Making the Most of London with the Tube
London is Europe’s largest city, and together with New York and Tokyo is one of the three largest cities on our planet. London is one of the most popular destinations in the world for holidays and short breaks, but it’s a city that stands on both banks of the River Thames, and covers an area of 720 square miles, so it can be quite daunting to explore as a tourist!
There are hundreds of things to do and see in London ? Piccadily Circus, the equivalent of New York’s Times Square; Big Ben, the worlds largest four-faced, chiming clock; the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, the official residence of the British monarch; Trafalgar Square, which has Nelson Column at it’s centre; and Madame Tussauds, where you can go to ‘meet’ all your favourite celebs ? albeit in wax form! Then there’s Westminister Abbey, a beautiful gothic church which is the coronation and burial site for British monarchs; you can see star shows at London Planetarium, come face to face with dinosaurs and a blue whale at the British Museum?. But that’s just to name a few – there’s also St Pauls Cathedral, London Zoo, the Tate Modern, Tower Bridge, Hyde Park?.the list goes on and on. Not to mention the hundreds of restaurants, nightclubs, concerts and the West End for theatre and musicals ?you can even see the whole of London from a massive ferris wheel – the London Eye. So with so much to fit in, how does one get from one place to the next? As well as its many attractions, London is also famous for its Black Cabs. Although the famous Black Cab does not always have to be black (!), you are guaranteed that your driver will be one of the best taxi drivers in the world ? they are each required to undergo a rigorous test of their knowledge, and it can take up to four years for them to be awarded their coveted badge. However the one way to really feel like a local is to use the world’s oldest underground railway ? the London Underground, or ‘The Tube’ as its called by Londoners. By route length it is the longest metro system in the world, with 250 miles of track, 11 lines and 270 stations! Ok, it has to be admitted, if being in Europe’s biggest city for the first time is pretty overwhelming, then one would imagine that the Tube might sound pretty intimidating. Don’t worry though, there may a couple of things that will make your journeys on the Tube far more enjoyable. Firstly, Oyster Cards enable you to travel all over the city at the lowest fare – you put money on it so you can pay as you go on the buses, the Tube, trams, the London Overground, and some National rail services, plus there is a special Oyster card available for overseas visitors. The second thing that makes travelling on the London tube a great deal easier is Metazone. Metazone.co.uk is the tube travellers bible, and perfect for anyone new to London ? it lets you know the Tube station closest to your hotel, or closest to an attraction, and it enables you to plan your Tube journey, and find out about Tube delays. Hopefully that will make your trip to London a lot more straightforward – all that’s left to say is, have an absolutely great time!