See London’s best-known landmarks in one day, from the back seat of your own Mercedes.
Westminster to Tower Bridge, your pace.
- From £370 (≈ $500) · whole car, full day
Licence PHOP950Tripyana’s private London tour is a Mercedes with a chauffeur for a full day of eight hours, starting at your hotel door between 8am and noon: Westminster, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s and Tower Bridge in one loop, the car waiting at each stop, and the route changed as you wish on the day. The fare is £370 for the car, up to three passengers, not per person; attraction tickets are bought by you.
Short notice? Same-day and next-day trips are often possible — book online or message us to confirm a driver.
How does a private London tour by car work?
Your chauffeur collects you between 8:00am and 12:00 noon and drives the loop below; the times shown are for a 9:00 start. Every stop is yours to lengthen, shorten or swap on the day. Staying longer? This loop is day one of our 3-day London itinerary by private car. Many visitors know this as a private car tour of London or a private chauffeur tour: the same car and chauffeur stay with you all day, with no coach, no group and no meeting point.
The classic landmarks loop
- 09:00Pickup at your hotel; first the Thames at Westminster Bridge for Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
- 09:30Westminster Abbey, one hour inside if you book a slot, or the west front from the square.
- 10:45Buckingham Palace and The Mall; the Changing of the Guard on scheduled days at 11:00.
- 12:00Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, then lunch; the car waits nearby.
- 14:00St Paul’s Cathedral, about an hour for the nave and the dome steps.
- 15:00Tower of London and Tower Bridge, 1 hour 30 minutes if you go inside.
- 16:30Hyde Park and Kensington on the way back; Greenwich swaps in for an earlier stop if you prefer the Observatory view.
- 17:00Back at your hotel.
Westminster and the Palace
Big Ben, the Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, back at the hotel by early afternoon.
London by night
Tower Bridge, the City lights and the South Bank after dinner, three hours from the restaurant door.
Watch the day before you book
A short film that follows the loop in order: your pickup, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, St Paul's, the Tower and Tower Bridge.
What is included in a chauffeur-driven London tour?
Everything the car and the driver need for the day, so the figure we send is the figure you pay.
Door-to-door pickup
Any London hotel or apartment, or Heathrow at no extra cost; London City adds £80 and Gatwick, Stansted or Luton £120, charged once; on arrival days the driver waits inside arrivals with a name board.
Congestion Charge, parking and fuel
The £18 daily Congestion Charge, parking near each landmark and all mileage are ours.
The car waits at every stop
An hour in the Abbey or 1 hour 30 minutes at the Tower: take your time, the car is where you left it.
Stops and detours at no charge
Harrods, Notting Hill or a photo stop on Primrose Hill add nothing if they fit the day’s hours.
Child seats and pushchairs
Child seats fitted on request at no charge; the V-Class takes a pushchair and seven passengers.
Not included
Entry tickets and meals. Westminster Abbey charges £32 per adult and St Paul’s £27; we advise, you book.
Which London landmarks does the private tour of London cover?
Seven landmarks within a loop of about 12 miles, each with a place to stop the car and step out. It is one of the simplest private tours in London: your own car, your own driver and no group to wait for.
- Big Ben and Parliament — the Elizabeth Tower, 96 metres, best photographed from Westminster Bridge before 10:00.
- Westminster Abbey — coronation church since 1066; timed entry tickets sell out on summer weekends.
- Buckingham Palace — the forecourt and the Victoria Memorial; the Changing of the Guard runs at 11:00 on scheduled days.
- Trafalgar Square — Nelson’s Column and the National Gallery, free to enter, ten minutes from the Palace.
- St Paul’s Cathedral — Wren’s dome, 111 metres to the cross; 528 steps to the Golden Gallery.
- Tower of London — the Crown Jewels and the White Tower, with Tower Bridge next door.
- Greenwich — the Observatory, the Meridian line and the view over Canary Wharf, 25 minutes by road.
Seen from the car, or a stop on foot?
Both, and the split is yours. The seven landmarks above are full stops: the driver sets you down at the kerb, you walk in or take photos, and the Mercedes collects you at an agreed corner. Between them, the route passes sights most guests are happy to see through the window: Piccadilly Circus, the Royal Albert Hall, Marble Arch, the Strand and Fleet Street, the London Eye across the river, and Whitehall with the Downing Street gates. Any of these becomes a stop if you ask; a five-minute photo stop rarely changes the day.
For a first full day, plan on five or six stops on foot and the rest from the back seat; fewer stops leave more time inside the Abbey or the Tower.
Which vehicle suits a London sightseeing day?
The Mercedes V-Class for families and groups, the E-Class for a couple. The whole car is yours for the day.
Mercedes E‑Class
3 seats · 2 bags
£370(≈ $500)
Half day £230
Mercedes V‑Class
7 seats · 7 bags
Family choice
£460(≈ $620)
Half day £290
Range Rover
4 seats · 4 bags
£730(≈ $985)
Half day £490
One fixed price per car for the full day of 8 hours or the half day of 4 hours: fuel, parking and the Congestion Charge included. Extra hours from £45, chosen when you book.
Dollar figures are approximate; you are charged in GBP.
Six people with two pushchairs fill a V-Class comfortably; the sliding door and three rows of seats make loading easy.
Want commentary as well as the car? A Blue Badge guide can join you: see our private tour guide in London service.
When is the best time to tour London by car, and what should we know?
Any month works; the traffic decides the order. Weekday mornings are usually quieter at Westminster, Sunday mornings at the Tower. To see the same landmarks floodlit after dark, book our London by night tour. In the weeks before Christmas, the decorated West End streets have their own London Christmas lights tour.
- Changing of the Guard:in autumn and winter the Guard Change at Buckingham Palace is at 11:00 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; the Household Division publishes the dates a few weeks ahead, so we check the week before and set the loop around it.
- Tickets:book the Abbey and the Tower online for a timed slot; St Paul’s and Greenwich rarely need it. The Abbey and St Paul’s open to visitors Monday to Saturday only; on Sundays they hold services.
- Traffic:the loop is about 12 miles but takes the whole day; the driver reorders stops around road closures and ceremonies.
- November 2026:on Remembrance Sunday, 8 November, Whitehall is closed for the 11:00 service, so the day starts at the Tower and reaches Westminster after midday. On Saturday 14 November the Lord Mayor’s Show closes most of the City to traffic until about 16:00, so St Paul’s moves to the end of the day.
- Christmas:Winter Wonderland fills Hyde Park from 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, and the West End lights run through December. On 25 December most landmarks are closed, so plan the inside visits for another day.
- Rain:a wet day moves you indoors: the Abbey, St Paul’s and the Tower fill the hours, the Natural History Museum and the V&A in South Kensington are free to enter, and the car keeps you dry between them.
Tell us your date, your party and your must-see list.
Give the form your date and the sights that matter most, and the driver shapes the loop around them, ceremonies and closures included. Landing that morning? Add meet and assist at the London airport and the landmarks day begins at the terminal instead of the hotel.
Does the tour suit families, older travellers or anyone who walks with difficulty?
Yes. Tell us who is in the car when you book, and the chauffeur sets the order and pace of the stops; the landmarks barely change, the time at each one and the breaks do.
- Families with young children:shorter stops, a run-around break in Hyde Park or Greenwich Park, and child seats for every age fitted free when you ask.
- Kerbside drop-offs:the driver sets you down at the nearest legal point to each entrance and collects you there, so walking is counted in minutes, not miles. Around Buckingham Palace and Parliament Square cars cannot wait on the road, so the pickup corner is agreed before you step out.
- Easy seats:the V-Class has a wide sliding door and a low step; the E-Class suits guests who prefer a normal car seat. Tell us on the form and we send the right car.
- Walkers and folding wheelchairs:a folding chair or rollator travels in the boot, and the driver unfolds it at each stop. Our cars have no ramp or lift, so the passenger needs to move from the chair to the seat.
- Step-free sights:the Crown Jewels and the ground floor of St Paul’s can be visited without stairs; the White Tower and the galleries of the dome are stairs only. Each site lists its access routes, worth a look when you book tickets.
- A gentler pace:fewer stops, more of the city seen from the back seat, and a coffee and toilet break every couple of hours. Many older guests choose the four-hour half day and rest in the afternoon.
How do I book a private London tour by car?
Pick the route and the morning
On the form below, choose the eight-hour landmarks loop or the four-hour Westminster half day, set a morning start, and give us the hotel or address where the Mercedes should be waiting.
Choose the Mercedes and see one total
Tap the car you want and a single figure for the car and the chauffeur appears before any payment. Settle it by card online, or in cash when the driver drops you back.
Receive the confirmation and meet your driver
An email confirms the landmarks day straight away; pickup is at the agreed time. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup.
Can we tour London with our suitcases on arrival or departure day?
Yes, and it turns a lost travel day into a sightseeing day. Your suitcases ride in the locked boot while you visit each landmark.
On arrival, the driver meets you inside arrivals and the loop starts at the terminal. On departure day, check out first, tour the city, then finish at your airport. Put your flight time on the form; the drive to the terminal counts within the hours you book.
Keep the bags in the car, not with you. The Tower of London and Westminster Abbey admit no suitcases or wheeled bags, and neither offers left luggage. A small daypack is all you need inside.
Changing planes in London? Leaving the airport means passing UK border control, so check your permission to enter the UK before you book.
Can the day follow a theme instead of the classic landmarks?
Yes. Pick one theme, or mix two, and we plan the stops around it. Each theme below fits a half day on its own, or joins the classic loop on a full day.
- Harry Potter in the city:Leadenhall Market, the screen entrance to Diagon Alley; the Millennium Bridge, which falls in the sixth film; Australia House on the Strand, Gringotts inside; and the Platform 9¾ trolley at King’s Cross. The studios outside London are a separate day: see the Harry Potter studio tour.
- Royal London:Kensington Palace and its gardens, Horse Guards Parade, St James’s Palace and Clarence House, then the Palace forecourt for the photo.
- East End and street art:Brick Lane and the Shoreditch walls, Spitalfields Market, and the painted Leake Street tunnel under Waterloo, where the work changes every few weeks.
- Skyline viewpoints:Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath, the top of Greenwich Park by the Observatory, and the river path at Butler’s Wharf below Tower Bridge.
Name the theme on the booking form; the chauffeur sets the order around traffic and opening times.
Frequently asked questions about a private London tour by car
Why tour London by private car rather than on foot?
Because the landmarks sit eight miles apart end to end and the car removes the distance: you step out at each one, walk as much as you like, and the same Mercedes is waiting when you are done. Children, grandparents and shopping bags all travel with you.
How is a chauffeur-driven London tour priced?
One figure for the whole car: £370 for the Mercedes E-Class (up to 3) or £460 for the V-Class (up to 7) for 8 hours, and a 4-hour half day from £230. That figure already holds the driving, the £18 Congestion Charge, the parking at every stop and the fuel. The number of passengers within the car’s seats changes nothing; only the car and the day length do. Entry tickets and meals stay yours to buy.
Is the driver a tour guide?
Your chauffeur is a professional driver, not a licensed guide, who knows the city, the closures and the best photo stops and points things out along the way, without guided commentary. Inside the Abbey or the Tower you explore at your own pace, or ask us to add a private tour guide to the day, priced separately.
Where does the day start and end?
Wherever you are staying: the chauffeur collects you at your hotel, apartment or rented house anywhere in London and returns you to the same door, or to a restaurant if you would rather finish with dinner. Guests landing that morning can be met at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton and start the loop from the terminal. Mornings are the norm; the evening tour leaves after dark.
Can we change the landmarks on the day?
Yes. The list you send is a plan, not a contract: tell the driver over coffee that Kensington Palace beats Greenwich today, or that Harrods belongs on the way back, and the route bends to fit the hours you booked. If you expect the day to run long, add hours on the form before you travel; each extra hour is priced there.
Which vehicles are available, and how many people fit?
Three cars, each with a chauffeur. The Mercedes E-Class carries three and suits a couple or a small family; the V-Class takes up to seven with pushchairs and shopping in the back; the Range Rover seats four, with four suitcases, higher up for a better view of the streets. Child seats come free when you ask on the form.
Is a half-day London tour enough?
For Westminster, the Palace and Trafalgar Square, yes: four hours cover them with a coffee stop. The Tower, St Paul’s and Greenwich need the full day, or a second half day on another morning.
How much is the tour in US dollars?
About $500 for the Mercedes E-Class and $620 for the V-Class at the current rate — estimates only. Fares are set and charged in pounds sterling, so your card issuer’s exchange rate on the day decides the exact dollar amount. The price covers the car, not each passenger, and there is nothing extra to pay for a second or third traveller.
Can we add a museum to the day?
Yes. The Natural History Museum and the V&A stand side by side in South Kensington and are free to enter; the chauffeur drops you at the door and waits. A museum counts as one long stop, so on a full day one outdoor landmark, usually Greenwich, makes way.
What are some good private day trips from London?
If you have a second day, the same chauffeur-driven format works outside the city: Windsor Castle is under an hour away, Stonehenge and Bath make a full day to the west, and the Cotswolds villages a full day to the north-west. Each has its own fixed price for the whole car, listed on our day trips pages, and the driver waits at every stop exactly as on the London tour.
Can I cancel, and how do I pay?
Yes. Cancel at least 24 hours before pickup and any card payment is refunded in full; inside 24 hours the fare is charged. Pay by card in the booking form when you book, or choose cash and settle with the driver in pounds sterling on the day.
Can the driver stop anywhere for photos?
Not anywhere, but often: Westminster Bridge in the morning for Big Ben, The Mall towards the Palace, Trafalgar Square and the river path by Tower Bridge. The chauffeur stops only where it is safe and legal, so on busy bridges and royal roads you walk a few minutes to the view. The car then collects you on the far side, or waits where you left it.
Other day trips to book
London shopping tour with a driver
From Harrods to Oxford Street and Westfield — your car drops you close to each store and keeps the bags.
Harry Potter Studio Tour from London
From your London hotel to Warner Bros. Studio Tour north of the city — the Great Hall, Diagon Alley and Platform 9¾. Your driver waits throughout the visit and takes you back.
Seven Sisters & Brighton day trip
Sea air and the famous Brighton pier on the south coast — a complete change of scene about two hours away.
All of London, one car, your pace.
The price is fixed and the confirmation is immediate. Trips outside the city are listed under day trips from London by private car.
Tripyana Ltd is a UK-licensed company — private hire operator licence PHOP950 · Company No. 16308293.