London's worst tourist traps

I agree with Emma. When we were in Vienna with our children we went to the Prater. Didn’t stay very long, just an expensive, tacky, kiddy amusement park. Other people i know love it, tackiness and all. Same with Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. You have to reaseach and decide what is a tourist trap for yourself.

I second what Emma wrote. Add to that the London Dungeon and the Emirates Cable Car ride.

But you'll also find posters who love all of these things.

It’s a lot easier to decide what to see than what not to see. May I suggest you get Rick Steves 2018 London book. There you’ll find many options. The Changing of the Guard can be a chore if you’re in with the hoards at Buckingham. But if you follow Ricks instructions you can enjoy the pageantry, and have it nearly all to yourself. On our recent RS tour we took an East London food tour and had a great time! Westminster Abbey, a trip to Windsor, the Tower of London, Borough Market, the British Museum, the Churchill War Rooms, the Imperial War Museum and so much more. A lot has changed since 2003, mostly positive.

I guess I agree that it will vary with your interests, but yes there are some that I would class as very likely to be not worth the money and effort, and others that no question are worth it.

For me, the London Dungeon, Madame Tussaud's, London Vinopolis, London Eye, and other sites that offer high ticket price and a commercial or limited experience are low on my list. (maybe higher on others) But to be honest I have been to none of those in 4 visits to London totaling 20 or so days.

To be very honest, while I enjoyed Westminster Cathedral, and poked my head into St. Paul's, the idea of paying a premium to visit a church drops the ranking on my list, great churches, but been to more than a few.

On the other end of the scale, The British museum, regardless of your interests, is at the top of the list; The National Gallery a close second, even if art is not your thing, then any of the other "free" museums (Imperial War Museum, Tate Modern, Albert and Victoria, and on and on)

Of the "Pay" sights; I avoided the Tower of London, but after seeing several documentaries on it, I visited and would agree it is worth the effort, then again depending on your interest the Churchill war rooms and the HMS Belfast.

Lots of other places, but some thoughts.

From there, I do just enjoy wandering markets (Portobello Road, Borough Market, the collection of markets near Camden Locks) and I love visiting pubs.

HARRODS -- AND HARRODS

221B Baker Street

hmmm... just wanted to add that i don't think tivoli gardens in copenhagen is a tourist trap at all. visitors to tivoli are overwhelmingly danish and many of those from copenhagen. tho i get why some people wouldn't consider theme parks worth a visit, parts of it are quite lovely. on the culture and history side, it's been operating for more than 150 years and is one of the oldest amusement parks in europe.

mom2eandb

Thank you for your support for Tivoli :-) I live just outside of Copenhagen and have a pass to enter all year round (When open). We usually visit Tivoli at least four times a year just to walk around look at the flowers, have beer, have dinner.

BTW. Tivoli is only 175 years old. Try to visit BAKKEN next time you are in Copenhagen. Founded in 1583.

"To be very honest, while I enjoyed Westminster Cathedral,"

Did you mean Westminster Abbey? Never got the impression that the catholic cathedral was on the tourist trail.

about the only place that is obvious to me is the Dungeon.

Shard (ridiculous price), Emirates Airline (ridiculous price and not that interesting a view, also paid for from the city public transportation budget by BoJo when it had no purpose other than tourism), London Dungeon (tasteless theme park). I don't think the Changing of the Guard counts as I think it's free, but Buckingham Palace definitely does due to the expense and the limited and not hugely interesting rooms on show.

I find the London Eye and the whole area around it horrible. I only went up the London Eye last summer because we got a free voucher with Booking.com, but the quees and the crowds were horrible. The same goes for the area across the bridge by the Palace of Westminster, too crowded for my taste. But I get that it’s an iconic sight, so for me it’s a atea to get in, take some snap shots, and get out quickly. London has so many interesting things to see, that have way fewer crowds than it’s most iconic sights.

All those shops that sell tourist souvenirs.

We did Madame T's on our 2nd trip to London. What a crap show - lol. I mean, the wax figures weren't bad, but we went on a weekend. My sister and niece came up from Portsmouth and had some 2 for 1 tix, so we decided to go. Over an hour wait in line, just to get in. So crowded inside. And we lost my sister part way thru, somehow got ahead of them, and stood outside a good half hour waiting for them to emerge. On the flip side, we did MT's in NYC (we had a City Pass) - and it was not crowded at all.

But we did enjoy our spin on the London Eye...this was before some of the other options for seeing London from up high were around.

Ugh, I have to agree about Madame Tussards. I wasted some of my life there too!

However, I LOVEd Harrod’s! Most amazing department store ever. Especially the bottom floor with the food! My eyes almost popped out of my head!
Read Claudia’s UK trip reports. She has been there many times and highly recommends just sitting on a park bench and visiting the pubs!

I love going into Harrods food halls and looking around, you see some interesting items, and some beautiful decorated pastries. You can pick up some food items at a reasonable price.

My husband and I have been to Tivoli three times. Our first visit was back in 1970, when we were first married. My grandmother and grandfather were Danish. We visited some relatives in Aalborg also. Tivoli is a lovely place to walk around and definitely eat some fine foods. Seeing not just children, but adults enjoying themselves is a real treat. Walt Disney got his idea for Disneyland by visiting Tivoli. If it weren't for Tivoli, there wouldn't be any Disneyland's around the world. What is there not to like about Tivoli?

My husband and I also enjoy visiting Harrod's. We have been there probably ten times. We will be going again this May. We enjoy having tea in the Georgian Room, upstairs. There used to be a delicious lunch served, next to the tea area. Now it is a Arab restaurant. We enjoy the food halls. We absolutely love having fish and chips on the first floor. It is fun sitting at the counter stools and watching everybody. I know it is just a store, but they do have some cute souvenirs. I always buy some make-up travel bags as gifts or tote bags. I use my tote bag everyday, when I'm home. We also get their cookies and teas while visiting. Friends enjoy the treats from Harrod's.

Another fan of Harrod's. We've been shopping there on every annual trip for over 15 years. There is so much to see and there are often bargains in the lower level of the store. We often have lunch there and the choice of eateries makes it one of our regular stops when in London.

I guess one person's tourist trap is another person's gem.

A “tourist trap” is exactly that .... an attraction that promises something and does not deliver. How can Harrod’s be a tourist trap? It offers luxury goods at high prices and that’s what you will find. I love the food hall, actually. It alone is worth seeing.

The London Eye? How is that a tourist trap?. You can’t be fooled into thinking it is anything other than what it is. If you are disappointed in the view, too bad. I loved it.

Madame Tussaud’s ..... well, a bit of research will tell you if it is your cup of tea or not. It delivers what it promises ..... wax effigies of the famous and the infamous, the regal and the illegal. I know not to go though I am mildly curious about its corniness so I may yet visit it.

Because an attraction disappoints or because you had the wrong expectations, does not make it a “tourist trap”.

I'm in the don't got to Harrods camp unless you have lots of time to spare and really enjoy shopping. What I didn't like about it was I couldn't find any maps. We went in to buy Christmas ornaments as souvenirs for family and had to just wonder around until we found some.

I personally enjoy hitting a couple tourist shops since they don't take much time to go through, and you can pick up some small, inexpensive souvenirs to take back to friends and family.

I don't consider Tower of London to be a tourist trap. It can be crowded but it's authentic, there is a good museum inside, and you can get some great views walking the walls. Just get there before opening time to avoid long lines or go outside of summer.

Not to pile on Madame Tussaud's too much but I have to figure that at the top of the list. I was actually riding by there on a bus the other day and saw a line around the building. It's their time and money I guess but I don't get it.

But there are so many great things to see and do in London that it's more of a task whittling down what you can see given your time vs trying to avoid what not to see. Just research some of the top institutions and see what strikes your fancy. The V&A is at the top for me.