europeannovice

Did anyone ever take the London walks tour of the British Museum? They take you to the highlights and provide narration something you don't get when you look at the objects on your own. Do they make it fun and informative or are you better off just seeing the stuff on your own?

elberko

We thought is was a good way to get a taste of the museum. We did a number of London Walk's on our short 5-day first-time trip to London, and really enjoyed them...only one clunker in the bunch.

BTW, our trip was in January, so the large groups others sometimes complain about were not an issue.

~Liz

Michel_Paris

I did that one last May. I found it interesting, but note that part of the time, while yo uwalk from Holborn to the museum, she is discussing the history of the building. Onece there, more discussion and a view of the inner courtyard. Then we went to the main Egyptian gallery, on to the Portland vase, and finished with Egyptina mummies gallery.

So the amount of the walk spent looking at museum items is probably 1/2. It was good, but not as concentrated as I would have liked.

I did a whole bunch of LW tours when I was there. Good value and overall worthwhile.

europeannovice

What was the clunker?

We are going in peak season. Can anyone comment on the crowds that show up for the London Walks British Museum tour? Is it a lot of folks?

I know I want to see the Parthenon Marbles, Rosetta Stone, and a few other "hot" items that are in their possession. Is it easy to navigate throughout the museum on your own or is it better to have someone provide some narration while they lead you the way around the museum to hit on the highlights?

Michel_Paris

Oops..checked my notes, also saw Rosetta Stone and Elgin marbles.

My group was about 10 people. At the end, she stays behind and she recommends other things to see.

ron

europeannovice, if you know what you want to see and do in the museum, don't waste your time with the London Walk.

The Walk was good for me because I just wanted to see the museum, had identified no "must sees" and was too lazy to do any pre-trip research on the contents of the museum. So, now after 20+ trips to London, I no longer have to shock people by saying I have not visited the British Museum.

Cholmondley_Warner

The British Museum is huge, absolutely vast. This means that you can wander around it for (literally) days and not see the "must sees".

HAving someone who knows where the postcard exhibits are at least means you'll see them all.

BTW London Walks are excellent - they only take the very best guides (modesty forbids.....)

janisj

The Museum provides a very good map/floor plan, plus 3 VERY good free guided tours every day. There are several additional specialized free tours all day long. They are all described on the museum's website.

I am one of the biggest fans of London Walks - but I personally would not use them for this or a few others - the British Museum, the V&A, Westminster Abbey and a few other things where you either don't need LW or where the venue does just as well or better.

Michel_Paris

Perhaps as a rule of thumb..no LW to locations that have their own tour?

Their Pub Tour was quite...refreshing.

elberko

The clunker was the Beatles walk, but it might just have been an off day.

Because the tube stop we met near was closed temporarily just before the meeting time, the group was very small (6 people?) The guide either felt it wasn't enough people to bother with his best effort, or he had done the walk too many times. It felt canned.

~Liz

Cholmondley_Warner

The clunker was the Beatles walk, but it might just have been an off day.>>>

Nah. It's a dog with fleas. All the Beatles did in London they did behind closed doors, so there's nothing to see (apart from Abbey Rd).

But people want it so the company provide it.

Avoid anything that is linked to one person/thing - they are, by definition, limited.

But I would recommend at least one Walk per trip (and I'm no longer in any way attached to them). Also London walks aren't the only company. But they were the only ones that gave me a real grilling.

They cost £7. If you get fed up - wander off.

rogeruktm

Having visited the British Museum quite a few times, I somehow managed well without any help. Amazing isn't it what you can do on your own. Walked across Hyde park all by self too.

HappyTrvlr

I think the Rosetta Stone was the first thing you see when entering from the glassed in courtyard and the Elgin Marbles are nearby, all on the first floor. No admission fee either.

europeannovice

Per the British Museum website, I saw that they also charge for a 90 minute highlights tour. I don't see where they offer free tours.

It is a toss up whether we can arrange to meet with them at their specified times so they can help guide us to the "important" items the museum possesses without us wandering around aimlessly looking for particular things vs. just going when it is convenient for us and see what we can see.

Elainee

The British Museum has very good free brochures at the info desk suggesting what to see in different times...if you have a full day, a half day, an hour, etc. But I have had very good experiences with other London Walks tours.

janisj

"<i>I saw that they also charge for a 90 minute highlights tour. I don't see where they offer free tours.</i>"

I sort of mis-spoke in my post. They do charge for the 3 X a day general tours. But they also offer 15 free tours every day - in specific areas.

ElendilPickle

You can rent an audio highlights tour, which we really enjoyed.

Lee Ann