As the US dollar slips further, destinations like London, which is notoriously expensive, seem beyond the budget. But there really are ways to enjoy London affordably, and this guide for the cost conscious London traveler can help. Having been a college student in London, I learned a thing or two about seeing the city on limited funds. I hope you find some of these pointers helpful.
Transportation:
If you're staying for a week, get a week-long tube pass. It's expensive but worth it if you want to see the whole city. If you're staying for a shorter amount of time, try to group your activities by region so that you minimize use of public transportation
If you're feeling ambitious, take a minute to go online and find useful bus routes. They aren't that hard to navigate and cost half what the tube does.
Look on travel websites to book a hotel in center city. It might be expensive, but there are deals to be found online beforehand. And if you're near most of what you want to see, you'll save a lot of money on transportation as well as time in transit.
If you don't want to spring for the Heathrow Express to get from Heathrow Airport into London, consider taking the Picadilly Line. For considerably less, although a bit more time, you can ride the Underground right into the heart of the city. The airport is far away, so the train and the subway are probably your best bets.
If you need to get somewhere down the Thames and it's too far to walk, consider taking the ferry. It's twice the cost of a tube ride, but the views are great and you usually get a guided tour on the way.
Site-Seeing:
Some of the best things in London are actually free. If you get a chance, hit the British Library. They have a great collection of rare works like the only surviving Beowulf manuscript, Canterbury Tales, Shakespeare's First Folio, Beatles lyrics scribbled by Paul McCartney on napkins, works handwritten by Mozart, Alice in Wonderland, antique maps, and all sorts of other stuff. There's something for everyone, it's free, and there's hardly ever a crowd. You can peruse the works to your heart's content. It's one of the city's hidden gems.
The British Museum is free and worth a stop. It has the Rosetta stone and a great collection of sculptures taken from the Parthenon. It also has pieces of that Mausoleum in Turkey that was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Very, very cool stuff here.
The Museum of London is a great place to start any trip to London, with artifacts dating from pre-historic all the way up to modern and everywhere in between. With such a rich history, it's an interesting place with great Roman London pieces.
Other free museums that are worth a look if you have more time are the Imperial War Museum, Victoria and Albert, National Portrait Gallery, Natural History, and Science. The Tate Modern and Tate Britain are both great, free museums that I would recommend if you're into Modern Art or uniquely British art.
St. Paul's Cathedral is a must see, but expensive. If you just want to go in and have a peak, walk in at 4:30, after it's closed to tourists. There are no annoying tour groups and no cover charge. If you're there at 5pm, you can also stay for the free evensong concert which has a choral group performing each evening. This is every day except Sunday, when it's closed except for services.
The changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace is fun to see and also costs nothing to attend. It's a great parade of royal guards in tall, funny hats and British pomp at its finest. Expect to deal with a large crowd here.
Theater:
You can usually get into some good shows for very little. Just don't buy the programs since they usually cost extra. Theater is a big part of London. If opera's more your thing, go to the National Opera House at 10am and you can get 3 pound seats for that evening's performance. You won't find a much better deal than that. A lot of theaters also have rush tickets available for 50% or more off the regular price of admission. Look into what you want to see before you go, because if you just pick what's being advertised in Leicester Square, you probably won't be getting a very good deal.
Food:
The good news is that a lot of the food England is known for is cheap, filling, and good. Well, opinions differ on the good part, but it's all part of the experience. If you want to go to a nice restaurant, try to go to lunch there because dinner prices go up quite a bit, especially in center city. Otherwise, look for a non-touristy pub. Also, believe it or not, the British have great Indian food. Indian take-out is a good option and is usually pretty reasonable.
It's usually more expensive to eat in than take out. So if you're lucky enough to be there when it's not raining, you may want to find food and bring it to a park. They're scattered all over the city, have lots of benches.
Shopping:
Well, if you can get it elsewhere, do. You won't find many deals here, unless you visit in January when stores have their annual sales. Harrod's is definitely worth hitting then. Another place to check out is Portobello Market or some of the other markets around the city. These markets still have some deals to offer. Not many, but some. Otherwise, I'd save bringing home souveniers for another destination.
If you do go end up going to Portobello Market, be sure to stop by the Falafel King on Portobello road. It's amazing.
