The London Pass: London’s best-known sightseeing pass

The London Pass can work well when you have several paid sights planned close together, but it is worth checking the maths before buying. A relaxed day at one attraction, followed by a free museum or a long walk, may cost less with separate tickets. This guide explains how the pass works and how we would compare it with your actual itinerary.

What is The London Pass?

The London Pass is a digital sightseeing pass for a chosen number of days. It is a credits package: each attraction uses part of the pass’s credit allowance. Once you first use it, its days run consecutively and finish at midnight, rather than lasting for 24-hour blocks. Check the terms and any booking requirements before choosing your start day.

Use the Go City app to hold your pass, browse attractions and make reservations. Scanning at your first attraction activates the pass; each attraction can normally be visited once. The day-based pass is offered for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven or ten days. Plan your first scan for the morning of a full sightseeing day, because the days are calendar days rather than 24-hour periods. A credit allowance applies to the attractions you use, with a different limit for each pass duration.

If you want to spread a handful of major visits across several weeks, the attraction-count London Pass Explorer may be a better match: it covers a chosen number of attractions over a longer validity window. The day-based pass is better suited to several paid visits on consecutive days.

Which attractions are included?

The live attraction list is the place to confirm inclusions for your pass and dates. It currently lists the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, the London Eye, City Cruises’ Thames river pass and many other experiences. The London Eye requires a booking. Attractions, pass types and reservation rules can change, so check the entry conditions for each stop rather than relying on an older printed list.

Classic sights and attractions by area

• Westminster and the Thames: Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and the City Cruises 24-hour Thames river ticket. Abbey and Eye visits need booked slots. The river ticket can be used between Westminster, London Eye, Tower and Greenwich piers.
• Tower and London Bridge: Tower of London, Tower Bridge, HMS Belfast and The View from The Shard. Tower Bridge and The Shard require reservations; allow a full morning for the Tower rather than treating all four as quick stops.
• The City and Covent Garden: St Paul’s Cathedral, the Monument, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre Tour and London Transport Museum. The Globe inclusion is a guided tour, not a theatre performance.
• Greenwich and further afield: Cutty Sark, the Royal Observatory when available, the Painted Hall, Kensington Palace, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, London Zoo and Kew Gardens. Travel to these attractions may cost extra; the Royal Observatory listing flags a closure from 1 November 2026 until spring 2027.

The London Eye and Madame Tussauds are included with the pass and both need timed bookings. Choose attractions from the pass type you intend to buy and book the popular ones first. Our detailed London Pass itineraries group these stops into routes you can enjoy at a realistic pace.

Does the pass let you skip queues?

A reservation gives you an arrival window for selected attractions, but it does not remove security checks or every queue. Westminster Abbey, Tower Bridge, the London Eye and The View from The Shard are examples to schedule ahead; Tower of London visitors do not currently need a pass reservation but may still wait at busy times. The booking page has the steps for each attraction. Book the places with fixed entry times first, then fit walks and flexible stops around them.

Is public transport included?

A Visitor Oyster card is not included with The London Pass. Budget separately for the Underground, buses and rail. Depending on your circumstances you can use contactless payment or an Oyster card for pay-as-you-go travel; see our contactless, Oyster and Travelcard guide and the TfL payment guidance. An overseas card may have charges set by its issuer.

London Pass prices and offers

Choose the number of days and the people travelling, then compare the current checkout price with the tickets you would otherwise buy. Adult and child passes have different prices and credit limits; some attractions admit very young children free. Look at the final total if a promotion is running, and remember that transport and any separately ticketed attractions are additional costs.

Is the London Pass worth it for your trip?

1. List only the paid attractions you realistically expect to enter, leaving time for meals and travel.
2. Check each attraction’s date, availability and ordinary ticket price, including child prices and any free admission you qualify for.
3. Add those ticket costs and compare them with the pass price, credit allowance and any required reservations.

Three practical comparisons

• One busy day: Westminster Abbey, a river cruise, the Tower of London and Tower Bridge make four paid visits on a sensible eastbound route. If you spend longer at the Tower and miss the bridge slot, recalculate against just three tickets; the one-day pass may be less compelling.
• Two days with children: use the Tower and river on the first day, then St Paul’s and London Transport Museum on the second. Children often want longer in the transport museum. Compare child tickets as well as adult tickets, and do not count free playgrounds, markets or museums as pass savings.
• Three days with Greenwich: take the river to Cutty Sark and another Greenwich paid attraction, then spread the Tower and City sights across the next two days. A longer pass is useful only when the extra paid visits you want exceed its extra cost and fit your timetable.

The strongest reason to buy is a route that brings together several admissions you genuinely want. When your plans revolve around free museums or long, slow days, individual tickets or the Explorer pass may suit you better. A pass can save money, but the value comes from the visits you actually complete.

Alberto & Amy

Hi, we are Alberto and Amy, the London locals behind PlanTrip London. We’ve lived in London since 2010 and have spent every year since exploring the city, from its famous landmarks to the markets, pubs, parks and hidden corners most visitors never find. Over the years we became the go-to trip planners for friends and family visiting London, so we created this site to share the same first-hand, tried-and-tested advice with you. Every itinerary, tip and recommendation here comes from our own experience with our two children, so you can plan a London trip that’s easier, better value and far more memorable.