Geotagged Map

Here is a link to a map of London which has lots of geotagged photographs on it. This will give you an idea of where all the main attractions and places to eat and drink are, helping you plan your trip day by day. Just scroll through the picture reel to reveal their location on the map. You can then click on the pinpoint to enlarge each photograph.

Click here to view geotagged map

How to get to London for £1

Megabus/National Express

I travelled on the mega bus for £20 return. It only took 4 hours and we arrived half and hour earlier than scheduled. You can get a ticket for £1.00 if you don't mind compromising on the time and date of travel. The bus arrives at Victoria Coach Station which is just opposite Victoria Tube Station which makes it easy to get to wherever you're staying.

Both National Express and Megabus offer services from Leeds to London for £1 each way! To make sure can get hold of these bargains:

• Book your tickets way in advance


• Be prepared to travel at unsocial hours


• Keep checking their websites for the cheapest deals
  
  

Alternatively...

Take the Train.
You will have to pay slightly more, but the on the up side:

• It cuts travel time in half
• Trains are much more comfortable for long journeys
• You can use a young persons rail card to get a discount

From Leeds to London-

• National Rail.co.uk - £15.00 one way

• Virgin Trains - £8.25 one way

From Sheffield to London St Pancras-

• MegaTrain - £5.00 one way
  

www.megatrain.com/uk/
www.nationalexpress.com/
www.nationalrail.co.uk/
www.virgintrains.co.uk/

Car Sharing

You don't have to have a car to drive to London as theres loads of websites out there offering car sharing network systems. The longest running website that offers this service is http://www.nationalcarshare.co.uk/ where you can register your details as either a driver or a passenger (or both) and arrange to share lifts nationally and sometimes even internationally. All that is asked if you are a passenger is that you contribute to petrol costs which is arranged by the driver and the passenger prior to travelling.

Hitch hiking

If you're determined not spend a penny on travel then you could always try hitch hiking. It may take you a whole day to get to London but at least it's free! Make sure you don't travel on your own and stay on main roads and big roundabouts. Heres a useful wiki page with some hitch hiking safety tips.

http://hitchwiki.org/en/Safety

Cheap ways to travel in London

Walk!

All the attractions in London really arn't that far away from each other and if you plan your trip well you can simply walk to most places. Check out the Free Days Out post to see which places are best to see together to avoid having to take the tube.

The Underground

If you're going to take the tube its best to get yourself an Oyster Card. Advantages of having one are:

• Students can get a 'zip card' (free) which offers discounts and sometimes free travel!


• Oyster cards single fares are cheaper than normal ones
  
  
  
• Its works on a pay as you go system which means you just top up whatever you need to and don't have to pay monthly/yearly etc.


• As well the tube you can use Oyster cards on buses, trams, London Overground and some National Rail services.
  
  
  

DONT....

• Use black cabs unless you really have to as they cost a fortune


• Go on a open-top sight-seeing bus - you can pay up to £25 for a ticket that'll take you nowhere!

Accommodation for Less!

You may think it's expensive to find accommodation in London and if you stay in a hotel or even a poxy Travel Lodge, it will be; but there are many cheaper alternatives-you can even camp in Central London!

Smart Russel Square

This is the hostel I stayed in when I visited London. I shared a room with 7 other people for £13.00 a night. It has really good showers, communal kitchen and lounge area, Internet and a gym which is free to use! Overall it was a good place to stay as breakfast was included (which is unusual for a hostel) and it's in an ideal location just seconds from Russel Square tube station.If you book online there is no booking fee; shared rooms start at £7.99.

Smart Back Packers (.com) has hostels all over London:

• Hyde Park
• Kensington
• Camden

There are hundreds of hostels in London, all of them offering great prices. Their main benefit is that they all have communal kitchen's which saves you having to eat out for breakfast, lunch and tea, which can be expensive. Here's a list of some of the most central hostels:

Journey's London Eye

Situated close to the Thames, its ideal location leaves you a short walk away from many of London's attractions. Rooms start at £9.00 and they have a bar, kitchen and a communal area with pool and fussball. Journey have other hostels in Kings Cross, Waterloo, Greenwich and London Bridge.

Piccadilly Backpackers

This hostel looks right onto Piccadilly Circus so you can't get more central than that, and it's party ethos really appeals to students, as they organise group outings to all the best clubs. Their rooms are really cool, with 100% privacy pods and intricate illustrations covering every wall, starting at £12.00.

http://www.piccadillyhotel.net/

St Christopher's Inn

They have hostels in Shepards Bush, Hammersmith, London Bridge, Camden and Greenwich but if you like the party atmosphere The Village, London Bridge is the place to go. They have a belushi bar open till 4am on weekends, cheap drinks, live DJ's, roof terrace and wide screen TV with free DVD hire. They also have events on every night:

- Sundays are quiz night - with acoustic bands in the bar too.

- Mondays are karaoke!

- Tuesdays are fun filled, stand up comedy nights.

- Wednesdays are another karaoke night!

- Thursdays are Latin lovers night in the bar.

- Fridays are pub crawls!

- Saturdays is our very own Shiny Disco Balls - where you can party in the club all night long!

http://www.st-christophers.co.uk/

Camping

Suprisingly there are many campsites in the outskirts of London and with great transport facilities it only takes half and hour to get to the Centre. Bring a tent or hire a caravan - a trip to London can cost you next to nothing!

Crystal Palace Caravan Club

This five star campsite offers pitches for tents and caravans and is open all year round with prices starting at just £4.90 a night! The number 3 bus takes you straight to Piccadilly Circus and you can buy travel card from the camp site. It has good facilities with showers, toilets, running water and a laundrette.

Crystal Palace Caravan Park

Accommodation for FREE!

Couch Surfing

Couch surfing is an organisation that enables people from all around the world offer their couch to host travellers - totally free. It works by using a rating system (like ebay) so you know what your getting. Arrangements are made between the traveller and the host before you arrive, mostly by email, to make it convenient for both parties.

http://www.couchsurfing.com/

Free Days Out- The Britsh Museum and Camden Town

The British Museum *****star

You could spend your entire visit to London in the British Museum alone so I suggest that you pick up a map when you arrive and choose the rooms that most interest you. There are free half an hour tours conducted regularly throughout the day and also free talks held in some of the galleries. It is an amazing place to visit even if its just for the brilliant architecture inside and out. It holds the largest collection of international artefacts in the UK so there is so many interesting things to see, I think it would be a crime to go to London and not visit the Bitish Museum! It is open sat-wed - 10am - 17.30 and thurs-fri - 10.00 - 20.30, so theres no excuse not to see what this amazing museum has to offer.

www.britishmuseum.org/

I found the Mexican room really interesting, as it was full of decorative skulls that originally belonged to human sacrifices. The Mayans believed that human sacrifice was the only way to please the Gods and keep the sun in the sky. They decorated the skulls afterwards in a mosaic and placed them outside the temples to show the Gods how many people they had sacrificed.

Another really interesting part of the British Museum was the room full of Chinese artifacts. It was full of enormous deity statues and really intricate decorative stoneware which I could have looked at all day they were so pretty! Here I learnt about some of the Buddist teachings. They literally have a God for everything!

Camden Town *****star

Camden Market is made up of 5 main areas - Camden Lock, Camden Buck St, Inverness Street, Camden Stables and the main street so it is pretty huge! You can find everything here, from alternative fashion and vintage clothing, to foreign food and world music. Even if you don't buy anything its great to just wander round and soak up the buzzing, colourful atmosphere of one of the biggest most popular markets in London.

www.camdenlock.net/

The Horse Tunnel Market in the heart of Camden Town is the place to go if your on the hunt for vintage finds. It has an excessive amount of cowboy boots and original Nike trainers as well as some beautiful furniture and ornate mirrors. A really cool place for a wander for that 'time warp' vibe and eclectic mix of friendly stall holders.

At the weekend this yard is full of food and drink stalls. From mulled wine to fajitas it has food and drink from around the world. And if you can't choose what dish you'd like, for £4.70 you can have a little bit of everything at some stalls! A good place to pick up some grub, relax by the canal and watch the world go by.

Alternatively...

Check out the smaller markets. If the size of Camden is daunting, then head over to Shoreditch where you'll find a good selection of smaller markets to peruse.

• Start at Liverpool St Station
• Go left down Bishopgate
• Turn right onto Middlesex St
• This is Petticoat Lane Market
• Make your way through it till you reach Commercial St.
• Turn left and you will find Spitalfields Market
• Opposite here there is a road called Hanbury Street.
• This will take you to Brick Lane
• Here you will find curry mile and Backyard Market.

Petticoat Lane Market

Confusingly, Petticoat Lane Market is not actually on Petticoat Lane as the Victorians changed the name to Middlesex Street. Famous for it's Jewish food and leather coats (near Aldgate East) and with 1,000 stalls it is great for finding a bargain, though you may have to haggle to get the best deals. Open on a Sunday from 9am to 2pm, I unfortunately just missed it, though its supposed to be a great place just to take in the hustle and bustle.

Spitalfields Market ****star

A nice size market that sells a huge variety of kooky clothing and vintage jewelry. All under cover so it's a good place to visit if you get a rainy day. Surrounded by cool boutiques and restaurants you can make a whole day out of it - also it is very close to Brick Lane. Open Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with up to 110 stalls on these busy days, so your sure to heaps of cool things.

Backyard Market ***star

A smaller version of Camden really, Backyard Market is a compact little market with ethnic food and arts and crafts. A lot of art students have stalls here selling slogan T-shirts they have made. So if you're looking for an individual one off find, you'll definately get something here. Open saturdays and sundays.

Look out for the Gherkin!

Situated on St Mary's Axe (and also named after this street) The Gherkin is one of London's financial districts largest skyscrapers. It can be seen from a fair distance - so keep your eyes peeled if you visit Spitalfields market, this is where I papped it!

Free Days Out- Oxford Street/Hyde Park

Route from Oxford Circus to Green Park

Start at Oxford Circus tube station and you can walk the length of Oxford Street, perusing in the shops as you go. You will then reach Marble Arch which is good for a photograph or two and opposite you will find Speaker's Corner. Take a peaceful stroll through Hyde Park, taking in the Lake and the Queens Horsed Guards as you go. If you want to see Buckingham Palace you will pass through Wellington Arch to get to it and the nearest tube station from here is Green Park.

Oxford Street ****star

Oxford Street is great for the fashion consious student as it has every high street store imaginiable with all the new lines before any other city in the UK. Topshop is a must as it has four floors, one just full of littles boutiques and vintage clothes! It also has its own cafe and toilets, and they are always hosting events from live music to fashion shows. When I was there, it was promoting London Fashion Week and had top designers and cat walks on all weekend!

Marble Arch, Oxford Street **star

Marble Arch was originally built as an entrance to Buckingham Palace, but was moved to Oxford Street apparently because the Queens carriage wouldn't fit through it. It also has three small rooms which used to be a police station. Pretty impressive - you won't miss it if your going to visit Speakers Corner as it's huge! Good spot for taking photographs!

Speaker's Corner ****star

Speaker's Corner is located in the south east corner of Hyde Park opposite Marble Arch. Every Sunday, though because of it's popularity, speakers can be found every day of the week, people flock here to voice their opinion on anything and everything. Even Karl Marx and George Orwell once used this as a platform to express thier ideals and beliefs! When I went I saw a man who thought he could live forever, so the things you will hear really are extremely varied! Well worth a look, as anyone is free to get up there and pontificate and heckling is welcomed which makes it a hilarious place to visit!

Hyde Park ****star

Hyde Park is a great place to visit if the hectic bustle of London is getting a bit too much to handle. Here you can amble through the park which has a meadow and a lake and pack yourself a picnic, or participate in numerous activities including, rollerblading, horse riding, boating, cycling. frisbee, tennis, basketball and even swimming!

Hyde park offers loads of activites but one of my favourites and it seems like one of the popular is in-line skating. There are various places you can hire skates from and you can get lessons from £12 - or just bring your own, which makes for a really cheap day out!

The Serpentine Lake in Hyde Park is open to the public 7 days a week from May to September. You can hire out boats and pedalos and there is a paddling pool!

The Queen's Horse Guards *****star

The Queen's horse guards regularly train in Hyde Park along Rotten Row, but if you want to see them I suggest you go quite early as they are usually gone by 11am. They are escorted to and from the stables by mounted policemen so it shows just how important they are and to watch them galloping up and down Hyde Park is amazing.

Wellington Arch *star

Yet another massive monument to commemorate someone's death - pretty impressive though. In between Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace, you can't miss it!

Buckingham Palace **star

Not particularly interesting when I went because i missed the changing of the guards but that event is supposed to be very cool to watch. Even if your not into the Royal Family (which to be honest I doubt many students are) it is still worth a visit even if its just to have a laugh at the hoards of foreigners that flock to the gates everyday - its madness to watch how excited some of them get about seeing a fancy building!

Alternatively...

Take a walk by the river Thames.
With lots of sights to take in and photographs to be taken, a stroll down the the river can be very pleasant.

• Start at Westminster Tube Station
• You can't miss the Houses of Parliament!
• Walk over the Westminster Bridge and follow the river
• You will see the London Eye and Jubilee Gardens
• Turn right here till you get to Waterloo Station
• Take the tube to St Paul's.
• Take the Waterloo line East to Bank, change onto the Central line and go west to St Pauls
• From here St Paul's Cathedral is straight in front of you.
• Walk towards the river and take the Millenium Bridge
• On the other side of the river you will find the Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. 

St Paul's cathedral ***star

OK so perhaps not the first place as a student you would visit, and with admission fees at a costly £8.00 you may wonder why I have included this in my student guide but it is definitely worth a visit. St Paul's is one of the most beautiful sights in London with its towering domes and intricate stone work and it looks amazing from Millennium Bridge which you can walk over to get to the Tate Modern. And if you refuse to pay the ridiculous admission fee (which i did) you can wander around the grounds for absolutely nothing.

Tate Modern ****star

One of London's most popular galleries, full of international modern and contemporary art, the Tate Modern is an inspiring place to visit-and best of all it's free! One floor out of 5 holds a special exhibition which usually costs about £6.50 with a student card but if you don't want to spend anything there are lots of live events such as music, performance, workshops, talks and discussions to keep you entertained.

The London Eye and Houses of Parliament **star

Other interesting sights to see are the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament, both very impressive structures. Also Tower Bridge, Shakespears Globe Theatre and Milleniium Bridge are on the river and are good for photographing.

Free Days Out- Covent Garden/Trafalgar Square

• Start at Covent Garden Tube Station
• Here you will find the covered market and many street performers
• Opposite the station is Neal Street
• At the end of Neal St go back on yourself down Marmouth Street
• Neals Yard is on your right
• When you get to the end of this road turn right onto Cranbourn Street
• This will take you to Leicester Square
• Make your way to Charing Cross Road
• You will see the galleries and Trafalgar Square
• Cross Trafalgar Square and walk up Haymarket till you reach Piccadilly Circus
• Go up Shaftbury Avenue till you find Rupet Street
• Up here is Burwick Street Market
• Further up is Soho Square
• The nearest tube station from here is Tottenham Court Road.

The National Portrait Gallery ****star

The National Portrait Gallery is free to visit and is full of, well, portraits. There are some really cool paintings and amazing photographs. When I went I saw an image of a woman and without you realising it would gradually change and morph into other images - I sat and watched it for ages it was so amazing.

The National Gallery ***star

The National Gallery looks onto Trafalgar Square and is free to look round. It holds paintings from the 14th century to the 18th century so it is quite traditional. One of the most famous paintings it has is probably Van Goghs Sunfowers which are superb in real life. If you're not into old paintings it's still good for a quick look as the building itself is also very impressive.

Trafalgar Square **star

Home to Nelsons column, Trafalgar Square always feels like the very centre of London to me. It often has street artists/performers and would be nice to sit beside the fountains and take in Londons atmosphere here. Yet another memorial in London - but it's larger than all the others so go see it! Also the lions at the bottom of it are fun to climb on.

Piccadilly Circus ***star

Get your cameras out! This huge advertising banner features in so many films, Bridget Jones being one, you've just got to see it especially as its so close to Trafalgar and Leicester Square.

Burwick Street ***star

Burwick Street has a market open on weekdays famous for old vinyls and fabrics. Only small but worth a visit if your into music as your sure to find some obscure stuff.

Soho Square ***star

You can get away from the manic hustle and bustle of London life by taking a walk around Soho Square - just off Oxford Street. It's a really pretty, peaceful square and would be great to bring a picnic here.

Leicester Square ***star

This is the cinema where all Londons premiers are held. Check out the website for up coming red carpet events. Around the square you can find the hand prints of many actors like Tom Cruise and Kate Winslet.

Going to the theatre is a must when you visit London but unfortunately it is rather costly. In leicester Square there are lots of discount tickets stalls where you buy theatre tickets starting at £15.00! Make sure you check them all out though to get the best deal.

Neal Street, Covent Garden ****star

Neal Street is the place to come if you don't want to be pushed around by grumpy Londoners when you're shopping. It has a huge urban outfitters and an Office as well as some cool boutiques. Though beware charity volunteers - there's one every two feet down this otherwise quiet street.

Imso is one of my favourite boutiques on Neal Street, targeted at young people its full of vintage style clothing and has a huge collection of accessories at very low prices.

Covent Garden ****star

Covent Garden is quite a large area with pretty much everything from shops to clubs and theatres. But in the heart of Covent Garden is an undercover shopping arcade full of cute boutique shops where you can find all sorts of one off creations. It also has the 'Apple Market' which sells lots of arts and crafts. My favourite part is the string quartet that plays just outside a small cafe, its the perfect music to listen to in this traditional, old fashioned building.

Covent garden is a hive of activity - one of it's highlights is the various street performers it attracts. This picture shows the 'dogman' who would bark insults at anyone that walked past - very amusing to watch just make sure you don't catch his eye!

Not only can you find barmy street performers in Covent Garden but now you can see them in abundance in Camden! Also you find a lot of people randomly dancing to hardcore dance music - I don't think they are doing it for money but it's still really funny to watch! Think Techno Viking (YouTube him!)