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Why I love Going On City Bus Tours So Much, I Was So Wrong!
Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
Whenever I travel to a major city on holiday, the first thing I do as a tourist is book myself on the city bus tour. I find it the best way to see what a city has to offer; it gives you a feel as to what the place is really like, and of course it takes you to most of the tourist attractions. I must admit I use to be a cynic and would mock the city bus tour as it went past, I couldn’t see the point of them, I preferred to do it my own totally independent way and I thought they were a complete waste of money.
My viewpoint changed when I was in Madrid about 10 years ago, I got dragged on to a city bus tour, I was literally dragged on kicking and screaming. In fact the only reason I got on the bus was because I knew it would take me to the Bernabeu Stadium, and I was planning on going there.
That first time city bus tour in Madrid was a new awakening for me; it was at that moment when I realised I had made a decision about not liking something without even giving it a try, I assumed it was naff and that it wasn’t for me. Here I was sitting upstairs on the open top bus, with the headphones on happily listening to the commentary, watching the beauty and chaos of Madrid pass me by.
I normally try to avoid bus travel like the plague, but it was nothing like taking a normal commuter bus, full of riff raff. I love the fact that they take you right to many of the major tourist destinations and you can then jump on and off the bus when you’re ready and go to the next place of interest. If it’s a well run service, they run on a fairly frequent basis and especially for a city break, when you are usually their for only a short period of time, they give you the opportunity of not wasting time and effort finding where places are and then how to get to them.
Since that first bus tour experience, I’m not ashamed to admit I have been on a bus tour in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Barcelona, Madrid (2nd time), Berlin, Paris and New York. They are defiantly worth the money you pay, even the extortionate overpriced ticket prices you pay in London!
Sitting on the top deck of an open top double decker bus lets you see a city from a different and unique viewpoint, which alone is worth paying for! I would recommend to anybody that hasn’t been on one before, to give it a try. If you are a cynic like I use to be, you could be in for a very pleasant surprise!
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