Getting about in a city the size of London can be
daunting but if you learn how to use it, London has an excellent public transport
system consisting of the famous double-decker buses, black cabs, a comprehensive
rail network connecting the home counties and, of course, the famous London
Underground.
The London Underground (known as the tube) is by far the easiest and most
time-efficient means of travel.
The network is divided into 6 zones in rings from the centre (zones 1 and
2 making up Central London).
You can buy tickets either daily, weekly or monthly
and these entitle you to unlimited travel on the London rail and bus network.
The cheapest tickets are monthly and prevent you having to queue. Ticket
costs vary depending on how many zones you need to travel through. A weekly
travelcard for zones 1 and 2 costs from approx £19.00 to an all zones weekly
ticket at approx £36.00.
The bus
network is very cheap as it is subsidised by the government in an attempt
to reduce the pollution in London. Outer London fares are fixed at just
70p while a journey to or from Central London will cost £1.
Another attempt to reduce pollution is the congestion charge, introduced
in 2003 by the Mayor of London. Beware, if you drive in or through central
London it is important to pay this charge on the day or in advance.
Planning your journey around London is easy on the Transport for London
website.
www.transportforlondon.gov.uk/tfl
We recommend that you purchase a copy of the London A-Z Street Directory.
Other useful travel websites.
www.streetmap.co.uk
www.multimap.co.uk
www.nationalexpress.co.uk
www.railtrack.co.uk
Travelling across Europe
London is an Ideal base to travel Europe with some of the world's most exciting
cities just hours away. you can fly directly form London Airports to almost
any desitnation in Europe or America. Below is a list of the airports surrounding
London and the cheaps airlines that will help you access the best of what
europe has to offer.
Airlines
Web Address
Organisation
Web Address
Eurostar
the Eurostar
is the new high-speed rail service linking London, Paris and Brussels and
is a fantastic gateway to the continent. Faster and cheaper (book
well in advance) that the traditional ferry crossings to calais, you
can be in Gare du NordParis in just 2hr15mins after leaving London Waterloo,
and all for around £60 including taxes.
Wherever
you want to go in the worl, London is a great place to base yourself. Transport
is available to all parts of the Uk, Europe and america so don't confine
yourself to one of the world's great cities when so many others are on offer.
