LONDON THAMES RIVER SIGHTSEEING
CRUISES
From Big Ben to Greenwich - Dinner Cruises to Speed Boats
So,
you’ve got time on your hands in London. You’re as punctual
as a water clock. You’re a clock watcher and a watch winder.
Phinneas Phogg is your diety. You can travel "Around the World in 80
Days", 2 hours, 35 minutes, 8 seconds minutes exactly. After you've seen
the
the river and the city from Europe's largest observation wheel, the London
Eye - take
a river cruise from London’s Big Ben, the ultimate icon of great
grandfather clocks (see Visiting
Big Ben and Parliament) to 
the
town of Greenwich, just down the river to the east of central London,
the home town of time. Greenwich Mean is the time standard against which
all the world’s
clocks are measured. The setting of Greenwich as the center of the
world’s
colock was born from England’s
historical maritime empire, when one of Great Britain’s majesty’s
ships was
always
somewhere in a colony around the globe, when the sun never set on the
empire. Aside from the atomic clock at the Greenwich Observatory which
keeps the
world
ticking,
Greenwich is the home to Britain’s National Maritime
Museum and Royal Observatory with some of
the world’s most important
artifacts on the history of Britain at sea, including maritime art, cartography,
scientific and navigational instruments, time-keeping
and astronomy.
Cruising the Thames River for Sightseeing
The
hands down best way to get to down to Greenwich while taking in all
the great sights of
London's Thames, St. Paul’s, The Tower of London (see Tower
of London), Tower
Bridge (see Tower
Bridge), the HMS Belfast (see IWM HMS Belfast) and the "London
Pickle" is by boat along the
Thames River, from which the
whole of London’s
maritime history arose to get to the sea and conquer the world. There
are a number
of cruise companies, with a wide range of touring boat options, most with "ho-
on hop-off" ticketing
which allow you to stop at the sights to while away some sight-seeing
time and continue on your journey. A direct trip down on an on-off tour
boat and back takes about an
hour,
but
you can spend all day with lots to see and do along the way.
Get
a “River Roamer” ticket on the Riverline and you can
make your way down the river, hopping on and off at all the places you
want to explore. The ticket is £7.30 for one Adult, and £16.60
for a whole family to explore all day. A straight cruise to Greenwich
takes about 30 minutes and a round trip 60 minutes if you don’t
want to get off. ©Bargain
Travel Europe
44 (0)20 7930 4097
City Cruises offers dinner and dance cruises along the river as well as sight-seeing cruises. Eat lunch while passing under the Tower Bridge on an arranged charter or take the London Showboat with a four course dinner and cabaret show.
44 (0)20 7740 0400
Catamaran Cruisers offer a multi-lingual commentary in enclosed comfort. They offer both tourist sightseeing cruises and operate the popular luxury restaurant cruises brand Bateaux London for a more elegant experience.
Catamaran Cruisers/Bateaux London
44 (0)20 7987 1185
Or take the RIB River Speedboat Adventure on the Thames at 35 Knots down the river in a fast boat like James Bond, for the whole family. Located near the London Eye at Waterloo Millenium Pier.
London RIB
Voyages
44 (0) 20 7928 2350
And
save the fumbling through your wallet trying to calculate pounds and “hay-pennies” while
the kids tug at your sleeve.
The
London Pass is accepted at many of the venues along the
Thames and provides admission to 50 attractions for one price.
These articles are copyrighted and the sole property of Bargain Travel Europe and WLPV, LLC. and may not be copied or reprinted without permission.
SEE ALSO:
LONDON SIGHTSEEING BY BIG BUS & ORIGINAL TOURS
LONDON SIGHTSEEING BY HELICOPTER
SHERLOCK
HOLMES PUB - REPLICA OF 221B
TRAITOR'S
GATE TO MORTIMER'S HOLE
LONDON
PUB TOUR FAMOUS HISTORIC DRINKING SPOTS
SHAKESPEARE
BIRTHPLACE - THE STRATFORD MAN
