Local Life London - PDF Guide

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Upcoming events in London

Warehouse Of The World 1840 - 1939
From Jan 1st 2000 until Jan 19th 2038 , on
Museum of London Docklands No.1 Warehouse West India Quay London E14 4AL

More on www.local-life.com/london/events ›

Best rated restaurants in London

Ping Pong Christopher's
45 Great Marlborough Street 18 Wellington Street, Covent Garden

St. John Tentazioni

26 St. John Street 2, Mill Street

Princi M Manze
135 Wardour Street 87 Tower Bridge Road

Brick Lane Beigel Bake Wahaca

159 Brick Lane 19-23 Charlotte Street

More on www.local-life.com/london/restaurants ›

Most popular pubs & clubs in London

London Cru Old Blue Last
21/27 Seagrave Road 38 Great Eastern Street

Café Oto Freud

18-22 Ashwin Street 198 Shaftesbury Avenue

Corsica Studios Princess Louise

4/5 Elephant Road 208-209 High Holborn

Ministry of Sound De Hems

103 Gaunt St 11 Macclesfield Street
More on www.local-life.com/london/pubs ›

Best hotels in London

The Soho Hotel W London
4 Richmond Mews 10 Wardour Street, Leicester Square

Grosvenor House Dean Street Townhouse

Park Lane 69 – 71 Dean Street

Tune Westminster St Pancras Renaissance

118-120 Westminster Bridge Road Euston Road

B+B Belgravia Clink78

64-66 Ebury Street 78 King’s Cross Road

More on www.local-life.com/london/hotels ›

Essential services in London

Stansted Airport London Underground
Bassingbourn Rd, Essex Across London

Heathrow Airport Gatwick Airport

Nelson Road, Hounslow West Sussex

Emirates Air Line Luton Airport

Airport Way, Luton, Bedfordshire

Barclays Cycle Hire British Library

Across London St Pancras, 96 Euston Road

More on www.local-life.com/london/services ›

Need some culture?

British Museum Tate Modern
Great Russell Street Bankside

Buckingham Palace Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace Rd Dean’s Yard

Tower of London St Paul’s Cathedral

Tower Hill St Paul’s

Victoria & Albert Museum National Gallery

Cromwell Road Trafalgar Square

More on www.local-life.com/london/culture ›
Travel tips

Travel Smart
The first thing you should do upon arriving in London is to purchase an Oyster card. These contactless cards allow
you to use London’s public transportation at the cheapest rate, and with the simple pay-as-you-go system you
never need to worry about having exact change. Pick up a card at any tube station for £5 – you can return the card
at the end of your trip and get the £5 back. Talk about hassle-free travel!

Tipping
Tipping in London is not as widespread as in America, for example. Here, a small tip is really only expected in cabs
and restaurants. Make sure to check your bill at the end of a meal, as many restaurants have begun automatically
tacking on an “optional” 10-15% tip to the bill. Convenient in some ways, but you don’t want to end up paying the
tip twice!

Closing Time
Unlike much of Europe, most of London’s pubs close at 11pm. While this once applied to all bars, rules have been
relaxed in recent years and some pubs and bars have licences to serve alcohol as late as 2 or 3am (usually on
weekends). Nightclubs are a different matter of course, with most opening around 11pm and saying open all night.

Staying in Touch
London’s famous red phone booths are a popular subject of tourist’s photos, but with the prevalence of mobile
phones, fewer and fewer telephone boxes are actually being used. The best way to stay in touch is to simply use
your own mobile phone – just make sure your phone model will work in the UK, and that you have switched on
roaming (but not data roaming!) before you leave your home country. Or, skip roaming charges completely and
pick up a SIM card at any of the countless phone shops across London. A pay-as-you-go SIM is cheap, easy to buy,
and means you can even use a little bit of data – perfect for instantly sharing those red phone box photos!

Getting around
By Public Transport
All public transportation in London falls under the umbrella of Transport for London (TFL), which organizes
everything from the Underground to buses across the city. The Underground (Tube) is the most convenient way to
get around London, but there are also plenty of buses as well, not to mention trams, river boats, the DLR
(Docklands Light Railway), and the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme.
The easiest and cheapest way to use public transportation in London is to purchase an Oyster card, available at
any tube station. You must pay a £5 refundable deposit, and can then choose to either travel via pay-as-you-go (by
topping up your card with credit) or via a travelcard (day, week, or monthly pass). For relatively short visits to
London, the simplest way to travel is via pay-as-you-go – the Oyster card system calculates a daily price cap on all
travels dependent on the zones you visit. This means that no matter how much you travel in one day, the price is
capped at the equivalent cost of a one-day travelcard. Smart!
When travelling on the tube, you will need to touch your Oyster card on the turnstiles going in and out of the
station. When travelling by bus, you only need to touch in when boarding the bus. As for topping up your Oyster
card, this can be easily done at any Tube station, or at any shop displaying the TFL logo.

By Taxi
London’s famous black cabs are a big part of the city’s identity, and it’s a fun experience for visitors too. And with
seating for up to 5 passengers, it’s a great way for families to get around. Drivers are extremely knowledgeable of
the city, so you can be sure of getting to your destination in no time. If the cost of a black cab is a little steep for
your budget, another option is a minicab. Minicabs are operated by private companies, and while they can’t be
hailed on the street there are several easy ways to find a local minicab company and order a car, such as the
Cabwise service which can be downloaded as a free smartphone app. Minicabs do not operate on a meter, so make
sure to agree on a fare before you travel.

By Bicycle
Cycling has become more and more popular in London lately, with many commuters skipping the tube and jumping
on two wheels instead. The simplest way to give it a go is by grabbing a bicycle from the many Barclays Cycle Hire
stations across the city. But do make sure to stay alert when cycling through the city centre, as roads can be very
narrow, and traffic extremely busy. Keep an eye out for pedestrians, buses, cars, and other cyclists. For a calmer
route, take your bike to a cycle-friendly park such as Victoria Park, or cycle along picturesque Regent’s canal.

By Car
Generally speaking, travelling around London is not a great idea. Most Londoners do not even own cars and like in
any big city, traffic can be a nightmare and parking is extremely expensive. On top of it all, anyone driving in
central London will need to pay a Congestion Charge. All areas where this charge applies are marked with a sign
displaying the letter C. Your best bet is to leave your car at the hotel (or better yet, at home!), and explore London
by public transportation - like a local!