Landmarks, Attractions & Events
West End Walk 4comments Staff Hi Roger. The book has photographs and reviews of the all the landmarks and attractions. It doesn’t have any maps
Chinatown 9comments Staff Hi. Just walk down Charing Cross Road, turn right into Shaftesbury Avenue, and then left when you get to Gerrard Place. It’s not very far
Eid in the Square – Muslim Festival in Trafalgar Square 2comments Staff Hi Dan. It’s on the 21st April – city-guide.london/events/?p=49480
The Colonel’s Review 4comments Lisa What are the blue ’circles’ on the browband of Prince William’s horse?
St. Martin-in-the-Fields 8comments Nadia Cowen On my trips in the 70s, 80s, and possibly later than that, I remember the bells of St. Martin’s, which certain times of day, rang for maybe 5-10 minutes and it was so beautiful, I would stop everything to stand and listen. But I haven’t heard them in at least 15 years. Are they still ringing but only once a day? Or not at all? The bells were quite loud and I’ve been thinking maybe they’re now considered too intrusive or annoying. I truly hope not!
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2comments Staff Hi Rob. Entries are closed at the moment, but the details can be found here – nhm.ac.uk/wpy/competition
St. Paul’s Cathedral 12comments TimJolly When I go to a service at St. Paul’s, I always think of John Donne (’No man is an island…’ AND ’Ask not for whom the bell tolls…’ BOTH in the same poem) preaching here – though admittedly in the previous building!
Buckingham Palace Exclusive Tour 1comments Batbileg Tserendorj I have never been in UK. My first time visit in London will be during December 10- December 20th 2023. I would love to experience Buckingham palace.
Greenwich Park 7comments Staff Hi Paul. It’s step free if you walk up The Avenue, which is a proper road with pavements that cuts through the middle of the park. It goes all the way up to the observatory. But if you want to climb up the path in front of the hill then from memory I think there might be a couple of shallow steps. It’s also very steep (a lot steeper than it looks)
Buses, Taxis & Tube Trains
Trains 74comments Staff Hi Greeshma. It depends how many journeys you make each day, and which zones those journeys are in. It’s possible that a zone 1-4 weekly travelcard might work out cheaper, but if you’re making 3 or more journeys on five of the days then you might be better off with an oyster card instead, because then you’ll be paying the ‘daily cap’ each day. There’s not a lot in it though, because you also have to add a deposit on top when you buy a new oyster card, so if it was me i would probably just go for the easy option and get a weekly travelcard. (Where are you staying? I’ve stayed in the Ibis near Wembley Stadium)
Highbury & Islington station 6comments Staff Hi Nonie. There’s nothing mentioned under TFL’s planned works, so the stairs should be fine – tfl.gov.uk/status-updates/stations-lifts-and-escalators-works-and-closures#h
North Greenwich station 21comments Staff Hi Trudie. The last train from North Greenwich towards Canning Town on Thursday night/Friday morning is not until 1AM
Farringdon station 4comments Cam Do I need to use stairs/escalators or lift to exit Farringdon station from an over ground train from Cambridge
Hammersmith station 22comments Staff Hi Elizabeth. You don’t say what line you’re changing from (there’s a few of them), but if you look at the ’Changing train platforms’ section then it describes it all. The Circle and Hammersmith/City lines at Hammersmith are completely separate from the District and Piccadilly lines at Hammersmith – they are two different stations – so if you’re changing between them then you’ll have to come out and cross over the road.
Visitor Oyster cards 79comments Staff Hi Malcom. As far as we are aware, your disabled railcard will get you a 1/3 off single oyster fares (off-peak times only, which your journey times are). And the zone 1-6 oyster fare to heathrow is currently £5,60. (Journeys to heathrow are always charged at the peak rate, even during off-peak hours.) But that’s on the London Underground, not the Elizabeth line. The Elizabeth line to heathrow has its own price – £10,20 – and we don’t think your railcard gets a discount on that because it’s not listed in their FAQs. You might want to query that with them, otherwise you’d have to take the Piccadilly line – disabledpersons-railcard.co.uk/help/faqs/validityusage/
Greenwich station 8comments Staff Hi Dylan. I would get the Piccadilly line to Green Park, then the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf, then the DLR to Greenwich… or the Elizabeth line to Bond Street, then the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf and DLR to Greenwich again. But they’re both pretty long.
Travelcards 145comments Staff Hi Ron. You need to avoid zone 1, so it will make the journey a lot longer. If you want to do it then you could change onto the Overground at Gunnersbury and tap the pink reader there (don’t go through any ticket barriers, because that would end your journey)
London Bridge station 10comments Staff Hi Jonah. I’m not sure what you mean. If it’s a single train ticket, then no. But if it’s a travelcard for zones 1-2 (they don’t sell them for zone 1 on its own), then yes
Finsbury Park station 2comments Staff HI. There is a lift between the platforms
Child train fares 51comments Staff Hi Liz. If it’s just one day then the easiest thing to do is to get her a one day travelcard. If it’s for longer then you might be better off getting her an oyster card and having the ‘young visitor discount’ applied to it. But it all depends on how many days you’re staying and how many trips you’re making
Russell Square station 4comments Staff Hi Helen. Yes, you can use it all over London
Aldgate East station 17comments Staff Hi Wendy. we’re pretty sure it comes out onto Whitechapel Road (are you doing a Jack the Ripper tour?) from memory the other one comes out into a subway which leads onto petticoat lane
How to check your Oyster balance 8comments Staff Hi Natalie. You could create an account now and link your card to it, but only if its a blue one. You cant do it with visitor oyster cards. To check it the other ways you’d have to actually be in London
Hotels, Hostels & B&Bs
Strand Palace Hotel 6comments Staff Hi Pam. i would definitely get the piccadilly line and walk from Covent Garden. Its only a five minute walk, and you can walk through the centre of the piazza which will be nice. embankment is just as close, but changing trains would be a hassle. Although you would get a quick look at trafalgar square and nelsons column as you walk past charing cross
Hotels near Aldwych 2comments Staff Hi Sherrie. It’s close to some of the attractions. You can have a nice walk to Bank and the Royal Exchange, and across the Millennium Bridge to the Tate Modern and Shakespeares Globe, but the areas around the West End, Trafalgar Square and Tower Bridge are about 1 and a half miles away. Big Ben and Buckingham Palace about 2 miles. All easy enough to walk, but you’ll probably end up getting buses to most places. there are loads of buses going down Fleet Street and up towards the City. I would happily stay there if it was me
The Ritz 6comments Staff Hi Maggie. Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy it. I stayed there for a couple of nights on my own and I tried the Rivoli Bar, breakfast in the morning, meal in the evening… all by myself. All the staff are super polite and treat everyone like they’re the most important person there. You will be spoiled… and everyone dresses up for breakfast
Premier Inn Leicester Square 3comments Staff Thanks Vicky. I definitely recommend the hotel for the price so you should like it. It’s in the perfect spot
Thistle Holborn 1comments S Mulholland We certainly recommend this hotel based on our experience. The inside is lovely and the staff were wonderful and couldn’t have been more friendly to us. Thank you