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. The same car and chauffeur stay with you all day, with no coach, no group and no meeting point.
London in one day: the classic landmarks loop
- 09:00 Pickup at your hotel; first the Thames at Westminster Bridge for Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
- 09:30 Westminster Abbey, one hour inside if you book a slot, or the west front from the square.
- 10:45 Buckingham Palace and The Mall; the Changing of the Guard on scheduled days at 11:00.
- 12:00 Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden, then lunch; the car waits nearby.
- 14:00 St Paul’s Cathedral, about an hour for the nave and the dome steps.
- 15:00 Tower of London and Tower Bridge, 1 hour 30 minutes if you go inside.
- 16:30 Hyde Park and Kensington on the way back; Greenwich swaps in for an earlier stop if you prefer the Observatory view.
- 17:00 Back at your hotel.
Westminster and the Palace
Big Ben, the Abbey, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square, back at the hotel four hours after pickup.
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.
Congestion Charge, parking and fuel
The £18 daily Congestion Charge, parking near each landmark and all mileage is ours.
The car waits at every stop
Take as long as you like at each landmark within the hours you booked; the car is where you left it, or at the corner you agreed.
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, and how much walking is there?
Six landmarks within a loop of about 12 miles, plus Greenwich as a swap, each with a place to stop the car and step out. These stops are a suggestion, not a fixed route: swap any of them for anywhere else in London you would rather see, at no extra cost within your hours.
- 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.
- 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 six landmarks above, and Greenwich when you swap it in, are full stops where you walk in or take photos. 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.
Families, older travellers and limited mobility
Tell us who is in the car when you book, and the chauffeur sets the order, the pace and the breaks around your group.
- Families with young children: shorter stops and a run-around break in Hyde Park or Greenwich Park.
- 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.
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
Mercedes S‑Class
3 seats · 2 bags
Executive choice
Price shown in the booking form
One fixed price per car for the full day of 8 hours or the half day of 4 hours; extra hours from £45, chosen when you book.
Dollar figures are approximate; you are charged in GBP.
The V-Class takes seven passengers, or six with two pushchairs; the Range Rover sits higher for the view.
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, Fridays and Sundays; 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: traffic, not distance, sets the pace; 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, or a free museum takes one stop (see the themes below), and the car keeps you dry between them.
Tell us your date, your party and your must-see list.
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.
Receive the confirmation and meet your driver
An email confirms the landmarks day straight away; pickup is at the agreed time.
Can we tour London with our suitcases on arrival or departure day?
Yes. Your suitcases ride in the locked boot while you visit each landmark.
On arrival, the driver meets you inside arrivals with a name board and the loop starts at the terminal; add meet and assist at the London airport if you want help through the airport too. 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; for a short connection see our Heathrow layover tour.
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 further down.
- 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.
- Museums: 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. A museum counts as one long stop, so on a full day one outdoor landmark, usually Greenwich, makes way.
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 are miles apart and the car removes the distance: you step out at each one and walk as much as you like, while children, grandparents and shopping bags stay with you in the car between the stops.
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. Everything listed under what the price includes is in that figure; only the car and the day length change it. 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 the day with dinner in town.
Can we change the landmarks on the day?
Yes. The list you send is a plan, not a contract: tell the driver 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 the day runs past them, the driver stays on and each extra hour is added at the extra-hour rate, from £45, paid to the driver or by payment link.
Is a half-day London tour enough?
Yes for Westminster, the Palace and Trafalgar Square, with time for a coffee stop. The Tower, St Paul’s and Greenwich need the full day, or a second half day on another morning of your stay.
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.
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.
Other day trips to book
Stonehenge tour from London
The prehistoric stone circle on its own, or with the golden Roman city of Bath for our longest day out.
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.
How long is the drive at each hour of the day? Our hour-by-hour drive times for day trips from London