London Info
What you need to know!
Isabelle Kemp
We had a great day out with Nikky. She clearly knows London inside out. We went to so many places and Nikky knew exactly what she was doing. We crisscrossed the city using bus, tube and even Thames boat. We also went into places which we never knew were open to the public like an old church , a rooftop garden and the oldest police station in London (now a lovely pub!)! We also had the BEST ice cream in London. We could not rate it any better – a fantastic day out with a great guide. You won’t regret booking this one.
Jay C
TripAdvisor
My family did the London half day tour with Nikky. She was like a walking encyclopedia of all things London! We got to see some amazing places, including iconic Piccadilly circus, where they shot some scenes for 28 days later (one of my all-time favorite movies). Having lunch at covent garden after the tour was also awesome. The pub we went to (great suggestion btw) had the best fish and chips I’ve ever had, but they even had vegan options for my MIL :-). We highly recommend this tour!
Sadie Callan
My 13 year old daughter and I did the 8 hour London day tour with Nikky. Highly recommended – a great way to see the city, and much more of an experience than just doing a bus tour. The itinerary has been exceptionally well planned – you get to see all the famous sites (Westminster, Buckingham Palace, St James palace, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, covent garden, St Paul’s, and many more). You get to use the underground tube, the bus, and even a boat in amongst walking. The walk was fairly easy, didn’t feel strenuous at all, and after lunch we were using public transport to get around. Nikky was a brilliant tour guide. It was a privilege to spend a day with someone so knowledgeable, helpful, and cultured. She really knew her stuff, explained everything well (and was really good at engaging with my daughter at just the right level), and was just an all-round class act. If you have a day to spend in London then I can’t recommend this tour highly enough.
Richard_L
Viator
Nikki, was one of the best tour guides we’ve ever had. She was personable and very knowledgeable. Nikki did a great job engaging us in the rich, sometimes dark and always interesting facets of history for each sight we visited. Nice features of this tour included a double-decker bus ride and a boat ride on the Thames to reach some of the sights. Although there’s a good amount of walking, it was interspersed with stops at the many sights, a stop for lunch and stops for coffee/drinks. Nikki also took some great photos of us and provided recommendations for places we were interested in going over the next few days. We give Nikki 5/5 stars!
Isabel D
TripAdvisor
I’ve never done a tour quite like this one, with a bus trip as well as using the Underground and taking an uber boat. We covered a lot of London, seeing covent garden, Saint Paul’s, tower of London and south bank. It was a cold day, but the guide N was amazing and kept us moving and made some unscheduled hot chocolate stops. Highly recommended.
Jeeva_R
Viator
We booked the London full-day tour and it turned out to be an exceptional experience. The tour started right on time and the meeting point was very easy to locate. Nikky is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about London’s history. She explained every place in great detail and shared tons and tons of historical facts that truly brought the city to life. What made this tour unique was that we visited so many “firsts of the world”—an unforgettable experience. Highly recommended for anyone visiting London and wanting to experience its rich history in the best possible way. A big thank you to Real London Experiences for an unforgettable day!
Edgar Wallace
I booked the London in a day tour for my family of 4 on a trip to London (husband and wife and 2 kids). So glad I did. It was a full day and we saw pretty much everything the family wanted to see- Buckingham Palace, westminster, tower of London, covent Garden and Piccadilly circus. Even better they took us on a bus, a Thames boat and on an underground train. The guide was so good and took tons of photos. An amazing day. Thanks!
10 Things Not To Do In London
What do we mean by putting together a list of things not do in London? Well, if you want to fully enjoy your time in the U.K. there are some things you ideally shouldn't do, because doing those things could lead to misunderstandings and confusion. Every country has its own traditions and culture (and even different regions within countries can too), and it helps if you have an understanding of how they do things before you arrive there.
So, just for fun – and to help you avoid these cultural confusions – we put together this list of 10 things not do do in London, so you can make the most of your trip by avoiding some common mistakes made by visitors to the U.K.'s capital.
London Do Not's
1. DON'T PACK THE WRONG STUFF
If you live north of the 40th Parallel then you probably won't find London to be super cold. For example, London only sporadically gets snow in winter, whereas New York, which is much further south and hotter in summer, has a white Christmas pretty much every year. What London does generally have is very changeable weather, and a lot of rain (unless there's a heat wave).
What that means is you need to bring some warm clothes that you can layer on or off, as necessary, and an umbrella.
2. DON'T DRIVE IN LONDON
Most visitors to London know that it has a very good public transport system (opens in new tab)and they're not expecting to use a car here. However some people, especially Americans who are used to driving around U.S. cities, think they should drive here too. Don't even think about it.
Traffic is very bad, parking is scarce and expensive, and one-way streets abound. Also the whole thing is expensive. You can do a driving holiday in the U.K., just not in London.
Use London Transport to get around the city, or take a Black Cab (drivers still have to learn "the knowledge" before becoming a cab driver). Join us on our London in a Day(opens in new tab) or Introduction to London Pt 2(opens in new tab) tours and we'll take you on a bus, boat and the Tube to show you how to use them.
3. DON'T STAND ON THE LEFT WHILE ON AN ESCALATOR
One of the most important rules in the U.K. is to walk on the left and stand on the right when using any escalator.
If you inadvertently stand on the left you will almost certainly be asked to move by someone walking up or down. Usually they will ask politely, but if it's rush hour they may not and they may even tut!
4. DON'T FORGET TO LOOK RIGHT AND LEFT WHEN CROSSING A STREET
No matter where you come from and which side of the road you drive on, look both ways when crossing a street in London.
As mentioned above there are numerous one-way streets, there are lots of cyclists and people on other wheeled non-car vehicles, and then there are the Emergency Services. In London pedestrians often don't wait for the traffic lights to change, since jay-walking is not illegal, so always check both directions before crossing so you don't get a nasty surprise (or worse).
5. DON'T FORGET TO MIND YOUR MANNERS!
One thing that goes a long way here is saying "please" and "thank-you". Those words are like a social lubricant, they will make your life easier as you move around London.
Something else you will hear a lot is "sorry". It does not necessarily mean the person is apologizing, they're saying "excuse me". Carefully deployed, use of the word can resolve a plethora of potential misunderstandings.
Btw sometimes Londoners say “you alright?” as a way of saying "how are you?" or "do you need help?" (for example in a shop or cafe).
6. DON'T IMITATE PEOPLE'S ACCENTS TO THEM. EVER.
Some people are fascinated by accents, and that's fine. However imitating someone's accent to the person themselves is excruciating for that individual. You may think if's funny – they definitely don't. Really it's not hard to imagine, would you like it?
An accent is usually just an accident of birth, which you can enjoy in someone else without having to force them to listen to you attempting to do it (and failing badly).
7. DON’T JUMP THE QUEUE
One of the most important things not to do in London is to jump the queue (meaning to cut in line, if you're American). Sometimes it's had to tell where a queue ends, but make sure you've asked. If Londoners think you're queue-jumping they will say something to you (and it may not be nice).
Some people say queueing is a national sport in the U.K., but in reality it's not an uncommon aspect of British culture in comparison to other countries. It's normal that everyone has to wait their turn, and if you have been you don't like to see other people being disrespectful by cutting in ahead of you.
8. DON'T TALK TO PEOPLE ON BUSES, TRAINS OR THE TUBE IN RUSH HOUR
A myth about London is that no one makes eye contact – or heaven forbid actually talks to each other – on the Tube. That's actually not true at all (the night bus can be a very sociable experience), but what you should NEVER do in London is try to start a conversation with someone on public transport in London during rush hour.
Buses, trains and the Tube get very crowded during those busy periods – you may well find yourself standing 3 inches from another passenger (possibly almost face to face) – and avoiding eye contact is a way of preserving personal space (and sanity).
Would you want to have a conversation with a total stranger while you're stuck on a crowded train on the way to your job? Maybe you would, but in London, no. There are usually London Transport staff available at most stations and they're the best people to ask questions.
Remember, you're on holiday, they're not.
9. DON'T BELIEVE THAT LONDON ISN'T SAFE
This is something that has only really become an issue in the last few years. Traditionally London has been seen as being very low-crime and safe, but not so much recently. There are videos, social media posts and news shows out there which talk about no-go neighborhoods and rising crime.
In fact London is still a very safe city measured by global standards. It's statistically much safer than any U.S. city of a similar size. In 2025 there were around 25 deaths involving gun violence in the whole U.K. That incredibly low rate, which to be fair you'd never believe if you've watched a TV crime series set in the UK such as Midsomer Murders(opens in new tab), has forced propagandists to focus of late on violent knife crime.
However, that is also way below the average in the U.S. too (Google it if you don't believe us), and not significantly higher than other developed countries (spoiler alert Tokyo, Taipei and Singapore are the safest major cities).
Either way, just think of London as being like any other city in the developed world, where there is an extremely low chance of law-abiding people being caught up in a crime, but that it's always important to be vigilant, just in case.
10. DON'T FORGET TO PUT YOUR KNIFE AND FORK TOGETHER ON THE PLATE AFTER EATING
This might seem a funny one, but we've heard visitors complain about the service in restaurants, never realizing that there was a basic misunderstanding on this issue. It's just a cultural thing.
Dining etiquette in the U.K. requires that you put your knife and fork on the plate at 6.30 when you've finished eating. This sends a message to your waiter that you're finished. If you don't do this your waiter may well think that you're still working on your meal, and they won't clear your plate. Generally the waiter will wait until all the diners at the table have finished before clearing any plates.
Also, unlike in the U.S., waiters are trained NOT to bring the bill (check) until customers ask for it, since they don't want to be seen as rushing the customer. Just make eye contact with your waiter and mimic writing in the air, then they'll bring you the bill.
Tipping is absolutely not expected in pubs, in restaurants you can add 10-15% (if it's not already included – be sure to check because you definitely don't need to tip twice).
If you have any feedback on our list of 10 things not to do in London, or if you have some recommendations of your own, please email us and let us know. We’ll be sure to take it into account.
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