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Rick Steves' London

Updates since the 2009 edition:

General

The US office of Visit Britain no longer answers questions over the phone, though it does take requests for printed brochures via an answering machine at (800) 462-2748. For questions, contact the office via email at travelinfo@visitbritain.org.

Orientation

Getting Around London

A Three-Day Travelcard for Tube or bus travel now costs £18.40. A Group Day Ticket for Tube or DLR travel for ten or more adults will be £3.70 each. A One-Day Bus & Tram Pass will be £3.80. For more information, see the Transport for London website.

Tours

Private guide Britt Lonsdale has a new email address: brittl@btinternet.com. Her current rates are £150 for a half-day tour and £220 for the whole day.

New London Walking Tours now has only one free tour: Royal London (daily at 11:00, meet at Wellington Arch, Tube: Hyde Park Corner, Exit 2). Their Old City tour now costs £9 (daily at 10:00, meet at sundial opposite the Tower Hill Tube station exit).

Sights

The Monument, London’s 202-foot column designed by Sir Christopher Wren to mark the spot where the Great Fire of 1666 began, reopened in February after a complete makeover.

Westminster Abbey is no longer open late on Wednesdays (current hours: Mon–Fri 9:30–16:30, Sat 9:30–14:30, last entry one hour before closing, closed Sun to sightseers but open for services.)

The National Gallery remains free, technically, but now has a suggested donation of £1–2. It's now open late on Fridays, rather than on Wednesdays (daily 10:00–18:00, Fri until 21:00). The museum's excellent audioguide now costs £3.50.

The London Eye has slightly changed its hours of operation. New hours: July–Aug 10:00–21:30, June and Sept 10:00–21:00, Oct–April 10:00–20:00.

Vinopolis is now closed Mondays as well as Tue–Wed (Thu–Fri 12:00–22:00, Sat 11:00–22:00, Sun 12:00–18:00, last entry 2.5 hours before closing).

Sleeping

EasyHotel Victoria has a new email address: enquiries@victoria.easyHotel.com.

St. Paul's Youth Hostel has a new email address: stpauls@yha.org.uk.

The Methodist International Centre (MIC) has a new email address: reservations@micentre.com.

Eating

Three London restaurants are newly open on Sundays: Livebait Restaurant (Sun 12:00–21:00), PJ's Bar and Grill (Sun 11:30–16:00), and the Duke of Wellington pub (Sun 12:00–15:00).

Entertainment

The magazine What's On in London is no longer being published.

Keith Prowse Ticketing, a handy source for West End theater tickets, has new phone numbers: US toll-free tel. 800-669-8687, British toll tel. 0844-209-0382.

Day Trips in England: Greenwich, Windsor, Cambridge, Bath

See the updates page for our England book.

Day Trip to Paris

See the updates page for our Paris book.