United Kingdom Tourist Traps

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Most Viewed Tourist Traps in United Kingdom

1.

London Eye   London

London Eye, London

 18 Reviews  The London Eye is a huge ferris wheel, at one time the world's largest, with enclosed capsules. It moves so slowly that you can barely tell that it is moving, it takes 30 minutes to do a full... 

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2.

Tours Etc.   Edinburgh

Tours Etc., Edinburgh

 13 Reviews  It was quite entertaining but wasn't exactly what I expected. The first 20 minutes were spent listening to a funny but fairly inaccurate history of Scotland. From there we went to Greyfriars Kirkyard.... 

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3.

Old Trafford   Manchester

Old Trafford, Manchester

 4 Reviews  If you travel to Manchester, a sight worth seeing is the Manchester United Stadium, although there have been reports of tourists beeing robbed in this area. If taking photographs do not allow anyone... 

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4.

Inverary Jail   Glasgow

Inverary Jail, Glasgow

 10 Reviews  Inveraray jail is nowhere near glasgow. It's a 150 km round trip - go for the trip, which is always scenic, but skip the jail which is nothing more than an old country police station with some dummies... 

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5.

Centenary Square   Birmingham

Centenary Square, Birmingham

 2 Reviews  Centenary Square is a central point for various events throughout the year - it once was the home of the "Birmingham Eye" - a big wheel similar to the one in London. It is a central celebration point... 

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6.

Tour Buses   Oxford

Tour Buses, Oxford

 2 Reviews  Some wouldn't call this a tourist trap, but in my opinion a bus tour through a city centre which is easily walkable within 20 minutes doesn't make sense at all. It's the same as everywhere: You can... 

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7.

Madame Tussauds and Planetarium   London

Madame Tussauds and Planetarium, London

 37 Reviews  If you want to look at a load of lifeless dummies, then why not visit the House of Commons ? or Luton. I fail to understand how this attraction is still at the top of many tourists "Must see"... 

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8.

Shopping   Edinburgh

Shopping, Edinburgh

 7 Reviews  Like any capital city there are plenty of traps to allure the eager tourist. Watch out for the overpriced shortbread biscuits, tartan everything (can you find YOUR clan?) and plenty of whiskey themed... 

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9.

Punting   Oxford

Punting, Oxford

 1 Review  Punts are very expensive: up to 10 pounds for a single use. Most colleges own their own punts; hence students get them for free or for much reduced rates: so, if you want to go punting make friends... 

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10.

London Dungeon   London

London Dungeon, London

 23 Reviews  FOR KIDS and FOR KIDS ONLY!!! One of London's biggest tourist attractions apparently. Features Jack the Ripper stuff and other subjects related to murder, blood and gore. This tourist attraction... 

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11.

Royal Mile   Edinburgh

Royal Mile, Edinburgh

 6 Reviews  Unless you want something typical Scottish to eat and pay for it don't eat at the restaurants on the Royal Mile. They are very expensive and if you never had any Scottish food before and are not sure,... 

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12.

Money and Money Exchange   London

Money and Money Exchange, London

 12 Reviews  I know we have all been told not to use local Bureau De Change companies but after much research online I found a place in Covent Garden that beat out every other compnay I looked at. I rodered the... 

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13.

Miscellaneous   Edinburgh

Miscellaneous, Edinburgh

 6 Reviews  only use black hackney cabs the proper taxis the same ones you see in london dont use the "private hire cars" i stress the word cars as they are not taxis, although they are liscenced by the council... 

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14.

Soho and the West End   London

Soho and the West End, London

 27 Reviews  The Christmas illuminations in Oxford Street and Regent Street are disappointing. The 2009 lights were based on the Disney movie A Christmas Carol but as the photo shows this was more or less all... 

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15.

Scott Monument   Edinburgh

Scott Monument, Edinburgh

 4 Reviews  This is not the best view point for Edinburgh although its not bad. Its a hell of a dizzying climb up very narrow stairs for a few minutes of viewing not really worth in my opinion. Check out Black... 

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16.

Tour buses   London

Tour buses, London

 16 Reviews  Dont be a sheep... These things are an extraordinary rip-off. They are often 25 quid or more for a ticket and the quality of the commentary is variable to say the least. Some don't even have a live... 

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17.

Surroundings   Edinburgh

Surroundings, Edinburgh

 4 Reviews  The Royal Yacht Britanna at Ocean Terminal (A shopping mall & cinema) is over priced but it does give you a chance to see how the Royals lived and the poor bloody marines who went with them. Around... 

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18.

Pubs and Bars   London

Pubs and Bars, London

 7 Reviews  I was very much in two minds as to whether to include this as a general tip or a tourist trap - it's the Prospect of Whitby pub in Wapping. Certainly, it has a very long a interesting history, the... 

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19.

Edinburgh Castle   Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

 2 Reviews  You might say that the castle is one big tourist trap and you will be right. A lot of visitors , noise and you cant see anything you want , problems to take photos but still this is one amazing... 

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20.

Restaurants   London

Restaurants, London

 21 Reviews  We went to this restaurant "the Oldest fish and chips in London" The interior is devoid of charm, and not really comfortable. The food is ok but prices are too expensives. about £ 35 dish and... 

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21.

Holyrood   Edinburgh

Holyrood, Edinburgh

 3 Reviews  You can register your ticket to gain unlimited entry for one year but stop and look at the small print before shelling out for tickets to both the Palace of Holyroodhouse and The Queen's Gallery (both... 

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22.

Leicester Square   London

Leicester Square, London

 12 Reviews  Many visitors to London head for London's Leicester Square because they've heard so much about it. This is where the film premieres are held, but be warned, that doesn't make it a classy area. The A... 

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23.

Festival, Tattoo, Hogmanay, Etc.   Edinburgh

Festival, Tattoo, Hogmanay, Etc., Edinburgh

 2 Reviews  Now I suppose theatre goers and culture vultures will not agree with me but I'd advise you to avoid Edinburgh during the 'festival' period (August). It's NOT typical then... crammed full of people... 

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24.

Piccadilly   London

Piccadilly, London

 15 Reviews  Unless you call usual tourist junk you can get in all touristic places a trap. London is only city with no tourist traps. But if you are a Londoner god help you.. By mistake you may get over... 

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25.

Art & Culture   Edinburgh

Art & Culture, Edinburgh

 2 Reviews  This is kind of a "museum", where the visitors are told about how our planet was created and how it was developing. However, no real things of the past centuries are exhibited. "Our Dynamic Earth" is... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Two courses meal for the price of one

by MarwanShwaihat

There was a beautiful young lady outside a restaurant in China town who told us (wife, i and our 2 kids) that we can have two course for the price of 7.99 pounds. she explained that each one of us could choose either a starter meal plus main course or main course and a desert. I knew that there was something fishy about it, so i asked how much do we have to pay for four of us if we order BBQ ribs as a starter and fish & chips for the main course, and after some time of finger calculations she answered " about 16 pounds sir". We cheered up and went down the stairs to the lounge which was quite small about 6sqm with three square tables and chairs. So we placed our order and notice that there were three Italian ladies arguing with the owner about payment. After we had our ribs we heard one lady was saying that they would only 20 pounds and not 40 pound which was the amount requested from...

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GETTING TELEPHONE NUMBERS

by DAO

Need a telephone number in Britain? That’s going to cost you! A few years ago the Directory Enquiries number ‘192’ was privatised and now there are over 100 options. Some will cost you more than £1 for a phone number! I recommend not using 118 118. They do the most marketing, but they certainly are not cheap. They charge you 49p for answering the phone and 9 pence a minute to actually talk to you. Try 118 848. They charge a flat 27 pence and will give you 3 numbers. Look here to compare tariffs:http://www.marcuskern.com/info/118.htmUPDATE: TRY 0800 100 100. It's free after you listen to advertising!

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pit stop, arrochar, scotland

by ndahl

when people refer to scots as mean, this place is what they refer to.The proprietors will not not accept a credit card for an amount less than 10 pounds If your bill amounts to less than that you must either buy something else to round off the amount or go somewheres else.I had with me two elderly, slightly dehydrated ladies who needed sustenance but whose bill was only £3.00.I then had to spend a further 7 pounds in order for my credit card to be accepted.ten pounds for two cups of teas and one coffee?plus they charge 50 pence for processing your card,?----------- Drive on

PARKING FINES

by DAO

Want to drive here? Will, it’s going to be expensive. Let’s just start with the fact that fuel can be as much as $8.60 a gallon (US). That’s enough to put you off drive thrus at MacDonald’s for life right there. It gets much worse. Then there’s traffic. Roads designed for 200,000 people with horses are now 55 million with vehicles. Then you try and park. Wrong place – wrong time - $60-$200! I once got a ticket at 9:58 pm! 2 minutes to freedom! So what’s wrong? The Parking Attendants get paid by private companies for PRODUCTIVITY. That means they get paid for inflicting more misery on you. The worse you holiday here – the bigger their bonus and pension fund. The Spanish Inquisition never had productivity payments. Oh, and the attendants hide and wait. Try and talk to them and they become deaf, blind, stupid and start grunting. Hell, I would too if you paid me to ruin your day. This isn’t...

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YOU COULD BE IN TROUBLE IF YOU TAKE PICTURES

by DAO

YOU ARE A TERRORIST.Oops! I meant ‘You are a Tourist'! See how easy that mistake was to make. Well the Metropolitan Police in their infinite wisdom have decided that you may want to report ‘Odd picture tacking’. Let’s see. You see someone taking pictures of their food, bus stops, train stations and major landmarks. It’s a Virtual Tourist Member working on their tips! Or is it? Consider your self a suspect. I have included 2 pictures that I have been warned verbally about. Picture 1) The Police Poster and telephone numberPicture 2) People making Sushi. A policeman made me show him my pictures and warned me not to do in anymore. This is a Sushi place inside Victoria Station in LondonPicture 3) A poster in a HSBC bank in London. An employee came running out and said I could not take this photo. The poster says ‘Welcome to the UK’. Hardly.I am all for vigilance and security. I am against...

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GROSS STUPIDITY – GATWICK AIRPORT

by DAO

“You are not welcome here Johnny Foreigner”! Well, they might as well put up a sign in the baggage claim area at Gatwick. I just recently returned to Gatwick from outside the EU and went to go use one of the free baggage trolleys for the bags in the baggage claim area. Problem is, they are not quite free anymore. In fact, it’s worse than that. You have to have a British One Pound Coin to free the chained trolleys. What do you mean you don’t have British One Pound coins in your pocket you Tourist from abroad? Oh well, you can use a 1 Euro Coin or a 25 Cent US Coin. Rest of the world – tough. Of course there is NO way to get said coins in this secure area. So you are stuffed. Welcome to Britain, go get some coins. Of course you cannot return to this area once you leave! What genius thought this was a good idea? Did this person or person work on Heathrow Terminal 5 as well?Well, if you do...

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TIPPING IN RESTAURANTS

by DAO

We don’t tip in Britain. Get over it. There is a reason there is no place to leave a ‘gratuity’ on credit card bills or your server tells you not to bother. In the UK service workers are paid full wages unlike restaurant waiters in North America. I should know; I was a waiter! Tipping can be severely counterproductive here. Also, if you do tip, especially by card, the tip is kept by the owners! The staff will never see that. There are also a lot of establishments that put a 10% ‘Service’ charge on already. So you could end up ‘tipping’ the owners twice! Do not do it. If you really feel the need, slip 5-10% in cash. By the way, don’t expect good or fast service. Welcome to queuing.

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BritRail pass is a.. ripp-off!

by GyuriFT

Britrail pass is a popular means to discover UK. It is pretty expensive (22 days for $707.00, 15 days $559) and has only limited number of days. There is a version for Europeans only called Interrail One Country Pass. It's cheaper than Britrail (299 Euro) but is valid for 8 days only. If I see railway tariff prices ending with "9" or even worse, ending with "99" I suspect a ripp-off. The "honest" railway tariff is never that "clever", the distances between the cities were set up by Celts, Romans, Saxons, Vikings, Normanns... and they had no MBA degree :-)Indeed, the unrestricted round-trip tickets issued by "honest", traditional CIV/TCV tariff beat these prices. These tickets are valid for 2 months, no day limitations, no limitations how many times one would make a stopover in a desired city. They can be bought anywhere, even in Ireland - but outside of UK. Do not use the pass -...

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The British Airways London Eye

by traveldave

The British Airways London Eye is one of the most popular attractions in London. However, I think it is an ugly and tacky eyesore intruding upon the classic skyline of London. And because of its popularity (it accommodates about 15,000 people per day), a trip to the top involves a long wait in a large crowd.The British Airways London Eye was designed by David Marks and Julia Barfield. It took over six years to complete, and was finished in 1999. The wheel rises to a height of 443 feet (135 meters), making it the tallest observation wheel in the world, twice the height of the famous Prater Wheel in Vienna, and 98 feet (30 meters) higher than the previous record-holder in Yokohama, Japan. Despite my misgivings about the wheel, it does offer spectacular 360-degree views over central London, and on a clear day visitors can see over 25 miles (40 kilometers) in each direction from one of the...

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The Roman Baths at Bath

by hindu1936

First, don't stay in a hotel if you own a tent and sleeping bag. Just n.e of town is a great camping ground with a bus that runs very often nearby. Second. Go upstairs in the bath house and take your photos from there. You can see the baths and not pay the robbers10-12 bucks a head depending on age. Third, save paying your cathedral money for this town. Now put the money into your pocket because Bath Cathedral doesn't charge anything. It really is a non-tourist trap CHURCH of all things and ideas. consider it. a british church that doesn't charge money to come in.

Top 3 Hotels in United Kingdom

The Montague On The Gardens  London

 5 Reviews and 1062 Opinions  The concierge was fabulous, the hotel very grand, and despite the rooms being small they were... 

 Hotels in London

The Balmoral Hotel  Edinburgh

 5 Reviews and 765 Opinions  Two men wearing kilts (or trews) welcome you at the door and an open fire welcomes you in the lobby,... 

 Hotels in Edinburgh

Radisson Edwardian Manchester  Manchester

 4 Reviews and 925 Opinions  I had a great time there. Stayed due to business 4 nights in the hotel. Staff was great, friendly... 

 Hotels in Manchester

Questions and Answers

IndianPacific profile photo

Q:  Are there, like in many Continental European countries, limits for the amount of cash you can legally bring with you in and out of... 

cubsur profile photo

A: This page has the information you need http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Foreigntravel/BringinggoodsorcashintotheUK/DG_173289 Briefly, it says at the... 

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