Really Nice Vacations

Top London Attractions are Most Expensive in the World

The top tourist attractions in the British capital are the most expensive in the world according to a survey of major cities by The Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

Visitors have to pay more at London’s fee-paying sights such as Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Madame Tussauds, than at other similar attractions around the world.

A family of 4 would have to pay 549.30 pounds if they wanted to take part in all the 10 activities in London (Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, London Dungeon, British Museum, Tutankhamun at the o2, Westminster Abby, Madam Tussauds, The London Eye, the London Zoo, The Original London Sightseeing Tour). This is in comparsion with Paris, New York, Berlin, Sydney, Barcelona, Hong Kong and Dubin. Just citing 2 examples, Paris and New York:

The same family of 4 only need spend 386 pounds in Paris for 4 Day passes for Disneyland Paris, Versailles, the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Pompidou Centre, Hotel Des Invalides, Musee d’Orsay, Montpanasse Tower, Arc de Triomphe, L’Open bus tour.

Whey they only require to spend 376 pounds in New York for Empire State Building, New York Sky Ride, Madam Tussauds, Central Park zoo, Top of the Rock Observatory, Guggenheim Museum, Beast Speedboat habour ride, Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum, New York Sightseeing Downtown Loop bus.

Although the British tourism folks said there are many free attractions, many of the art galleries including the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery actually impose hefty fees for special one-off exhibitions. So art lovers paid more in London than in Paris, NY or Rome. Even the Louvre and the Pompidou Centre allow anyone age under 18 free access to permanent collections and special exhibition. Tourists who want to go Westminster Abby must pay 12 pounds for a ticket. In contrast, it is free for all at the Notre Dame and Sacre Coeur in Paris.

Dr Tristram Hunt, a historian got this to say to The Sunday Telegraph: “The visitor expereience at the Tower of London and London Zoo is pretty poor. Other cities are much better at making sure other people have open access. It instills a sense of ownership and pride. But I am afraid it is something that we are very bad at”

If you are still set to visit London or UK, you really might want to spend some solid hours to scour all the relevant hotel, air ticket, tourist hotspot attraction web sites to see how you can save money. A penny saved is still a penny saved. No fun to go off for a few fabulous weeks and then cry over paying interests to your bank for the next couple of years! You might be interested to pop over to this website, Airfare Secrets, by a fired airline agent who said he is been threatened by legal actions for exposing the secrets of getting cheap airfare.