Bike Tours in London
London is a big, sprawling city with a huge variety of different areas and attractions to visit. Taking a bicycle tour in London can be a fun, efficient way to see a large swath of the city’s sights.
Much of central London is packed with office workers and traffic from Monday to Friday, but on the weekends, it can be very quiet…and ideally suited to bicycle touring. Wide open areas like Canary Wharf, the Embankment and the Royal Parks are especially ideal for sightseeing-by-bike.
A few local companies offer excellent, guided bicyle tours of London:
The London Bicycle Tour Company
Among the guided bike tours they offer are:
East Tour: crosses the Thames into the City of London, Tower Bridge and parts of the East End
West Tour: goes from Gabriel’s Wharf through Covent Garden to Hyde Park and back, via Victoria
Both these tours are 9 miles long, last 3 1/2 hours and cost £17.95.
On Saturday and Sunday, the East Tour starts at 2pm and the West Tour at 12pm.
Other LBTC tours include West to Notting Hill Market; Greenwich and the River; and East London’s Markets.
The company also rents bikes by the hour, day or week.
It’s based at Gabriel’s Wharf on the south side of the River Thames and is open daily from 10am-6pm.
They offer two 4-hour tours daily, starting at 11am and 3pm: Royal London and the River Thames
There’s no need to reserve a tour, just meet your group outside the Queensway station on the Tube’s Central Line.
Prices are £20 adults, £18 students
Phone: +44(0)78 8233 8779
Cycle Tours is based on Chancel Street, just to the south of Blackfriars Bridge and near the Southwark Tube station.
Two tours are offered, both lasting around 3 hours and costing £20 each.
Sights of London Tour: on the weekends, this tour starts at 10:30am Saturday and 2:30pm Sunday, following a route along the Thames across Westminster and into the Royal Parks.
East End Tour: on weekends, starts at 2:30pm Saturday and 10:30am Sunday, going through Borough Market, St Katherine’s Dock, Spitalfield’s Market and the City of London.