London Tourist Mistakes All 1st Time Visitors Make

The police around London ARE fantastic. We had a stolen back pack situation and I could not believe the thorough follow up by the Metro Police. They found the guy six months later and actually took the time to send us a letter about his sentence. No way would that have happened in an American for a stolen back pack.

I'll take an episode of Wolter's world any day over these Instagram model travel channels. Always a heaping dose of both reality and positivity, one of the best channels on YouTube. Great work as always, keep em coming.

I did London in 1978, when the French air traffic controllers were on strike. So EVERYONE leaving northern France we're leaving by London. I spent three days sleeping on the sidewalk, across the Thames from the Battersea Power Generation Plant. The people of London were FANTASTIC, offering their houses to take showers, etc

Thank you for your positive comments about Black cabs. I am a black cab driver myself. Just a few words of advice here, some hotels will try and put people off using taxis and say we are too expensive and also mention we charge £180 to Heathrow Airport etc, but will try and put you in one of their cars for £120 claiming they're cheaper. A total ride in a black cab to the airport (Heathrow) is £80 (give or take with light or heavy traffic and depending where abouts in London you are staying) slightly cheaper depending what terminal you're going to. Please also have in mind is watch out for the 3 cups one ball scam on Westminster Bridge. These guys will rinse you dry for your money whilst having one of their 'colleagues' playing winning money to attract tourists in thinking they can do the same. When in reality they will always win, and you will always lose. But apart from that it is a great city to visit and plenty of fun stuff to see and do.

Couple notes. I found the Tube to be one of the cheapest ways to get around. I was so intimidated by the thought of it. I read and watched a ton of tips about it before we left, and was surprised when we got there at how well it is planned out and organised! My 7-yr old and I had it figured out by the afternoon of the first day. Don’t be scared of the Tube! Also, the willingness to help. The two weeks I was there, i found everyone very helpful and tolerant of my “ignorant tourist” ways. Have to say the one moment that stood out to me most was at Harrods. After standing in a long line to check my few small items, the cashier greeted me kindly, rang up my items, handed me my bag, and said, “Do you need directions anywhere?” … What a PERFECT question to have your cashiers ask! Helpful, polite, takes any embarrassment or hesitation away from the tourist who might feel stupid in asking. It’s been 10 years since I was there, I saw a million incredible things, and yet THAT is the moment I most often remember.

Wolter, oh Wolter! You’ve been here often enough to know by now how to pronounce Thames.

My girlfriend and I went to London for 4 days at the end of August. We got a 2 day pass for the hop on hop off bus. It was great. We got to see the whole city and learned a little bit about the history. It's such a big city that I don't think we would have seen so much in such a short period of time otherwise. I'd recommend it for 1st time visitors. Great video as always Mark

Great list, just one misser I didn't notice: DON'T MESS WITH THE GUARDS! Lots of people make fun of them, want to touch them, whatever. Making a picture for home is okay, as long as you make it with respect for his job, sometimes they even help with a foot shuffle themselves, or sometimes you are allowed to make them when they're just off duty. But DON'T TOUCH OR WALK IN THEIR WAY! They are allowed to use violence if going too far and that won't be nice. It's an honorary job and treat them that way. Also don't touch the reigns of the horses as well.

Was in London June 2023 and had an amazing time. I actually found myself using the bus more than the tube to get around. It was easy with apps to put in start/stop points. There was a bus stop right outside my hotel and most times the change was get off one bus and wait for a different one at the same stop. Just a couple of times did I have to walk to a different stop and that was usually pretty close. It allowed me to see so much of the city I might not have if on the tube. Recommend using the bus once or twice to move around the city. And for the record, London can have heat waves...was not prepared for that. Enjoy your travel videos.

My family has been to London 3 times and it’s always a magical experience.

My main thing I say to people is "don't take someone else's trip". Ask people, watch videos like Wolters and other gems, study, study study. Pick your favourites. There are some overhyped things but if you have dreamed of seeing Buckingham (Bucking-um not Bucking-ham) Palace, then that's what you must do. People will tell you it's not worth it (most people will, actually) but it's your dream, you decide if it's worth it. If you're brand new - the HopOnHopOff buses give you what I call "the calendar tour". You will have all the photo ops to take all the things you see that probably drew you to London in the first place. You'll also get the lay of the land, good commentary etc. Also - you don't need to do the dungeon AND London Bridge Experience. Mark has great advice to go to Liverpool for the day, one of the things I always said was that I love York. It's beautiful and it's a destination of it's own. Unless you're doing multiple days in London, stay there and take the train to London.

You never fail to give the best tips/advice. We took a (classic) cab to airport on return to USA. Older cabdriver called me "love" and it delighted me. I can still remember that early morning and that moment (and it's dear to me, as such things can be). We were only there one week (waaay back, year 2000) and stayed at the Ruskin, right across from The British Museum. We hit the historic, much as you well-outlined. GREAT advice you give. THANK YOU.

Great advice! We just returned from an 8 day trip there. One more thing - many of the locals understand the complex crossings with multiple lanes. Just because someone else just successfully crossed the road DOES NOT MEAN that you will also. We practiced better safe than sorry which paid off when vehicles suddenly crossed the road that we did not see ahead of time.

London is an open air museum, buy a walking guide tour book and enjoy seeing the city. Keep the book as an incredible souvenir. Not only museums are free to visit but some (Tate, British, National Portrait) have free gallery walks with museum staff which is incredibly informative and. Don't miss the London City museum, it used to have 16 galleries and they have 4 free walks daily. So it took me 4 days (2 hrs/day) to see all the 16 galleries which was incredibly informative.

Don’t make the mistake of lining up at the main entrance of The British Museum…..go around the block to the rear entrance….usually little to no line!

Pretty common mistake is pronouncing the "H" in Buckingham 😉

Just got back from London. Dear God it’s expensive. Even by San Francisco or Manhattan standards. Inflation is on a tear there - still running 8% or so compared to 3% in the US. A lot of restaurants had literally doubled their prices from just a year or two ago. The Tube is also insanely expensive now (and some of the lines are hot as a sauna, the speedy Victoria line in particular - definitely dress in layers). The only thing blunting the sting a bit is the exchange rate with the US dollar, which is the most advantageous I’ve ever enjoyed. Take advantage of as much free stuff as you can. The Wallace Collection is a lovely museum in Marylebone that’s big enough to be worth a visit but small enough to not be fatiguing. There’s a center courtyard with a wonderful English tea service that’s unfortunately gotten really expensive the past two years. Might still be worth it. There’s also lots of shopping fairly nearby. Try grabbing a to go lunch at the food halls at M&S, John Lewis or - for the luxe version - Selfridges, and having lunch in a nearby park, for example. Or go ultra budget at Tesco or Lidl - I got bottled water at Lidl that was a quarter the price of what most other shops wanted. Take the bus when you can - it’s cheaper than the tube and the views from upstairs can be great. It’s fine for short hauls. Try to plan your visit so you aren’t running from one end of London to the other - group destinations of interest and do an area at a time. This will save transport costs and make the most of the hours of the day.

Brilliant and instructive compendium! Thanks! I've lived in London for 80 years, and I've still not seen all of it, and never will. One point about queues - yes, in the old days Brits were famous for 'standing in line' - but today in some places we have the 'virtual queue', which visitors should be warned about. For example, a group of people around a bus stop - not a queue - but when we arrived we've all taken note of who was there before us, and when the bus comes up we stand back while they get on (with due allowance for the elderly, disabled etc to get on first - there's probably a virtual list we all know but I'm not sure if anyone could spell it out). And that explains behaviour at the pub bar that you mentioned. Actually we rely on the bar-staff to have noticed who got to the bar and in what order, and they serve us in that order. No waving of ten pound notes around will help (at least in theory). Actually I once made a mistake, in a London 'tourist pub', when someone seemed to be pushing towards the bar ahead of me. I assumed he was 'foreign' and gave him the 'look' which means 'I'm not going to say anything but I think you are being extremely rude'. It turned out he was local, gave me a 'look' back, and of course I was served first. Oh - and yes, we're all very polite and helpful if you're lost or bewildered - but please don't be offended if we tell our mates in the pub afterwards and have a good laugh.

Thank you, Mark. I live in the UK and it's fairly easy for me to travel to London but a very long time since I last visited.. I wasn't considering a return trip but your enthusiasm definitely has me thinking again!

That pub ordering information was GOLD