How To Get Around in London

One of my favourite things in any city is to wander the streets, see the people, look at the shops and generally watch life! In London, with its huge variety and colour and culture on show, this is particularly fun. But it is a pretty big place, so I wanted to talk about some of the more interesting ways that you can get around the UK's capital city.

Hop-on Hop-off Bus

These open-top red buses are a popular mainstay in the tourism industry in London, but for very good reason. They allow people to get on and off at one of 60 stops all around the city, and can determine for themselves exactly how long they want to spend in one place. The tours also come with audio commentary and can be listened to in 11 languages. The only real piece of advice you need for these buses is to think about the weather. I have been on these buses twice, and the second was a beautiful spring day, with some glorious (and rare) British sunshine helping me to enjoy a day's sightseeing. The first time was being stuck in traffic on the top floor of a crowded hop-on bus, whilst it was raining... not fantastic. But I'm so glad that i went back and tried again, and was luckier with the weather. It's an experience I'm very happy to have had.

Black Cab

Another real backbone transport method in the city is the black cabs. These are seen as so eponymously British that the Spice Girls arrived at their London Olympics show in five of them in 2012. The drivers of these taxis have to pass a test called 'The Knowledge' in which they must essentially memorise every singe street, path, route and possible sign in the entire city. It sounds like one of the most difficult exams in the world, however it will mean that they are incredible at getting you from A to B in record time! You can find more than 20,000 of these taxis around London, so you'll never have to wait too long.

Tube or Underground

Finally if the overground routes are taking too long, a bit too congested or a bit too expensive, there is always the London Underground train, known as the 'tube' in London. It was the first underground train system in the world (built in 1863) and now carries 1.4 billion people are the city every year. That's almost five million people per day! You can travel around the city for an entire day in the central area (Zone 1) for £6.80 (€7.74)