Visiting London

[spanman]

As per title.

Visiting London for the first time for many years. Doing all the touristy stuff for daughter and her fiance, they've never been and Mrs wants to see Les Mis. Staying central - Bank.

What's the cheapest way for lots of travel around the place?

Thanks.

[DEATH]

As per title.

Visiting London for the first time for many years. Doing all the touristy stuff for daughter and her fiance, they've never been and Mrs wants to see Les Mis. Staying central - Bank.

What's the cheapest way for lots of travel around the place?

Thanks.

Maybe a 7 day travel card. Checkout the zones and plan where and when you want to go to work out what you need.

http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/help-centre/ticket-comparison.html

[Guest unfunded_liability]

As per title.

Visiting London for the first time for many years. Doing all the touristy stuff for daughter and her fiance, they've never been and Mrs wants to see Les Mis. Staying central - Bank.

What's the cheapest way for lots of travel around the place?

Thanks.

For sheer flexibility and economy the daily/weekly London Travel Card would be hard to beat: http://www.londontravelpass.com/

[onlyme2]

As per title.

Visiting London for the first time for many years. Doing all the touristy stuff for daughter and her fiance, they've never been and Mrs wants to see Les Mis. Staying central - Bank.

What's the cheapest way for lots of travel around the place?

Thanks.

Maybe a day travelcard limited rather than oyster.

http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/help-centre/ticket-comparison.html

[spanman]

Maybe a 7 day travel card. Checkout the zones and plan where and when you want to go to work out what you need.

http://visitorshop.tfl.gov.uk/help-centre/ticket-comparison.html

Thanks.

That do bus and tube?

Edit: Just checked out the link. Thanks.

[MrPin]

For sheer flexibility and economy the daily/weekly London Travel Card would be hard to beat: http://www.londontravelpass.com/

Probably is! I haven;t been to London since the Great Fire! Getting on the "tube" is very familiar to the Welsh, as all the lifts and escalators go down, not up, and there is no hard hat requirement, so it will feel like a holiday, albeit one with three quid cups of coffee!

[happy_renting]

Probably is! I haven;t been to London since the Great Fire! Getting on the "tube" is very familiar to the Welsh, as all the lifts and escalators go down, not up, and there is no hard hat requirement, so it will feel like a holiday, albeit one with three quid cups of coffee!

I saw some Welsh in London once! They were pointing at street lights and aeroplanes!

[spanman]

How do you lot know I'm Welsh?

[MrPin]

How do you lot know I'm Welsh?

You have never been to London, and there is a bridge in the way!

It was just a guess!

[happy_renting]

Actually, I think the best way to visit London is by using Google Streetview.

[StainlessSteelCat]

As per title.

Visiting London for the first time for many years. Doing all the touristy stuff for daughter and her fiance, they've never been and Mrs wants to see Les Mis. Staying central - Bank.

What's the cheapest way for lots of travel around the place?

Thanks.

If you are staying in Bank, you'll only need a travelcard which covers zones 1 and 2. Nearly everything you'd want to see as a tourist is in zones 1 & 2 too.

[worzel]

If you want to do the open top bus but want to avoid the £25+ day ticket, just ask for a local fare and do a few stops, it's a fraction of the price. Don't be fobbed off by the ticket salesman

http://www.theoriginaltour.com/tour-information/local-bus-services.htm

[The Ayatollah Buggeri]

Within central London itself, walk.

I was born and brought up in Wimbledon in a single-parent household without a car. My mother is a native Londoner, who quickly taught me that with a quick glance at an A to Z (a Google Maps printout nowadays), the most efficient way of getting anywhere in the city centre was to take the train to Waterloo (or, if you were feeling lazy, thence from Waterloo East to Charing Cross, as this was included in the ticket), and your own two feet from there to your final destination. Waterloo to King's Cross (north-south) or Buckingham Palace to the Tower of London (east-west) can both be done in 30-40 minutes. There are some slightly outlying tourist spots (e.g. the Kensington museums) that you probably would want to bus or tube it to, but staying above ground and on foot both enables you to explore the lesser-known spots of the city itself, and gives you some painless exercise.

One of the few things I don't like about living in the US is the deeply entrenched belief that venturing beyond your front door necesitates the use of a motor vehicle. Shortly after movng here I announced my intention to walk up to Trader Joe's (1.2 miles from the house, according to Google Maps) to buy a bottle of grapefruit juice. My wife looked at me as if I'd just announced my intention to sodomise the cat, and, once she'd recovered, implored me to have my mobile (oops, sorry, cellphone) with me at all times and to call her immediately if I was shot, arrested or encountered similar difficulties. A very pleasant early evening hour's walk and shop later, she greeted me as if she really didn't expect me to make it back alive.

[(Blizzard)]

The easiest way to get the full London experience is to listen to a foreign language radio station, with the volume turned up to 11, whilst shovelling money into a fire.

If you absolutely must visit then walking's pretty underrated, but Bank to Les Miserables is about 40 mins, so get an Oyster card and use the tube. There are machines in stations which are very easy to use, but avoid the rush-hours.

Also, get one of the London travel apps. Citymapper is my current favourite.

[happy_renting]

Can you hire Segways in London?

Boris Segways, perhaps. I can definitely imagine Boris on a Segway.

Milking it for publicity. Or just bumping into things.

[Guest eight]

As per title.

Visiting London for the first time for many years. Doing all the touristy stuff for daughter and her fiance, they've never been and Mrs wants to see Les Mis. Staying central - Bank.

What's the cheapest way for lots of travel around the place?

Thanks.

Coincidentally doing exactly the same thing. Although we're staying in Buckinghamshire and training it into Euston every day. Initial investigations show that Zone 1 travelcard is all that's needed for what we want to do. Heading over to Legoland and Windsor for the end of next week.

Any good recommendations for not getting stung on food?

[SpewLabour]

As per title.

Visiting London for the first time for many years. Doing all the touristy stuff for daughter and her fiance, they've never been and Mrs wants to see Les Mis. Staying central - Bank.

What's the cheapest way for lots of travel around the place?

Thanks.

Depends how far you want to go in London. If you want the centre, you could buy a Zone 1 travelcard, or get an Oyster. Do NOT buy single paper tickets as they're horrendously expensive. Also watch Oystercards - they sometimes don't fully work when you touch in/out leading to a massive hit on your money, and you have the hassle of trying to reclaim it. (this happens everytime I go to Stratford - I now have 2 Oystercards, one for the inbound and one for the outbound journey. For some reason the machine requires you to have a minimum stay time if you use the same card otherwise it goes haywire).

Your best bet is a paper one-day travelcard. They're slightly more expensive than the same travelcard on an Oyster (about 50p), but you don't have to make sure you touch in/out or run the risk of the machines not working correctly. Plus if you decide to go further out one day you only have to buy one day's worth of the extra zones. They're still useable of buses and national rail as well. Get them after 9.30 am and it's off-peak.

Also don't forget that in central London you can easily walk between stations.

Go to the TFL website - there's a list of prices available for you to download.

[thecrashingisles]

The easiest way to get the full London experience is to listen to a foreign language radio station, with the volume turned up to 11, whilst shovelling money into a fire.

Do you do motivational speaking?

[crashmonitor]

I always do it on foot. You don't get London by being teleported around by the tube and pop out of the ground. The whole thing is a showcase and if you travel on transport you miss 90% of it. You need to be pretty fit, my July circuitous route from St.Pancras to Kensington and back along the South Bank clocked up over 20 miles on a pedo with all the zig-zagging on route.

[SHERWICK]

Within central London itself, walk.

I was born and brought up in Wimbledon in a single-parent household without a car. My mother is a native Londoner, who quickly taught me that with a quick glance at an A to Z (a Google Maps printout nowadays), the most efficient way of getting anywhere in the city centre was to take the train to Waterloo (or, if you were feeling lazy, thence from Waterloo East to Charing Cross, as this was included in the ticket), and your own two feet from there to your final destination. Waterloo to King's Cross (north-south) or Buckingham Palace to the Tower of London (east-west) can both be done in 30-40 minutes. There are some slightly outlying tourist spots (e.g. the Kensington museums) that you probably would want to bus or tube it to, but staying above ground and on foot both enables you to explore the lesser-known spots of the city itself, and gives you some painless exercise.

One of the few things I don't like about living in the US is the deeply entrenched belief that venturing beyond your front door necesitates the use of a motor vehicle. Shortly after movng here I announced my intention to walk up to Trader Joe's (1.2 miles from the house, according to Google Maps) to buy a bottle of grapefruit juice. My wife looked at me as if I'd just announced my intention to sodomise the cat, and, once she'd recovered, implored me to have my mobile (oops, sorry, cellphone) with me at all times and to call her immediately if I was shot, arrested or encountered similar difficulties. A very pleasant early evening hour's walk and shop later, she greeted me as if she really didn't expect me to make it back alive.

You can easily get to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and St Katherine's Docks from Bank. But also at St Pauls cross the Millennium bridge to the Tate Modern then walk along South Bank to Westminster. Cross back over the Thames and head up Birdcage Walk through St James' Park, Green Park and Hyde Park to the Royal Albert Hall and the Kensington museums!

[crashmonitor]

You can easily get to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge and St Katherine's Docks from Bank. But also at St Pauls cross the Millennium bridge to the Tate Modern then walk along South Bank to Westminster. Cross back over the Thames and head up Birdcage Walk through St James' Park, Green Park and Hyde Park to the Royal Albert Hall and the Kensington museums!

Indeed why would you not want to do Hyde Park, if visiting the more distant tourist destination of Kensington. You just see a lot more on foot. Alternatively cut through Belgravia and see the billionaire belt.

[SpewLabour]

Indeed why would you not want to do Hyde Park, if visiting the more distant tourist destination of Kensington. You just see a lot more on foot.

You could pay a visit to the Romanian settlement round Marble Arch and take in the sights and smells.... lovely!

[The Generation Game]

Coincidentally doing exactly the same thing. Although we're staying in Buckinghamshire and training it into Euston every day. Initial investigations show that Zone 1 travelcard is all that's needed for what we want to do. Heading over to Legoland and Windsor for the end of next week.

Any good recommendations for not getting stung on food?

What kind of thing did you have in mind? There's so much choice and food available for any budget.

Perhaps an idea of cuisine and location might help a bit.

[StainlessSteelCat]

Agree with the previous recommendations of walking or even cycling (if you are feeling brave). The walk from Bank to the West end is a decent stroll though - and walking may take up precious sightseeing/attraction visiting time.

Any good recommendations for not getting stung on food?

Food is actually cheap in London (one of the only things that is) - and very varied.

Gaby's Deli - 30 Charing Cross road - is cheap for central London, as is the Wetherspoons on Whitehall.

http://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/gabys

The difference in star rating between Time Out's reviewer and the public is telling - and tells you all you need to know.

Chinatown also worth a look. Further east? Brick Lane and in particular the Bagel Bakery. Also look out for cheap Chinese all you can eat buffets - called Tai(?). The food is vegetarian (even though some looks like very convincing meat) and not always fantastic (depending on time of day/chef) but worth a look if you really want to fill up for little.

If the weather is good, then grabbing stuff from Sainsburys/M&S/Pret and sitting out in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden or one of the parks is as good an option as any though.

[gilf]

A mix of walk and bus is the best way in my opinion. Although you do want to pay for the bus via Oyster so would get one and stick £20 or so on it.

Tube is far too expensive for a short journey, minimum price on the tube is £2.10, bus is £1.40

Unless you are going miles then I'd tend to walk.

You basically need to work out how often you think you will be on a bus, tube. Travel cards are good if you will be getting the bus/tube a couple of times a day but well worth calculating it before hand.