The honest answer takes one piece of arithmetic, and Go City, who sell the London pass, publish the number you need to do it. Their advertised savings are measured against adult walk-up ticket prices. That is their own wording on their own page.
Walk-up is the most expensive way to buy any London attraction ticket. It is the price you pay for turning up at the door with no booking. Almost nobody actually pays it, because booking online in advance is cheaper nearly everywhere.
So the saving is real, but it is a saving against a price you were probably never going to pay. Here is what the pass costs, what it claims to save, and the number that matters more than any of it.
What it costs
These are the Explorer Pass prices and Go City’s own sample itineraries, read on 28 September 2026 in pounds. The Explorer lets you pick a set number of attractions from more than seventy, and you choose them as you go rather than at purchase.
| Attractions | Pass price | Their walk-up total | Stated saving | Per attraction |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | £65 | £78.00 | £13.00 | £32.50 |
| 3 | £89 | £118.99 | £29.99 | £30 |
| 4 | £115 | £170.99 | £55.99 | £29 |
| 5 | £135 | £206.99 | £71.99 | £27 |
| 6 | £155 | £265.99 | £110.99 | £26 |
| 7 | £165 | £309.99 | £144.99 | £24 |
There is also an All-Inclusive Pass from 105 pounds, sold by the day, for one to ten days, rather than by the attraction, covering more than a hundred and ten attractions with unlimited visits per day.
The pattern in that table
The pass only becomes good value at volume. At two attractions you save thirteen pounds and pay thirty two fifty an attraction. At seven you save a hundred and forty five and pay about twenty four.
Which tells you exactly who it is for: somebody planning to visit five, six or seven paid attractions in a short trip. That is a genuine kind of holiday and if it is yours, the pass does what it says.
If you are going to do two or three things, the two attraction tier saves you thirteen pounds against walk-up, and a couple of direct online bookings will very likely beat it.
The number that matters more
Thirty two pounds fifty per attraction is a lot, when you look at what London charges for its best things.
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| Horizon 22, Level 58, highest free view in London | Free |
| Sky Garden, thirty five floors, bars open to midnight | Free |
| King Henry’s Mound, the protected St Paul’s sightline | Free |
| Parliament Hill, Hampstead Heath | Free |
| The national museums | Free |
| The Monument, Wren’s column to the Great Fire | £7.00 |
Every one of those is verified on this site against the venue’s own published information. An entire day of the best views in London costs seven pounds, and that is only because the Monument takes money at all.
This is the real case against the pass, and it is not that the pass is a bad deal on its own terms. It is that the pass is built around the paid half of London, and the paid half is not the better half. Our guide to the best views and free things to do in London between them cover most of what people actually remember about a trip here.
When it genuinely is worth it
If you are doing five or more paid attractions in a few days. The per attraction price drops to the mid twenties and the saving against walk-up becomes substantial.
If you want the big ticket sights specifically. The London Eye, Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London, the View from the Shard and the hop-on hop-off buses are the expensive ones, and they are all on it.
If you are travelling with children, where the alternative is paying four full walk-up prices at each door.
If you hate planning. You pick attractions as you go rather than choosing at purchase, which has a real convenience value that the arithmetic does not capture.
When it is not
If your trip is restaurants, bars, markets and walking, which is what most of this site is about. You will barely touch it.
If you are doing two or three things. Book them direct, online, in advance.
If your attractions are free anyway. The two best viewing platforms in London and every national museum cost nothing, with or without a pass.
If you are here for four days and want to enjoy them. Getting value from a seven attraction pass means a schedule, and a schedule is the opposite of what most people want from a short trip.
Four things to get answered before you pay
Go City answers these in its own FAQ, and each one can cost you the whole value of the pass if you assume the wrong answer.
Are the days consecutive? Yes. The All-Inclusive Pass runs on consecutive days from the one you first use it, so a three day pass activated on a Tuesday is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, not three days of your choosing.
What counts as a day? A calendar day, not twenty four hours. Each day ends at midnight whatever time you scanned in, so activating the pass at three in the afternoon spends a whole day on an afternoon.
When does it expire once activated? The pass activates when you visit your first attraction, not when you buy it. The Explorer then gives you thirty days to use the rest of your choices, and the All-Inclusive lasts for the number of consecutive days you bought.
Does it include transport? No. The passes include tours and sightseeing buses but not public transport, so add the 8.90 pound daily cap to your budget. The tube fares guide has the numbers.
Practical notes
Unactivated passes are refundable within ninety days of purchase, which is their own stated policy and makes buying ahead low risk if your plans are not fixed.
It activates at your first attraction, not at purchase. So buying it early costs you nothing in validity.
You need their app. Factor that in if you are travelling without data.
Price the alternative honestly before you decide. Write down the attractions you actually intend to visit, look up each one’s advance online price rather than its walk-up price, and add it up. That is the only comparison that means anything.
All pass prices and terms here were read from Go City’s own London pages and rechecked on 28 September 2026, in pounds. Prices vary by date and party size and the ones shown are their published from prices. Confirm before you buy.
Where to go next
The best views in London and free things to do in London cover the half of the city no pass is needed for, including the two free viewing platforms and the protected sightline from Richmond Park.
Horizon 22 and Sky Garden have their own guides, and the free museums are the backbone of a wet day.
For the rest of the planning: when to come, where to stay and what the tube costs.
Questions we get asked
Is the London Pass worth it?
Only at volume. Go City’s own Explorer pricing works out at 32.50 pounds per attraction if you pick two and about 24 if you pick seven, so it pays for somebody visiting five or more paid attractions in a short trip. For two, the stated saving is 13 pounds against walk-up prices, and booking those same attractions online in advance will often beat it.
What are Go City's London pass savings measured against?
Adult walk-up ticket prices, which is stated on their own page. Walk-up is the most expensive way to buy any attraction ticket in London and is the price you pay for arriving at the door with no booking. Almost nobody pays it, because advance online booking is cheaper nearly everywhere, so the advertised saving is against a price you were unlikely to pay.
How much does the London Pass cost?
The Explorer Pass runs from 65 pounds for two attractions, 89 for three, 115 for four, 135 for five, 155 for six and 165 for seven, chosen from more than seventy. The All-Inclusive Pass starts at 105 pounds and is sold by the day, for one to ten days, rather than by the attraction, covering more than a hundred and ten attractions. All are from prices and vary by date.
Do you need a pass to see the best of London?
No, and this is the strongest argument against buying one. Horizon 22 on Level 58 is free, Sky Garden is free, every national museum is free, and the protected St Paul’s sightline from King Henry’s Mound in Richmond Park is free and needs no ticket. The Monument, the cheapest paid view in London, is 7 pounds and no longer takes cash only.
When does the London Pass activate?
When you visit your first attraction, not when you buy it, which is Go City’s own stated policy. That means buying ahead costs you nothing in validity. They also state that passes which have not been activated are refundable within ninety days of purchase, so an unused pass is low risk if plans change.
Does the London Pass include transport?
No. Go City’s own answer is that the passes do not include public transport, though they do include tours and sightseeing buses. Add the daily pay as you go cap of 8.90 pounds for Zones 1 and 2 to whatever the pass costs, for each person, for each day you are travelling.
Is the London Pass worth it for 3 days?
It depends entirely on how many paid attractions you will actually reach in three days, not on the number of days. Five or more and the arithmetic works. Two or three and it does not, because the saving against walk-up is small and advance online booking undercuts it. And the days are consecutive calendar days, each ending at midnight, so a three day pass activated on a Tuesday runs out at midnight on Thursday.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 102 in the guide.
Last checked 28 September 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
