Fergusbrandon

London has a rich cultural heritage, a glorious history, a plethora of attractions and innumerable entertainment and fine dining options. It is also the business hub of Europe and the fashion and shopping capital of the world, due to which people from all over the globe make a beeline to visit this vast metropolis. There is so much to see and to do that a first timer can easily get confused. London is also always in a state of rejuvenation and improvements as many new huge infrastructure projects are being taken up and they are completely transforming the city’s skyline, such as the Crossrail project, King’s Cross-St Pancras and the Embassy Quarter and Battersea Power Station projects south of the river. Many important events have taken place recently such as the Royal Wedding Kate and William, the London 2012 Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee celebration for the Queen’s ascension to the throne. There have been major expansions such as in the case of the British Museum, the Royal National Theatre and both Tate galleries. As such, some important and pertinent information regarding the city is being shared with anyone who wishes to visit London.

Ideal Time to Visit London: London is always very attractive, whether in the summer peak time or in the winter when a lot of events take place such as the Winter Wonderland and the Christmas festivities. The January and July sales always attract shoppers and October is famous for the Frieze Art Fair. The busiest time in London is July and August when school groups arrive and the weather is excellent but the period between post-Christmas to late March is always very quiet. However, there is no summer exodus like in the case of Paris.

Many visitors to London prefer to stay in Hotels in Queensway London as they are available in all categories to suit all budgets and are located in a serene environment while being close to most attractions of the city.

Getting to London: London offers four major airports - London Heathrow, which is due west; London Gatwick which is south east; London Standsted which is north east; and London Luton which is in the north. From the airports, for getting to your hotel you can take various airport links. The quickest way to get to central London is by taking the non-stop Heathrow Express that will take you to Paddington station in just 15 minutes but it is expensive. An express train from Gatwick takes 30 minutes and from Stansted it will take 47 minutes. It will be cheaper to travel by bus or by Tube but bus will take more time and the Tube connections will mean changing over to a different line to reach your destination. If you travel by ship, you will moor at Tilbury which is about 25 miles from central London in the Thames Estuary. You can also travel into London by coach which will take about an hour. From European destinations, you can get into London by travelling on the Eurostar that reaches St Pancras International in 2hrs 15min from Paris and 3 hrs 4 mins from Brussels.

Whenever you go to London, you will find it best to stay at one of the luxury hotels of The Shaftesbury Hotel Collection as these hotels offer luxurious accommodation and the best of facilities along with personalised services designed to pamper their guests. Moreover, these hotels are mostly located in the heart of the city close to most places of interest.

Moving Around in London: You can hire a car for commuting in London but driving around is strenuous because of the congestion on the roads. Moreover, you have to pay congestion charges if you enter central London and parking fee at various places is also quite steep. The cheapest way is to hire a bike as there are thousands of blue bikes (Boris Bikes) available across the city, stretching from Hammersmith in the west to East India Docks in the east and from Camden Town in the north to Putney. The bike rental is quite nominal. If you wish to commute in comfort, you can hire the renowned Black Cab but these are quite expensive. You can always find a Black Cab nearest to you by downloading the Hallo app. Other mini cabs are also available such as Uber and Taxicode that are cheaper but are less regulated and as such not as reliable as the Black Cabs. If you wish to use these minicabs, you should look for a reliable company, check the fare in advance and be careful at all times.

Public Transport: The most popular mode of public transport is the Tube, or Underground that moves very fast and does not have to contend with congestion. Many people prefer to travel by bus which is cheaper and offers better views but it is slower because of traffic conditions on the road. Buses, however, do not accept cash any longer. The best and cheapest way of commuting is by getting an Oyster Card or contactless payment cards which have the same fares as Oyster cards and can be used as cards issued by major companies such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Visitors to London should buy a Visitor Oyster Card that comes pre-loaded with pay-as-you-go use. It is best to get it before reaching London as they can be ordered online if you live outside London and they will be sent to 58 countries in advance.

With an Oyster card, you can save a lot of money as the fare cost becomes considerably less as compared to buying a single tube journey ticket. Moreover, the travel costs are capped for the day. With the Oyster card you can get a 25% discount on the Emirates Air Line Cable car and 10% off the Thames Clipper River Bus Service. Many overland trains also accept Oyster cards.