Discover the Royal city of London which boasts four World Heritage Sites: The Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church; the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. This customizable trip is your entry into the residences, past and present, of the British Royal Family where you can visit Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace and Kew Palace. Other highlights you may be interested in include a relaxing cruise on the Thames, visits to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, The Tower of London, and shared trips out of London to mystical Stonehenge, Oxford, the "city of spires"; and Blenheim Palace, the Churchill family's residence. With a private airport pick up, a number of organized tour options, balanced with free time to explore, this Value tour of Royal London offers you the best way to experience all of what this great metropolis has to offer. ** Please note Buckingham Palace is open July 30-September 30 2012**

London is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. An important settlement for two millennia, London's history goes back to its founding by the Romans. Since its settlement, London has been part of many important movements and phenomena throughout history, such as the English Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the Gothic Revival. London is one of the world's leading business, financial and cultural centres, and its influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion and the arts contribute to its status as a major global city. The city boasts four World Heritage Sites: The Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church; the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Meet your driver at Heathrow airport, and take a private transfer to your hotel.

A welcome package with your vouchers, a city map, train tickets (if relevant) and any other touristic information that we deem you may find useful will be waiting for you upon your arrival at your first hotel on your trip.

The London Underground, or ‘the tube’ as it is universally known to Londoners, is normally the quickest and easiest way of getting round London. Greater London is served by 12 tube lines, along with the independent (though linked) and privately owned DLR and an interconnected rail network. The first tube train operates at around 5:30am Monday to Saturday and around 7am Sunday; the last train leaves between 11:30pm and 12:30am depending on the day, the station and the line. Remember that any train heading from left to right on the map is designated as eastbound, and any train heading from top to bottom is southbound- no matter how many squiggles and turns it makes. If your two stations are not on the same line, you need to note the nearest station where the two lines intersect, and it is here that you must change trains. Step out into this fantastic city and explore with your travel card - the best way to see London!

Spend the afternoon on a shared tour taking in some of the highlights of London from St. Paul's cathedral, the the Tower of London and a river cruise along the Thames. Enjoy a guided tour of St Paul Cathedral - crowned by the magnificent dome that is so much a part of the London skyline. In recent years it has seen the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Lady Diana Spencer and, most recently, the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. Explore London by cruise.

Founded by William the Conqueror in 1066-7 and enlarged by successive sovereigns, the Tower of London is one of the is one of the world's most famous and spectacular fortresses. Over the past 1000 years it has been a Royal Palace, an armoury and a place of imprisonment and execution. The Beefeaters who guard the Tower will regale you with stories of its past. Visit the Crown Jewels, including the magnificent solid-gold crown used at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the enormous Cullinan diamonds and the extraordinary Koh-i-Noor.

You have the choice to take a River Cruise along the Thames and end your tour at Westminster Pier, or take the cruise on another day and go with your guide back to Victoria Station.

Inhabiting its own block on London's busy Strand, the Strand Hotel (3*) is two blocks from Covent Garden, three blocks from the River Thames, and a half-km (a quarter-mile) from Trafalgar Square. The Strand Palace's 785 guestrooms include beds with teak headboards and brass reading lamps, plasma TVs with digital channels and pay movies, and roomy, white-tiled baths with heated towel rails. Along with an arcade of shops, the hotel has a business center, conference rooms, two restaurants and two cafés, a teak-paneled bar popular with the corporate crowd, and a sports bar.

Overnight at Strand Palace (3*).

Enjoy a full day coach (shared) tour with a Professional Guide to visit some of the highlights outside of London city. First on the list is Blenheim Palace - a masterpiece of English architecture and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. The stunning state rooms are brimming with priceless works of art and magnificent tapestries. You have the choice to enter inside Blenheim Palace (entrance not included) or enjoy a complimentary walking tour of the gardens where you will see the Marlborough maze and the stunning fountains of the water gardens. From here it is on to the Cotswolds, a region of outstanding natural beauty which is characterised by attractive small towns and thatched villages of yellow Cotswold stone made prosperous by the historic wool trade. You'll visit Great Tew, where the traditional post office and local pub give the village an atmosphere of times gone by. With a variety of different villages there is something to see around every corner of the The Cotswolds. The magnificent high street in Burford slopes gently away to the bridge that crosses the River Windrush, while the village of Bibury was described by William Morris as the 'prettiest village' in the Cotswolds.

Once in the Cotswolds you can have lunch in a traditional English pub (lunch price not included) or if you'd prefe,r you can enjoy aome free time to explore a beautiful Cotswold village with its traditional shops and lovely thatched cottages.

Overnight at Strand Palace (3*).

Avoid any hassle with your pre-paid entrance ticket to Kensington Palace. Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British Royal Family since the 17th century. Today it is the official residence of The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester; the Duke and Duchess of Kent; and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Kensington Palace is also used on an unofficial basis by Prince Harry, as well as his cousin Zara Phillips. It was the official residence of Diana, Princess of Wales (until her death in 1997), of Princess Margaret (until her death in 2002) and of Princess Alice (until her death in 2004).

Entrance Ticket for Buckingham Palace is included.

The annual summer opening of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace takes place between August 1st to September 30th, 2012. Visit the Palace while the Queen is on vacation at her summer residence in Scotland.

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837.  It evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham.  Buckingham Palace serves as both the office and London residence of Her Majesty The Queen, as well as the administrative headquarters of the Royal Household. It is one of the few working royal palaces remaining in the world today.

Today the State Rooms are used extensively by The Queen and Members of the Royal Family to receive and entertain their guests on State, ceremonial and official occasions. During August and September when The Queen makes her annual visit to Scotland, the Palaces nineteen state rooms are open to visitors. The State Rooms form the heart of the working palace and are lavishly furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection - paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin and Canaletto; sculpture by Canova; exquisite examples of S porcelain; and some of the finest English and French furniture.

Inhabiting its own block on London's busy Strand, the Strand Hotel (3*) is two blocks from Covent Garden, three blocks from the River Thames, and a half-km (a quarter-mile) from Trafalgar Square. The Strand Palace's 785 guestrooms include beds with teak headboards and brass reading lamps, plasma TVs with digital channels and pay movies, and roomy, white-tiled baths with heated towel rails. Along with an arcade of shops, the hotel has a business center, conference rooms, two restaurants and two cafés, a teak-paneled bar popular with the corporate crowd, and a sports bar.

Overnight at Strand Palace (3*).

Spend a full day tour on a shared tour visiting Windsor, with a chance to see Windsor Castle, Stonehenge to see the mysterious stone circle and Oxford for a fascinating walking tour of this University City as you enjoy a shared tour today. Enjoy an orientation tour of Windsor - home to the royal family for 900 years and an official residence of Her majesty the Queen. The castle is also the oldest inhabited castle in the world. The great and ancient stone circle of Stonehenge is one of the wonders of the world, cloaked forever in intense debate over its purpose. It is the focal point in a landscape filled with prehistoric ceremonial structures, now a World Heritage Site. Oxford is the city of Dreaming Spires and home to the world's most famous university. Its colleges date back to the 13th century, an inspiration to generations of scholars including President Bill Clinton, and the authors J R R Tolkien, Lewis Carroll and C S Lewis. Your guide will take you on a walking tour to see Christ Church college, the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre before being returned to London.

Overnight at Strand Palace (3*).

Enjoy a private half day guided tour of Hampton Court Palace, the former home of King Henry VIII. Located upstream of Central London on the River Thames, The Palace was extended and developed after he acquired it in the 1520's. Its many royal occupants have ensured the palace has fabulous furnishings, tapestries and paintings. The Palace is set in 60 acres of formal gardens, which include the famous maze and Tudor kitchen, designed to feed the court of King Henry the VIII every day, which numbered over 600 people! View The Privy Garden. As it appears today, it is one of the most accurately reconstructed gardens thanks to the detailed records of the original 1702 garden.

Overnight at Strand Palace (3*).

Entrance ticket to Kew Palace is included.

Kew Palace is the smallest and most intimate of the royal palaces. The four-storey brick house was built c. 1631 by Samuel Fortrey, a merchant of Dutch origin, whose initials together with those of his wife Catherine, can be seen above the entrance. It is constructed of red bricks laid in a style known as Flemish bond, consisting of bricks arranged with sides and ends alternating. The gabled main front gives the house a Dutch appearance. Later alterations included the installation of sash windows to replace the original brick mullions and transforms.

First used by the Royal Family in 1728, the Palace was finally purchased by George III in 1781 as an annex to the White House (located where the sundial now stands) to accommodate his expanding family, subsequently becaming a more permanent home for the Royal Family. Queen Charlotte, died here in 1818.

Kew Palace is administrated separately by Historic Royal Palaces. It recently underwent a major restoration and re-opened to the public in April 2006.

Entrance ticket to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre to view the premises (not a performance) is included.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which officially opened in 1997, is a reconstruction of The Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. It is approximately 230 metres (750 ft) from the site of the original theatre. Jack Shepherd's 'Prologue Production' of The Two Gentlemen of Verona starring Mark Rylance as Proteus, opened the Globe to the theatregoing public in August 1996, a year before the formal opening Gala.

Overnight at Strand Palace (3*).

Meet your driver at your hotel and be taken to Heathrow Airport by a private transfer.

Depart from London Heathrow airport - end of itinerary.

Overnight at Depart.