Alastair Jamieson / NBC News

American track cycling silver medal winners Jennie Reed (L), Sarah Hammer and Lauren Tamayo (R) in front of London's Tower Bridge, Saturday.

LONDON – Posing for photos in front of Tower Bridge and buying souvenirs on the sidewalks, they could be any other tourists among the summer crowds. But with most London 2012 events now over, it's the turn of the world's greatest athletes to be awe-struck as they turn up at visitor attractions across the city.

Rebecca Soni, American gold medalist and winner of the 200m breaststroke, took a trip on the London Eye with fellow swimmers on Saturday, while double-gold winning gymnast Gabby Douglas went sightseeing on Wednesday, according to ESPN.

“Go USA!” shouted an onlooker as three of the U.S.'s four track cycling silver medalists -- Lauren Tamayo, Jennie Reed and Sarah Hammer -- took a tour of the Tower of London with NBCNews.com on Saturday.

“It’s great to get out and see a bit of London,” said Reed, from Seattle. “Tower Bridge is stunning -- it’s incredible to have seen it on the TV so many times and now to see it up close.”

The trio was greeted at the 11^th century royal fortress by a Yeoman Warder in traditional dress, and saw the Crown Jewels during their walk-through.

“It was incredible,” said Hammer. “We also saw the room where they used to keep all the exotic animals like lions and polar bears.”

Apart from a few admiring glances, the women moved largely un-noticed through tourist crowds outside the Tower, where Reed stopped to buy some art on the sidewalk.

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“For the first week we in the bubble of the village and didn’t really go out at all,” said Tamayo. “It’s easy to forget that you now need to take all your personal things again. When I went out I realized I was on the Tube and didn’t have any credit cards or ID on me except my accreditation.”

The women plan to visit Borough Market to buy gifts and specialty foods before leaving London with their teammates on Monday.

As well as turning tourist in London, the entire U.S. Olympic team has been giving back to the host nation by donating $157 per gold medal won at the Games to local sports and recreation charity Kids Company as part of Thank You Britain campaign.

Alastair Jamieson/NBC News

Silver medal-winning track cyclists Jennie Reed (L), Sarah Hammer and Lauren Tamayo (R) outside the Tower of London on Saturday.

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Reed said the athletes had much to be thankful for, including the Olympic Village.

“The accommodation has been great and the food probably the best of any Games I’ve been to,” she said.

Hammer described the atmosphere inside the Village, where their shared apartment overlooks part of the Olympic Park.

“Sometimes we have been watching events on TV and when you turn the sound down you can actually listen out the window and hear the same crowd noise for real -- it’s incredible,” she said.

Their verdict on London? “It’s very busy -- I’m amazed that people here are describing this as quieter than usual -- and the atmosphere is great,” said Tamayo.

"It's easy to forget that these world class athletes are tourists, too, and most are now enjoying all that Britain offers," said Mark Di-Toro, a spokesman for tourism agency Visit Britain. "When the athletes leave is when our work really begins to create a sustained and positive tourism legacy."

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AFP - Getty Images

British gold medal-winning cyclist Bradley Wiggins is seen on stage at a concert in Hyde Park, left, enjoying a beer while watching Olympic action in the Velodrome, center, and meeting Stone Roses singer Ian Brown at a secret VIP gig by the band in London, right.

LONDON - After four years of intense training and personal sacrifice, athletes are letting their hair down and joining London’s city-wide Olympic party.

With many events now over, and with Sunday's closing ceremony looming, Olympians are becoming a more frequent sight on the streets – and in the bars – of Britain’s capital.

Many are turning up at venues to support their team-mates in the remaining competition -- and sign autographs for lucky spectators.

“It is nice for us now to be able to relax and watch some of the Games,” said Czech cyclist Denis Spicka, who was surrounded by friends and female fans at Czech House – one of dozens of temporary national ‘party houses’ set up around London by tourism promoters and sponsors.

Spicka was one of hundreds of party-goers enjoying Czech beer while watching giant screens showing his country take on France at women’s basketball on Tuesday night – only hours after he had finished his own race in the Olympic Velodrome.

“The girls here are very nice,” he grinned.

Alastair Jamieson/NBC News

Officials from Britain's Olympic team enjoy a late-night take-out in east London's Mile End.

Across town, U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte was enjoying a birthday party at a Planet Hollywood theme restaurant near Leicester Square. The 28-year-old enjoyed chicken fingers, nachos, Champagne and birthday cake, according to E!, before heading to Mahiki, a nightclub popular with Prince Harry.

It was not the gold medal winner’s first night of partying: He joined a throng of fellow swimmers including South African Jean Basson and Lebanese Katya Bachrouche at club Chinawhite on Sunday night.

Will Games curse leave 'ghost town' London out of the gold rush?

Chad le Clos, the South African who beat Michael Phelps in the 200m butterfly last week, also dropped into the club, dancing with his team and some Australian swimmers. "It was pretty cool,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “Everyone was there, the Americans and the French team. Pretty much the whole of the VIP area was crawling with swimmers. We all enjoyed ourselves."

Slideshow: Graffiti Games: UK street artists take on Olympics

Jim Seida / NBC News

Street and graffiti artists have been satirizing, celebrating and making jokes about the Olympic Games in London.

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Others have been touring London’s sights or relaxing in and around the Olympic Park. Cook Islands swimming coach Romani Katoa was enjoying a few beers with fellow spectators at the track and field events on Sunday night, while Hungarian hammer-thrower Krisztian Pars was showing off his gold medal on the top floor of a double-decker bus.

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In the Westfield shopping mall that leads to the Olympic Park, athletes from around the world have been signing autographs for fans or partying in the top-level casino.

Indeed, spotting athletes has now become a London tourist activity in its own right: Olympians from Rwanda were pictured waiting for a bus on Monday, officials from Team Great Britain were seen ordering a late-night take-out in a kebab house in east London’s Mile End and Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins posted a picture of himself on Instagram “getting wasted” near St. Paul’s Cathedral after winning his cycling gold medal for Britain.

Wiggins and fellow British gold medalist Jessica Ennis were among the athletes who attended a VIP Stone Roses concert on Monday. The duo were reportedly introduced at the gig as "king" and "queen" of England.

At the Austria House near the Tower of London, where party-goers can enjoy pilsner and sauerkraut while watching live Olympic action, Austrian gymnast Fabian Leimlehner was among those signing autographs.

Jim Seida / NBC News

Julia Sailer from Innsbruck, Austria, pours two-liter beers as fast as she can sell them at Austria's national hospitality house in the Tower Hill area of London on Tuesday.

'So much debauchery'
Speculation is now turning to life inside the Olympic Village – the super-private athletes-only area notorious for evolving into a party zone as the Games come to an end. In a now-notorious ESPN feature last month, Lochte predicted that “70 to 75 percent of Olympians” would be having sex with other competitors, adding: “Hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do."

About 150,000 condoms have been handed out by organizers in the wake of of stories about goings-on at the Sydney 2000 games where, according to U.S. target shooter Josh Lakatos, competitors turned an empty room into a venue for round-the-clock casual sex, assisted by an Oakley duffel bag overflowing with condoms procured from the village's medical clinic. “I've never witnessed so much debauchery in my entire life," he told ESPN.

So are the beds of London’s Olympic village really shaking? “We are all sharing rooms, so it is difficult,” said Czech runner Josef Prorok at the Czech House party. “Our apartment is above the laundry area and some of my friends have discovered there are some empty places, so…”

Inside the Olympic Village: World's top athletes share college dorm-style rooms

In practice, he said, athletes prefer to head into the city to party. “There is no alcohol in the Village bar so it is boring there. Here there is a screen and there are people having fun, and girls,” he said.

His comments were echoed by former British Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies, who told The Mirror; “Any partying is done away from the Village out of respect for athletes who are still competing. To be honest you spend all your time training and eating healthily – and it only takes a glass of wine and you are hammered.”

More London 2012 coverage from NBCNews.com

All the better for Londoners, who are are cruising the national party houses in the hope of getting to meet athletes.

"Which is the best one?" asked Nick Watterson, from north London, who was drinking at the Czech House with friends after watching Olympic soccer at Wembley Stadium. "Brazil House sounds good. It's a great atmosphere in the city at the moment, a real party going on."  

Slideshow: Speeding through life: Olympians then and now

Tony Duffy / ALLSPORT, Getty Images

How has life treated the many U.S. Olympians who have dazzled and inspired us over the years? Find out in this handy then-and-now roundup.

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LONDON  -- A widow of one of the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics has called for spectators to stand and observe a minute's silence and for television companies to turn off their microphones for a minute during Olympic chief Jacques Rogge's speech at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony.

Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, refused a request by the relatives of the dead and Israeli officials to mark the massacre by the Palestinian Black September group with a moment of silence at the ceremony.

Ilana Romano, wife of Olympic boxer Yossef Romano, said she hoped that broadcasters would "close the microphone for a minute when Jacques Rogge speaks."

She also asked people in the crowd to "please get up for one minute," and stay silent for that period.

"We believe the world is with us," she said. 

In denying a minute's silence for the victims of Munich, Rogge was taking a political stance, Romano said.

Slideshow: Athletes killed at 1972 Munich Olympics

Keystone / Getty Images

Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by Palestinian gunmen during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.

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"I think he makes the political [decision], not me." she said.

'Fairy tale': Is Olympic neutrality really a myth?

Romano, who spoke to NBCNews.com by phone from Israel Friday, went to England with fellow widow Ankie Spitzer to make a personal plea to Rogge to allow the athletes' deaths to be remembered. However, they left empty-handed Thursday night.

Romano argued that the Olympic movement did not need to make any mention that the athletes were Israeli, but simply mark the deaths of members of the Olympic family.

NBC Sports anchor Bob Costas told the Hollywood Reporter that the IOC's decision against holding a minute of silence was "baffling."

More London 2012 coverage from NBCNews.com

"I intend to note that the IOC denied the request," he said. "Many people find that denial more than puzzling but insensitive."

In a conference call Thursday, NBC Olympics Executive Producer Jim Bell, speaking about Costas' remarks, said they had been discussing how to deal with the issue.

"I think if there is anyone who knows how to handle himself in that situation, have the right approach and tone, it’s Bob and Matt (Lauer).” he said, according to a transcript of the call. “We are going to handle it appropriately and respectfully. Bob has always had a big role in our planning of the coverage, and it’s been a healthy collaborative process.”

'An outrageous wrong'
Speaking at a commemoration in London Friday morning, Harvey Rose, chairman of the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, said it was being held "to help right and outrageous wrong."

"I'm absolutely convinced that if any other country's athletes were slaughtered in the way that the Israeli athletes were slaughtered that there would have been a minute's silence," he said.

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"Shames on the IOC for it's clear anti-Israel bias, shame on the IOC for not appreciated and recognizing what the Olympics is all about," he added.

The commemoration, where Israel's ambassador to the U.K. Daniel Taub and others also spoke, was broadcast over the internet.

A minute's silence was held at the event at 11 a.m., when people around the world were asked to remember the dead as part of the Minute for Munich campaign.

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Updated at 11:10 a.m. ET: LONDON - Olympic athletes, including some from Team USA, had a bad start to the London Games Monday after bus drivers taking them to the competitors’ village in east London got lost.

Kerron Clement, US 400m hurdler and Beijing silver medallist, claimed he spent four hours on a bus after the driver got lost after collecting them from Heathrow airport.

He posted on Twitter:  “Um, so we've been lost on the road for 4hrs. Not a good first impression London. Athletes are sleepy, hungry and need to pee. Could we get to the Olympic Village please.”

Meanwhile, members of Australian contingent of 30 officials and medical staff had to use their iPhones to direct their bus driver after he also became lost.

One of the officials, Damian Kelly, told the Daily Telegraph: "It would have been a great tourist trip if that is what you are here for. “

He said the driver was unable to work the onboard GPS navigation system.

Follow the 8,000-mile torch relay around the UK

“One of the doctors on board got [the GPS system] working for him, but then the Olympic Village hadn't been loaded into the system and everyone was trying to find the name of the street that the village was in.

“In the end another physio got out his iPhone and gave directors to the bus driver via his phone."

Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images

Members of the Cuban Olympic weightlifting team arrive at Heathrow airport on Monday.

They were among the first of more than 10,000 athletes and officials due to arrive in Britain this week. Monday was already expected to be the busiest day in the history of London's Heathrow airport, and it was the first major challenge for the road system as the first of several dedicated Olympics traffic lanes also came into operation.

Speaking about the lost buses, London Mayor Boris Johnson quipped: "Clearly they would have had even more of an opportunity to see even more of the city than they might otherwise have done."

Troops everywhere, long lines and moans: A very British Olympic Games

The Daily Telegraph reported that Hugh Robertson, Britain's sports and Olympics minister, apologized to those athletes caught up in the transport problems. He said: "If people have been on buses that have got lost then it is of course regrettable. I am extremely sorry, and clearly the drivers need to know where they are going."

The Games are due to begin in 11 days' time, on Friday, July 27.

More than 500 Heathrow and Locog volunteers, speaking more than 20 languages between them, were welcoming groups of Olympic athletes and officials from their planes at Heathrow.

Approximately 15 percent of baggage on peak days will be large pieces of sporting equipment such as canoes, pole vaults, bikes and javelins and around 1,000 guns and associated ammunition will be arriving with competitors over the coming days.

Read the full story at ITV News

Influx under way
Officials said 236,955 passengers (121,239 arrivals and 115,716 departures) were expected to pass through the airport Monday, compared to 190,000 on an average day. The largest number of arriving athletes is expected on July 24.

Slideshow: Venues for 2012 London Olympic Games

Oda / Getty Images

From Wimbledon to Wembley Stadium to The Dome, a look at the venues for the 2012 London Olympic Games.

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Approximately 15 percent of baggage on peak days will be large pieces of sporting equipment such as canoes, pole vaults, bikes and javelins and around 1,000 guns and associated ammunition will be arriving with competitors over the coming days.

Dean Brenner, director of the U.S. Olympic sailing team, earlier told ITV News at Heathrow: "We're feeling great, it's great to be in London.

"Obviously we've been working a while for this and now it's time for the big test and we are looking forward to getting to [the sailing team base at] Weymouth for a couple more week of training and getting on with the Games."

The London 2012 Athletes' Village also officially opens Monday with British athletes competing in diving, equestrian, soccer, shooting and swimming expected to be the first to enter.

ITV News is the UK partner of NBC News.

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Charly Diaz Azcue / Getty Images file

Danny Ayalon, Israeli diplomat and politician who currently serves as Deputy Foreign Minister, during an interview on March 18, 2012 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

An Israeli official on Thursday attacked the International Olympic Committee after it apparently refused to allow a minute's silence at the start of this year's games in memory of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches massacred by Palestinian militants in the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon had asked the IOC to commemorate those killed on the 40th anniversary of their deaths.

In his written response, IOC President Jacques Rogge did not specifically address the request of a minute's silence, The Associated Press reported. 

Instead, he said he would personally attend the Israeli delegation's traditional tribute to the victims in London and pointed out that the IOC has officially paid tribute to the victims' memory before. "Please rest assured that, within the Olympic family, the memory of the victims of the terrible massacre in Munich in 1972 will never fade away," Rogge wrote. 

'This tragedy is yours alone'
On Thursday Ayalon said the reply was "unacceptable as it rejects the central principles of global fraternity on which the Olympic ideal is supposed to rest," The Times of Israel reported.

“The terrorist murders of the Israeli athletes were not just an attack on people because of their nationality and religion; it was an attack on the Olympic Games and the international community,” he said.

“This rejection told us as Israelis that this tragedy is yours alone and not a tragedy within the family of nations," he added. "This is a very disappointing approach and we hope that this decision will be overturned so the international community as one can remember, reflect and learn the appropriate lesson from this dark stain on Olympic history.”

IOC spokesman Mark Adams told The Associated Press that the Olympic body takes the issue "very, very seriously," but felt that an event at the Guildhall venue in London was "the most appropriate way to pay tribute to the athletes during the games in London." 

The 1972 Munich Olympics were the first games held in Germany since the 1936 edition in Berlin, and were meant to erase the images of the competition held under the Nazi regime. 

Will $95-million cable car be ready for Olympics?

But in the second week of the Munich Games, eight members of the Black September militant group penetrated the minimally secured Olympic Village and took Israeli team members hostage. A day later, all 11 were dead. 

German police killed five of the eight assassins during a failed rescue attempt. The games were briefly suspended.

The 2005 Steven Spielberg movie Munich gives a fictionalized account of secret attempts by the Israeli government to track down and kill those it thought responsible for the killings.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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