84 votes
Accepted

Why do some groups of tourists include someone carrying a banner?

It's like that everywhere for guided tours (not just Chinese people) It makes it easier to follow the guide. The guide tour leader will carry a flag so that if/when people get lost they can spot the ...
Max's user avatar
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73 votes
Accepted

Is a 13-hour layover in the middle of the night enough time to go see Buckingham Palace?

As you've got to make the journey between airports anyway, I say make the most of it. Sleep on the plane if you can and see the city at night. I'd pack in one backpack (hand luggage strapped on top) ...
Chris H - UK's user avatar
  • 7,556
54 votes

Is a 13-hour layover in the middle of the night enough time to go see Buckingham Palace?

Yes, it's doable. Although going through central London isn't the fastest route from Heathrow to Gatwick, you have lots of time so it's not an unreasonable route to take. You could obviously do it ...
djr's user avatar
  • 3,851
48 votes
Accepted

Am I allowed to leave airport in the USA during a 23-hour layover?

Having an American passport usually means you are an American citizen. As such, you can enjoy unrestricted travel in the US. The other travelers will have to be admitted to US before the start of the ...
mzu's user avatar
  • 4,658
37 votes
Accepted

Can travellers see Buddhist temples in Saudi Arabia?

There are no such temples in Saudi Arabia - source: 26+ years of living there. There are way more Christians in Saudi Arabia than Buddhists - but there are no churches in Saudi Arabia either. It is ...
Burhan Khalid's user avatar
31 votes

Is a 13-hour layover in the middle of the night enough time to go see Buckingham Palace?

Very easily doable. But if you're going all that way in on the tube and aren't too tired, walk around - central London is quite small and easily walkable. You could see Tower Bridge, Tower of London, ...
Mark Mayo's user avatar
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30 votes
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How can one visit the Door To Hell?

WikiTravel doesn't have an article on the Gates of Hell, but WikiVoyage does. There's at least four tour companies listed. Two international and two local. You apparently can drive there but it ...
hippietrail's user avatar
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29 votes
Accepted

Is the new Tokyo Fish Market in Toyosu open to visitors?

Not yet open to the general public (which includes tourists I believe), but it will be starting 13 Oct 2018 (Sat) from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. From 15 Oct 2018 (Mon) onwards, it will be open from 5:00 am ...
DXV's user avatar
  • 1,253
29 votes

Why do some groups of tourists include someone carrying a banner?

For the same reason that Western and Near Eastern militaries have been carrying "colours, standards (and) guidons" for 7,000 years: so the troops know where the commander is. https://en.wikipedia.org/...
RonJohn's user avatar
  • 490
25 votes
Accepted

Do we have to expect a queue for the shuttle from Watford Junction to Harry Potter Studio?

This depends on the time of year, day of the week, holidays etc. But, generally, yes there will probably be a small queue. When I have been before it was during a week day, we arrived about 10 ...
Uciebila's user avatar
  • 9,705
24 votes

Transit in Amsterdam for 10 hours, do I have time to visit the city for sightseeing?

Yes, it is possible for you to leave the airport in Amsterdam. You will clear Schengen immigration controls there, whereby your passport will be stamped. After that, there will be nothing preventing ...
phoog's user avatar
  • 131k
23 votes

Do we have to expect a queue for the shuttle from Watford Junction to Harry Potter Studio?

Summary: One should be prepared to wait for the second bus if they are visiting during school holidays, Easter being one of them. There are other options to get to the Warner Bros Studio from Watford ...
B.Liu's user avatar
  • 5,711
23 votes
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The Gondolas of Aveiro, Portugal

Rather than starting by answering directly your question about Gondola trips, I will do a small introduction of Aveiro. I believe you will get a better understanding of what the city is about and you ...
nsn's user avatar
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22 votes
Accepted

Are Ginkgo trees in Japan rare and if so, where can I find them?

While what constitutes a "best" spot is subjective, here are some popular options: Icho Namiki This road is located in Tokyo, between the Gaienmae and Aoyama-Itchome stations. The best time to visit ...
JS Lavertu's user avatar
  • 4,655
22 votes

Am I allowed to leave airport in the USA during a 23-hour layover?

If you are transferring to another city in the US via Atlanta, then yes. You are going to go through immigration in Atlanta, after which you will be landside, i.e. you have essentially left the ...
xuq01's user avatar
  • 9,651
17 votes
Accepted

Is Big Ben visible from the British museum?

The British Museum is located a short-ish (20-30 minutes) walk from Big Ben, so the distance isn't a problem in seeing it. But the British Museum is surrounded relatively closely in that direction by ...
Chris H's user avatar
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16 votes
Accepted

Where can I visit Anthony Howe's amazing wind-powered kinetic sculptures?

Locations of Public Sculptures: USA Spine Tower, San Francisco, California Azlon I, Baltimore, Maryland Oblongata, Procter & Gamble Hdqts, Mason, Ohio Chief II, Tulsa, Oklahoma Octo - Greenville, ...
Anthony Howe's user avatar
16 votes
Accepted

Enter Van Gogh Museum restaurant

I had a quick look at the van Gogh Museum website, found a link to the restaurant and it says The café is open daily during museum opening hours and can only be accessed via the museum From that I ...
Willeke's user avatar
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16 votes

Where can I find a global heat map of travel spots?

Here's what I'm aware of: Sightsmap (which I think comes closest to what you are looking for) Heatmaps of Flickr photos and Twitter tweets Flickr heat maps Flickr heat maps distinguishing between ...
MastaBaba's user avatar
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16 votes
Accepted

What happened to the Prime Meridian sculpture in Greenwich?

A Facebook conversation with Royal Museums Greenwich reports the following: [T]he sculpture was returned to its owner 'News Print International' (sic) after its loan was complete. It went to their ...
Giorgio's user avatar
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16 votes

Are there other tram bistros like the cancelled U76 in Düsseldorf?

I know of at least two: Colonial Tramcar Restaurant in Melbourne, Australia, three seatings per day every day. SpåraKoff in Helsinki, Finland, operates hourly in the afternoons during the summer ...
lambshaanxy's user avatar
  • 99.8k
15 votes

Where can I visit Anthony Howe's amazing wind-powered kinetic sculptures?

The artist states that he installs and tests most of his works prior to putting them up for sale. If you're that big of a fan, I would suggest emailing him to see if he would be open to you visiting ...
JPhi1618's user avatar
  • 868
15 votes

Why do some groups of tourists include someone carrying a banner?

This is very common in China. You might have a number of tour groups simultaneously at a busy tourist site and the use of a flag (and stickers on the participants) helps keep them together and is very ...
Spehro Pefhany's user avatar
14 votes

Are Ginkgo trees in Japan rare and if so, where can I find them?

Visit Toyko's Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden to experience the ginko tunnel in the Meiji-Jingu Gaien, the golden canopy and carpet the most glorious in the autumn.
Giorgio's user avatar
  • 35.3k
14 votes

What's the difference between the main deck and top deck of the Empire State Building?

The biggest difference between main deck: 86th floor and top deck: 102nd floor is that main deck is open air observatory and top deck is much smaller room enclosed by glass. As question mentions the ...
Ram Chandra Giri's user avatar
12 votes

When travelling from London to northern Sweden by train, is it possible to have a day of free sightseeing anywhere other than Copenhagen?

The accepted answer is not working anymore as the city night line trains are taken out of the timetables. So now your best bet will be to travel fast by day and/or travel by ferry at night. Seat 61 ...
Willeke's user avatar
  • 58.7k
11 votes
Accepted

Where in Chengdu can we see Sanxingdui artifacts, besides the museum in Guanghan?

There is no SanXingDui art museum in Chengdu, you have to go to GuangHan. The "museum" displayed by google maps is a store. Source: I asked friends. They confirm that the place in the streetview ...
mts's user avatar
  • 26.2k
11 votes
Accepted

Amsterdam Centraal or Sloterdijk station area?

It's quite easy to travel between Amsterdam Centraal and Amsterdam Sloterdijk. Trains are frequent and the trip is about 6 or 7 minutes. The base fare is €2.30. The travel time to Brussels is ...
phoog's user avatar
  • 131k
10 votes

Are there any "brand" museums in Los Angeles?

Okay, so I've gone through several Wikipedia pages for southern California... McDonald's Museum (also Juan Pollo) in San Bernardino Fender Museum of Music and the Arts in Corona (I assume there are ...
mkennedy's user avatar
  • 8,652

Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible