London From Thames

Viewing London from Thames is the least stressfulloads of information about the buildings and views one
way to travel in London and is heap of fun. There arepass.
9 piers from which to stop or start one's journey.One of these tours goes to the London Tower, a
These are: Hampton Court Pier, Richmond Pier, Kewmuseum located at Tower Bridge. During this trip one
Pier, Putney Pier, Westminster Pier, Charing Cross Pier,canview several well-known bridges, like Blackfriars
Tower Pier, Greenwich Pier and Thames Barrier Pier.Bridge, London Bridge and Tower Bridge. There are
A visit to London is incomplete without a cruise alongseveral famous and/or beautiful buildings (for instance
the Thames, either as an introduction to the manythe Royal Festival Hall, Shakespeare's globe which
sights and scenes to be enjoyed during one's stay orwas used by him as a theatre, the oldest pub of
as a treasured memory of one's visit. All year round,London and last but not least the Tower of London),
there are that boat service leaves regularly fromlandmarks (like Cleopatra's Needle and the Oxo tower)
Westminster Pier, passing historic and modern placesand wharves to be seen on the way. One can view
of interest. Over the centuries the river has brought lifethe HMS Belfast, a naval ship that is used as a
to London. Hustling boats, teeming wharves, trade andmuseum nowadays.
commerce at every turn. Reminders of days gone byAnother tour starts from Hampton Court, which has
are still to be seen along the riverbanks. The classicbeen the Royal residence for centuries from the 16th
architecture of Greenwich contrasts with the moderncentury onwards. The route this boat sails is the same
style of Canary Wharf.as the kings used to travel to Hampton Court. There
To travel by water is one of the easiest ways to getare several beautiful and/or famous buildings for
around London. At the time of the Romans until theinstance Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Lambeth
18th century there was only one bridge across thePalace. One passes several well known bridges like
Thames, and naturally it was clogged with traffic. ItWestminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge and
was quicker and easier to hire water boats to carryHammersmith Bridge. Going through two locks through
travelers from one bank to the other, or up and downa boat is quite an experience in itself.
the Thames.One prominent feature is the further away one comes
The early 19th century saw a proliferation of canalsaway from the centre of London, the more expensive
built into and around London, usually for goodsthe houses became. There are also more and more
transport. These canals fell out of service as railyachts which slowly became more expensive too.
transport became a viable option, but now they offer aAround Kew and Richmond there was number of
relaxing way to travel about the city.expensive yachts vying with each other.
Along river Thames one can find several tour boatThe best part of tour was the natural scenery.
operators, where one can buy tickets for a sightseeingSometimes it looked that one was not in London
tour on the river. These tours are recommendedanymore. There was nothing but peace and quietness
because one travel on the beautiful river Thames andall around and all one could hear was the pounding of
see London and its beautiful buildings and sights from athe boat itself.
completely different view. The tour guide gives you