
London transport guide
To walk the streets of London, you need many hours in the gym. Here you will spend a lot of calories and pull a muscle. That is why you must know how to choose when, where and what transport to use at all times. With this guide, I explain how to make it simple. And yes, I also want you to walk, but in moderation: London is immense! Continue reading this post on the Escort Service Website.
The capital of England is enormous. More than 8 million people live in its 1,500 square kilometres of extension. Many tourist attractions are concentrated in the centre, but between some museums and others, and from one park to the next that you want to visit, you have a good run. Do not be alarmed. To make everything easy on your trip: I have prepared this London transport guide for you. With all the practical information and a few tips.
On all my trips to London, he ended up smashing the odometer. Without realizing it, you walk a lot, although you will also need transportation to move from one neighbourhood to another. My favourite is the metro, although depending on the time and the excursion, I like to combine it with other options such as the train and Uber. If you need to refresh everything you can do in this city, look at this guide to what to see in London.
I have already told you in the first paragraph about the colossal dimensions of this city. That is why it seems so important to me to choose the area where your hotel is located well. On my last trip, I stayed in the Southwark area, next to the Tate Modern and the Millennium Bridge, and a few minutes from the famous Borough Market. The perfect location, but the Citizen M London Bankside is also fabulous inside. I recommend it without hesitation.
London transport guide
Something essential before moving forward with this transport guide: in London and the rest of England, maintenance work is very, very common. Above all, on Sundays, holidays, and the rest of the week. Use Google Maps to verify the changes in the lines and always check the entrance of the metro and train stations and at the bus stops for notifications. Next, I will talk about the primary means of transport, public and private, in this English city. But first I’ll start with your airports.
London airports
You usually arrive here by plane, although you can also do it by ferry and through the Eurotunnel that connects the British Isles with the continent. In London, you have up to 6 airports:
- The classic of the English city. One of the airports with the most international passenger traffic in the world. It was the first one I used, and I still find it very comfortable and easy to use for the traveller. It has five terminals.
- London City. This is the City airport, designed for business trips. It has only one terminal. It is located less than 5 kilometres from Canary Wharf.
- It is located northwest of London. This will be your destination if you have bought a ticket with a low-cost line. I quite liked it. It’s bigger than it seems: don’t be fooled and pay close attention to the time to mark that will take you walking between terminals and doors.
- It is the second largest in Britain after Heathrow. Located in the south of the city. It has two terminals, north and south.
- It is the newest and the one that is farthest from the city centre.
- Almost all flights here are from low-cost airlines connecting England with southern Europe.
This transport point in London seems so essential to me that I wrote an exclusive article dedicated to this topic. Although you have many buses, trains and even taxi options, the most comfortable thing is booking a private transfer. I travel with Choix. They usually have the best price, and you can cancel within 24 hours. I used it in Luton, to and from Luton, and it was an excellent experience.
Metro
It seems to me the best way to get around the city. I quite like the network of lines in London, and it is beneficial to move between the different tourist areas. It’s expensive, I’m not going to deny it, but a few paragraphs later I’ll tell you how to save a lot of pounds.
The London “Tube” —or “Underground”, as it appears at its stops— has 12 lines —although there is another one, DLR (Docklands Light Railway), integrated into the system, with which you get to Greenwich and the London cable car— throughout nine transport zones. The usual thing is that your journeys are always in the first 2.
Generally, the London Underground works from 5 in the morning until midnight. Although it varies depending on the line and the route, it can take a little longer. The frequencies are usually pretty good. On weekends, the service starts later, at 6:30 am.
Keep in mind that on Sundays, there are usually maintenance works. At the entrance of most stations, there is usually a sign indicating possible incidents by line. Peak hours work from Monday to Friday, from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00.
IMPORTANT: children up to 10 years of age do not pay.
You can also get a card. You have the Travelcard and the Oyster. I’ll explain it to you a little further down.
Bus
You can’t fault buses in London: there are almost 7,000 operating on 700 routes with nearly 20,000 stops. If you don’t get on a red double-decker bus, you don’t want to. Trying to get oriented with a map can be complicated. If you take a bus, I recommend you look at the nearest stop to see what connections it has. Although without a doubt, the easiest and fastest way is to create a route with Google Maps.