London tourist guide

London is the capital of the United Kingdom and, at the same time, one of the most visited cities in the world. It is a cosmopolitan city, full of fun, culture, color... in short, a place capable of surprising everyone. In recent years, thanks to the boom in cheap flights, it has become a perfect holiday destination.

Below you have an index with all the points that we are going to deal with in this article.

Before Travelling

Before your arrival, our advice is to spend a few days preparing your trip to London. Keep in mind that it is one of the most visited and touristic European cities in the world.

Although we can also use a travel agency to plan it, we currently have many resources to organize the trip on our own: cheap flights, dissemination of the English language, Internet... Here is a summary of everything you need to know before travel.

Brief history

London, capital of the United Kingdom, is a cosmopolitan city, the center of various cultural fields and one of the great capitals of the world. In total, today the number of inhabitants reaches 9 million and the official language is British English.

Over the centuries, London has gone through different periods that have marked the current situation of the city. However, the history of London is marked by 5 main historical events:

XNUMXth century British coins

Despite being part of the European Union, the United Kingdom maintains the British pound (currency symbol: £) as its official currency.

The current situation in London stands out for remaining at stable economic levels. In fact, London is defined as one of the world's leading economies and the city that dominates the UK's global economy.

Culture and customs

London is the capital of the United Kingdom and is located in England, one of the four nations that make up this country. English culture can be very different from that of other European countries such as Spain in terms of gastronomy, customs, ways of greeting each other, folklore, customs, etc.

One of the most characteristic data of the British is the custom of having tea at 5 in the afternoon (Five o'clock tea in English).

On the other hand, the English are very sports fans in general, and rugby, football and cricket in particular, the latter considered the quintessential English sport, now an Indian custom as well.

The English spend several hours at school on physical education and at the university there are sports teams for almost all kinds of sports.

Cricket fans in England

On the other hand, the British in general stand out for being quite disciplined and in favor of a more or less reserved behavior. Thus, the most common way of greeting each other in England is through a handshake both to say goodbye and to introduce yourself.

It is a gesture used in all kinds of contexts, from the moment we just met someone to business meetings and formal encounters. It is used between men and women interchangeably.

Required Documentation

London is located in the United Kingdom and, as such, is a country that is in Europe and, in turn, is part of the EU. Despite this, the United Kingdom is not part of the Schengen Area and therefore has its own visa policy.

For this reason, the main requirements to enter England will depend fundamentally on two variables: whether we come from a member country of the EU or not. Whatever our case, it is essential to always go duly documented with the passport and / or the identity card.

Citizens belonging to a member country of the European Economic Area (EEA), are exempt from visa and can access only with their valid passport or national identity document.

On the other hand, a distinction is made between non-member countries that are visa-exempt and those that require a mandatory visa.

Documentation required to travel to England

For detailed information on visas, requirements, documentation and other information of interest to travel to London, we recommend you visit the following article: Visa and documentation to travel to London.

Climate and temperature

Many are those who claim that you can get to experience the 4 seasons in the same day in London.

This is due to its geographical location in London and London's climate of type temperate oceanic. This also influences the average temperature of the entire southern part of Great Britain, which never reaches very extreme values, not even in summer.

However, London winters are usually cold, with temperatures averaging between −4°C and 14°C. It is not usual for it to snow, although frosts can occur in some suburbs, especially between the months of November and March. In summer, on the other hand, the average temperature does not usually exceed 20°C.

It should be noted that London usually always has an average temperature about 5 ° C higher than that of the surroundings.

This occurs because the urban area surrounding the city causes the so-called “heat island effect”, that is, heat accumulates due to the presence of heat-absorbing materials in the infrastructures.

How is the weather in London?

Although many tourists prefer to visit the British capital in summer due to the better temperatures and the fact that you can enjoy more hours of sunshine, traveling in winter can also have its advantages.

Now, whatever the time you travel, it is absolutely recommended that you do not miss a oilskin o K-way in your suitcase, since it can start to rain at any moment.

How to get

The great importance of London worldwide makes it a city perfectly communicated with practically any country in the world.

Although the most common is to choose the plane Since it is usually the fastest means and the one that allows us to save travel time, it is also possible to travel by train, car and boat if we come from a country located in Europe.

Similarly, Latin American travelers can find a large number of direct flights from their main capitals. London has four main airports throughout the city:

Getting to London by plane

As we said, if you choose to get to London by plane, you should know that there is a wide range of low cost airlines that offer really surprising prices and adapted to all kinds of pockets.

If we book in advance, we can easily find return flights for €50 or less. The main airlines offering cheap flights from Spain to London are easyJet, Ryanair, Vueling and Iberia Express.

Those tourists who are in Europe, can travel to London by train using the line Eurostar, which departs from Paris (France) up to 12 times a day and takes 2 hours and 30 minutes to reach London.

This train also leaves from Brussels. To get there from Spain, the only way is to travel first to Paris and from there take the Eurostar. However, the price is about €200 each way and more than 15 hours of travel.

If you want to get to London by car, the only possibility is to travel first to France, specifically to Calais, and from there take the Eurotunnel to Dover.

It is a highly recommended option, since you should know that in the United Kingdom you drive on the left, unlike in Spain, and it is also much easier to get around by public transport.

Eurostar network to travel to London by train

Finally, there is the possibility of reaching London by boat thanks to the company Brittany Ferries, which has three maritime routes between Spain and England:

It is recommended to choose one of the two routes to Portsmouth, since it is only 120 km away from London and, in addition, the connections are very simple.

Gastronomy

English cuisine has been taking shape in response not only to its climate, but also based on its history and the influence of other European and Asian cultures. It has also incorporated the famous fast food or fast food brought from the USA, as well as the famous takeaways.

Although originally the use of spices was not common in English cuisine, it is currently closely related to indian cuisine after living together for many years

For this reason, you can find numerous takeaways and restaurants where you can taste Indian food. On the other hand, ingredients such as cereals (especially oats) and legumes such as peas are very common.

In London you can also find a wide range of cheese with certificate of designation of origin. As examples of this we can list the following types:

Cheddar, somerset brie and shropshire blue cheeses

Another widely consumed product is meat and vegetable patties, especially Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, the latter considered the national dish of Great Britain.

In London the consumption of mussels with vinegar and the eel and lamb tart with mint sauce is also frequent, without forgetting the famous fish & chips.

In addition, since it is a cosmopolitan city, you can find products from other regions, such as the haggis, one of the typical dishes of Scotland.

On the other hand, the quintessential London dessert is apple pie, an apple pie served hot. Also the banana muffins with cinnamon, the summer pudding, the English custard or custard or the berry cake with cream with some of the most famous desserts in the British capital.

When it comes to taking the famous english tea, It is common to accompany it with Cornish raisins and Crumbles. Tea is the most widely consumed non-alcoholic beverage, especially Earl Gray.

Bus Routes

Although it is not exactly cheap, getting around London by public transport is the best option. For example, a single metro ticket costs £ 4,90 or, which is the same, € 6,30.

As we can see, it is a significant difference compared to other European capitals such as Madrid, where the price can vary from 1,50 to 2,00 euros depending on the area through which we are not going to move.

The main means of transport within London are, at the top of the list, the tube, followed by the bus, taxi and rental bikes.

El London subway It has a total of 11 different lines, which makes its network one of the most extensive in the world. Our recommendation is to use it to move around the city, especially if you are going to travel long distances.

Getting around London on the tube

As for the bus, although it is true that it is not exactly the fastest means of transport, many tourists choose it as a way to get around London because it is a nice way to get around the city while enjoying the views of the city. city.

In addition, the red London buses are one of the most emblematic and representative symbols of the city. On the other hand, getting around by taxi is quick and much more comfortable, but you should know that famous Black Cabs they are the most expensive in Europe.

Like many other European capitals, London has its own public system of bicycle rental, Popularly known as Boris bikes.

This nickname is due to the fact that it was Boris Johnson who promoted its implementation in June 2010. Although it is still expanding, it already covers all of London's zone 1 and part of zone 2, with more than 6.000 bikes available.

Accommodation

First of all, you should know that staying in London is quite expensive. Finding a good hotel at an affordable price is a bit complicated, although you can always resort to some tricks such as preparing the trip in advance, looking for offers, etc. It is also advisable to know first what the best areas are or to know if there are dangerous areas in London.

A first option if what you are looking for is an affordable price are the famous Bed & Breakfast (literally, Bed + Breakfast), a very typical type of accommodation also in Edinburgh (Scotland).

These are traditional houses that offer accommodation to tourists in a family environment where, in many cases, the owners live in it. In fact, many hotels that exist today are actually B&B.

Staying in a Bed & Breakfast in London

If you prefer a more intimate place, you can choose either a hotel or an apartment. As we said, the price of London hotels is usually high, especially if you want to sleep in a decent hotel in the center of the city.

In this case, the price per night would be around £ 90. The tourist apartments, on the other hand, they have become more famous in recent years and are becoming an alternative to hotels.

Finally, in London you can also find hostels and hostels, but their prices are also quite high. So, for example, reserving a bed in a shared room can cost you between 15 and 20 pounds per night.

There are also the so-called hostels, more frequented by young people. Among the most famous, we highlight Piccadilly Backpackers, The generator y Globetrotters Inn.

What to visit

London is one of the largest cities in the world, so we could say that there are endless corners and points of tourist interest that cannot be missing from your list of places to visit.

Logically, this will depend on the duration of your stay and the pre-established budget, based on which we will have to make a more or less extensive selection. In any case, there are 10 main points that should not be missing from your list and that we show you below:

London tourist attractions

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