TIPS FOR VISITING LONDON (AND DON'T FALL IT)

London is lovely. I go out and it is as if suddenly a magic carpet appeared on which I feel transported to the bosom of beauty without lifting a finger.
- Virginia Woolf -

London has been, is and will be in fashion. Although at first glance it looks like a somewhat repellent city, in bad weather, gloomy, vain, and sometimes badly educated, it has something that attracts everyone who visits it. Maybe not at that moment, we can not call it love at first sight, it is something that is gradually entering until you win.

If you have also been bitten by the London bug you are sure that you can use a few tips for your trip and avoid some crap than another. Here are 10 tips for traveling to London:

If you want to start living your trip from the sofa or armchair of your house in advance, here we recommend a few movies and books to get carried away to current or past London:

Movies: Love Actually, Notting Hill, Match Point, Bridget Jones's Diary, The King's Speech, Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd, The Da Vinci Code, 28 days later, Sherlock Holmes.

Books: Stories of London (Enric Gonzalez), Oliver Twist (Charles Dickens), This is London (Sasek Minolslav), The Portrait of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wild), London (Virginia Wolf), London (Edward Rutherfurd), Story of Two cities (Charles Dickens), The great mystery of Bow (Israel Zangwill), Meanwhile in London (Rebeca Rus).

Although, of course, do not go to the English capital without having read our post of 60 things to see and do in London 🙂

Hold on, resist the temptation to do it at the airport. The ideal is to change in a exchange house in the city center, which is usually concentrated in the stations and in the tourist places. And do not do it in the first one you find, compare prices and decide after visiting several. Nor do they usually offer bargains in banks.

Our recommendation is to use the card for all the payments we can, change a little at the airport (a security amount), and make the fat change at the exchange house that offers the best rates.

Although in reality we always recommend using a card when traveling. Both for payments and to get money. We don't like to carry large amounts of cash on top, much less having to change it in destinations whose currency is not €. But watch out for commissions! Here we tell you the solutions to have money abroad. The ones we use are the Bnext card as the first option, and the N26 card in case the first fails. They are free and complement each other perfectly.

London is connected to the rest of the world through six airports: Heathrow, Gatwich, Luton, Standsted, London City and Southend. They arrive at several low cost airlines in one of which you have probably booked your trip. But don't you know how to get to central London from your airport? Here we tell you how to get to central London from each airport.

London's transport network is one of the most efficient in the world. It is formed by metro, bus, train, DLR light rail and ship. The best way to explore central London is on foot, but if you need transportation, the metro and the mythical red buses are the best option. Here are some tips on transport in London:

Zones: It is divided into 9 zones, of which 1 and 2 are the ones that concentrate the majority of tourist attractions in London and its accommodation.

Rate difference: there are two different rates to get around London depending on the schedule: Peak, more expensive, which is applied every day from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 16:00 to 19:00; and the Off-peak, the rest of the day. This differentiation does not apply to buses and trams.

Individual tickets VS bonuses: It will always be more profitable to travel using bonuses and cards than buying individual tickets. The transport card par excellence is the Oyster card, although there are also the one and seven day Travelcard and the one day vouchers for buses and trams.

Daily limit "daily cap": One of the advantages of traveling with the Oyster is that there is a daily spending limit, regardless of the times you use the transport. This limit is marked by the type of transport you have used (the cap for the subway and train are higher than those of the bus and tram). Keep in mind that the days count from 04:30 in the morning, so you will be within that limit until 04:29 in the morning of the next day. The limits are:

• Metro, DLR, Overground and train: £ 6.60.
• Tram and bus: £ 4.50.

Rates for children: there are special rates for children under 16 on all transports.

Online help: to plan the trip, locate your hotel and the most important attractions, you can take a look at the official website of Transport for London.

What is clear is that it is convenient to take out a transport voucher, since the individual tickets are very very expensive, It all depends on the duration of the trip: we see some cases:

As for the London Pass, we only see it advisable if you plan to visit a large number of attractions and the sum of the tickets will cost you a peak. Eye, some of the most important points of the city are not included. You also have the possibility of attaching an Oyster Travelcard transport card, valid during the same period, but they do not usually compensate if compared to the "daily cap" of a normal Oyster card.

Ok now what transport voucher it suits me and I decide for the London Pass? It always depends on the number of days and the amount of things you want to visit. We put several examples:

• From 1 to 5 days and preference for free attractions. Oyster Card.

• From 1 to 5 days and visiting all possible attractions. Oyster Card + London Pass 3 days. Take advantage of the 3 days of the London Pass to visit the paid sites and the other two to visit the free sites.

• From 6 to 7 days and preference for free attractions. Travelcard 7.

• From 6 to 7 days, visiting all possible attractions. Travelcard 7 + London Pass 3 days. Take advantage of the 3 days of the London Pass to visit the paid sites and the rest to visit the free sites.

They are a fundamental tool of the 21st century traveler. These are some applications that will help you in your visit to London:

- CityMapper. It is a very popular application that helps to move around the city by public transport. We indicate a point of origin and another of destinations and offers us all the possibilities we have to move.

- City Maps 2Go / Mtrip / Maps.me. These apps are very useful for creating our own custom maps and using them offline.

- Street Art London. One of our favorites, allows you to locate the works of street art closest to you (or anywhere), filter by artist, etc.

- OpenTable. Group endless restaurants in London, with reviews of people who have tried them, prices, maps, ratings ...

- Kabbee. Compare minicab companies to get the best rate. You have the possibility to reserve one from the position you are in and without having to call. And Hailo, similar to the previous one but with taxis.

- Vouchercloud: deals & offers. To get discount coupons in restaurants, pubs, museums ...

- Tonight Hotel. To get last minute rates in hotels. If you have already made a reservation but you can cancel it without cost, go taking a look from time to time to the offers that take out in this app and if the one that best suits appears, book and cancel the other one!

Another thing not, but London for this is the world capital! It offers lots of free attractions and you know "everything that is free is good". You can visit museums like the British Museum, the Tate Modern, the National Gallery or the Southbank Center, open parks and parks such as Hyde Park, Primrose Hill and Hampstead Heath, and attend events as typical as the Changing of the Guard in Buckingham Palace Also, if you agree on the “First Thursday”, you may have a “little gift” in the galleries and museums you visit 😉

Also don't forget the free tours Through the city, several companies offer them and, although they do not have a fixed price, a tip is always welcome (see this one).

In London you will have the opportunity to attend many free events scattered around the city, look here.

There are websites where to find real bargains: 50% menus, 2 × 1 and many more offers. Sign up before you go on a trip and review the existing promotions to enjoy luxury dining experiences with a backpacking pocket test.

• www.groupon.co.uk/browse/london
• www.skiddle.com/restaurants/London/
• www.vouchercloud.com/ with your app

And of course, the “happy hours“To find some sites you can take a look at this website.

London is a living city, it doesn't sleep, it doesn't rest, it doesn't stop evolving, it doesn't get bored! So if you want to squeeze it to the fullest, check the events scheduled for the days of your visit. You can take a look at one of these websites: calendar of events in London, and events in London.

Camden, Portobello, Bricklane, Borough ... in London the options to enjoy the street life to the fullest (and the odd purchase) are not lacking. In the city there are dozens of markets and, although most reach their peak on Sundays, during the week you can find many alternatives. Check which of them are open on the dates of your trip to London:

• Camden: Monday to Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• Portobello: the antiquarian market opens only on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. On Friday there are many open positions and throughout the week there are fruit and vegetable stands.

• Borough: Mondays and Tuesdays 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. there are some open positions, and the Full Market on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. : 00 to 17:00.

• Brick Lane: Sundays from 10: 00-17: 00.

• Old Spitafields Market: Sunday morning is when there is more movement, although it opens every day at 10:00.

• Bermondsey: Friday from 06:00 to 14:00.

• Columbia Road Market: Sundays from 8: 00-15: 00.

A good idea can be to make the most of your visit and make a complete tour of London with tickets, which will take you to know the most emblematic places of the city.

On the other hand, if you have enough days, it is ideal to take some of the best excursions from London.

To see all the tours (in Spanish) available in London (as well as getaways) we recommend the Civitatis page. We use it on many occasions and it is the most recommended for the Spanish market.

In London there are many more options than you think of eating rich without paying much, here we leave you a few restaurants to eat in London cheap (and good).

There are more and more offers of cheap (and quality) accommodation in the English capital. It is not difficult to find offers of double rooms, well located and with good reviews for about € 50 a night (of course there are cheaper options if you do not mind going to hostels!). In this post we give you a few ideas of cheap hotels in London.

* Photos of Shutterstock