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Visit London like a Londoner
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London on the Cheap
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This page was last updated
20th May 2005
I often think it would be nice when visiting a country to find out the real low down on that place by someone who has lived there for ages....And to get real advice on all the things they do to live there without feeling like a tourist themselves. Well this is my attempt to show you how you can spend time in one of the most expensive cities in the world - without spending a fortune and hopefully without getting ripped off. How to live in London like a Londoner.
First a few general tips:
1. Try not go round really looking like a tourist.....expensive camera round your neck, huge Lonely Planet, Frommers or other guide to London constantly on view, massive rucksack on your back (like the picture on the right). Not only is it really annoying but it also makes you prey to pickpockets and other scallies who may try to rip you off.
2. Don't expect Londoners to be friendly. Most Londoners aren't evil, but it's a big city and people are wary. This is one of the reasons why no one speaks to each other on the tube and no one looks at each other on the tube.
3. Try not to get a taxi from the airport - it will cost you a fortune, unless you are travelling to a location in West London from Heathrow Airport or unless you're travelling from London City Airport! I know that I have said before not to travel on public transport with huge rucksacks etc, but the one occasion when it is worthwhile getting on the tube or a train with a rucksack, is when you are travelling from an airport.
It's a total misnomer and mystery to most Londoners why the three main airports in the Home Counties are called "London" Airports. Heathrow is in Middlesex, Gatwick is in Sussex, Luton is in Bedfordshire and Stansted is in Essex!! Here's some info on which forms of public transport to use when travelling from airports, major train stations or coach terminals. It's eaiser to then get a taxi from a more central location, like a station, to your hotel.
Heathrow Airport is on the Piccadilly Line, and you can get into Central London on it in about 50 mins. You can also take the Heathrow Express into Paddington station in about 15 minutes - it's more expensive than the tube but loads faster and a lot cheaper than a taxi.
Gatwick Airport isn't on the tube line. But you can get the Gatwick Express into Victoria station, which is on the Victoria, District and Circle lines. You can also get the Thameslink train to King's Cross station, which is on the Piccadilly, Victoria, Hammersmith & City, and Circle lines.
Luton Airport also isn't on the tube line. You can take a Thameslink train into King's Cross station, which is on the Piccadilly, Victoria, Hammersmith & City, and Circle lines.
Stansted Airport again isn't on the tube line. You can take a train from Stansted to Liverpool Street. For more details see Londontoolkit.com.
From the Eurostar you'll arrive in Waterloo station, which is on the Northern, Jubilee and Bakerloo lines.
Victoria Coach Station is the major bus terminal for London if you're travelling to or from other parts of the UK by bus. Walking distance from Victoria tube station, which is on the Victoria, District and Circle lines.
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For quick navigation around "Going Underground", use the box
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I'm so proud
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Eating Cheaply but well in London
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You will never see a Londoner eating in an Aberdeen Steak House, Angus Steak House or one of those other places in Central London with "Steak House" after their name - and very few Londoners eat in Garfunkels either. They are ridiculously expensive, and you can get much better food elsewhere. The reason they are packed is because most tourists don't know any better and they seem to do a lot of advertising at airports and stations.
Central London, unfortunately, is pretty expensive no matter where you eat and most Londoners eat at home, in takeaways (McDonalds, Burger King, KFCs etc) or eat in places outside of the centre and then use Central London to drink in or go clubbing. However, London has some of the world's most varied restaurants and if you want any type of food you will find it in London.
London Eats.com has a great short guide to eating cheaply in London, with tips on how to avoid being ripped off.
Also many top restaurants in the following postcode areas W1, WC1, WC2, SW1, SE1, and EC1 (this is generally what I mean by Central London or Town - as we call it) have many
special offers. You'll find lots of deals on
this page for excellent set meals from premier chefs at
under £15 a head. So if you want to eat cheaply at swanky places like Quo Vadis, Maison Novelli, Teatro, Conran's Bluebird, Kensington's beautiful Roof Gardens, Mash, The People's Palace at the Royal Festival Hall, Chez Gerrard and many more you'd be mad not to
start here.
Sandwiches and lunchtime snacks
Fast food Soup Chains - I personally hate soup, but there are quite a lot of fresh soup chains springing up around London. They're fast and healthier than burger chains and not too expensive either. Look out for the Soup Opera and Soup Works brands.
 Crazy Salads - there are apparently seven of them in Central London, but if you want to fill a plastic container with a selection of cold salads and hot buffet food to take away for £3, check them out. They are ridiculously cheap for Town. There's one on Goodge Street, one behind Soho Square in Wardour Street, one in Canary Wharf, one in Fleet Street and I've no idea where the others are...sorry.
Benjy's - Dirt cheap sandwiches, baguettes and other snacks. There are about 35 of them all over London - including lots in central London.
Subway - not such a good selection as Benjy's in my opinion and slightly more expensive but better for you than MickeyD's and BurgerKing.
Fish and chips - Ah the typical English dish. The problem is in Central London you'll be hard pushed to find one that's not overpriced. Saying that they are cheaper than Angus/Aberdeen Steak Houses, Garfunkels etc. For the most authentic ones, try to go outside of the centre. Or there is one near Tottenham Court Road tube station which is reasonable, one on Berwick Street in Soho, W1 (dodge the ladies of the night and sex shops though) and amazingly the one near the London Eye on York Road, SE1 is not too bad either - although it really plays up to the tourist angle - "Traditonal fish n chips", "Traditonal English Tea with Scones and Clotted Cream" etc etc. There are about 60 fish n chip shops in London. Check out this site for your nearest one.
Lunch, dinner or evening meals
 The Stockpot and The Chelsea Kitchen - These places have been dirt cheap for years and you can get very good food in the most expensive locations in London - The Kings Road, Behind Harrods in Knightsbridge, and Soho. I've no idea how they do it really. The food is a bit school dinner-ish, they are a bit cramped, they're a bit dark, but the food is hot, filling and incredibly good value for money considering where they are located.
Belgos - Huge restaurants but only good if you like Belgian Beer, mussels and fries, belgian sausages and other belgian food. Reasonably cheap and always doing special offers - their current one is Beat the Clock, pay the price at the time you order (only works for set meals) so order at 6 o'clock pay £6, 7 o'clock £7 etc etc.
Wagamama - Cheap, filling noodles. The restaurants look like aircraft hangers, are noisy, you sit on benches and you'll have to queue to get in, but they are worth it.
Pubs - you can get reasonably priced food in Central London pubs and at least there's more atmosphere there than in the "Steak Houses". If you like noisy bars and really large plates of food try the All Bar One group. For cheaper booze and food (the food isn't as good in my opinion but is quite good value) try Wetherspoons.
Indian Restaurants - Avoid most curry houses in Central London - they are overpriced and the food is not of a great standard. The one exception (and I'm being serious here, there is only one exception) of a brilliant curry place in central London is the Masala Zone, 9 Marshall Street, Soho, W1. It's part of the famous "Chutney Mary" group and the food is amazing and yet very very reasonably priced. Normally for food this good you would have to go to Chutney Mary's itself (incredibly expensive), so here you can eat cheaply and well on canteen style long tables with subtle peach/terracotta decor and really good service. Check out more reviews here.
Generally if you want a consistently good standard of curries go to West London - Hammersmith, W6 or Ealing W5 - loads cheaper, tastier and much bigger portions.
Chinese Restaurants - Central London fares better here, in fact you are really spoilt for choice. Chinatown itself (Leicester Square is the nearest tube) has hundreds of restaurants within a stone's throw of each other. I would be very hard pushed to recommend one restaurant or group. Mr Wu's is probably the best value of the "eat all you can for £X buffet" restaurants (about £4.50). There is one at 24 Wardour Street, London W1 very close to Leicester Square tube station and another in Bayswater W2 and on 56 or 58 Old Compton Street in Soho, London, W1.
Vegetarian Restaurants - Not a brilliant choice centrally in my opinion apart from the excellent Mildred's. More of a cafe style and a bit cramped, but improved radically since it moved to 45 Lexington Street W1. Light and airy now, huge tasty veggie burgers with tons of thick chunky chips. Enormous desserts too if you can fit them in. If you fancy going out of town a bit try Blah Blah Blah's on 78 Goldhawk Road, Shepherds Bush, W12.
Just to repeat the
special offers with
excellent set meals from premier chefs at
under £15 a head. So if you want to eat cheaply at swanky places like Quo Vadis, Maison Novelli, Teatro, Conran's Bluebird, Kensington's beautiful Roof Gardens, Mash, The People's Palace at the Royal Festival Hall, Chez Gerrard and many more you'd be mad not to
start here.
 Frommer's 2002 London From $85 A Day
Great book and not only cos it has a great review about this site in it. "The genius behind www.going-underground.net, "Annie Mole" posts irreverent observations on everything from Tube etiquette to celebrity spotting on her site. The site has drawn an audience keen to participate and escalate the grumbling about the service.
"This is a must visit site for a passenger eye view of the Underground. And by the time your holiday is over, you may have tales to tell, too. Perhaps some more nutty, but oh so everyday, driver announcements to add to this selection."
The author, Harriot Lane Fox, has produced a very honest guide to travelling to London on a budget. The food section names most of the places I've suggested above plus hundreds more good value places to eat.
Tube Food
How to eat cheaply when travelling on the London Underground.
If you click on the stations on this handy tube map you will be able to see which Central London restaurants are closest to the tube station.
Multi Map
Want to find out where a restaurant, hotel, accommodation or friend's house is in relation to the nearest tube station? Try this multi map tool below. Just type in the postcode/zip  code of where you want to go and it will pop up on the map and you should be able to see any tube station nearby. Marked by a the little Underground logo.
Currency Converter - XE.com Personal Currency Assistant
Essential little tool for converting your dollars, pesos, francs, marks or whatever currency into British pounds. You can also easily bookmark this tool and come back to it whenever you need it.
Going Underground
by: Matthew Tanner Paperback
Just heard about this book which was published in July 2001. It's an innovative new guide, fully illustrated in colour, which lets you explore central London using "the quickest and most cost effective way" - the tube. The guide is divided into the six lines that cover Zone 1; Bakerloo, Central, Circle, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria. At every station the guide details places of interest as well as pubs, bars and restaurants.
For example catch the Bakerloo line to Waterloo and be guided to over ten places of interest including the British Airways London Eye and the South Bank Arts centre. Looking for somewhere to eat in the area then choose from six recommended bars and restaurants.
Highly recommended.
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| Hidden London
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London's Parks Not exactly hidden, but free and still give people an indication of what London was like before it became really built up. You'll know of the major parks like Green Park, Hyde Park, St James's Park and Hampstead Heath. But check out smaller but still substantial sized parks like Holland Park, Syon Park, Primrose Hill and Battersea Park.
I live in West London and I would heartily suggest people taking time to travel out on the District Line to visit Richmond. Richmond Park is glorious and free to walk in - it's huge has lakes, deer, rabbits, ice cream!
One stop before Richmond is Kew Gardens. It isn't cheap - £6.50 entry, but again makes a perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of London Town. Most Londoners haven't been there despite the fact it's several hundred years old, but you will find many "secret gardens" and hideways.
Londontourist.org -
Refreshing site that is similar in vein to this page, providing an independent guide to London. This is just one page on walks from the whole site and gives some good walking tours and a rainy day alternative, but the rest of the site is packed with useful tourist information with no hype. Hopefully it will lead you to some interesting and wacky places that are not normally filled with tourists.
Metro newspaper's walks Metro newspaper is available free every morning at most underground and railway stations and regularly carries a section on Hidden London walks which they suggest office workers can do in their lunch hour.
Eccentric London - amazon.co.uk
Fantastic guide book, particularly if you're interested in the madder and more eccentric side of London. You'll meet a guy who listens to tube trains from the road above with a large tube, the mad yellow Frog Buses, one minute they are on the road, the next in the river and a whole series of walks exploring the weird and wacky side of London. Perfect, shows you how London is full of nutters. Or get it through amazon.com
London Walks
This is a brillant service. It's a walking tour company in London, with nearly 40 years experience in the business. The walks last for two hours and all start and finish at Tube stations or at least very near to tube stations. The guides are all skilled with huge background knowledge of their subject areas. There's a huge range of walks and some on Hidden London are particularly enlightening - showing you the parts of London most Londoners don't even know about! Check it out.
100 Walks in Greater London
If you don't want a guided walk this is a handy book if you get tired of travelling around on the Underground and want to stretch your legs. The walks are between 2 and 12 miles in length, are mostly circular and have points of interest and refreshment places detailed en route.
Secret London
Similar to the above. This book strips away the bricks, mortar and tarmac to uncover London's hidden landscape. Featuring hidden treasures such as the government's vast system of offices and tunnels under Whitehall, the book includes opening times, addresses, maps, photographs and anecdotes.
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Free papers and entertainment and haircuts!
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There's no such thing as a free lunch - too right. There's absolutely no where in London where you can get totally free food unless you are homeless. Howevever check out the following places for free newspapers, free things to do and places to go in London which haven't been covered about in London's Parks.
Free haircuts - Get your hair cut for free in a central London Vidal Sassoon school. OK you're relying on a student to do it, but you have to hope that if they were good enough to get into Vidal Sassoon you shouldn't end up bald. Call 0207 318 5205 for more details. Appointments 10am and 2pm, Mon-Fri.
London Free List - Excellent website which is updated daily which lists all the events and attractions in London that you don't need much money to go to. They are all either free or cost no more than £3 maximum.
Metro Newspaper - this is London's saviour. It's a free newspaper that is given away at most underground stations and railway stations every morning. Designed for commuters it's a really good read and isn't filled with advertising like a lot of the free mags you probably know of or have seen in London a few years ago. Those mags still exist, but Metro is definitely the best as it contains real news, TV listings, cinema and theatre listings and tons more stuff. Metro don't have a website (why should it - it's a free newspaper) and funnily enough lots of people come across my site when looking for Metro as I quote so many tube stories from it. However the official London Underground site does contain archives of transport stories, that Metro have featured. Get your copy of Metro quite early if you can, as most are gone by 9am.
The London Pass
OK you've seen ads for this all over my site but it really is a really good deal if you're travelling to London. You'll get FREE admission to over 60 attractions, FREE public transport, FREE Internet access at the Global Cafe Soho, FREE admission to selected cinemas including the Curzon Soho & Curzon Mayfair Cinema & The Richmond Filmhouse, and £10 off tickets to musicals - The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables and My Fair Lady. FREE ice skating, bowling, go-karting, roller blading, river cruises and guided tours. What more could you ask for?
In some instances, the London Pass even allows you to beat the queues as some attractions have a pre-paid ticket counter where you can swipe your card to gain access. Although the London Pass may be purchased in London, only passes purchased through the London Pass web site include free transport within London. Free transport covers the full six London Transport zones which includes both London City and Heathrow Airports as well as many of the more far-flung attractions. If you're planning on extensive sightseeing, the London Pass is a good investment - yes, you have to pay for it! Adult prices are: one-day £27, two-days £47, three-days £60 and six-days £94. Discounted rates apply to children under 15.
Click here for more details of the FREE transport offer .
TV Recordings - probably the best way to see quality entertainment for free in London is to sit in the audience when a TV show is being recorded. Therea are not many of them and sometimes you have to queue for ages to get in but it's one of the few ways you can see live performances by TV comedians, light entertainers, chat show hosts, actors and game show hosts. It can also be a bit tiresome if it's not live as you'll have to sit through the re-takes but that's part of the fun I suppose. Check out the sites below
BBC TV and Radio shows
Hat Trick - they produce highly popular comedies like Have I Got News For You, Father Ted, Drop The Dead Donkey, Room 101 and Whose Line Is It Anyway?
TV Recordings.com - Great site with info and bookings for TV recordings. Get added to their mailing list so you receive advance notice as to when popular shows are being recorded. Also a rather handy FAQ section with "what to wear", "how long you might queue" etc
Powerhouse TV - loads of free tickets to music shows and also Jerry Springer when he's in the UK.
 Chortle - general website with details on how to get tickets for free TV shows.
Free or cheap theatre tickets
Tickets @ M+H - get yourself on this mailing list for free tickets to the theatre in Central London. The offers may not flood in but are good ones. Very recently I saw a top comedy/farce Home & Beauty at the Lyric on Shaftesbury Avenue on a Saturday night for free. I also must thank theatremonkey.com below for putting me on to them.
Theatremonkey.com - excellent insiders website to enjoying London's theatre. OK it doesn't list free tickets but this page on the site has lots of tips for getting the best tickets for the cheapest prices. There's also reviews of the latest shows in London and a hilarious guide to theatre audience behaviour.
1st 4 London Theatre Tickets
Another good site for booking discounted tickets to London theatre & pop concerts in a secure online environment.
1st 4 UK Concert Tickets
You can also try the above site where you can book tickets to concerts in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Newcastle, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and other cities throughout the UK.
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Budget Hotels
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It's very tricky for a Londoner trying to describe which hotels are best to stay in as when you live in London itself you never really stay in hotels. In fact you end up being a bit of a hotel yourself as you often put friends up for nights if they live elsewhere in the UK. Most nice hotels in London are expensive, so unless you want a dive or a flea pit you might have to spend a lot of money. However, since September 11th tourism in London has taken a bit of a beating. This means if you are travelling to London you can pick up some great bargains. The following resources cater for good value accomodation for most budgets:
Welcome Homes & Hotels
Stay in a private guest house in London from only £14 per person per night!
Up to 70% off London Hotels
Check out this site for some top class hotels at very low prices.
Up to 50% off London Hotels - "Name your own price"
A great site where you can name your own price for top London Hotels, not all offers are accepted, but quite a lot of them are (as tourism is still not up to its peak in London yet) so try starting low and see how you get on. 
Frommer's 2002 London From $85 A Day
Great book and not only cos it has a great review about this site in it. "The genius behind www.going-underground.net, "Annie Mole" posts irreverent observations on everything from Tube etiquette to celebrity spotting on her site. The site has drawn an audience keen to participate and escalate the grumbling about the service.
"This is a must visit site for a passenger eye view of the Underground. And by the time your holiday is over, you may have tales to tell, too. Perhaps some more nutty, but oh so everyday, driver announcements to add to this selection."
The author, Harriot Lane Fox, has produced a very honest guide to travelling on a budget. The accomodation section lists affordable and charming B&B's steps away from major attractions, hostels and cozy rooms in trendy Notting Hill in West London.
Hotels of London
Check out this cosy site which lists around 100 hotels in London. They're mostly independent & family run and the links of each hotel go directly to the hotel involved with no middlemen so they costs are cut down and you can get more of a personal service.
1st 4 London Hotels
Another excellent site which offers London hotel reservations with discount rates available.
1st 4 UK Hotels
Great if you want to make reservations for hotels located in towns & cities throughout the UK.
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How to find the main tourist attractions by tube
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Below are a great series of pages dedicated to particular lines with the order of stops, which zones they are in (this is important for working out your fare) and links to tourist attractions and other important landmarks which can be visited by using these lines. Highly recommended for tourists. Click on the logo for full details of the stops and attractions on each line. All of the attractions which are hyperlinked are part of the London Pass, scheme, so if spend a bit of dosh on one you'll get FREE public transport and FREE entry to the attraction too. (What great value....OK enough, enough):
 Hammersmith & City Line
Covers Paddington for the Heathrow Express (fastest way into London from Heathrow - although more expensive than using the Piccadilly Line), Baker Street for Sherlock Holmes' fans and Madame Tussauds waxworks. Also how to get to London Zoo, in Regents Park.
 Piccadilly Line again
For the London Transport Museum, Harrods, Science Museum, Victoria & Albert Museum, Royal Albert Hall, Natural History Museum and Heathrow Airport.
  District & Circle Lines
Shame it's the slowest line on the tube.
Tons of touristy stuff - Kew Gardens, Buckingham Palace, Westminster (London Aquarium)., museums, Wimbledon, Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, Tower Bridge, Tower Hill(The Tower of London).. Design Museum, Westminster Abbey. Victoria station - it's where the Gatwick Airport train will drop you off.
 Central Line
Shops, shops and even more shops. This line covers Oxford Street (Oxford Circus station), Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Marble Arch and if you're tired of shopping it also goes to St Paul's Cathedral, and the British Museum, (at Tottenham Court Road tube station).
 Jubilee Line
Already covered Baker Street (for Madame Tussaud's & Sherlock Holmes' fans), and Westminster (London Aquarium). This line will also get you to Waterloo (for The London Eye, Eurostar in Paris & Brussels, Royal Festival Hall, National Theatre, Museum of the Moving Image), Southwark (for The Tate Modern), London Bridge (for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre), and last but not least (ha, ha, ha) North Greenwich for the famous Millennium Dome!
 Victoria Line again
So apart from the mainline railway stations of Victoria, Euston and King's Cross, there's Pimlico (for Tate Britain), and Green Park (for St James's Palace).
 Bakerloo Line
I bet these are becoming familiar to you now. Baker Street (yes, yes Madame Taussaud's, Sherlock Holmes' House), Regent's Park (London Zoo), Piccadilly Circus (tons of shops, Planet Hollywood, Rock Circus, The Royal Academy), Charing Cross (Trafalgar Square & The National Gallery), and Waterloo (The London Eye, Eurostar, National Theatre).
 Northern Line
Bank for the Bank of England Museum; London Bridge for Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London Dungeon, and HMS Belfast; Charing Cross (yeah, yeah Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Pall Mall) and Waterloo (the London Eye, National Theatre, Royal Festival Hall).
Going Underground
by: Matthew Tanner Paperback
Just heard about this book which was published in July 2001. It's an innovative new guide, fully illustrated in colour, which lets you explore central London using "the quickest and most cost effective way" - the tube. The guide is divided into the six lines that cover Zone 1; Bakerloo, Central, Circle, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria. At every station the guide details places of interest as well as pubs, bars and restaurants.
For example catch the Bakerloo line to Waterloo and be guided to over ten places of interest including the British Airways London Eye and the South Bank Arts centre. Looking for somewhere to eat in the area then choose from six recommended bars and restaurants.
Highly recommended.
Frommer's 2002 London From $85 A Day
Great book and not only cos it has a great review about this site in it. "The genius behind www.going-underground.net, "Annie Mole" posts irreverent observations on everything from Tube etiquette to celebrity spotting on her site. The site has drawn an audience keen to participate and escalate the grumbling about the service.
"This is a must visit site for a passenger eye view of the Underground. And by the time your holiday is over, you may have tales to tell, too. Perhaps some more nutty, but oh so everyday, driver announcements to add to this selection."
The author, Harriot Lane Fox, has produced a very honest guide to travelling to London on a budget and spending roughly $85 a day.
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