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London in September
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Hi. I am going to London in September, and I've heard the place can be very expensive. Can you suggest cheap but safe ways to travel, and nice tourist spots that are easily accessible by public transportation? Thanks much! 
Post edited by JustV on
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well, you could always invest in a bike but then get a beefy lock and some life insurance while you're at it imo, i had too many close shaves and had to give it up but i did ride like a bit of a maniac, we don't have all these roadsigns in the country you see.....
Thanks for dropping replies.
Thanks, Senor Miguel, for your suggestions. I will keep them in mind, although I don't think I would really need to buy a bike as I will not be staying long. I will just be in London for a few days -- just a short vacation.
Thanks again!
You could also get a train down to hampton court or maybe Kew Gardens as well.
If you want to be super cheap then you could consider walking - you will see loads more as your at street level and you can walk miles in a day and not know it as your always stopping to look at stuff.
It would take you aprox 2 - 3 hours to walk accross zone 1 - east to west and probably not even an hour north to south.
www.tfl.gov.uk - has lots of information about transport
Also these websites have some good ideas of stuff to do for free in London http://www.londontourist.org/free.html
http://www.timeout.com/london/features/2892.html - also buy a copy of time out when you get here for up todate free things.
Other things worth bearing in mind are that if you want to eat out - in the west end its cheaper to eat out at lunch time than it is in the evening whilst in the city its more expensive for lunch than it is in the evening. Also if you dont' mind eating early (i'm guessing you from the states so this probably isnt' a weird thing for you) you can get pre theater menues at most restaurants - like this one in covent garden - which costs £9.95 for two courses before 7.30.
Also lots of places have good lunch deals as well which might include a glass of wine. You can also check out http://www.toptable.co.uk/ - for online restaurant bookings - which also has lots of special offers. Also unlike the states it lots cheaper to shop in supermarkets than it is to eat out - so you can save money on breakfasts if you buy some coissants or muffins from sainsburys and make use of your in room tea and coffee makign facilities - which all hotels should have - rather than going to starbucks - where you can easily end up paying nearly £5 for a cup of coffee and a pastry.
London is super expensive and you could easily spend over £100 a day if you ate out for every meal and got taxis everywhere - infact you could easily spend £100 on just one meal. But i think if you budget around £20 a day for all your food and travel you should be more than fine especially if you use public transport do lots of free stuff and eat in a restaurant once a day and don't go too mad on the drink...
For free - sightseeing in Westminster/Royal Parks etc. Bristish Museum, Tate Modern (for a great walk start at St.Pauls cathedral, head over the wobbly bridge, visit Tate Modern, continue walking along bankside and take in Shakespeare's Globe). Regent's Park is beautiful - Hyde Park isn't. There's also the National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery.
For a sophisticated drink head to Gordon's wine bar near Embankment tube..great (not-overpriced) wine and great cheese in an old candlelit wine cellar (it's hard to find even if your stood right in front of it so you'll either need eagle eyes or just ask a 'local' LOL)
Oh..and don't be tempted to go to Oxford Street. It's crap. The London Dungeon is crapper. Almost as crap as the London Eye.
Have a great trip!
And keep your wallet in your front pocket!