Art History Volume 2 5th Edition Stokstad Pdf Merger

A Short Guide to Writing by rosalind_g in Types >School Work and a short guide to writing.

The most student-friendly, contextual, and inclusive survey is now personalized, digital, and mobile for today’s students. Art History 5 th edition continues to balance formal analysis with contextual art history in order to engage a diverse student audience. Authors Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren- both scholars as well as teachers- share a common vision that survey courses should be filled with as much enjoyment as learning, and that they should foster an enthusiastic, as well as an educated, public for the visual arts. This revision is the strongest and most comprehensive learning program for measuring student progress and improving student success in attaining the outcomes and goals of the art history survey course. Not only does the text address four overarching goals of the survey course, the new MyArtsLab further develops and reinforces these outcomes and skills with market-leading learning tools such as personalized study plans for each student and multimedia assets geared towards addressing different learning styles and abilities, such as chapter audio, student videos, Closer Looks, architectural panoramas and much more.

The end result is a complete learning program designed to increase students’ success with a personalized, digital and a highly mobile learning experience. A better teaching and learning experience This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience–for you and your students. Here’s how: • Personalize Learning– MyArtsLab is an online homework, tutorial, and assessment program. It helps students prepare for class and instructors gauge individual and class performance.

• Go Digital — Pearson Custom eText provides instructors and students with a whole new online customizable learning experience. • Go Mobile — Make learning easy and convenient with our on-the-go eTexts and key learning applications. • Improve Critical Thinking — Key Learning Outcomes encourage students to think critically about visual arts as part of the larger world. • Engage Students — Updated scholarship, MyArtsLab, and the readability of the text provide a wonderful engaging student experience. • Support Instructors — With a wealth of online resources, instructors have videos, images, and teaching support materials to create a dynamic, engaging course. NOTE: MyArtsLab does not come automatically packaged with this text.

If you want just Art History Volume 2 with MyArtsLab order the ISBN below: / 472 Art History, Volume 2 Plus NEW MyArtsLab with eText -- Access Card Package Package consists of: / 568 NEW MyArtsLab with Pearson eText -- Valuepack Access Card / 577 Art History Volume 2 If you want the complete Art History with MyArtsLab order the ISBN below: / 489 Art History Plus NEW MyArtsLab with eText -- Access Card Package Package consists of: / 568 NEW MyArtsLab with Pearson eText -- Valuepack Access Card / 470 Art History Table of Contents. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS: Chapter 18.

Fourteenth-Century Art in Europe Chapter 19. Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe Chapter 20. Renaissance Art in Fifteenth-Century Italy Chapter 21. Sixteenth-Century Art in Italy Chapter 22. Sixteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula Chapter 23. Seventeenth-Century Art in Europe Chapter 24.

Art of South and Southeast Asia after 1200 Chapter 25. Chinese and Korean Art after 1279 Chapter 26. Japanese Art after 1333 Chapter 27. Art of the Americas after 1300 Chapter 28.

Art of Pacific Cultures Chapter 29. Art of Africa in the Modern Era Chapter 30. Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Art in Europe and North America Chapter 31.

Mid to Late Nineteenth-Century Art in Europe and the United States Chapter 32. Modern Art in Europe and the Americas, 1900–1950 Chapter 33. The International Scene since 1950.

I created Writing About Art as the text for a course of the same name at The City College of New York. The book explains the different approaches college students encounter in undergraduate art history classes. Each chapter outlines the characteristics of one type of visual or historical analysis, and briefly explains its history and development. Passages by well-known art historians provide examples of each method. Four appendices outline the steps in researching art historical topics, writing essays about them, and citing sources properly. Appendices III and IV include sample student papers, accompanied by my comments and suggested changes. I have not included illustrations, in the hope that more attention will be given to the passages quoted.

Glancing at a picture and then skimming text about it is not the same as trying to create a mental image from words alone. The absence of illustrations also makes it easier for each reader to decide which words are especially effective in communicating information about visual things. However, complete identification of the images discussed is given so that the reader can find them easily on the Web. Many of them will be familiar from art history surveys. Writing About Art has been revised repeatedly in response to comments from students and colleagues.

It is no exaggeration to say that without the help of my students at CCNY, I never could have – or would have – written this text. I owe them all, especially those who allowed me to use their papers as examples, tremendous thanks. They also have forced me into the twenty-first century, making it clear how useful it would be to have this text available as a website as well as in a paperback and a Kindle edition.

In appreciation of all they have given me, I dedicate this work to my students in Art 210. Marjorie Munsterberg. The great aim is accurate, precise and definite description. The first thing is to recognise how extraordinarily difficult this is.

It is no mere matter of carefulness; you have to use language, and language is by its very nature a communal thing; that is, it expresses never the exact thing but a compromise — that which is common to you, me and everybody. But each man sees a little differently, and to get out clearly and exactly what he does see, he must have a terrific struggle with language... [which] has its own special nature, its own conventions and communal ideas. It is only by a concentrated effort of the mind that you can hold it fixed to your own purpose. Knowing how to write a formal analysis of a work of art is a fundamental skill learned in an art appreciation-level class. Students in art history survey and upper-level classes further develop this skill. Use this sheet as a guide when writing a formal analysis paper.Consider the following when analyzing a work of art.

Not everything applies to every work of art, nor is it always useful to consider things in the order given. In any analysis, keep in mind the following: HOW and WHY is this a significant work of art? • In many cases, this information can be found on a label or in a gallery guidebook. There may be an artist’s statement available in the gallery.

If so, indicate in your text or by a footnote or endnote to your paper where you got the information. • Subject Matter (Who or What is Represented?) • Artist or Architect (What person or group made it? Often this is not known.

If there is a name, refer to this person as the artist or architect, not “author.” Refer to this person by their last name, not familiarly by their first name.) • Date (When was it made? Is it a copy of something older? Was it made before or after other similar works?) • Provenance (Where was it made? Is it typical of the art of a geographical area?) • Location (Where is the work of art now? Where was it originally located?

Does the viewer look up at it, or down at it? If it is not in its original location, does the viewer see it as the artist intended? Can it be seen on all sides, or just on one?) • Technique and Medium (What materials is it made of? How was it executed?

How big or small is it?) In a few sentences describe the work. What does it look like? Is it a representation of something? Tell what is shown. Is it an abstraction of something? Tell what the subject is and what aspects are emphasized. Is it a non-objective work?

Tell what elements are dominant. This section is not an analysis of the work yet, though some terms used in Part III might be used here.

This section is primarily a few sentences to give the reader a sense of what the work looks like. This is the key part of your paper. It should be the longest section of the paper. Be sure and think about whether the work of art selected is a two-dimensional or three-dimensional work.

Artist's impression of the time for the future extension of the GPO and creation of a public square. 1872) Despite several alterations to the Post Office on George Street, by 1851, a special Board of Enquiry established by the colonial government had concluded that 'the building [is] very ill-adapted for the business required to be carried out in it.'

Further alterations were added in an attempt to relieve some pressure on the mail service, but nevertheless, the lack of amenities was a source of complaint by workers and one staff member in 1853 described how 'the stench in this room is at times so unbearable as to hinder us materially in the performance of our duties.' Continued rapid growth and population rise, particularly in New South Wales had placed significant strain on the postal services and the post office building itself, which had now become a public and government concern due to its gross overcrowding and that the system of handling mail was rapidly descending into the danger of collapsing entirely. Despite these growing problems, the building remained in use but, by 1863, the situation had worsened such that the Doric building had been entirely abandoned and a larger temporary wooden structure to serve as a temporary post office in Square (now ) was erected at a government cost of £4,000.

It was at this time that James Barnet, having recently been appointed the first Colonial Architect of New South Wales, was instructed to prepare plans for a new Post Office on the George Street segment of the present site. Although his intention had always been to create a much grander civic structure, it has also been documented that Barnet entertained suggestions that the existing Doric portico be retained and a new, larger structure be erected behind it. This idea was unique for its time as it was 'almost certainly' the first time in Australian architectural history that contemplation for 'retaining' and 'recycling' an existing historic building had been documented. Eventually however, the former GPO was demolished and today, one of its six columns still stands in Mount Street Plaza,, whilst another can be found off,. James Barnet's post office [ ] First stage construction (1866-1874) [ ]. Completion of the First Stage of Barnet's GPO facing George Street and the widening of St. Martin's Lane (Now ) (c.1872) Following the demolition of the old post office, the Wynyard 'temporary' building continued to serve as the post office for ten years whilst Barnet oversaw the first stage construction of his GPO.

The designs which he had begun in 1863 were completed and submitted for approval in February 1865. Political changes however led to delays for the excavation and foundation works and tenders for the building's main construction did not go out until October 1866. On 17 December 1866, it was announced that builder John Young was awarded the contract for 'carpenters, joiners, slaters, plumbers, painters and glaziers.

His tender for masons and bricklayers was also accepted [whilst].the commission for ironworks went to P.N. Russell and Co.'

Early progress proved to be a slow and difficult process, particularly due to the need to enclose the running below the foundations and to ensure construction would not affect adjoining buildings. In April 1869, The, (later known as ), second son and fourth child of, set the keystone of the George Street entrance for the Post Office.

A prominent newspaper of the time reported that the 'ponderous keystone' was quarried at Pyrmont and weighted 26 tons (26.5 metric tonnes), highlighting that it was one of many such stones used in the construction of the building and described as being 'without parallel in the city.' Example of the 'realistic' Pitt Street Carvings by Tomaso Sani Whilst construction of stage two progressed smoothly, the initial unveiling of what would become denigrated as the Pitt Street 'caricatures' in 1883 caused great controversy throughout the city. Conceived under the supervision of Barnet and with the works executed by Italian immigrant sculptor Tomaso Sani, the sculptures were designed as 'a series of high relief figures.illustrating aspects of contemporary colonial society in a realistic manner to signify the integral place of the General Post Office in colonial life.'

The controversy over the figures resulted from their comical references to real-life personalities (including Barnet himself). Realistic portrayal was contrary to the established practices of classical allegorical figures such as those used in the first stage of the GPO.

The controversy significantly affected Banet's reputation. The severity of the carvings as a matter of aesthetic taste was taken so seriously that it was raised by the then Vice-President of the Executive Council of the third in the, (later, sixth of NSW), who was shocked by what he saw and tabled questions in parliament on 12 April 1883.

In defense of the carvings, fellow member of the assembly, read out a letter written by Barnet, in which the architect argued that the carvings were ', realistic in character, representing the men and women in the costumes of the day. This has the advantage of truth, and fix the date and historical value of the work in opposition to the or classic sculpture which cold not be allied in an intelligent form to express what is intended.'

In subsequent debates on the matter, the issues of aesthetics and beauty were raised with Dalley at one point reminding the assembly of eminent English art critic 's declaration that 'beauty should be sought in daily associations.' Running parallel to the discussions in parliament, various scathing opinions were published in the press.

Anonymous letters to the editor as well as prominent statements by highly respected art critics and fellow architects all offered their opinion on the state of Sani's carvings., a prominent sculptor with previous exhibitions at the Royal Academy and the Victorian Society of Fine Arts declared that 'those filling the at the Post Office are, and not 'bas-reliefs' as Mr. Barnet called them.'

His comments were however eventually disregarded as personal and bitter, given Jones had previously been refused a commission by Barnet after Jones had been convicted of in 1871. De Libra, an art critic and writer, commented that the subject matter was commendable but that it the carvings were unsatisfactory because of 'the execution of the design, and the degree of the relief.' With the rising tide of criticism, a newspaper of the time finally lamented that Barnet '.[now] stands alone against a world of carping critics.' Realisation of Barnet's Vision. The articulation of the GPO resulting in a new adjoining civic square between George St & Pitt St. 1901) As criticism of the carvings died down momentarily, the colonnade linking Pitt and George streets was fully opened to the public in May 1887. The public applauded the work of Barnet and demanded visions for a new civic piazza.

Indeed, one newspaper illustrated an imaginary Italianate square declaring that it was 'the General Post Office Square as it should be.a wide square, and the splendours of greenery and spraying fountains.' As the tallest and arguably the largest civic structure in Sydney at the time, it could be seen from 'all over the city' and thus, resulted in a public cry for a wider civic square to be constructed. As a result of these public petitions, the Legislative Assembly passed the General Post Office (Approaches Improvement) Act, effectively permitting the government to purchase land north of the GPO for the creation of a wide public space between George and Pitt street. Additions by Walter Liberty Vernon (1898 - 1910s) [ ]. Download Office 2000 Sp3.

Commencement of construction on Vernon's French mansard roof additions c. 1898 The additions in the French style, with the adornment of around windows indicated a shift toward new trends in Australian architecture eventually becoming known as Federation Arts & Crafts movement championed by the suburban Federation bungalow typology. Continued development [ ] Martin Place (1910s - 1996) [ ] The clock tower was demolished in 1942 to reduce the visibility of the GPO in case of an air attack on Sydney. It was rebuilt in 1964. When the clock was retrieved from storage in 1964, an ' inscription by was found written in chalk inside the bell. It was left there and is now one of only two original Eternity inscriptions.

Refurbishment and current use (1996 - present day) [ ] Having remained as the headquarters of since its completion, the GPO was privatised and leased out in 1996 as part of the disbursement of assets by the. It was refurbished through the work of Sydney-based architectural practice and subsequently the building houses shops, restaurants, hotel rooms, and the foyer of two adjoining tower blocks. The refurbishment was completed in September 1999 to coincide with the. In the now heritage GPO building, maintains a presence in the form of a 'Post Shop' at the corner of Martin Place and George Street but the rest of the building is devoted to shops, cafes, restaurants and bars as well as a hotel and function rooms. The hotel and office towers stand in the former courtyard, which was converted into an atrium.

The ground and lower ground floors house retail premises with the anchor tenant operating all the food and beverage operations known collectively as the 'GPO Grand' (GPO Restaurants and Bars). Architecture [ ]. NSW Government - Office of Environment & Heritage. Retrieved 13 October 2015. • ^ Thalis, Philip; Cantril, Peter John (2013).

Public Sydney: Drawing the City. Sydney, Australia: Historic Houses Trust and Content, Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Australia. • ^ Bridges, Peter; McDonald, Don (1988). James Barnet: Colonial Architect. Sydney, Australia: Hale & Iremonger Pty Ltd.. • ^ Johnson, Chris (2000).

Bingham-Hall, Patrick, ed. James Barnet: The Universal Values of Civic Existence. James Barnet and the Classical Ideal: Architecture in Sydney. Sydney, Australia: Pesaro Architectural Monographs. • Orr, Kirsten (2007).

LIMINA: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies. Retrieved 17 October 2015. Australia Post. Retrieved 13 October 2015. Australian Government - Department of the Environment. 22 June 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2015.

State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 11 August 2015.

• ^ McDonald, Ewen (2012). Sydney, Australia: Museum of Contemporary Art Limited. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust. Retrieved 11 August 2015. • ^ Johnston, D.L.

An Investigation into the History of Buildings attributed to James Barnet, Colonial Architect from 1865 to 1890. (Thesis in Bachelor of Architecture, Honours at the University of New South Wales, Australia). Sydney, Australia. • ^ Ellmoos, Laila.. Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 5 September 2015.

• 'Report from the Board of Enquiry on the General Post Office'. North Sydney City Council. • Carment, David (2011).. Dictionary of Sydney.

Retrieved 13 October 2015. • 'Contracts Entered into for the Erection of the New General Post Office'.

New South Wales Government Gazette. 20 December 1867. • ^ McDonald, D.I..

Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 10 October 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald.

2 April 1869. Retrieved 10 October 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 September 1869. Retrieved 17 October 2015 – via Trove - The National Library of Australia.

Trove - Evening News (Sydney NSW) - 30 June 1891. Trove - National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 September 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 October 1885.

Retrieved 1 November 2015 – via Trove - National Library of Australia. • ^ Johnson, Chris (2000). Barnet and Australian Identity: Universal or Local, Imported or Native?

James Barnet: The Universal Values of Civic Existence. Sydney, Australia: Pesaro Architectural Monographs. The Sydney Morning Herald.

22 January 1885. Retrieved 1 November 2015 – via Trove - National Library of Australia. • ^ Johnson, Chris (1997). Gates, Colonnades & Carvings - Barnet's Architecture of Representation: A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Master of Architecture, History and Theory. Sydney, Australia: The University of New South Wales.

The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 September 1891. Retrieved 1 November 2015 – via Trove - National Library of Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 October 1883. Retrieved 31 October 2015 – via Trove - National Library of Australia.

• ^ Johnson, Chris (1999). Shaping Sydney: Public Architecture & Civic Decorum. Sydney, Australia: Hale & Iremonger. Pp. 80–83; 100–104.. Lorando (19 April 1883).. The Sydney Morning Herald.

Retrieved 1 November 2015 – via Trove - National Library of Australia. • de Libra, J.J. (20 April 1883).. The Sydney Morning Herald.

Retrieved 15 January 2016. 15 June 1886. Retrieved 15 January 2016. The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 February 1884. Retrieved 1 November 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald.

30 October 1885. Retrieved 1 November 2015 – via Trove - National Library of Australia. The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 December 1890. Retrieved 1 November 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald.

2 September 1874. Retrieved 19 January 2016. Illustrated Sydney News. 26 January 1888. Retrieved 1 November 2015. • ^ Meacham, Steve (1 October 2007).. The Sydney Morning Herald.

Retrieved 18 October 2015. • 'Removal of the Sydney GPO Clock Tower (1942)'. Missing or empty url= () •. Clive Lucas & Stapleton - Architects & Heritage Consultants. Retrieved 13 October 2015.

Retrieved 22 March 2007. • • Baker, Richard Thomas (1908). Building and Ornamental Stones of New South Wales Franco-British Exhibition, London, 1908. Sydney, NSW: Dept.

Of Public Instruction. • ^ Kohane, Peter (2000).

Bingham-Hall, Patrick, ed. James Barnet: The Universal Values of Civic Existence.

James Barnet and the Classical Ideal: Architecture in Sydney. Sydney, Australia: Pesaro Architectural Monographs. • Apperly, Richard; Irving, Robert; Reynolds, Peter (1995). A Pictorial Guide to Identifying Australian Architecture. Sydney, Australia: Angus & Robertson. External links [ ]: 'I hope that my painting has the impact of giving someone, as it did me, the feeling of his own totality, of his own separateness, of his own individuality.' Newman shared the Abstract Expressionists' interests in myth and the primitive unconscious, but the huge fields of color and trademark 'zips' in his pictures set him apart from the gestural abstraction of many of his peers.

The response to his mature work, even from friends, was muted when he first exhibited it. It was not until later in his career that he began to receive acclaim, and he would subsequently become a touchstone for both Minimalists and a second generation of Color Field painters. Commenting on one of Newman's exhibitions in 1959, critic Thomas B. Hess wrote, 'he changed in about a year's time from an outcast or a crank into the father figure of two generations.' Newman believed that the modern world had rendered traditional art subjects and styles invalid, especially in the post-World War II years shadowed by conflict, fear, and tragedy. Newman wrote: 'old standards of beauty were irrelevant: the sublime was all that was appropriate - an experience of enormity which might lift modern humanity out of its torpor.' Newman's pictures were a decisive break with the gestural abstraction of his peers.

Instead, he devised an approach that avoided painting's conventional oppositions of figure and ground. He created a symbol, the 'zip,' which might reach out and invoke the viewer standing before it - the viewer fired with the spark of life. He thought that humans had a primal drive to create, and one could find expressions of the same instincts and yearnings locked in ancient art as one would find in modern art. He saw artists, and himself, as the creators of the world.

Onement I (1948) Newman saw Onement I as a breakthrough in his work. It features the first full incarnation of what he later called a 'zip,' a vertical band of color. This motif would play a central role in many of his subsequent paintings.

The painting's title is an archaic derivation of the word 'atonement,' meaning, 'the state of being made into one.' For Newman, this unevenly painted zip on a flat field of color does not divide the canvas; rather, it merges both sides, drawing in the audience to intensely experience the work both physically and emotionally. Some have compared the zips to Alberto Giacometti's slender figures, reinforcing Newman's own connections between his paintings and the viewer's body. From Our Sponsor. Article Continues Below Barnett Newman was born in 1905 to Jewish parents who had immigrated to New York from Russian Poland five years earlier.

Barney, as his family and friends called him, grew up in Manhattan and the Bronx with three younger siblings. He started drawing at the Art Students League during high school, continuing to take classes there while earning a philosophy degree from City College of New York. It was at the Art Students League that he would meet and befriend Adolph Gottlieb, who would introduce him to important New York artists and gallery owners. Following his college graduation, Newman worked for his father's clothing manufacturing business until it failed a few years after the 1929 stock market crash. During the next few years, his disparate pursuits included substitute art teaching (despite failing the art teacher qualification exam many times), running as a write-in candidate for mayor in 1933, and creating a short-lived magazine advocating civil service workers' rights.

In 1936, he married Annalee Greenhouse, a teacher. During the early 1940s, he gave up painting entirely. Instead, he studied natural history, ornithology, and Pre-Columbian art, wrote museum catalogue essays and art reviews, and organized exhibitions. His interest in ornithology would later inform his famous quote, 'Aesthetics is for the artist as ornithology is for the birds.' During this time, he began a friendship with gallery owner Betty Parsons, for whom he organized several exhibitions. She soon began representing Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, and Jackson Pollock, all close friends of Newman.

By 1944, Newman had returned to art practice, inspired in part by Surrealism. Dissatisfied with his earlier figurative work, he destroyed everything he had previously made, and he would continue to destroy work that failed to please him throughout his career. In 1946, the Betty Parsons Gallery began representing him. The year 1948 was a major turning point in Newman's career. He began developing a pictorial device he called a 'zip,' a vertical stripe of color running the length of the canvas, and this led to the painting Onement I(1948).

The device would become the trademark of all his work to come. With it, he suspended a painting's traditional opposition of figure and ground and created an enveloping experience of color in which the viewer herself, physically and emotionally, is invoked by the zip - gestured to as a being filled with the original spark of life, just like Newman's mythical 'first man' (see 'Writings and Ideas' below). He touched on some of these ideas in explaining how viewers should read his much larger 1950 canvas Vir heroicus sublimis: 'It's no different, really, from meeting another person. One has a reaction to the person physically. Also, there's a metaphysical thing, and if a meeting of people is meaningful, it affects both their lives.' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -. The new work, including Onement I (1948), was first shown at Betty Parsons Gallery in 1950.

The response, however, was chiefly negative; one painting was even defaced, and Newman's works would continue to excite violent reactions from audiences, being slashed on several occasions in subsequent years. The following year, Parsons showed him again, yet the response was little better and it drove Newman to withdraw from the gallery scene. Throughout this time he continued writing, producing several philosophical essays about art. Most notably, he wrote 'The Sublime Is Now,' in which he stated, 'I believe that here in America, some of us, free from the weight of European culture, are finding the answer, by completely denying that art has any concern with the problem of beauty and where to find it.' His work was not shown anywhere between 1951 and 1955; he even bought back a painting he no longer wanted on view.

And throughout these early years, he sold very few paintings. It was not until the early 1960s - and following a heart attack in 1957 - that some of his most ardently negative critics began to shift their viewpoints. With the critical tide gradually changing, many began to consider Newman an important artist within Abstract Expressionism, particularly after Clement Greenberg organized his 1959 solo show at French & Company.

In the 1960s, Newman expanded his work into lithographs and sculpture, which he had only delved into earlier in his career. His work appeared in several important museum exhibitions on Abstract Expressionism, securing his significant place within the movement.

Despite this broader recognition, however, many still misinterpreted his work; Newman would repeatedly dispute such misunderstandings throughout his career. He would even do this at considerable cost to himself; at a time when few museums were interested in his work, he refused an offer to be in the 1962 Whitney exhibit on Geometric Abstraction. In 1966, the Guggenheim gave Newman his first solo museum exhibition, displaying his Stations of the Cross, a series of fourteen pictures executed between 1958 and 1966. Although this show also received many negative reviews, it expanded his recognition within the art world.

Over the next few years, he continued creating some of his most important work. Among these included his largest painting, Anna's Light (1968), the series Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue (1966-68) and the monumental sculpture Broken Obelisk (1963-69). On July 4, 1970, Newman died of a heart attack in New York. Newman stands out among artists of the New York School for the quantity of writing he produced, particularly in the early to mid 1940s. Discussion and ideas remained important to him, and he likened abstract thought to the non-objective forms of 'primitive' art - both, he believed, were aimed at generalization and classification.

However, as an artist, Newman claimed to have never approached any painting with a plan. 'I am an intuitive painter,' he wrote, one who is concerned with the 'immediate and particular.' In this respect, Newman's ideas about art were romantic. He believed that a maker of abstract art was harnessing the most basic human emotions, but wasn't bound by any mythology or ancient standard for making art, or even for viewing it.

In a 1962 interview Newman gave to Art in America magazine, he remarked, 'The central issue of painting is the subject matter. My subject is antianecdotal.' An anecdotal painting, he believed, was like an episode or a piece in a longer sequence. Newman believed that if a painting is antianecdotal, then it somehow becomes more whole, self-sufficient and independent. He also believed that whatever a painting's meaning, it would come out in the viewing of the work, not through discussion.

'The First Man Was an Artist' Tiger's Eye October 1947 Newman worked as an associate editor for Tiger's Eye, and 'The First Man Was an Artist' was published in the magazine's first year. In the essay, Newman asserted the priority of the aesthetic over the social: 'The human in language is literature,' he wrote, 'not communication.' Humans were artists before they were hunters, he claimed, and were storytellers before they were scientists.

'Just as man's first speech was poetic before it became utilitarian, so man first built an idol of mud before he fashioned an axe.' Newman also questioned the benefits of scientific advancements on the mind of modern man. His position was not that science was particularly malevolent, but rather that it had become a strict form of theology that restricted the creative spirit. 'The domination of science over the mind of modern man,' he wrote, 'has been accomplished by the simple tactic of ignoring the prime scientific quest; the concern with its original question What?' According to Newman, once this question of ' what?' Ceases to be at the forefront, advancements in the arts and sciences are no longer possible; they became merely the practice of reaffirming old and tried ideas.

'The Sublime is Now' Tiger's Eye December 1948 In this, perhaps Newman's most famous essay, he examined the work of several 20th-century European artists who, he believed, destroyed old standards of beauty. He also briefly touched on the standards of beauty in art established by the ancient Greeks and examined the ways in which influential philosophers - particularly nineteenth-century Germans - reconciled these ideas with the advent of new modern styles. The key struggle, according to Newman, was that which occurs between ideas of beauty and ideas of the sublime. Newman concluded that artists had finally succeeded in creating a new standard of beauty and the sublime. Not since the Renaissance, he claimed, had a melding of those two concepts occurred with such force. Before Abstract Expressionism, some of the greatest modern artists had only succeeded in challenging old ideas about beauty in the visual arts: 'Picasso's effort may be sublime,' he wrote, 'but there is no doubt that his work is a preoccupation with the question of what is the nature of beauty.' He believed his own generation was a new breed - artists who didn't simply question or even challenge old standards, but rather created entirely new and consequently sublime ideas about beauty.

Newman considered himself a pure artist, working with pure forms. For a 1947 exhibition at Betty Parsons Gallery, entitled The Ideographic Picture, he wrote, 'The basis of an aesthetic act is the pure idea. But the pure idea is, of necessity, an aesthetic act.' Newman affirmed his belief that authentic, expressive abstract art was void of symbolism or illusion and that the purest living form in an abstract painting was its shape. '[A] shape [is] a living thing,' he wrote, 'a vehicle for an abstract thought-complex, a carrier of the awesome feelings [the artist] felt before the terror of the unknowable.'

For the first issue of Tiger's Eye, in October 1947, Newman wrote one of his most famous essays, 'The First Man Was an Artist'. In it he sought to establish a rather unorthodox link between art and science; 'For there is a difference between method and inquiry,' he wrote. 'Scientific inquiry, from its beginnings, has perpetually asked a single and specific question, What? What is the rainbow, what is an atom, what is a star [sic]?' This basic and instinctive question of 'what?'

Was what made all art into a science - not a science that set out to prove something, but rather a science that simply sought new knowledge and experience. According to Newman, all of modern art had been a quest to negate the classical standards of beauty established during the Renaissance. The early Modernists - artists such as Edouard Manet and the Impressionists - had failed to fully achieve this, and the task of completion was left to his own generation. 'I believe that here in America,' he wrote in 1948, 'some of us, free from the weight of European culture, are finding the answer, by completely denying that art has any concern with the problem of beauty and where to find it. We are reasserting man's natural desire for the exalted, for a concern with our relationship to the absolute emotions.' In 1956, Ad Reinhardt wrote an article in College Art Journal entitled 'The Artist in Search of an Academy', in which he derided Barnett Newman as 'the artist-professor and traveling-design-salesman, the Art-Digest-philosopher-poet and Bauhaus-exerciser, the avant-garde-huckster-handicraftsman and educational-shop-keeper, the holy-roller-explainer-entertainer-in-residence.'

Newman was enraged and sued Reinhardt for libel. When the case reached the New York Supreme Court, it was dismissed and subsequently rejected again upon appeal. But Newman was often similarly criticized by fellow artists for being overly romantic - Pollock reportedly called him a 'horse's ass' at one gallery opening. In Discussion with Hess on Stations of the Cross In a public conversation between Thomas B. Hess and Newman, staged at the Guggenheim Museum on May 1, 1966, Newman was asked a series of questions regarding his Stations of the Cross series (1958-66), which were exhibited at the museum in Newman's very first solo exhibition at a public gallery. 'When I call them Stations of the Cross,' he said, 'I am saying that these paintings mean something beyond their formal extremes.What I'm saying is that my painting is physical and what I'm saying also is that my painting is metaphysical.that my life is physical and my life is also metaphysical.'

Hess later asked Newman about the absence of color in the pictures - something that was unusual in his work. Newman responded, 'Tragedy demands black, white, and gray. I couldn't paint a green passion, but I did try to make raw canvas come into color. That was my color problem - to get the quality of color without the use of color. A painter should try to paint the impossible.'

Although largely unappreciated during his life, Barnett Newman is now viewed as crucial to the Abstract Expressionist movement and as a precursor to Minimalism. Yet he never considered himself a part of any particular movement, nor a contrast to one. He rejected comparisons to geometric painters as well as comments that named him a progenitor of the Minimalist movement. Unlike those more stark canvases that focused on non-representational meaning of shapes and colors, Newman brought a more philosophical edge to his paintings, infusing them with his own self, and inviting the audience to experience them with both their bodies and their psyches.

In this section, you will find many instructional materials we've developed for our Writing Center teaching. However, there are limitations to these materials.

Assignments vary, and different instructors want different things from student writers. Therefore, the advice here may or may not apply to your writing situation. Finally, handouts can give only a fraction of the customized guidance that an with a Writing Center instructor can provide. If you have questions about the information in our handouts, please make an appointment to see a Writing Center instructor. Whether you’ve lived here all your life or you’ve just arrived at Heathrow (if so, check out our list), we're all completely spoilt for brilliant things to do in London. From picture-postcard attractions to hotspots in odd spots, by day and by night, from high art to wildlife, there are, in fact, so many more than 101 things to do in London. But we think this list (hotly debated within the Time Out office on a regular basis) is a good place to start. Find something new at London’s landmarks, get a taste for the even when you can’t get a ticket for a show, travel the world through a hundred amazing cuisines, and discover new parts of town you’ve never even heard of before.

And, if you think you’ve got the energy to go beyond 101, check out our tips for, our favourite, the capital’s or see what’s happening right now in our. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • For other places with the same name, see. London is an enormous city. It is divided into thirty-two boroughs, although information on this page is divided between, and of the city. These district and borough articles contain sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife and accommodation listings — consider printing them all. Noisy, vibrant and truly multicultural, London is a megalopolis of people, ideas and frenetic energy.

The capital and largest city of both and of the, it is also the largest city in Western and the European Union. Most residents of Greater London are very proud of their capital, the multiculturalism of the city, and their membership of the European Union, despite 52% of the UK population as a whole who voted in a recent referendum choosing to leave the EU. It is unclear what the outcome of the referendum will be on London. Situated on the River Thames in, Greater London has an official population of a little over 8 million. However, London's urban area stretched to 9,787,426 in 2011, while the figure of 14 million for the city's wider metropolitan area more accurately reflects its size and importance. Considered one of the world's leading 'global cities', London remains an international capital of culture, music, education, fashion, politics, finance and trade.

Districts [ ]. Tower Bridge at night, bridging the River Thames. The name London originally referred only to the once-walled 'Square Mile' of the original Roman (and later medieval) city (confusingly called the ' or just 'The City'). Today, London has taken on a much larger meaning to include all of the vast central parts of the modern metropolis, with the city having absorbed numerous surrounding towns and villages over the centuries, including large portions of the surrounding 'home counties', one of which - Middlesex - being completely consumed by the growing metropolis. The term 'Central London' is widely used on both signs and by the media to describe the central core of the city, which encompasses The City, most of the City of Westminster, and some of the surrounding boroughs. The term 'Greater London' embraces Central London together with all the outlying suburbs that lie in one continuous urban sprawl within the lower Thames valley.

Though densely populated by New World standards, London retains large swathes of green parkland and open space, even within the city centre. Greater London consists of 32 London boroughs and the City of London that, together with the office of the Mayor of London, form the basis for London's local government.

The Mayor of London is elected by London residents and should not be confused with the Lord Mayor of the City of London. The names of several boroughs, such as or, are well-known, others less so, such as.

This traveller's guide to London recognises cultural, functional and social districts of varying type and size: Central London [ ]. Taking in much of the ancient English county of Middlesex (which many residents still identify with rather than 'London'). Heathrow Airport is located in this part of the city. Largely made up of lush green upper middle-class/bourgeois suburbs, many of which were formerly part of the counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire before being absorbed into Greater London. Mostly originally part of the county of Essex, taking in former industrial areas on the upper Thames Estuary such as Beckton, Dagenham and Barking. Includes Stratford, home of the 2012 Olympic Games, the brand new Olympic Park leisure complex and the Stratford City mall which is the biggest inner city shopping complex in Europe. To the North East lies the gateway to the affluent Epping Forest area Originally divided between Kent and Surrey and Containing many commuter suburbs with housing of all sizes and styles, as well as the well known urban centres of Kingston-upon-Thames, Sutton, Bromley and Croydon, which have many commercial and cultural features in their town centres surrounded by generally leafy residential areas.

Leafy Thames-side scenery, Hampton Court Palace, the botanical gardens and some major parklands Understand [ ]. 'When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford' — Samuel Johnson History [ ] London has existed in various incarnations for two millennia.

The city has been the principal seat of British royal dynasties and of English (later British) governments throughout its history and has survived through fire, invasion and plague. Evidence has been unearthed of Bronze and Iron Age settlement on the present day site of London, though it is unlikely a city existed here before the Roman conquest of Britannia in 43 AD. Londinium, the precursor to the modern city of London, was established in 50 AD. Ten years later it was conquered and destroyed by the Celtic Iceni tribe, led by their queen, Boudica. Soon rebuilt, by the 2nd century AD Londinium was the capital of Roman Britain and its largest city.

Around 200 AD, the London Wall was erected to defend the city. The wall stretched for two miles around the ancient City, from Tower Hill in the East to Blackfriars Station in the West. Isolated Roman period remains and traces of the wall are still to be seen within the (now known as the Square Mile). After the end of Roman rule in 410, London experienced a gradual revival under the Anglo-Saxons. A coalition of Angles, Saxons and Jutes from, the Anglo-Saxons ruled in for 500 years until the Norman invasion of 1066. The early Anglo-Saxon trading settlement of Lundenwic was established a mile away from Londinium. London’s British Museum houses the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon artifacts in the world.

From the late 8th century, Viking raids were common in Britain. In 871 London was seized by the Danish Norsemen, until it was reclaimed for Britain by King Alfred the Great of Wessex in 886. In 1016 the Danish king Cnut gained control of London and all of England. Westminster Abbey was completed in 1065 during the reign of his stepson Edward the Confessor. Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, the paramount political status of London was confirmed when William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in Westminster. The Normans built fortifications throughout Britain and the Tower of London in particular confirmed their dominance over the existing population. After the Norman Conquest London emerged as a great trading city and with the rise of England to first European then global prominence, London became a great centre of culture, government and industry.

During the 12th and 13th centuries it gradually replaced Winchester as the royal capital of. There have been several plagues in London, notably The Black Death (1348 – 1350) and the Great Plague (1664 – 1666). The plague was followed by the Great Fire of London in 1666 after which the city was largely rebuilt. Georgian London (1714 – 1830) saw the erection of fine Georgian architecture, particularly housing (for example, 10 Downing Street) as the population greatly increased. London's long association with the theatre flourished during the English Renaissance (late 15th to early 17th C). From 1576 indoor and outdoor theatres began to appear in London.

The Rose Theatre was built in 1587 in the reign of Elizabeth 1st and was the first purpose-built theatre to stage the plays of Shakespeare. The most famous outdoor theatre was the Globe, built in 1599 by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. William Shakespeare was their resident playwright. Admission prices ranged from a penny standing charge to sixpence for the most desirable seats. There are currently over forty London theatres in the West End, in an area known as ‘Theatreland’. London’s Victoria and Albert Museum houses a permanent exhibition of the history of British theatre.

Hampton Court Palace was built from 1515 to 1530 under the reign of Henry VIII with traditional Renaissance lines. English royal dynasties spanning a millennium have all added to the cultural richness of present day London, from medieval buildings like Westminster Abbey to royal London palaces like the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace. The Victorian Houses of Parliament (1840 – 1870) were constructed on the site of the old Palace of Westminster, built in the 11th century. Britain became a supreme maritime power in the 18th and 19th centuries and London was at the epicentre of the global trade and commerce of the British Empire. The World Heritage site of Greenwich in London houses the Royal Museums, which include the Royal Observatory, home to Greenwich Mean Time, The National Maritime Museum and the last surviving tea clipper, the Cutty Sark.

By the latter half of the 19th century in the Victorian era, London had become the largest city in the world. During two world wars in the 20th century, London suffered aerial bombardment by firstly German zeppelins in World War I (1914 – 1918) and by the German Luftwaffe during the Blitz of World War II (1939 – 1945). London dominates the economic, political and social life of the nation. It is the largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 8.5 million, over seven times more than England’s ‘second city’ of. The capital is full of excellent bars, galleries, museums, parks and theatres. It is also the most culturally and ethnically diverse part of the country.

In 1777, noted diarist Samuel Johnson famously said 'When a man is tired of London he is tired of life.' Whether you are interested in ancient history, modern art, opera or underground raves, London is a global centre of history, learning and culture. There is a traditional world view of the white British citizen that they are reserved with a ‘stiff upper lip’ attitude to life, deemed to be particularly true of Londoners - even that they are positively rude to strangers. The lovable 'Cockney' of film and TV is seen as the exception. However London is a highly diverse mix of race and cultures. The year 2015 saw the population of London hit an all-time high of 8.5 million and London has the second largest immigration population in the world (after ). In 2011 the London Evening Standard newspaper stated that London had 270 nationalities and 300 different languages.

In 2011 national census, around 3 million Londoners were foreign born – just less than one third of the city’s population. However 78% of Londoners had English as their first or main language and 20% as their second language, speaking English ‘well, or very well’. About 60% of Londoners are white, of which 45% are British. Just under a fifth are Asian British (of Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese heritage) and just fewer than 15% are Black British, particularly from the Caribbean and Africa.

Over a third of the foreign born population of the UK lives in London. In the 1970s half of London’s immigrants came from the former colonies of the British Commonwealth.(6) Now many migrants come from the European Union and the expansion of the EU to Eastern Europe (10 new states joined the EU in 2004) brought new migrants to London, particularly from Poland (which has the highest level of foreign citizens in the UK at 13%). This ‘melting pot’ of people in the capital brings a rich diversity of art and culture, from ethnic and world cuisine, to music, to dance, to global artifacts and fashion. It also brings a valuable workforce, particularly in the lower paid service industries and in highly skilled professions like health and finance. London was the scene of so-called ‘race’ riots in 1958 (Notting Hill) and 1981/1985 (Brixton).

There were also riots in 2011 (Tottenham) sparked by the shooting of a local black man by the police. Many argue the roots of the 2011 riots were poverty and social alienation, not necessarily race. West Indian culture brought reggae music and the Notting Hill Carnival to the capital.

Indian and Pakistani migrants have created a food revolution in London since the 1970s, notably in Brick Lane in the East End. From the Chinese cuisine and festivals in China Town, to Irish music in Kilburn, to Polish delicatessens and Italian pasta and pizzas, each ethnic group in London brings its own colour and flavour. The ‘cheerful chappy’ Cockney, born within the sound of the Bow Bells in East London is a media stereotype, as authentic as Dick Van Dyke’s accent in the musical ‘Mary Poppins’ (1964). Cockney rhyming slang may be rich and colourful, but it is very much in the minority in the multicultural landscape of London. The world famous Elizabeth Tower (which houses the bell named Big Ben) If you ask a Londoner where the centre of London is, you are likely to get a wry smile.

This is because historically London was two cities: a commercial city and a separate government capital. However, the point from which distances to 'London' are measured is in Trafalgar Square, where the original Charing Cross stood. The commercial capital was the. This had a dense population and all the other pre-requisites of a medieval city: walls, a castle (The Tower of London), a cathedral (Saint Pauls), a semi-independent City government, a port and a bridge across which all trade was routed so Londoners could make money (London Bridge).

About an hour upstream (on foot or by boat) around a bend in the river was the government capital (). This had a church for crowning the monarch (Westminster Abbey) and palaces. As each palace was replaced by a larger one, the previous one was used for government, first the Palace of Westminster (better known as the Houses of Parliament), then Whitehall, then Buckingham Palace. The two were linked by a road called 'The Strand', old English for riverbank. London grew both west and east. The land to the west of the City (part of the parish of Westminster) was prime farming land ( and for example) and made good building land. The land to the east was flat, marshy and cheap, good for cheap housing and industry, and later for docks.

Also the wind blows 3 days out of 4 from west to east, and the Thames (into which the sewage went) flows from west to east. So the was up-wind and up-market, the (as well as further down river and beyond) was where the city's heavy industries were based, and thus became the epicentre of the working classes. Modern-day London in these terms is a two-centre city, with the area in between known confusingly as the West End. However, even this doesn't define the actual central area of London, which extends slightly beyond the City and Westminster, as inner portions of the surrounding boroughs (Kensington & Chelsea, Camden, Islington, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark and Lambeth) also lie within Central London. Climate [ ] Climate Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Daily highs 8 8 11 13 17 20 23 23 19 15 11 9 Nightly lows 2 2 4 5 8 11 14 13 11 8 5 3 Precipitation 52 34 42 45 47 53 38 47 57 62 52 54.

Despite varied weather patterns, the city has an unfair reputation for being drizzly, grey and rainy. This is mostly an unfounded belief. In fact, London enjoys a drier climate than the rest of (and a warmer one) due to it having its own urban microclimate.

On average, only one in three days will bring rain and usually then only for a short period. In some cases, 2010 being a well-known example, the city can go without rain for several weeks, leading to hosepipe bans across the city. Temperatures [ ] As for temperatures, London is far milder than nearby continental European cities due to the presence of the Gulf Stream. Average daily maximum is 8°C (46°F) in December and January (a full 4 degrees warmer than the rest of the on long-term average) and February is usually the coldest month of the year. In summer, temperatures can rise up to 24°C (75°F), and once reached as high as 38°C (100°F), as happened in 2003. Due to the urban microclimate, inner London can feel hot and humid for several days in the summer months, especially during the evenings.

However, summer is still perhaps the best season for tourists as it has long daylight hours as well as mostly mild temperatures. Snow does occur, usually for a few days at the beginning of the year. In recent years, 2012 had snow both in February and December, with more in January 2013. When it does appear, it causes huge transport problems. In 2010, just 7cm (3 in) of snow caused trains to stop running, airports to see significant delays, and mail service problems, and this is a fairly typical response to even minor icy conditions. Although roads will be gritted, it can be very dangerous in London in the snow, as slippery conditions combine with crowds with inevitable consequences.

So travellers should be very prepared for problems in the snow, both in moving by foot and public transport. On the other hand, London does look uniquely beautiful in the snow, with the landmarks and parks taking on a postcard-perfect air. Although the average day is mild and clear, rain, winds, sun or snow could come very quickly. So pack clothes accordingly. Special Events [ ] January - March • New Year's Fireworks - January 1, The capital likes to start every year with a bang, and the New Year's Eve fireworks certainly do that.

One of the most famous pyrotechnic displays in the world, with thousands of fireworks shooting from the London Eye and its surrounding area. Although these used to be free, paid ticketing was introduced in 2014, so booking is strongly advised. • Chinese New Year Parade - Dates vary, and Central With a procession of floats, Chinese dragon and lions plus a whole host of performers, musicians and martial artists in one of the year's largest celebrations. April - June • The Boat Race - Last weekend of March/first weekend of April, River Thames A true British institution, the Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge universities has been held annually (except for the two World Wars) for 150 years.

There are designated places to watch along the riverbank across the entire course from Putney to Mortlake, with the race kicking off at 12:00 at Bishop's Park and Furnivall Gardens. • London Marathon - April, - The London Marathon sees over thirty thousand complete the 26 miles ending at Buckingham Palace. You can either watch the runners move past some of London's most famous landmarks, or why not even join the ballot to take part? • Trooping the Colour - June, Celebrating the official birthday of the Queen, Trooping the Colour is British military pageantry at its very best.

A 250-year tradition including 41-gun salutes, the Household Cavalry on horseback in full uniform, and the Queen herself inspecting the troops makes this an essential watch for any Anglophiles. July - September • Wimbledon - Late June-early July, All England Lawn Tennis Club In, it is not truly summer until the first ball has been struck at, when the world's tennis stars descend on southwest London.

Try to grab a much sought-after ticket for the courts, or watch the action unfold on the big screen at 'Murray Mound'. • Festivals Season - Summer, various locations London has music festival options to suit everyone, making the most of its beautiful parks.

There's hip hop at Wireless at Finsbury Park, dance and rap at Victoria Park, and a whole selection of themed festival days in Hyde Park that have seen everyone from Neil Young to Kylie Minogue play. And that's not to mention the Proms, three months of internationally famous classical music at the Royal Albert Hall. • Pride London - June, Trafalgar Square and Soho The only annual event that sees Oxford Street closed for traffic, Pride London is the gay community's biggest party, and perhaps London's best street party of the year. 750,000 people descend on central London, live music, and the famous parade. • Notting Hill Carnival - August bank holiday weekend, If you thought Pride was big and colourful, Notting Hill Carnival assures that you haven't seen anything yet. One million people visit every year, making it the second biggest street party in the world, offering all the sights, smells and spectacle of a West Indian carnival in the heart of. October - December • Frieze Art Fair - Mid October, The London art world's biggest and most important art fair, Frieze sees 1000 of the world's most important artists displaying their work.

If it is important in the art world, it will be at Frieze. • Lord Mayor's Show - November, Mansion House and Tower Bridge It has been a London institution since the time of King John, 400 years before Shakespeare and even a century before Chaucer. Now, five times more people (500,000) come to see the river procession and parade down Bank and Aldwych than actually lived in London when the event started. • Oxford Street Lights - December, Christmas is a great time to visit London, with most landmarks aglow in Christmas lights. Most famous of these are the Oxford Street lights, which change ever year but are always a major draw to the area, as are the equally notable Christmas lights on nearby streets at Regents Street. Tourist Information Centres [ ] Visit Britain now only exists. London's own visitor promotion body is known as London and Partners and also has no public office, but maintains the website.

The Millennium Bridge leading to St Paul's Cathedral The only tourist information centre in zone 1 is the City of London Information Centre, St Pauls Churchyard, EC4M 8BX. Officially the tourist information centre for the City of London, it became the tourist office for Central London by default when everything else closed. Open daily Monday-Saturday 09:30-17:30 (9:30am to 5:30pm), Sunday 10:00-16:00. Closed Dec 25-26.

There is also a tourist information centre in Greenwich, near the Cutty Sark, in the same building as Discover Greenwich. By plane [ ]. Summary map of rail connections to London airports NOTE - The map above was prepared before major engineering works commenced at London Bridge. Until 2018 the trains branded Thameslink from St Pancras to Gatwick do not go via London Bridge. Through train still operate but during this multi-year engineering project, they bypass London Bridge.

Due to London's huge global city status it is the most served destination in the world when it comes to flights. London (all airports IATA code: LON) is served by a total of six airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, City, Stansted, Luton, Southend).

Travelling between the city and the airports is made relatively easy by the large number of public transport links that have been put in place over recent years. However, if transiting through London, be sure to check the arrival and departure airports carefully as transfers across the city may be quite time consuming. In addition to London's five official airports (of which only two are located within Greater London), there are a number of other regional UK airports conveniently accessible from London. Since they offer a growing number of budget flights, choosing those airports can be cheaper (or even faster, depending on where in London your destination is). Transferring between London's airports is never quick or simple, and any itinerary requiring an inter airport transfer should be regarded as a 'last resort' if no other option is available. There are inter-airport bus service bys between Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, which run at least hourly.

Heathrow-Gatwick services take 65min in clear traffic - but they use roads that are frequently congested (£18. Heathrow-Stansted services 90min (£20.50) (note that services between Stansted and Luton run only every two hours). However, it's essential to allow leeway, as all roads near London, especially the orbital M25 and the M1 motorway, are often congested to the point of gridlock.

Some buses have toilets on board. London Heathrow [ ]. NOTE: Passengers from central London intending to use the first departures of the day (or the latest arrivals into SEN) should note that the earliest train from Liverpool Street arrives too late for first flights, and the final train to Liverpool Street leaves before the final arrival of the day. The airport terminal building is not open 24 hours a day, opening at 4am and closing at midnight, or 45 minutes after the last flight has landed, so it may sometimes be closed earlier. Passengers will be asked to leave the terminal building when it closes.

Therefore, this airport is not suitable for sleeping overnight for an early morning flight. There is a Holiday Inn Express hotel, a few minutes walk from the terminal, but it is wise to book in advance for better deals and lower prices. The first train from London arrives at the airport just after 6:30am and the last train of the day from the airport to London is at 11:05pm.

Trains start later and finish earlier on Sundays and Bank Holidays. If you miss the last train to London, you could be in for a very expensive taxi journey (taxi fares from the airport to Liverpool Street station can run up to £100!). It is wise to plan your journey to and from the airport in advance, to prevent dissapointment and being stranded.

Since 21 September 2016, there are now no more night-time coach services to London, so plan ahead! Other airports near London [ ] • London Ashford Airport, also known as Lydd Airport has rather seasonal, limited services and is used primarily for businessmen. • Southampton Airport, ☎ +44 870 040 0009,. Every 30min, journey time 1 hour.

(IATA: SOU) is not officially a London airport, though accessible enough to conveniently serve the capital, especially South West London. A couple of budget carriers serving an increasing number of European destinations are based here. Direct trains connect Southampton airport to London Waterloo station. £30-35 round trip. Bournemouth Airport similarly operates a couple of Ryanair flight amongst others, and is not too far west on the train line from Southampton. • Birmingham International Airport, ☎ +44 870 733 5511,. (IATA: BHX) is another non-London airport worth considering as a less congested and hectic alternative to Heathrow, being 75 minutes away from London on a direct train (so a similar journey time as the tube to Heathrow, or the bus to Stansted).

As a major airport serving the UK's second largest city, there is a good choice of long distance and European destinations. Direct trains connect Birmingham International to London Euston and Watford. The train station is connected to the terminal via a free shuttle train (2 minutes). From £6 (advance web purchase) one way, £35-100 round trip. • Other small airports, such as Oxford Airport can also be useful.

Kent International Airport and Shoreham Airport (near Brighton) are similarly small. Biggin Hill in Bromley borough had a rejected licence bid in 2010 for commercial flights for the Olympics but may receive one in the near future. By train [ ] Wikitravel has a guide to. London is the hub of the British rail network - every major city in mainland Britain has a frequent train service to the capital, and most of the smaller, provincial cities and large towns also have a direct rail connection to London of some sort - although the frequency and quality of service can vary considerably from place to place. Rail fares to London vary enormously from very cheap to prohibitively expensive - the golden rules are to book Advance tickets for a particular train time, don't travel into the city on Friday afternoons and Sundays, and avoid buying tickets on the day of travel.

There are three basic types of ticket, which are summarised below. Note that much of the advice applies to rail travel in general within the United Kingdom. • ANYTIME - travel on any train, any operator at any time, returning within one month with few restrictions. Very expensive however - on a long distance journey from Northern England or Scotland for example - an Anytime return ticket to London won't leave you with any change out of £250!

• OFF-PEAK - travel on certain trains within a specific time-frame; again returning within one month. Typically this excludes anything that arrives into London during the morning rush hour (before 10:00 typically), or any train which departs during evening rush hour (16:30-18:30).

Weekends generally carry no restrictions on the use of Off-Peak tickets. There are however, a monumentally complex number of exceptions for which Off-Peak tickets are and aren't valid which are barely fathomable to the British, never mind overseas visitors. If you are in any doubt at all about the validity of an Off-Peak ticket, ask a guard at the station or a ticket office BEFORE getting on a train - as on-train conductors can be notoriously unforgiving.

• ADVANCE - travel on a specific day and train time, booked up to 12 weeks in advance either in person at a railway station, over the telephone, or online. Two Advance single tickets for the outward and return legs of the journey are generally cheaper than the Off-Peak return ticket. Better deals can often be had by going directly to the train operator's website. The earlier you book, the more you save - you can get down to as little as £12.00 one-way from Scotland for example, but these tickets are non-refundable, and cannot be used on anything other than the date, train time and operator that is printed on the reservation. Go on any other train and get caught and you will be obliged to pay the Anytime fare for the journey you are making - which as we've said before is hideously expensive! The local and commuter rail companies within the London and Home Counties area also have a bewildering array of special fares which are all in essence, variations of the Off-Peak ticket and are far too detailed to cover here, go directly to the website of the operator concerned for more information. Note that if you only intend to use trains within the Greater London boundary, then the Oyster Card (explained below) is by far the easiest and cheapest option to use.

Seats can be reserved for free on all long-distance trains to London - the reservation is always issued automatically with an Advance ticket, and with most Off-Peak and Anytime tickets bought on-line. If, for whatever reason you hold an Anytime or Off-Peak ticket and there is no seat reservation coupon, then it is highly recommended you get one from any railway station ticket office - if you want to avoid camping out in the vestibule for all or part of the journey!! First Class is available on all long distance services to London, the standard of service varies from operator to operator, but in general you get a wider, more comfortable seat, free tea/coffee for the duration of the journey, and some sort of complimentary catering service. If can be great value if you get an Advance first-class fare, but it is extremely expensive otherwise, and to be honest - not really worth it. You can pay a Weekend supplement (generally £15-£20) to sit in the first class section of the train on Saturdays and Sundays, - useful if the service you are on is hideously overcrowded - but you don't get the same catering service as during the week.

If you are the holder of a pass, things are simpler - but remember you still have to make a seat reservation for the train you intend to travel on - otherwise you run the risk of standing for the journey! If you intend to use the overnight Sleeper trains to London, you will have to pay a berth supplement for every member of your party - provided there is berth availability on the train. London has one international high speed rail route (operated by Eurostar 0870 518 6186 ) from (2h 15min) and (1h 50 min) diving under the sea for 35 km (22 mi) via the Channel Tunnel to come out in England. It terminates at St.

Pancras International Station. For domestic train services, there are no fewer than 12 main line National Rail terminals (although in conversation you may hear the brand National Rail infrequently if ever it differentiates main line and London Underground services; journey planner online or phone 0845 748 49 50). With the exception of Fenchurch St (tube: Tower Hill) these are on the London Underground.

Most are on the circle line. Clockwise starting at Paddington, major National Rail stations are: • London Paddington, serves South West England and including Slough,,,,,,,, and and. Also the downtown terminus of the Heathrow Airport Express (see above) and serves some suburban stations such as Acton Main Line and Ealing Broadway. • London Marylebone, serves some north western suburban stations such as Amersham, Harrow on the Hill and Wembley Stadium.

Also serves,,, and the city of. It is much cheaper but slightly slower to take a train from Marylebone to Birmingham instead of a train from London Euston. • London Euston, serves the Midlands, north-west England and west Scotland:,,,, Oxenholme,,, and for connecting ferries to/from both the and. Sleeper trains to Scotland leave from Euston. • St Pancras International, serves,,, as well as Luton Airport, Bedford, Brighton, Gatwick Airport, several destinations in and the:,, and. • London King's Cross, serves, north-east England and east Scotland:,,,,,, and.

Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter books is marked with a special sign, although platform 9 itself is actually in the fairly unpleasant metallic extension used by Cambridge trains. • London Moorgate, serves some northern suburbs. • London Liverpool Street, serves: and. Also the downtown terminus of the Stansted Airport Express. • London Fenchurch Street, serves commuter towns north of the Thames estuary to.

• London Blackfriars, serves Gatwick Airport and Brighton. In South London many areas have only National Rail services (no London Underground services but there are buses). London Bridge, Victoria, Cannon St and Charing Cross serve the South East. London Waterloo serves the South West. Thameslink is a cross London route between and Brighton via Luton Airport (Parkway), St. Pancras International, Farringdon, City Thameslink, Blackfriars, London Bridge and Gatwick Airport. Most international and domestic long distance bus (UK English: coach) services arrive at and depart from a complex of coach stations off Buckingham Palace Road in, close to London Victoria rail station.

All services operated by National Express or Eurolines (see below) serve Victoria Coach Station, which actually has separate arrival and departure buildings. Services by other operators may use this station, or the Green Line Coach Station across Buckingham Palace Road. The following are amongst the main coach operators: • National Express, ☎ 0870 580 8080,.

Is by far the largest domestic coach operator and operates services to / from London from throughout England, Wales and. Advance ticketing is usually required and recommended practice in any case. Fares are low - especially when booked in advance via the web. A few journeys are fast but most are notably slower than using the train. • Eurolines, ☎ 0870 514 3219,.

Is an associate company of National Express, and runs coach services to / from London with various cities in, and continental Europe. Advance ticketing is required. • Megabus, ☎ 0900 160 0900 (premium rate),. Operates budget coach services from/to London (Victoria Coach Station) to/from several major regional cities in the UK and continental Europe. Fares are demand responsive but can be very cheap (£1.50 if you book far enough in advance). Megabus also offer a Sleeper service to Scotland. Driving into the centre of London is definitely not recommended.

Do not be surprised if you discover that the hotel you have booked has no parking. London is the hub of the UK's road network and is easy to reach by car. A car is also useful for travel outside of London. Greater London is encircled by the M25 orbital motorway, from which nearly all the major trunk routes to Scotland, Wales and the rest of England radiate.

The most important are listed below. • M1: The main route to/from the North, leading from the East Midlands, Yorkshire and terminating at Leeds. Most importantly, Britain's longest motorway - the M6, branches from the M1 at Rugby, leading to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, the Lake District and onwards to the Scottish border, and ultimately Glasgow. • A1/A1(M) The A1 is the original, historic 'Great North Road' between England and Scotland's capital cities and has largely been converted to motorway standard; it runs up the eastern side of Great Britain through Peterborough, York, Newcastle and continues north through Northumberland and the Scottish Borders to Edinburgh.

• M40/A40: Arrives in London from a north westerly direction, linking the city with Oxford and providing an additional link from Birmingham. • M4: The principal route to/from the West - leading to Bath, Bristol and cities South Wales (Cardiff and Swansea). It is also the main route towards Heathrow Airport. • M3: The main route to London from the shipping port of Southampton.

Additionally, the A303/A30 branches off at Basingstoke, leading to Exeter, Plymouth and through the heart of Devon and Cornwall to finish at Land's End. • M2/M20: Together, these motorways are the main link to the coastal ferry (and Channel Tunnel) ports of Dover and Folkestone from Continental Europe. • M11: The M11 connects Stansted Airport and Cambridge to London, and it terminates on the north eastern periphery of the city. In addition to the M25, here are two inner ring roads in London which skirt the central area: • A406/A205 North Circular/South Circular The North Circular is a half circle on the North of the Thames, and is mostly a dual carriageway. It has direct connections with the M4, M40, M1 and M11 motorways and can be useful if you want to quickly get around the northern suburbs of the city.

The corresponding South Circular is really a local road which is made up of segments of main suburban thoroughfares. The two roads are connected at the east end of the circle in North Woolwich/Woolwich Arsenal by the Woolwich Free Ferry, which runs approx. Every 10-15 min and is free of charge, although it can only carry a limited amount of vehicles so avoid during busy periods as the queues can be very long! The ferry stops running after 10pm, so it's advisable to travel through the Docklands and use the Blackwall Tunnel instead.

Ridesharing is a cheap, social and green way to travel to and from London. Connects drivers with empty seats with passengers looking to travel the same way. BlaBlaCar is the UK's leading app and website with over 20 million members. Very few people drive into (or anywhere near) the centre of London. The infamous M25 ring road did not earn its irreverent nicknames 'The Road To Hell' and 'Britain's biggest car park' for nothing. The road is heavily congested at most times of the day, and is littered with automatically variable speed limits which are enforced with speed cameras.

Despite the 'congestion charge', driving a car anywhere near the centre of London remains a nightmare with crowded roads, impatient drivers and expensive parking charges (that's if you can find a space in the first place, that is!). From Monday through Friday, parking in parts of the City of London is free after 18:30; after 13:30 on Saturday and all day Sunday.

There are also a number of Pay as you go car rental companies operating around London including WhizzGo and Car Clubs Get around [ ] Transport maps London is the home of the famous tube map, and TfL produce some excellent maps to help you get around: London has one of the most comprehensive public transport systems in the world. Despite residents' constant, and sometimes justified, grumbling about unreliability, public transport is often the best option for getting anywhere for visitors and residents alike. In central London use a combination of the transport options listed below - and check your map! In many cases you can easily walk from one place to another or use the buses. Don't be a Londoner and only use the tube as a way of travelling longer distances - you're here to see London - you can't see it underground! Is a government organisation responsible for all public transport. Their website contains maps plus an excellent.

They also offer a 24-hour travel information line, charged at premium rate: ☎ 0843 222 1234 (or text 60835) for suggestions on getting from A to B, and for up to the minute information on how services are running. Fortunately for visitors (and indeed residents) there is a single ticketing system, Oyster, which enables travellers to switch between modes of transport on one ticket. The main travel options in summary are: Central London • 11 colour-coded lines cover the central area and suburbs, run by TfL.

• Runs only in the east of the city, providing links with London City Airport, Canary Wharf/Docklands, Stratford (For Westfield Stratford City and the Olympic site) and Greenwich, privately run but part of TfL's network. • Commuter boats and pleasure cruises along the River Thames, privately run but part of TfL's network.

• Rail services run to Heathrow, Gatwick, Southend, Stansted and Luton airports. The trains to Heathrow are privately operated and require a premium fare. The trains to the other airports are part of the UK rail network, but are beyond the TfL network, so Oyster is not valid. Suburban London • A tram service that operates only in southern suburbs around Wimbledon and Croydon. • Orange-coloured lines circling the northern suburbs; connecting Stratford (For Westfield Stratford City and the Olympic site) with Richmond Upon Thames. At Highbury and Islington it is possible to connect to Croydon and Crystal Palace in South London via the East End.

There is also an interchange for Barking in East London at Gospel Oak and a line connecting Euston Station with Watford Junction in Hertfordshire. Another line runs from Willsden Junction in North West London to Clapham Junction in south via Shephard's Bush (For Westfield).

At Clapham you can connect to Brighton,Gatwick Airport, Southampton and other points south. Part of TfL's network. • A complex network of suburban rail services, mostly running in the southern suburbs, but also connecting to some areas to the north.

Privately run and not part of the TfL network, although all operators now accept Oyster payments. Oyster Card [ ].

Oyster Card in use Oyster is a contactless electronic smartcard run by Transport for London. In general, Oyster is the more cost effective option than paper tickets if you plan to be in London for any more than a couple of days, or if you intend to make return visits to the city - the savings quickly recover the initial purchase cost.

You can buy an Oyster Card from any Tube station for a deposit of £5 and load it with a 7 Day Travelcards. You can 'top up' an Oyster card with electronic funds for any amount starting in increments of 10p, though top ups using credit cards start at £5. This cash is then deducted according to where you travel.

The cost of a single trip using the Oyster card is considerably less than buying a single paper ticket with cash. Prices vary depending on the number of zones travelled, whether by bus or tube, and on the time of day. You can also add various electronic 1 week, 1 month and longer-period tickets onto the card, and the card is simply validated each time you use it. The deposit is refundable if you hand it in at the end of the trip, though if your stay is short your refund will be reduced by £3. However, there is no expiry date on the Oyster Card or any pay-as-you-go credit on the card. If you have any pay-as-you-go credit left this will also be refunded. You will get refunds in cash only if you paid in cash.

Be prepared to give your signature on receipts or even show ID for refunds over a few pounds. If you intend to use only the Bus (and/or the tram), there is a daily capping at £4.40. If you use the Tube as well, the daily capping stands at £6.40. If you are not in a hurry, try to use the Bus because of its panoramic view from the top deck. There is no 'Zone demarcation' for Buses as the Bus fares are calculated from start to end (flat fare of £1.50 each journey). Pay-as-you-go (PrePay) [ ] You can charge up/top up your Oyster card with electronic cash at any tube station ticket machine or ticket desk (you can even use a credit card to do this if your credit card has a PIN number) with Oyster pay-as-you-go, also known as PrePay. Top ups can also be done at any National Rail ticket machine found in central London stations.

This money is then deducted from your card each time you get on a service. The fare is calculated based on your start and end points. Pay-as-you-go is much cheaper than paying in cash for each journey. For instance, a cash tube one way in Zone 1 is £4.50, while with an Oyster Card it costs £2.30. Furthermore, it is impossible to pay a cash bus fare - the Oyster fare is £1.50. The amount of PrePay deducted from your Oyster card in one day is capped - for central London this is lower than the appropriate paper day ticket (day Travelcard). For zone 1-2 (central London including everywhere inside the Circle line and some places outside) this is £6.40 (There is no difference in price cap between peak and off peak in central London).

On the tube, be sure to touch in and touch out again at the end of your journey. If you forget to touch your Oyster card at the start and or finish you will be charged extra! This is usually a hefty charge of £8.80, which is not counted towards the daily/weekly fare cap, as are fares charged resulting from failure to tap in or out. This fine can be disputed by calling TFL using the phone number on the back of the card. Just quote your Oyster number and remember where you finished your journey.

Touch outs are not required for bus and tram rides so do not touch out when you exit the bus or tram. Oyster also saves time getting onto buses. Buses operated under contract to London buses (that's most buses within the M25) do NOT accept cash. If you don't have an Oyster, you must use a 'contactless' bank card, Apple Pay or a paper travelcard.

If you have a National Railcard, such as the 16-25 year old Railcard, you can register this with your Oyster card at a Tube ticket office and then continue to receive special discounts on your TFL travel. So for every journey on the Underground/DLR/Overground you get 34% discount and also qualify for a reduced daily price cap of £4.75. This means a zone 1 Underground ride will only cost £1.50 instead of £2.30. Do note the discount applies only during off-peak times, even within zone 1 (where peak and off-peak fares are normally the same) and does not extend to buses. Travelling during peak hours may forfeit your entitlement to the reduced daily price cap for the day. Contactless Credit and Debit Cards and Apple Pay on TfL [ ] An alternative to Oyster is a.

A contactless credit or debit card can be used anywhere Oyster is accepted (Underground, Overground, bus, and boat). Most European and some American credit cards have an embedded contactless chip; this number will only grow in the coming years. Look for the on your card. The fare charged when using a contactless credit or debit card is the same as when using an Oyster card, and users of the former can also take advantage of the daily/weekly price caps offered to the latter.

And you also don't need to worry about leaving any money on an Oyster card at the end of your trip. This can be a good option for those who need to use public transit infrequently over several days, as it is cheaper than getting a travel card. If you have ApplePay enabled on your iPhone or Apple Watch (currently only offered by selected US and UK banks), you can also use that to pay for public transport in London. Fares and price caps are the same as Oyster/actual contactless cards. However, be careful if you have more than one device that uses the same debit/credit card account or more than one account registered with ApplePay.

Choose only one device and one payment card within it. For example, you have an two payment cards enabled for Apple Pay on your iPhone, they are treated as two separate accounts. Likewise, if you have only one payment card linked to two Apple Pay devices such as an iPhone and Apple Watch, your iPhone and Apple Watch are also treated as two separate accounts. In both scenarios, it means two price caps where you can be spending up to £12.80 for zone 1 & 2 travel if you do not stick to only one device and/or one card within it. This also means that you should avoid using the actual physical payment card and its Apple Pay version in the same day. If you attempt to enter the Tube using an iPhone and exit using an Apple Watch device, even if they are linked to one and the same payment card, you may be charged the maximum fare of up to £8.80 twice (that is £17.60).

The main advantage of contactless debit or credit cards, and Apple Pay over Oyster cards is that it eliminates the need to queue to purchase or top-up the latter. Moreover, you do not need to fork out at least £10 at once when using a debit/credit card to top up Oyster (£5 for the card itself and at least £5 for credit). However, just as with any foreign exchange transaction you need to take note of foreign exchange fees your bank levies, especially if your card isn't denominated in pound sterling. Another disadvantage of using contactless cards is that you cannot use it to avail of discounted fare schemes, such as those offered in conjunction with railcards. Travelcards vs Capping [ ] A Travelcard may be loaded onto an Oyster card (not day tickets) or may be purchased as a paper ticket. • Day Travelcard - Zones 1-6 - Anytime: £12 off-peak (if purchased alone) or variable amount (if purchased in conjunction with National Rail ticket - the amount of the add on charges varies depending on where your rail journey starts from) • 7 Day Travelcard Zones 1-2 - £30.40 (2014 price) • Monthly Travelcard Zones 1-2 - £116.08 (2014 price) • Annual Travelcard Zones 1-2 - £1,216.00 (2014 price) 1- and 7-day Travelcard rates mentioned above apply only to off-peak journeys.

The 'daily cap' using Oyster is cheaper at £6.40 for travel between zones 1 & 2 for both peak and off-peak journeys. The weekly cap is £32.10 for zones 1 & 2 but the amount counted towards the cap resets to £0 every Mondays at 4.30. For a more comprehensive list of the prices visit the TFL website: • 1-Day Travelcards • 7-Day, Monthly & Annual Travelcards Travelcard season tickets [ ] Weekly, monthly and longer-period Travelcard season tickets can be purchased at all tube station ticket offices. These can be used on any tube, DLR, bus, London Overground, National Rail or tram service. You have to select a range of zones when you buy it, numbered 1-9. If you happen to travel outside the zone, you can use PrePay (see above) to make up the difference. Note that they can not be used on any Airport Express trains (Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express and Stansted Express).

However, a Zone 1-6 Travelcard can be used on the London Underground (Piccadilly line) to/from Heathrow Airport. Notice a weekly travelcard may be a better value than a PAYG Oyster card if you are looking to travel extensively within London for more than five days in a week, especially given that the former's effectivity will last a week after it was purchased, whereas weekly fare cap on the latter will reset at 4.30 every Monday. • Touch the card against a yellow disc, prominently displayed on the entry and exit gates for the Tube (do not try to insert it into the slot!) and on buses and trams. • On all of the Docklands Light Railway, and on the outlying parts of the Overground, railway stations in y there are no entry or exit gates (except at interchanges with the Tube like Bank or Stratford), so you have to be sure to touch your Oyster card on the readers (which are clearly signposted) as you enter and leave. Failure to do this when you begin a journey is regarded as fare dodging (carrying a penalty fare or even a fine if you are caught).

Equally, failing to touch out when you leave a station will result in you being overcharged for your journey, as the system will make a default deduction of £6.50 since it doesn't know which station you left. Do not be tempted to travel without a ticket, a significant number of people are prosecuted for not having a ticket, giving them a criminal record, as well as a large fine.

• Once you have used the tube once, you will recognise the yellow circle oyster card reader where you touch your card in and out from. You may also notice that on some platforms, this is pink coloured. Most tourists can ignore this as it is no use to them. Due to the fact that tickets are priced in zones, if you travel by avoiding a particular zone you can save money. An example of this is if you travel from a zone two station in South London to a zone by taking an alternative route that doesn't go through zone one. You can find alternative cheaper routes using the, however this will not be of any use to you if you live or visit places in zone 1 (central London) only. • Many stations in London are very close together (even next door!) but you cannot transfer between train lines within the ticket barriers.

This is because historically the train lines were built by competing companies and there was no traveller need, or commercial reason to create interchanges back then. Now we have OSI (Outside Station Interchange), this means that you can touch your oyster card out of a station, walk the 5 minutes to a nearby station and touch in again, without charging you two tickets - you will be charged as if you made an interchange without leaving the station. This is also the case at some large stations which are integrated, but it might be easier to touch out at one entrance and touch back in again at another entrance when changing lines, such as transferring between the Northern and Circle, H&C or Metropolitan lines at King's Cross St. Pancras station. Be warned that there is a time limit of how long you can stay out of the network before your touch-in is considered a new journey.

You are given plenty of time to transfer and can even stop off to buy a snack at a local supermarket. There is a listing the stations where OSI exists and the time limit you have to make the change. • You can use your Oyster Card to pay for tickets on National Rail services that operate within London, however some routes are charged at a slightly higher rate. A showing which routes are subject to the higher rate. As a general rule, if the journey you are making on a National Rail service either can me made by using the tube, or is within two stations which could be made by taking the tube, you will be charged the local standard TFL fare. • Theoretically you don't need to remove your Oyster card from your wallet or bag to do touch in/out - the card reader can work through a bag, but in reality you may need to take the card out to get it to work.

Keep other contactless cards such as bank cards separate, as the fare might be deducted from them instead of your Oyster. • Be careful standing near the readers on some buses, they are often quite sensitive and may read your card from several centimetres away, even if you did not intend this. • If you keep your Oyster card in your wallet try not to sit on it as sometimes they will crack and stop working.

Validity [ ] The following table summarises the validity of the different tickets you can use on Oyster. For most tourists, tubes and buses are the only transport you will use, but be aware that these tickets are not valid on any Rail trains to any of London's airports. Bus London Underground London Overground National Rail DLR Tram Airport Express trains Pay-as-you-go yes yes yes yes yes yes Gatwick only Travelcard yes yes yes yes yes yes no Bus pass yes no no no no yes no • Bus (and Tram) Passes are only available for periods of 7 days and longer.

• Travelcards are valid only within the zones you buy. • Piccadilly line to Heathrow is a London Underground train, so PrePay and Travelcards are valid.

• Airport Express trains are Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Express. • Travelcards are valid on Thameslink within London but if you are heading to Luton or Gatwick airports, you will need a ticket between the edge of your travelcard zone and the airport. A reminder on the streets of London to 'Look Right' when you cross the road By foot [ ] London is a surprisingly compact city, making it a walker's delight and walking is often the quickest method of transport. The city is incredibly well signposted so it is very easy to find your way round by foot. Because Britain drives on the left hand side of the road, for most foreign visitors it can be all too easy to forget that traffic will come at you from the opposite direction than you are used to when crossing a street - for this reason remember to look right when you cross the road. Particularly on Central London's busiest streets, it is easy to spot native Londoners as they are able to weave in and out of the large crowds at fast speed.

Refrain from walking slowly in tight spaces to avoid annoying any fast walking people that may be trying to pass. By Tube / Underground [ ]. Full to-scale London Underground map General Tube etiquette • Beware of pickpockets. Ensure zips and backpacks are done up securely. • Drinking alcohol or smoking anywhere on the underground is illegal. Flash photography within stations is prohibited because it may interfere with fire detection systems. • Be careful at the ticket barrier of people coming up close behind you in an attempt to get through the barrier on your ticket.

This isn't a huge problem, but it does happen. • Some platforms in Zone 1 have the words 'Mind the Gap' written on the platform edge. When the train stops, the carriage doors will usually line up with this warning. Alternatively, train doors will also line up near the platform exits (not directly in front, but slightly off centre). You will notice Londoners walk fast down the platform and then randomly stop in a specific spot. This is also where train doors will open. • Stand behind the 'yellow line' when a train approaches, even if Londoners do not.

Ensure pushchairs are secured when the train is approaching/leaving a station (hold onto it) as the gusts of wind can suck pushchairs onto the Tube tracks. Inter-personal etiquette: Londoners live with continuous tourism in their city. Many are patient and willing to help you if you're lost Underground, however the volume of inconsiderate tourists who are ignorant about local customs can become irritating. To avoid confrontations with busy travellers and angry Londoners, you should follow the following 'unwritten' rules: • When using the escalators, you must always stand on the right (as indicated on signage) as busy commuters walk down the left side of the escalator. If you stop on the left side, or have luggage/bags blocking the passage, you are likely to be confronted by an angry Londoner instructing you (loudly) to move.

• You must always 'let people off the train before boarding'. When a train arrives, stand to the left or right of the door (not directly in front) and ensure your luggage/bags are not blocking the way for those disembarking. Londoners can get extremely irritable when tourists barge past them onto the train and will often make you wait for the passengers behind you to board before allowing you on the train. • Move down the cars if standing during busy periods. Do not crowd the doors (as you will likely be pushed down the car by those boarding) and do not stand as a group if there is limited room. • Have your Oyster card or ticket ready for the top of the escalators so not to obstruct barriers.

It is important, especially during peak times, to be quick when 'touching in' or 'touching out' (Londoners can do it in around two seconds) -- hold your Oyster to the yellow scanning disk, keep looking down until the LED goes green and then proceed through quickly. Some barriers, such as those at non-commuter stations (e.g. Sloane Square), open slower than those at major interchanges (e.g. Victoria), where the barriers snap open rapidly. • Give up your seat to the elderly and those less able to stand, especially if the seat is reserved for such a purpose.

This is indicated by a blue plaque with white writing. • Never try to board or leave a train when the door warning (a rapidly-repeating high pitch beep) is sounding. Many older trains are not fitted with sensors to detect if the doors are blocked and it's all too easy to become stuck in the doors, and although the train cannot start if the doors are still open you will incur the wrath of tired and busy commuters. • When coming down the escalators to a platform, do not go through the first platform entrance you see and crowd one part of the concourse. Walk down the platform to an end, where there is more space and the train carriages (when they arrive) will likely be emptier.

Blocking a part of the platform will not be welcome by Londoners trying to get past. • Do not stop directly in front of ticket barriers. Ensure your Oyster/ticket/Travelcard are ready before entering the station. The - also known popularly as The Tube - has trains that criss-cross London in the largest underground rail network in the world (it was also the first, the first section of the Metropolitan Line dates back to 1863). The Tube is an easy method of transport even for new visitors to London. Are freely available from any station, most tourist offices and are prominently displayed in stations and in the back of most diaries.

The Tube is made up of 11 lines each bearing a traditional name and a standard colour on the Tube map. To plan your trip on The Tube work out first which station is closest to your starting point and which closest to your destination. You can change between lines at interchange stations (providing you stay within the zones shown on your ticket).

Since the Tube Map is well designed it is very easy to work out how to get between any two stations, and since each station is clearly signed it is easy to work out when to exit your train. Visitors should be aware, however, that the Tube map is a diagram and not a scaled map, making it misleading for determining the relative distance between stations as it makes central stations appear further apart and somewhat out of place - the most distant reaches of the Metropolitan Line for example are almost 60km (36 mi) from the centre of the city.

In central London, taking The Tube for just one stop can be a waste of time; Londoners joke about the tourists who use the Tube to travel between Leicester Square and Covent Garden stations. This is especially true since the walk from a tube station entrance to the platform at some central stations can be extensive. The Tube map also gives no information on London's extensive overground bus network and its orbital rail network. Trains run from around 05:30 to about 12:30 (Sun - Thurs).

On Friday and Saturdays trains run 24hrs, currently only on the Central and Victoria Line. The Jubilee line will join these as of 7/10/16. They are usually the fastest way to travel in London, the only problem being the relative expense, and that it can get extremely crowded during rush hours (07:30-10:00 and 16:30-19:00).

On warm days take a bottle of water with you. Also note that engineering works usually take place during weekends or the evening.

Contact TfL or visit their web site especially if you plan to travel on a Saturday or a Sunday when entire lines may be shut down. Avoid rush hours if at all possible (08:00 - 09:00 and 17:00 - 18:00) as over 500,000 people crowd onto the tube on their way to and from work. All lines are identified by name (Circle Line, Central Line, Piccadilly Line) and by colour (on maps). Many lines have multiple branches rather than running point-to-point so always to check the train's destination (which is shown on the front of the train, the platform indicator screens and will be broadcast on the train's PA), especially if you plan to travel outside zones 1 and 2.

Some branch lines (such as the Chesham branch of the Metropolitan Line or the Kensington Olympia branch of the District Line) run as shuttles and require a transfer onto the 'main line'. Note that the Northern Line has two separate routes through the city centre which split at Euston and rejoin at Kennington, one (officially called the Charing Cross Branch but known by locals as the West End branch) runs through the West End serving Leicester Square, Charing Cross and Waterloo, while the other route runs via the City of London (officially called the Bank branch but also referred to as the City branch) with major stops at Kings Cross and Bank. Despite the confusing layout of the line, it is fairly easy to work out which way your train is going; for example a northbound Northern Line train to Edgware along the Charing Cross branch will be displayed on the indicator as 'Edgware via ChX' and the on-board PA will announce 'This train terminates at Edgware via Charing Cross'. Finally, note that direction signs for the platforms indicate the geographical direction of the line, not the last stop of the line. Always always advisable to carry a pocket Tube map (available for free at most stations) to help you with this.

Almost all stations have automatic ticket barriers, though some stations may leave them open during extremely busy hours. If you pay by Oyster card, just tap your card against the yellow pad to open the barriers (both upon entrance and exit). If you have a paper ticket, insert it face-up into the slot on the front of the machine, and remove it from the top to enter the station. If you have a single-ticket it will be retained at the exit gate. If you have luggage or if your ticket is rejected there is normally a staffed gate as well.

Paper tickets can be purchased from vending machines in the station lobby. Paper tickets are now no longer good value and are being phased out; it is recommended to use oyster or contactless.

All ticket offices are now closed, and information is instead now available from members of staff in the ticket hall area. London's iconic red buses are recognized the world over, even if the traditional Routemaster buses, with an open rear platform and on-board conductor to collect fares, have been phased out. These still run on Heritage Route 15 daily between about 09:30 and 18:30, every 15 minutes.

Buses are generally quicker than taking the Tube for short (less than a couple of stops on the Tube) trips, but for longer ones can be much slower especially when traffic is heavy. For sightseeing, buses are a much more pleasant way to travel than the Tube, and cheaper too for a single journey. Out of central London you're likely to be closer to a bus stop than a tube station. Over 5 million bus trips are made each weekday; with over 700 different bus routes you are never far from a bus. Each bus stop has a sign listing routes that stop there. Bus routes are identified by numbers and sometimes letters, for example the 73 runs between Victoria and Seven Sisters, and the C1 (C for Central) runs from Victoria to White City. The letter N before a number designates a night bus, but a few services without the letter N run 24-hours - these are uncommon but clearly indicated and can be very useful!

Importantly, since the 6th of July 2014, it is not possible in London to purchase a bus ticket on the bus, nor can you expect a ticket machine at your bus stop! You must either have a Pay-as-you-go Oyster card with sufficient funds, a Travelcard ticket, a bus pass, or a contactless bank payment card (see note below). For the vast majority of tourists, Oyster cards (either pay-as-you-go or with a Travelcard loaded) remain the best option. TfL now allow you to make one more journey on an Oyster card with positive balance, but not enough to pay the full fare. Your card will go into negative balance, and you must top it up as soon as possible.

The rest of the fare will be taken then. London Transport has recently enabled using contactless bank cards (e.g. Visa payWave, MasterCard PayPass) to pay for transport within London. Simply use your credit or debit card as if it were an Oyster card and pay the usual £1.50 for a single fare. Daily and Monday-Sunday capping also work, but you should be wary of bank charges for foreign transactions. If using contactless, there is one charge to your card per day, so you would only pay one foreign transaction fee per day.

Contactless bank cards are accepted everywhere where Oyster is and charged the same way. Youngsters aged 11-15 travel free on buses with an 11-15 Oyster photocard (which are available for visitors, but unlike Oyster cards, these require an online application form and you must be prepared to wait four weeks).

Similarly, if aged 16-18, half-price travel is available, but this again requires an application form and a long wait. Student Oysters (only available to students studying in London) are available from age 18 and provide a 35% discount on weekly and monthly travel cards. Buses display their route number in large digits at the front, side and rear. All bus stops have their location and the direction of travel on them. The iBus system has now been rolled out the iBus on every bus and garage in London. This system provides bus times and destination information on a audio-visual display.

Unlike The Tube one way tickets do not allow you to transfer to different buses. Night bus [ ] Standard bus services run from around 05:30-00:30. Around half past midnight the network changes to the vast night bus network of well over 100 routes stretching all over the city. There are two types of night buses: 24 hour routes and N-prefixed routes. 24-hour services keep the same number as during the day and will run the exact same route, such as the number 88, for example. N-prefixed routes are generally very similar to their day-route, but may take a slightly different route or are extended to serve areas that are further out.

For example, the 29 bus goes from Trafalgar Square to Wood Green during the day; however, the N29 bus goes from Trafalgar Square to Wood Green and on to Enfield. Night buses run at a 30 minute frequency at minimum, with many routes at much higher frequencies up to every 5 minutes. Prices stay the same, and daily travelcards are valid until 04:00 the day after they were issued, so can be used on night buses. Most bus stops will have night bus maps with all the buses to and from that local area on it, although it is good to check on the TfL website beforehand, which also has all those maps easily available. London's night buses are occasionally used by loud drunks who when provoked, can be quite confrontational but rarely violent. Stay polite and on the bottom deck of the bus to best avoid them although there will be just as many if not more friendly drunks who would be up for a chat.

Use your instincts. Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is a dedicated light rail network operating in, connecting with the tube network at Bank, Tower Gateway (close to Tower Hill tube station), Canning Town, Heron Quays (close to Canary Wharf tube station) and Stratford. As the trains often operate without a driver, it can be quite exciting - especially for children - to sit in front and look at through the window, whilst feeling as though one is driving the train oneself. The DLR also runs above ground on much of its route, and travels through many picturesque parts of London, including the Docklands area where most of London's skyscrapers are located. Apart from the trains looking slightly different and running slightly less frequently than the Tube, visitors may as well treat the two systems as the same. Unlike the tube, the DLR uses the honour-system at all stations apart from Bank and Stratford. Tickets are available from the machines at stations (most stations are unstaffed so make sure you are armed with a handful of coins or low-denomination notes) and are distance-based.

Travelcards are also accepted, as are Oyster cards, which must be validated when entering the platform, and then validated again when exiting the station. The DLR can be a little confusing as the routes are not easily distinguished - generally trains run between Bank - Lewisham, Stratford - Lewisham, Bank - Woolwich Arsenal, Stratford - Woolwich Arsenal and Tower Gateway - Beckton. Displays on the platform will tell you the destination and approximate wait for the next 3 trains, and the destination is also displayed on the front and side of the train. By train [ ] Wikitravel has a guide to, with information applicable to using the National Rail system within London. The British railway system is known as National Rail (although some older signs still refer to it as 'British Rail').

London's suburban rail services are operated by several private companies under tightly-written government contracts, and mostly run in the south of the city, away from the main tourist sights. Only one line (Thameslink) runs through central London - on a north-south axis between London Bridge or Blackfriars stations, and the underground level of St Pancras main line station. There is no one central station - instead, there are twelve mainline stations dotted around the edge of the central area, and most are connected by the Circle line (except Euston, Fenchurch St and those South of the river like London Waterloo and London Bridge). Most visitors will not need to use National Rail services except for a few specific destinations such as Hampton Court, Kew Gardens (Kew Bridge station), Windsor Castle, Greenwich or the airports, or indeed if they are intending to visit other cities in the UK. Since 2 January 2010, pay-as-you-go Oyster cards are accepted on all routes within London travel zones 1-6. Visitors are well advised to remember that the quickest route between two stations might be a combination of the Tube as well as the National Rail network.

(For example: getting to Wimbledon from central London by Tube using the District Line takes significantly longer (around 45 minutes) than taking the National Rail service from Waterloo to Wimbledon (around 15 minutes).) Trains branded as Express serve Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports. However, trains to Stansted and Luton also have intermediate stops serving commuter stations. Trains to Gatwick are non stop, but the time saving is less than five minutes compared to other services. Tickets for trains branded express are generally sold at a premium.

Oyster cards are only valid to Gatwick and not on other mainline routes to airports. When you make National Rail journeys in London you can do so in the same way as the tube, however some journeys are charged at a slightly more expensive (or sometimes, but not often) cheaper rate. As a rough guide, if a journey between either your two stations or two stations further along the line where you get on and get off, you will be charged the standard fare, otherwise, you will be charged a higher fare. You can find out what fare you will be charged, as well as alternative routes for cheaper fares on using the.

There is also a map which shows. If you are following the route for cheaper fares, when you change trains, you will need to tell the system you are taking that route, by touching a pink oyster card reader at the station you interchange. By Overground [ ] In common parlance, Londoners may refer to travelling by 'overground' (or 'overland'), meaning going by National Rail (as opposed to going by Underground). However, only one service is officially called Overground - London Overground is a Transport for London rail service. It is operated and promoted just like the Underground, with the logo like the Tube (except orange) on stations and full acceptance of Oyster cards. London Overground appears on the Tube map as an orange line, and services run across suburbs from east to west. Overground services can be a useful shortcut for crossing the city, bypassing the centre, for example from Kew Gardens to Camden.

London Overground services also connect busy Clapham Junction railway station in the Southwest to West London (Shepherds Bush and Kensington) and Willesden Junction in the Northwest. By tram (Tramlink) [ ] Tramlink, opened in 2000, is the first modern tram system to operate in London. South London is poorly served by the Tube and lacks east-west National Rail services so the network connects Wimbledon in South West London to Beckenham in South East London and New Addington, a large housing estate in South Croydon. The network is centred on, where it runs on street-level tracks around the Croydon Loop. Route 3 (Wimbledon to New Addington - green on the Tramlink map) is the most frequent service, running every 7.5 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and every 15 minutes at all other times. Beckenham is served by Routes 1 and 2 (yellow and red on the Tramlink map), which terminate at Elmers End and Beckenham Junction respectively. Both services travel around the Loop via West Croydon and run every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and every 30 minutes at all other times.

Between Arena and Sandilands, these two services serve the same stops. By cycle [ ] Cycling in the United Kingdom • Cycling on the pavement (sidewalk) is illegal, except where a cycle route has been designated by signs or painted lines. • When cycling on roads, you must ride on the left with other vehicles and not more than two abreast. • You must have working front and rear lights during hours of darkness. Flashing LED lights are legal. Reflective and Day-Glo clothing is always a good idea even during the day. •, and their effectiveness is as much a matter of debate here as anywhere else.

In London, many cyclists, especially those seen in rush hour, also wear filter masks, but their efficacy is even more disputed. • It is as illegal for cyclists to jump through a red light as it is for motorists. Advance stop lines at traffic lights allow cyclists to wait ahead of other traffic at red lights. In practice, most car drivers ignore this and occupy the cycle space when waiting at lights. The rules for cyclists are available in the British Government publication Due to the expense of other forms of transport and the compactness of central London, cycling is a tempting option. Can be obtained from your local tube stations, bike shop, or ordered on-line. London now offers a city-wide, operated by Transport for London.

For an hourly charge, bicycles may be hired from automated hire stations around the city. The bikes, coloured red, can be unlocked and ridden around the city with a credit card, and must be returned to another hire station by locking the bike into the rack. Despite recent improvements, London remains a relatively hostile environment for cyclists.

London motorists seem reluctant to acknowledge the existence of cyclists, especially at busy junctions. The kind of contiguous cycle lane network found in many other European cities does not exist. The safest option is to stick to minor residential roads where traffic can be surprisingly calm outside rush hours. Most major roads in London will have a red-route (indicated by red-painted tarmac) which is restricted to buses, taxis and bicycles.

There are many bus stops on red routes, which can present a problem cycling around buses. Cycle-lanes exist in London but they are often sporadic at best - usually a 3-foot wide section of tarmac barely wide enough for one cyclist typically indicated by green-painted tarmac.

Many improvements have been made for cyclists in the city over the last few years, even if they remain no more than gestures in most places. Noticeably, there are many new signposted cycle routes and some new cycle lanes, not to mention more cyclists since the 2005 public transport attacks. A new network of ' has recently been launched: these are indicated by bright blue-painted tarmac. Motor vehicles often park on cycle lanes, rendering them unusable.

The towpaths in North London along the Grand Union Canal and Regent's Canal are the closest thing to a truly traffic-free cycle path in the capital. The Grand Union canal connects Paddington to Camden and the Regent's Canal connects Camden to Islington, Mile End and Limehouse in East London.

It takes about 30-40min to cycle from Paddington station to Islington along the towpaths. In summer they are crowded with pedestrians and not suitable for cycling, but in winter or late in the evening they offer a very fast and safe way to travel from east to west in North London.

Many cyclists enjoy cutting through one of London's enormous parks. It is more of a peaceful way of cycling than riding on the road. Care should be taken as to where you choose to park your bike. Many areas, some surprisingly busy, attract cycle thieves, while chaining a bicycle to a railing which appears to be private property can occasionally lead to said bike being removed. Taking bikes on trains is very limited in London due to overcrowding. Non-folding bikes can be taken only on limited sections of The Tube network, mostly only on the above-ground sections outside peak hours.

For this reason, folding bicycles are becoming increasingly popular. There is a map showing this on the Transport for London website. Most National Rail operators allow bicycles outside peak hours also. Critical Mass London is a cycling advocacy group which meets for regular rides through central London at 6PM on the last Friday of each month. Rides start from the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. The is an advocacy group for London cyclists. With active local groups in most of the city's boroughs, it is recognised by local and regional government as the leading voice for cycling in the capital.

London has two types of taxis: the famous black cab, and so-called minicabs. Black cabs are the only ones licensed to 'ply for hire' (ie pick people up off the street), while minicabs are more accurately described as 'private hire vehicles' and need to be pre-booked. The famous black cab of London (not always black!) can be hailed from the curb or found at one of the many designated taxi ranks.

It is possible to book black cabs by phone, for a fee, but if you are in central London it will usually be quicker to hail one from the street. Their amber TAXI light will be on if they are available. Drivers must pass a rigorous exam of central London's streets, known as 'The Knowledge', in order to be licensed to drive a black cab. This means they can supposedly navigate you to almost any London street without reference to a map.

They are a cheap transport option if there are five passengers as they do not charge extras, and many view them as an essential experience for any visitor to London. Black cabs charge by distance and by the minute, are non-smoking, and have a minimum charge of £2.40. Tipping is not mandatory in either taxis or minicabs, despite some drivers' expectations!

Use your discretion: if you like the service you may tip otherwise don't. Londoners will often just round up to the nearest pound. Taxis are required by law to take you up to 12 miles or up to one hour duration, if the destination is in Greater London (20 miles ) if their TAXI light is on when you hail them, unless they have a good reason. However some, especially older drivers, dislike leaving the centre of town, or going south of the River Thames.

A good way to combat being left at the side of the curb is to open the back door, or even get into the cab, before stating your destination. Minicabs are normal cars which are licensed hire vehicles that you need to book by phone or at a minicab office. They generally charge a fixed fare for a journey, best agreed before you get in the car. Minicabs are sometimes cheaper than black cabs, although this is not necessarily the case for short journeys. Minicabs can be significantly cheaper for airport journeys - for example, a minicab from Heathrow to South-West London will cost around £36, whereas a black cab will cost over £100. Drivers are not tested as rigorously as black cab drivers, so they will typically not speak English very well and rely on a GPS to find their way, but will still get you from A to B.

Licensed minicabs display a Transport For London (TFL) License Plate - usually in the front window. One of the features of the license plate is a blue version of the famous London Underground 'roundel'. A list of licensed minicab operators can be found at TfL Findaride:.

Note that some areas in London are poorly serviced by black cabs, particularly late at night. This has led to a large number of illegal minicabs operating - just opportunistic people, with a car, looking to make some fast money. Some of these operators can be fairly aggressive in their attempts to find customers, and it's now barely possible to walk late at night through any part of London with a modicum of nightlife without being approached. You should avoid mini-cabs touting for business off the street or outside nightclubs, and either take a black cab, book a licensed minicab by telephone, or take a night bus. These illegal drivers are unlicensed and sadly they are often unsafe: a number of women are assaulted every week by illegal minicab operators (11 reported per month).

• is a free service provided by TFL which can text you local licensed minicab numbers if you text CAB to 60835. There's also an app. •, the global taxi giant.

If you have an account from any other country, you can use it in London as well. New clients get a 10 pounds bonus for signing up. App available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Caution: Do not use Central London's roads at any time unless you have issues with mobility. Traffic comes to a standstill frequently, and if not, typically averages about 5-10mph.

Even with the most advanced traffic control system in the world, it's quicker by tube, or even by foot! Londoners who drive normally take public transport in the centre; follow their example. Unless you have a disability, there is no good reason whatsoever to drive a car in central London. Car drivers should be aware that driving into central London on weekdays during daylight hours incurs a hefty charge, with very few exemptions (note that rental cars also attract the charge). Cameras and mobile units record and identify the number plates and registration details of all vehicles entering the charging zone with high accuracy.

The Central London Congestion Charge M-F 07:00-18:00 (excluding public holidays) attracts a fee of £8 if paid the same day, or £10 if paid on the next charging day. Numerous payment options exist: by phone, online, at convenience stores displaying the red 'C' logo in the window and by voucher. Failure to pay the charge by midnight the next charging day (take note!) incurs a hefty automatic fine of £80 (£40 if paid within 2 weeks). Despite the Congestion Charge, London - like most major cities - continues to experience traffic snarls.

These are, of course, worse on weekdays during peak commuting hours (i.e. Between 07:30-09:30 and 16:00-19:00). At these times public transport (and especially the Tube) usually offers the best alternative for speed and reduced hassle. Driving in Central London is a slow, frustrating, expensive and often unnecessary activity. There are many sorts of automatic enforcement cameras and it is difficult (and expensive) to park. A good tip is, that outside advertised restriction hours, parking on a single yellow line is permissible.

Parking on a red line or a double yellow line is never permissible and heavily enforced. Find and read the parking restrictions carefully! Parking during weekdays and on Saturday can also mean considerable expense in parking fees - fees and restrictions are ignored at your extreme financial peril - issuing fines, clamping and towing vehicles (without warning!) has become a veritable new industry for borough councils staffed by armies of traffic wardens. For the disabled, driving can be much more convenient than using public transport.

If disabled and a resident of a member state of the EU, then two cars can be permanently registered for free for the congestion charge. Motorcycles and scooters are common in London as they can pass stationary cars, can usually be parked for free and are exempt from congestion-charging. Scooters and bikes with automatic transmission are much more preferable - a manually-geared racing bike is completely impractical unless you have excellent clutch-control (although it has to be said you will see plenty of them being ridden aggressively by motorcycle couriers and locals as it can be the fastest way to get around!) Likewise to bicycles, car-drivers have a disregard to anyone on two wheels and larger vehicles have an unwritten priority so take care when crossing junctions. Crash helmets are mandatory. Parking for bikes is usually free - there are designated motorcycle-parking areas on some side-streets and some multi-level parking lots will have bike parking on the ground level. A river bus at Tower Millennium Pier London is now starting to follow the example of cities such as and by promoting a network of river bus and pleasure cruise services along the River Thames.

London River Services (part of Transport for London) manages regular commuter boats and a network of piers all along the river and publishes timetables and river maps similar to the famous tube map. While boat travel may be slower and a little more expensive than tube travel, it offers an extremely pleasant way to cross the city with unrivaled views of the London skyline - Big Ben, St Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London, etc. Sailing under Tower Bridge is an unforgettable experience.

Boats are operated by private companies and they have a separate ticketing system from the rest of London transport; however if you have a Travelcard you get a 33% discount on most boat tickets. Many boat operators offer their own one-day ticket - ask at the pier kiosks.

Generally, tickets from one boat company are not valid on other operators' services. Oyster cards can be used as payment for the 'Clipper'-styled commuter services but not for tour boats. View from Greenwich Observatory which is easily reached by boat services plying the Thames Boats run on the following routes: • Bankside - Millbank • Barrier Gardens - Greenwich - St. • Buckingham Palace - The official London residence of the Queen, also in. Open for tours during the summer months only, but a must-see sight even if you don't go in. • The London Eye.

The world's third largest observation wheel, situated on the of the Thames with magnificent views over London. • Marble Arch is a white Carrara marble monument designed by John Nash. It is located in the middle of a huge traffic island at one of the busiest intersections in central London where Oxford St meets Park Lane in. It used to stand in front of Buckingham Palace, before it was moved to its present location. • is one of the most photographed sights in London. The statue of Eros stands proudly in the middle while the north eastern side is dominated by a huge, iconic neon sign. • St Paul's Cathedral, also in, is Sir Christopher Wren's great accomplishment, built after the 1666 Great Fire of London - the great dome is still seated in majesty over The City.

A section of the dome has such good acoustics that it forms a 'Whispering Gallery'. • Tower Bridge - Is the iconic 19th century bridge located by the Tower of London near.

It is decorated with high towers and features a drawbridge; you can visit the engine rooms and a Tower Bridge exhibition. • - Home of Nelson's Column and the stone lions, and once a safe haven for London's pigeons until the recent introduction of hired birds of prey. It recently attracted controversy over the 'Fourth plinth', previously empty, being temporarily home to a Marc Quin sculpture, 'Alison Lapper Pregnant'. Overlooked by the National Gallery, it's the nearest London has to a 'centre', and has recently been pedestrianised. Classical music concerts at St Martin-in-the-Fields. • Westminster Abbey and the Palace of Westminster (including Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament) in. The seat of the United Kingdom parliament and site, as well as setting for royal coronations since 1066, most recently that of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

The Palace of Westminster is open to the public for viewing parliamentary debates, tours of the building are available during August-September when Parliament is away on summer recess and every Saturday throughout the year. • 30 St Mary Axe or The Gherkin, a peculiarly-shaped 180 m- (590 ft-) building in the City, which provides a 360-degree view of London on the 40th floor. • The Shard, a futuristic skyscraper that was topped-out in 2012 and dominates the London skyline. It's the tallest building in the EU at 310 m (1,017 ft) and features a viewing deck on the 72nd floor.

Museums and Galleries [ ] London hosts an outstanding collection of world-class museums, including three of the world's most visited. As well as these internationally famous collections you can find nearly 250 other museums across the city. Best of all, many of these let you see their permanent collections for free, including must-visit places like: In contrast to this, independent museums will usually charge you to enter. This is also true of temporary exhibitions at the free-to-enter museums above. Although amounts differ, it is usually around £10-£15. However, the money-conscious tourist can see a significant number of masterpieces without having to spend a penny.

At the British Museum (London's most popular museum and the second most-visited in the world) for example, visitors can see the Parthenon marbles, the Rosetta Stone and one of the world's biggest collections of mummies all for free. And that is just some of the 80,000 objects on display in the museum at any given time. Alongside this museum and other renowned collections are over 250 art galleries.

Although some require an appointment and/or have limited opening hours, most are open to the public and free to visit. From the classical to the contemporary, all forms of art imaginable can be seen in London. Work from famous artists from Da Vinci to Damien Hirst can be seen in the city, alongside thousands of other world-famous works and the famous works of the future. Aside from these world famous establishments, there is an almost unbelievable number of minor museums in London covering a very diverse range of subjects. Although the big museums and galleries like the V&A, Tate and British Museum are not to be missed, many of London's quirkier or lesser known museums are well worth your time.

From the handheld fan to Sigmund Freud, many subjects have surprisingly fascinating museums all of their own, with Greenwich's Fan Museum and the Freud Museum in Hampstead just two of the many exhibition spaces that fit that description. Dental equipment, Sherlock Holmes, gardening.all three of these things have museums dedicated to them in the capital, their sites sitting alongside the museums and galleries you might expect in a big city, like the Natural History Museum or Museum of London. And with so many of them free, there really is no excuse but to explore them whilst in London.

The 'green lungs' of London are the many parks, great and small, scattered throughout the city including, and. Most of the larger parks have their origins in royal estates and hunting grounds and are still owned by the Crown, despite their public access. Despite a reputation as 'the Big Smoke', a sprawling urban metropolis of concrete, and London is surprisingly green.

In fact, London is 47% green space, spread out amongst some of Europe's most beautiful parks. Most of the biggest began as royal estates and/or hunting grounds, and are still owned by the Crown.

These so-called 'Royal Parks' cover 5,000 acres, and are all free to enter at any time. There are eight Royal Parks, which are: • is wonderful open park in the northern part of central London. • has charming and romantic gardens ideal for picnics and for strolling around.

James's Park is situated between Buckingham Palace on the west and Horse Guards Parade on the east. • is a huge open green space in north central London. Not a tended park as such and is remarkably wild for a metropolitan city location. The views from the Parliament Hill area of the heath south over the city are quite stunning.

• also is a huge green space, but has a thriving deer population that is culled in the spring. Excellent place for cycling. • is a large woodland located in the centre of London. It is a great place to go if you are after some peace and quiet. In the middle of the park is Kyoto gardens were you can buy food and drinks.

•, near to Hampton Court Palace, is the second-largest park in London. More low-key than its larger cousin, Richmond Park, it too has a large deer population.

Bushy Park contains numerous ponds, bridleways, two allotments, and at its northern edge, the National Physical Laboratory. Of these, Richmond Park is by far the largest, at more than double the size of even the second biggest park in London, Wimbledon Common. Slightly out of Central London, its 955 hectares are the perfect place for a day trip. As well as great cycling routes, it is famous for its deer population. Richmond Park has been home to a herd of 600 deer since around the 16th Century, and as long as you keep a respectful distance (the recommendation is 50 metres) from them you are welcome to wander amongst them. Perhaps most famous of the parks is that back onto them.

Although they feature less to catch the eye than many of London's parks, their large expanses and central location makes them a popular picnic spot for tourists visiting popular nearby attractions like the Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Victoria & Albert Museum. In fact, many of these Royal Parks can be found near major tourist attractions, making them ideal for a spot of lunch or just to get away from the bustle around these venues. St James' Park, for example, is just off of Buckingham Palace, and features a beautiful garden walkway as well as a family of swans. Regent's Park can be found in front of the London Zoo, with visitors from the park being able to see a large part of the south side of the zoo for free from the park, including the giraffes. It also has some of the best formal gardens of all the London parks, enclosed by hedges and bursting to life with flowers and fountains. Hampstead Heath is another popular choice a little out of the centre.

Not a tended park as such, it is remarkably wild for a metropolitan city location. The views from the Parliament Hill area of the heath south over the city are quite stunning. It also features a famous outdoor swimming pool for those fancying a dip on a hot day -- or for braver souls, you can join the Hampstead Heath Winter Swimming Club. Bushy Park, near to Hampton Court Palace, is the second-largest park in London. More low-key than its larger cousin, Richmond Park, it too has a large deer population. Bushy Park contains numerous ponds, bridleways, two allotments, and at its northern edge, the National Physical Laboratory. There are also many parks in London not part of the Royal Parks well worth exploring.

Principal among these is Victoria Park in Hackney. Though a fair walk from either Mile End or Homerton stations, it rewards the walk. Featuring a boating lake and a Chinese Pagoda amongst other sights, it is less well known than the other parks and so tends to be quieter, and offers great walks along the lake and the canal. However, London also offers all sort of other park spaces both small and large worth exploring. Well-known green areas include both Wimbledon and Clapham Common as well as Holland Park, but there are many where the pleasure lies in discovering them out of the blue in an otherwise urban environment. One of more than 800 Blue Plaques throughout London Blue Plaques [ ] With nearly 900 of them found in all but three of London’s boroughs, Blue Plaques are among the most familiar features of the capital’s streetscape.

The first Blue Plaques were erected to celebrate great figures of the past and the buildings they inhabited, but in the 150 years since the first was put up this has widened to include plaques that commemorate famous events. Visitors to London can now find the homes or workplaces of everyone from Clement Attlee to Emile Zola, and the sites of famous events like the forming of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood or the first broadcast from the BBC. After the Society of Arts founded the scheme in 1866, the first Blue Plaque (at the birthplace of Lord Byron at Cavendish Square) was put up a year later.

Initially, the scheme was designed to mark out notable buildings to save them from demolition, but ironically the site of this first plaque was demolished in 1889. However, around 15 of these early plaques still survive, including ones for military leader Lord Nelson, poet John Keats and French Emperor Napoleon III, whose plaque at 1c King’s Street is the oldest still standing. Although widely known as ‘Blue Plaques’, it should be noted that it is only since the 1960s that they have been in that color as standard. Some Royal Society of the Arts plaques are blue, but the colors vary, and those put up when the London County Council took over the program in 1901 were brown or a shade of blue-grey very different from the royal blue of today’s plaques.

To confuse matters even further, there are some plaques that are not blue and are not Blue Plaques. The term ‘Blue Plaques’ describes the plaques erected by the Royal Academy or any of the three organizations that took over from them: the London County Council (1901-1965), the Greater London Council (1965-1986) and English Heritage from 1986 onwards. Due to a deal with the Corporation of the City of London, the mile stretch of the itself has its own commemorative notices which are also blue, except for one red Blue Plaque in tribute to author and dictionary-writer Samuel Johnson at his home in Gough Square.

Transport for London also has its own plaques that are red. For those interested in finding London Blue Plaques, they can be found in all boroughs except Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Hillingdon.

The most concentrated area for them is the borough of Westminster, which has a third of all Blue Plaques, commemorating figures as diverse as Samuel Pepys and Chopin. However, they can be found as far afield as Croydon to the South and Enfield to the North. Additionally, the selection panel of experts are committed to giving Blue Plaque status to around twelve new buildings every year, meaning the number to discover is ever-growing.

Do [ ] [ ] London is a huge city, so all individual listings should be in the appropriate articles. To make the most of the city's tremendous cultural offerings (performing arts, museums, exhibitions, clubs, eateries and numerous others), visitors will do well to pick up a copy of a cultural magazine like (available at most corner shops and newsagents) which gives detailed information and critiques on what's around town including show times and current attractions.

Their website also has major shows listed and there is also an iPhone/iPod app available - though these tend to not be as detailed as the print version. • Take a walk through London's Royal Parks. A good walk would start at Paddington station, and head through Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Green Park (passing Buckingham Palace) and St James Park before crossing Trafalgar Square and the River Thames to the and Waterloo Station.

At a strolling pace this walk would take half a day, with plenty of places to stop, sit, drink, eat en-route. A good pictorial description of this walk can be found online. • Live Music London is one of the best cities in the world for concerts, spanning from new musical trends to well known bands. Popular classical concerts at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square. • Between huge concert facilities and small pubs, there are hundreds of venues that organise and promote live music every week. Many concerts, especially in smaller or less known places are free, so there is plenty of choice even for tourists on a budget.

London has long been a launchpad for alternative movements, from the mods of the 60s, punks of the 70s, new romantics of the 80s, the britpop scene of the 90s and in recent years the indie rock movement spearheaded by The Libertines and their ilk. It has one of the world's most lively live music scenes: any band heading a British, European or World tour will play London, not to mention the local talent. • London's Music Scene is incredibly diverse, covering all genres of music from electro-jazz to death-metal, and all sizes of bands, from the U2s and Rolling Stones of the world to one man bands who disband after their first gig. A number of apps exist to help Londoners choose between the huge number of gigs on offer.

One of the most popular is, an event discovery app that doesn’t charge any booking fees. • This diversity is reflected in prices. As a rough guide: £40+ for 'top 40' bands in arena sized venues, £20+ for established bands in mid sized venues, £6+ for up and coming bands and club nights in smaller venues, £5- for start up bands in bars and pubs. London has hundreds of venues spread out over the city and the best way to know what's going on where is to browse on-line ticket agencies and. One of the easiest to use and most comprehensive listings websites is.

• Theatre The West End, especially the areas concentrated around Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Shaftesbury Avenue and Haymarket, is one of the world's premier destinations for theatre, including musical theatre. • Covent Garden has the only Actor sponsored school in the city called the Actors Centre which also gave way to the London Acting Network, a London acting community support group. In the centre of Leicester Square there is an official half-price TKTS booth.

• For up-to-date listings check the official. • The South Bank is another area well-known for world class theatre, and is home to both the National Theatre and the Globe Theatre, the latter of which is London's only thatched building and an attraction in itself. Each Globe performance has over 700 tickets priced at £5. London's theatre scene outside of these two main districts is known as 'the Fringe'. There are tour companies worldwide that take travellers to see London theatre.

These companies sell themselves on being able to deliver unique and behind-the-scenes access to some of the world's greatest theatres. • Watch a movie As well as the world-famous blockbuster cinemas in the West End, London has a large number of superb art house cinemas. In the summer months, there are often outdoor screenings at various venues, such as Somerset House and in some of the large parks. • Watch football Take in a home match of one of the city's 15+ professional football clubs for a true experience of a lifetime as you see the passion of the 'World's Game' in its mother country. • London has five clubs in the top Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Place, Tottenham Hotspur, and West Ham United.

A level down, in the Football League Championship, finds Brentford, Charlton Athletic, Fulham, and Queens Park Rangers (QPR). Several clubs are in the lower levels of the professional league systems — Millwall in Football League One; and AFC Wimbledon, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, and Leyton Orient in Football League Two. Many of the bigger clubs will require booking in advance, sometimes many months ahead, but smaller clubs allow you to simply turn up on match day and pay at the gate.

You will be able to find a ticket to a quality football match on any Saturday during the season. • lets you explore many of the city's most interesting buildings during the London Open House Weekend - usually held on the third weekend of September.

During this single weekend, several hundred buildings which are not normally open to the public are opened up. See website for details of buildings opening in any given year - some buildings have to be pre-booked in advance - book early for the popular ones! • Winter Skating. London has a number of outdoor ice rinks that open in the winter months. Considered by some to be somewhat overpriced and overcrowded, they nonetheless have multiplied in recent years, easing congestion and increasing competition.

Most charge from £10-12 (adults) for an hour on the ice, including skate hire. See the district articles for the, and. • Summer Skating.

In summer (and also in winter, for the more dedicated) there is also a thriving roller skating (on inline and traditional 'quad' skates) scene in London, catering to many disciplines including street hockey, freestyle slalom, dance, general recreational skating (including three weekly marshalled group street skates) and speed skating. This mostly centres around Hyde Park (on the Serpentine Road) and Kensington Gardens (by the Albert Memorial).

See the district articles for and. • Do-it-yourself bus tour If you don't feel like splashing out on one of the commercial bus tours, you can make your own bus tour by buying an card and spending some time riding around London on the top deck of standard London buses. Of course you don't get the open air or the commentary, but the views are very similar. You will likely get lost but that is half the fun; if it worries you go for a commercial tour. • London Explorer Pass A London Explorer Pass is a multi-attraction pass that includes admission to your choice of 3, 4, or 5 London attractions for one low price. Pay nothing at the gate and choose as you go from over 10 included attractions, including Madame Tussauds London, SEA LIFE London Aquarium, Coca-Cola London Eye, The London Dungeon, and more. Get your Pass instantly via email and print it out or use it right on your phone.

London attracts more students from overseas than any other city in the world, and is home to a huge variety of academic institutions. Its universities include some of the oldest and most prestigious in the world. • Imperial College London ( ICL),. UK's leading university specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine.

The campus is located in a beautiful South Kensington area (Central London), surrounded by numerous cultural institutions. • University College London ( UCL),. The first university established in London, offering a wide range of courses. UCL academic research is cited more than any other university in the UK, and its courses are regarded as amongst the best.

• London School of Economics and Political Science ( LSE),. The only college in the UK focused exclusively on social sciences, whose courses are regarded as amongst the very best in the world. Often associated with neo-liberal political economic theory.

Its glittering list of alumni include many foreign leaders. • King's College London,. Situated in the heart of London over 3 main campuses. Offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses for a range of subjects at a high academic level. • Queen Mary, University of London,. Queen Mary was formed from the merger of four historic colleges and since joining the University of London in 1915 has grown to become one of its largest colleges.

• School of Oriental and African Studies ( SOAS),. Offers highly regarded courses in law, languages, social sciences and humanities, with a unique focus on Asia and Africa.

• London Business School,. Postgraduate business school offering one of the world's leading MBA programmes. Learn English [ ] London is a natural place to learn and improve spoken and written English. There are a huge range of options, from informal language exchange services to evening classes and formal language schools. There are a number of unaccredited schools charging hefty fees and offering qualifications that are viewed as worthless.

If choosing a course from a privately-run school or college, it is important to ensure the institution is accredited by the British Council. Some links to British Council accredited schools: • Linguaenglish London,.

Lingua London is a family-run English language school and has been teaching English only courses in London for over 10 years. • Lite Regal International School, ☎ 7,. Lite Regal International School has been offering EFL English and Cambridge exam preparation classes since 1993. • Language in London,.

This is the first school in the world to win the British Council prize for innovation in English teaching. Located in central London with homestay and residential accommodation, we can help you with everything you need to have an amazing experience living and studying in this city. • Rose of York,. Rose of York has been teaching English language courses for over 21 years and they offer full-time, intensive or part-time English courses • Franglish,. Franglish is a French/English and French/Spanish language exchange event taking place in some of the best venues across London. • Kunaal Tailor, ☎ 23 (),.

Private 1-2-1 English Classes with a Native Speaker and British Council observed tutor. Specialising in General English, Exam (FCE, PET, CAE and IELTS) Preparation, Business English and Online Classes via Skype. • Edwards Sprachcaffe Language School, 38 The Mall, Ealing, London, W5 3TJ, ☎ +44 (0)20 8566 3684 (),. Full and part time courses, adults and teen courses, IELTS exam prep, private lessons. Accommodation options in homestay or private home. It is also possible to enroll during the summer into one of the numerous summer schools, mostly English language, but also some offering tuition in a wide range of other subjects. One such Institution is Lite Regal Education which is accredited and allows high school students the experience and opportunity to live and study in one of the colleges of London University.

London is one of the world's leading financial centres and so professional services is the main area of employment, although this sector has been hit hard by the global financial crisis. As of Mid 2010, the job market in London has recovered somewhat, it is best to check with recruiters and staffing agencies. London is hugely popular as a working holiday destination - work in bars and the hospitality industry is relatively easy to find. Wages are generally higher in London than the rest of the UK, although the cost of living is higher overall.