ticket
While other double decker bus tours like Big Bus offer only all-inclusive tickets, where you can't opt out from the river cruise, City Sightseeing offers a more budget-friendly option without the Thames river boat ride. This option is perfect for someone who has already experienced the cruise or simply doesn't have enough time for it.
City Sightseeing Red Route
Not only are their open deck buses the only truly red bus tours in London, but they also have the famous City Sightseeing Red Route, designed to help you make the most of central London.
3. Things to consider
Summary:
shorter open deck buses that get more crowded
shorter blue route
relatively new to the London market
more delays possible during busy times
Service frequency
While City Sightseeing London is part of a worldwide recognized company, it is relatively new to the London market compared to other established double decker bus tour operators. This means that in certain situations, you might spot more buses from other companies or experience slightly more delays during diversions caused by events in the city.
Peak times
Their hop-on hop-off buses can get crowded on weekends because of high demand. Compared to Toot and Big Bus, their double decker tour buses are usually shorter and have fewer seats upstairs. This can make it a bit more challenging to find empty seats on the upper deck during busy times.
Blue route
In comparison to its main competitors, it's important to be aware that CitySightseeing London's Blue Route doesn't extend to Bayswater, Paddington, and Notting Hill.
Pro tip: On Saturdays or during school holidays, i'd recommended to start your sightseeing early to avoid crowds. Alternatively, after 1-2p.m when the crowds tend to be smaller.
4. Maximising your time while using this red London bus tour
One day itinerary:
Ideally you want to start your morning by hopping on the red line towards Buckingham Palace to witness the Changing of the Guard ceremony.
After the ceremony, catch the bus to your next stop, Hyde Park. If the weather permits, i recommend taking a stroll through this amazing park.
From Hyde Park you can pick the blue line if Harrods, Kensington Palace and The Museums are on your list.
Make your way to Piccadilly Circus for some shopping and other exciting activities.
From Picadilly you can walk or take the bus towards Trafalgar Square. If you are into art, make sure you visit the National Gallery. The cue to get in can be quite big sometimes, but it's worth it.
From Trafalgar Square head to Covent Garden for some amazing food, or you can choose the renowned Borough Market. The food is delicious there and the environment is hard to describe in words.
Remember, the main ticket (Essential) includes a Thames river boat ride that is truly worth the experience. The guides are highly rated , the views are spectacular, plus you can get yourself some snacks and beverages from the bar and enjoy them on board.
Depending on your starting point, a popular approach is to take the open deck bus to the Tower of London, hop off to explore the attractions in that area, and then catch the Thames river boat ride towards Westminster. The bus goes on a straight line, so you won't miss much if taking the boat, quite the contrary, you get to see London from a different perspective and learn some interesting facts about the River Thames.
Pro tip: The friendly staff at City Sightseeing London are knowledgeable and can provide recommendations on the best routes to take and insider tips based on your preferences. They can quickly help you plan your tour so don't hesitate to ask them.
To discover additional tips on maximizing your day in London, visit our blog post:
5. Additional tours on offer by City Sightseeing London
London Eye + City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off for 24hrs and the boat £91
Madame Tussauds + City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off for 24hrs and the boat £83
6. Routes and Timetable
City Sightseeing offers a choice of 3 hop-on hop-off routes:
The City Sightseeing Red route is the primary route, taking you to the major sites. The red route tends to have the most frequent departures
The Blue route explores West London, including attractions like the museums, Hyde Park, and Harrods.
The Green route takes you from the London Eye to Covent Garden and The British Museum and viceversa
The blue route, compared to some of its competitors, focuses on the south side of Hyde Park exclusively. This can be an advantage because buses often get caught in traffic when circling the entirety of Hyde Park. The Blue route has key interchanging points at Hyde Park and Marble Arch.
How long does the City Sightseeing London tour take?
The red route takes 2 hours, 30 minutes. The blue route takes 1 hour and the green route takes 1 hour, 20 minutes.
Pro tip: A notable advantage City Sightseeing London offers over its competitors is the direct connection from the London Eye to the British Museum through the Green route. No other company provides direct double decker tour buses from this stop to the British Museum.
Timetable:
First buses: Westminster Bridge, 8:25; Tower Hill, 8:44; Buckingham Palace Gate, 8:58; Haymarket, 9:03.
Full route: 8:30 to 16:00 every ten minutes. 16:20 to 17:20 every 20 minutes.
Departures from stop 1 with Tower Hill as final stop: 16:10, 16:25, 16:30, 16:50, 17:05, 17:10, 17:30, 18:05 and 19:00
Departures from stop 1 with Haymarket as final stop :17:40, 18:00, 18:20
Departure from stop 1 with Grosvenor Gardens as final stop: 18:40.
Timetable for the Thames river boat ride :
Pro tip: In the busy city of London, events and protests occur frequently. It's always a smart move to regularly visit their website and stay informed by checking the service updates. You can also come back and visit our City Sightseeing London review for updates on their tour.
7. Available Tickets
City Sightseeing provides two ticket options:
While the Iconic ticket is a budget-friendly choice for a single day without the Thames river boat, that only really gives you time to explore the City Sightseeing Red Route, I highly recommend going for the Essential ticket. It's valid for 24 or 48 hours and includes the Thames river boat ride, and the price difference is minimal.
For all the Harry Potter enthusiasts out there, you can enjoy a fantastic deal that combines a Harry Potter Tour, a Hop-on Hop-off Bus, and a Cruise. You can find more details here.
8. Conclusion of our City Sightseeing London review
City Sightseeing easily ranks among the top three hop-on hop-off tours in London. If you’re considering them, you can feel pretty confident, especially after looking at the key things I’ve pointed out. Their bright red double deckers and constant effort to improve make for a fun and reliable way to see the city!
If our City Sightseeing London review captivated your interest, be sure to explore our assessment of other tours here and discover valuable travel tips here.
Getting tickets
Booking online is significantly cheaper than purcharsing tickets on the bus.