10 mistakes tourists ALWAYS make in London

I've been saying for decades the only point to Oxford Street is somewhere to keep the tourists away from the good bits. Glad you're with me on that.

When my American friend came over she really wanted to see "London bridge" so I took her there "This is London bridge, over there is tower bridge which is probably what you meant" 😂

Something to add for the tube etiquette is moving away from the centre of the doors and let people off first. The amount of times I've been walked into or have had to try and squeeze past people trying to get on is infuriating!

It's also terribly annoying when groups of tourists (especially with wheel along cases) uncertain of where to go decide to have a family conference about it right at the top (or bottom) of the escalators making it difficult for us 'late for a meeting' types to get by.

I hate those radioactive phone boxes

For any family with children that are 11-15 years old reading this, I'd reccomend you not let them use their contactless card (if they have any), but get an Oyster Card for each one of them and ask the staff to apply a "Young Visitor" discount. It will only be valid for the time whilst you're visiting (max 14 days) and give you a 50% discount on your TfL travels. Children under 11 can travel for free! Also thanks Evan, it's a great video, should've watched it (especially the pub things) before I visited London last summer.

My tips 1) I always suggest downloading Citymapper. The tube/buses can be initially overwhelming for tourists, and citymapper takes a lot of the difficulty out of that. I also say on the taxi vs tube thing, people are somewhat avoiding learning how the tube works and dont want to get lost from airport to hotel - but you need to get used to tfl modes of transport as early as possible. Realising how simple the systems are, as early as possible, will make your trip less stressful. 2) Dont think Londoners are rude if they dont talk or look at you out in public. Londoners are assertive but they arent rude. But if you are here for longer than say a month, there is so much constant stimulation that you have to tune it out for the sake of your own mental health. If londoners behaved like tourists (noticing things, dawdling, looking at people or talking to them) the city would grind to a halt, so Londoners are in a constant state of 'keep it pushing'. In my experience though, Londoners are more likely to help you if you are struggling than in other places that people claim the people are 'nicer'. For example, I have dragged big suitcases up and down stairs all over this country. In London, someone always helps me up the stairs with it, but never anywhere else. 3) Be aware that certain tube stations are also attached to extremely busy national rail stations. People pile from train to tube constantly in these stations. Unfortunately the underground concourse isnt always the biggest space and people are often in a hurry here. Euston and Waterloo come to mind in particular. In these places, have your contactless card/oyster/phone in your hand as early as possible - maybe even before you get on the escalator down to the tube. Pausing at these ticket barriers is going to piss people off. Other places have more barriers/more space so it isnt as bad, but at the big national rail stations with crammed undergrounds underneath, have your card ready to tap as early as possible. 4) Have a meandering crazy night out that ends with getting a bagel at 4am on Brick Lane.

If you're getting the train to London from somewhere else in the UK, adding a paper travel card to your ticket is usually so much cheaper than using contactless. A lot of stations outside London also don't have eTicket barriers, so getting the train ticket with travel card as an eTicket is also impractical. Paper tickets aren't obsolete yet!

Thank you for actually posting helpful advice and not just putting cliche mistakes like not looking right or forgetting to bring a raincoat which a lot of people already know about, this is one of the best tourist advice videos I have seen.

Just a quick note on the automatic doors on the Tube (Chube) - during the winter and if it's raining very hard when the train stops at a surface station, the driver will not necessarily open all the doors - to help the people inside the train avoid getting wet/cold. That is when you will need to press the button.

There is actually a really good book called “Secret London”. It is full of hidden gems to visit that generally even Londoners don’t know about. And yes agree Oxford Street is just a direct route to trauma....

Pro tip: remember to tap out at all stations and undergrounds on your journey. Or you might not be able to pass through the next barrier or it charges you more money.

As a northerner... yeah £7.50 a pint is really steep. Even in Manchester which is kind of expensive for the North it's still usually less than £5.00.

😂I went to London for only four days, twelve years ago. I didn't have a 📱 smartphone. I got a picture taken with the phone box😅😂! I was broke in London so I walked and walked all day long and most of the night. I wanted to see everything with almost to no money. I was hungry but happy! An unforgettable experience!

When we visited London last October, my wife made the mistake of opening one of the phone booths. She won't make that mistake again. It was one of the most disgusting, yet, memorable parts of our trip and I was lucky enough to catch it on video 😅

First London guide video I have ever seen that is actually true , actually realistic and points people to some great areas. I often visit NYC after spending much of my life wanting to visit but aside from accidentally ending up in Times Square once (UGH) I have never been to most of the tourist spots. To me visiting places is getting to see what it's like to live there or just visit and experience as a local - just as local Evan does here :)

Just a note with Mistake #8, You can order a Visitor Oyster Card before your trip like my mum and I did. We flew into Gatwick and used it to take the train into London and for transit throughout London. So handy!

So you say not to mis-name the bridges but then refer to the Millennium Bridge? Every Londoner knows it’s REALLY called the Wobbly Bridge!

Just got back from 17 days in London. Gorgeous weather, not one single day with rain. Did have a problem with the train strikes, had to not do one of our day trips out of London, but there's always something to do. The food was amazing - Indian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Italian, French, Thai, and even some pub food! I love this video, and agree with you 100%!

When you're in a tube station, PLEASE don't stand with your family and all your luggage at the bottom of the stairs/escalators deciding which platform to use, especially during rush hour -.-