Go City Pass and Attractions – Kensington Palace, Westminster Abbey, Windsor Castle, British Museum Reviews

Go City Pass

Before we left for London I checked out the Go City Pass and decided to buy it. I compared the price of the pass to the price of the attractions I wanted, and it was cheaper to buy the pass. The Explorer pass worked best for us, we chose the three-attraction option. However, they also have an all-inclusive pass for those who want to do more in a day. You will download this onto the app on your phone to use.

One of the attractions that we chose was the two day Hop on-Hop off Big Bus, which we did our first two days in London. We also went to Kensington Palace and Westminster Abbey with the pass. It’s very easy to use. For the Big Bus, just go to the man selling tickets and he’ll print out a ticket for you. Keep this ticket, you’ll need to show it each time you get onto a bus.

For Kensington Palace and Westminster Abbey we just went to the entrance and let them scan the tickets on our phone app. Some of the attractions only allow you to enter after 1 pm, so make sure you check out the attractions on the website for times open. Westminster Abbey doesn’t say on the site that it’s only available after 1 pm, so keep that in mind.

Kensington Palace

We decided to visit Kensington Palace the day that we got to London. We needed something to ward off the inevitable jet lag. We walked through Hyde Park to get to the Kensington Gardens area. At the time of our trip in May 2025 they had the front of the Palace covered with scaffolding, so we couldn’t enjoy the outside, but the inside is beautiful. This is the palace where Queen Victoria grew up, and you can go through some of the places she would have lived and played. It’s also the place where William III and Mary II lived, and you can see the opulence of the lives of monarchs. It’s no wonder that they do not understand the ordinary people of the world. They are used to living in golden splendor.

There are other parts of Kensington Palace that you cannot explore. This is the Palace where Princess Diana lived. Also, other Royals such as William and Kate live here also in the private apartments that are inaccessible to the public. But overall, I would recommend a trip to Kensington Palace, it’s a beautiful place amid beautiful gardens and a very large green park. There are restrooms in the palace, a restaurant, and also a small cafe, plus a gift shop. It will take at least a couple of hours to tour the palace, so leave enough time. There are lifts in the palace and it’s handicapped accessible.

Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is available on the Go City pass, but only after 1 pm. I’ve looked at the Go City site and I don’t think that they mention that fact. Westminster Abbey is a huge church which began as a Catholic Monastery in 960 AD. Since then, it’s been added to and made larger and larger till it was what it is today.

Many royals and famous people have been buried here, including Isaac Newton, Queen Elizabeth I, and Mary, Queen of Scotts. This is the church where many Royal weddings and funerals take place. You’ll recognize some of the areas of the Abbey if you’ve watched these on television. As you go in, you’ll get a set of headphones and a handheld speaker that will tell you about most of the areas that you are looking at.

One fun fact is that on the outside of the church above the west entrance is a row of Martyrs. The center Martyr is in fact, Martin Luther King, Jr. which was unveiled in July 1998. I thought that was interesting.

Westminster Abbey is definitely a place that you should visit if you are interested in history. It’s beautiful inside, and there is so much to see. Leave at least two hours or more for the visit, and remember that there will be a lot of walking. It is mostly handicapped accessible, and there are restrooms. There is also a cafe and a gift shop.

Windsor and Windsor Castle

We took the GWR train into Windsor on a sunny but chilly day. See here for more info on the GWR train. Windsor is a charming historic English town, with a lot of shops, tea rooms, and pubs.

Windsor Castle is where Queen Victoria lived part of her reign, especially after Albert died. It’s also where Queen Elizabeth II lived and was buried here in St. George’s Chapel. This is a huge sprawling complex, and you can only go into part of it. However, the part you can go into is a large area, including Castle rooms and the Chapel. Pictures are not allowed inside the Castle, only on the grounds, they are very strict about this. We did get to see Queen Elizabeth II’s and Prince Philip’s graves inside the Chapel, but it was a quick walk by.

The castle is on top of a hill and there are hilly areas to climb but the castle is handicapped accessible. There are restrooms available, and there is a cafe.

We didn’t use the Go City pass for Windsor because the entrance on it was only for the afternoon and we wanted to get to Windsor early. We booked and paid for our tickets on the website before we left the US. They do have a security area before you go in where they search your bags and you go through a metal detector, this is a working castle, and they need to be careful. But I would definitely recommend a visit to Windsor and Windsor Castle. It’s a great day trip from London.

British Museum

We went to the British Museum last year, and decided to come back again. This museum is free to enter, and there is just so much to see. Check out this blog from last year to read more about the museum. The British Museum is the one that was featured on Night at the Museum 3, and you’ll see some of the same artifacts from the movie right here. Entrance is free, but you’ll need to make timed reservations on the website.

The museum has lifts and is handicapped accessible. Keep in mind that the museum is huge and leave enough time to see what you want to see. There is a cafe, and also a restaurant in the large domed courtyard. There are restrooms, but there always seemed to be a line for them. I remember seeing handicapped restrooms at the top of the steps to the main restrooms in the atrium, just ask someone if you can’t find them.

This is a definite must see in London, especially since it’s free. See the pictures below for just a sampling of what we saw. And there are benches around if you need a break.

So, those are my reviews of things to do in London. I can’t think of anything that I did that I didn’t enjoy. I could spend a month in London and still not see everything that I wanted to see. Have fun!

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• London 2025 Pictures
• Vacation Village at Williamsburg – Review & Pictures
• London 2025 Part Three
• London 2025 Part Two
• London 2025 Part One