Local Information

Getting around London

  • Install Citymapper on your phone - this app is amazing for getting around London.
  • Get an Oyster Card to travel around London. You can purchase one from most stations. Oyster cards are electronic smartcards that you charge with credit to travel on the tube, buses, overground and DLR.
  • You can either purchase a weekly travel card or put a cash amount on the card depending on the length of your visit. For cash amounts you can get back what you didn't spend at the end of your trip.
  • If you have a contactless card or Apple Pay/Android Pay with a bank that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, that will work just as well as an Oyster card and save you the hassle of buying an Oyster card and trying to get a refund. See https://tfl.gov.uk/fares-and-payments/contactless for details.
  • Zone 1 (Central London) is relatively small and walkable. It's usually faster to walk from tube station to tube station than to actually take the tube.
  • Buses in central London don't take cash. Don't board one without an Oyster card or Contactless payment method.
  • Taxis: If you need a taxi black cabs are usually are pretty expensive. Also, not all taxis accept credit cards. Some of them only take cash. You can ask the driver before the ride to verify if you don't have cash yet. You can use Uber in London, which is considerably cheaper.
  • The "Heathrow Express" train runs through from Terminal 5 (for British Airways) via Terminal 3 (Virgin) to Paddington. The "Heathrow Connect" train only runs from Terminal 3 to Paddington. So from Terminal 5 you'd use the "Heathrow Express" (for free) to connect to the Terminal 3 station.
  • The tube/underground/subway station nearest to the venue is "Tottenham Court Road Station". The full address is "1 Rathbone Square, W1T 1FB".

City Guides

  • Install Trip Advisor CityGuides and download the London guide on wifi before leaving your home. It's meant to be used offline.
  • Time Out London is a good site to find events, attractions and what's on in London.

Places to Stay

  • The London Edition
  • Radisson Blu Edwardian Grafton
  • Melia White House
  • Sanderson Hotel
  • Charlotte Street Hotel
  • AirBNB

Pubs and Restaurants

See the London Restaurants page for our opinions on local places to eat.

For pub etiquette and inside knowledge, see anthropologist Kate Fox's Passport to the Pub.