Since we didn't have a lot of time to explore London, we decided to spend money on the open-top hop-on-hop-off bus tour. Valid for 24 hours, the 20 GBP ticket not only provided a guided tour of the city, it also included in its package up to 4 city walks, and a boat ride along the Thames.

We first decided to get off the bus at Westminster Abbey (described in a different review). After the Abbey, we hopped back on the bus, and hopped off again when at the meeting point for the Beatles Walk. The walk was really more of Rock and Roll Walk, because our very-knowledgeable tour guide did not only bring us to spots where important milestones in the history of the Beatles took place; he also brought us to places important for other rock stars as well: the place where Eric Clapton first performed publicly at the age of 16; the place where Jimi Hendrix performed "Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band" with Paul in the audience, just two days after the record had been released; a studio where a number of famous rock stars had recorded some of the best rock songs ever (including some Beatles songs and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"), etcetera... The walk took about 2 hours, and we enjoyed speaking with our guide who was clearly a bona fide lover of rock and roll.

We completed the rest of our tour the following day. We started at the Thames, where we took a boat tour along the river, guided by a very funny guide. After that, we rushed back onto the bus and finished the remainder of the loop that we had missed the previous day. The guide gave thoughtful and sobering accounts of the Plague and the Great Fire of London as we entered the City of London.

On the whole, an open-top bus tour is an easy way to see the whole city if you don't have a lot of time. The quality of tour guides on the buses varies (our first guide was very good; the second seemed to be a bit bored by her job), however, so if you catch a bus with a good tour guide, you may want to stay on to listen to his entire commentary.

Big Bus Company tickets can be bought on the buses, by telephone (+ 44 20 7233 9533), at www.bigbus.co.uk or from the Big Bus Information Centre at 48 Buckingham Palace Road.

There are three different bus routes, and one of the routes has live commentary. The other tours have head phone tours available in several different languages. This was a great way to learn about London.

I've done this tour twice now, and I think I've finally figured out how to get the best out of the 24-hour ticket. Go to the Tower of London as early in the morning as you can (see my other review). When you've finished there, go buy your bus tickets or get your e-tickets validated from the rep at the bus stop near the tower. Then go back to the tower pier and take the free boat ride that is included with your tour. This way, you'll see all the same bits as the bus tour when it goes along the embankment, but from the water, which is really the way this part of London should be seen!

You'll be let off at Westminster, where you can then board the bus tour. Make sure to get on the red route, as this is the one with the live commentary in English, and it takes you to all the major sights. You'll probably have to switch buses or get a new driver at Green Park, as this is where the tour officially "begins," but use the 15 minutes or so to use the toilets in the station and get yourself a snack. Then stay on and see all you can see until they kick you off for the day (usually 5 or 6pm).

As you have a 24-hour ticket, the next morning, you can get on the blue route and see what the red route misses. It's not much, but if you're not sick to death of the bus, you may want to do it. I realize I haven't said much about the tour itself, but it's pretty standard, usually with funny commentary, loads of history, and a great way to see and learn a lot in a short period of time.

On our first day in London, we took the Big Bus tour. This is a fantastic way to see everything as an overview of what you want to see during an extended trip or as a full day if you have limited time in the city. You can't go wrong by seeing absolutely everything this amazing city has to offer. Feel free to hop on and off at the dozens of stops. There are red lines, blue lines, and a short green line. We arranged to see almost all of the stops on the red and green lines. The only drawback was that it starting to just pour rain - and our bus leaked. We got off and switched buses, which is easy when they come roughly every 5-10 minutes. A great tour. If you speak other languages, this one offers multiple languages via headsets and a pre-recorded message. Live commentary on the red line.

I absolutely LOVE the Big Bus Tours for getting a great overview of the city without much work. These Hop on Hop off buses have open tops and take three different routes through the city. Most come with a live guide who gives a running commentary and imparts interesting tidbits of information about the area you are in. (For example, did you know that the writer of the screenplay "Notting Hill" was attempting to raise house prices in the area when he couldn't sell his flat? The Hugh Grant / Julia Roberts movie did exactly that, causing the area to skyrocket.)

The 16 GBP tickets are good for 24 hours (although the buses stop running at about 7 pm) and also give you one Thames River cruise and one guided walk.

Be sure to pick a dry day for this trip and ride on top. Wear a coat and hat as it gets cold and windy up there. But the views on the inside are frankly not worth the trip.

Buy your ticket on the bus and you'll find stops throughout London and certainly where the big sights are.