Spring is here and travellers and tourists will soon be arriving in London in ever bigger numbers. For the first time visitor there’s a myriad of places to go and things to see once they get here especially if the trip is only short, maybe over an extended weekend. Here’s a quick look at some of the things people coming to London for the first time might want to know about or fit into their schedule.
Flights and Hotels
You’ve booked the airfare to London but what about the hotel room. The accomodation available in London is extensive and varied, not the cheapest, if fact expensive at the higher end but there are deals if you do a bit of searching. Before you try out the hotel bed for size you’ll have to get there, probably from one of the five London Airports, either Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton or London City.
Transport
Each has good links to central either by road, Underground or train. There are ten major railway station terminus in London and there’s a comprehensive public transport network of buses and Tube trains throughout the city which is pretty straight forward to use although not the cheapest in Europe. Buy an Oyster card or Travelcard to get the best value. Using an Oyster card is easy, and is the best option for nearly all visitors.
What to Do
London has enough things to do and places to see to keep anyone’s schedule full during a visit. First timers might want to take a ride on the London Eye, the 443ft high rotating wheel on the banks of the River Thames that gives panoramic views over the city including Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament just across the river. London has some fantastic museums, the majority free to enter, world class art galleries such as the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and Tate Modern, as well as numerous historical and modern places of interest.
Shopping is a major activity in London with an ever changing range of things to buy and places to buy them from the chics designer shops to local London markets.
Entertainment
Once you’ve seen the sights and spent all you want in the shops London has plenty to offer in the way of entertainment from some of the best theatre in the world, cutting edge clubs and music venues where you can catch most of the world’s top groups and bands performing at some point. Comedy clubs also offer an alternative to loud music.
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