Category: London Guide

The famous Heathrow airport is located in the western outskirts of London and it’s a massive international hub. It can be reached by tube (Piccadilly line), in zone 6, and has three different stops. Make sure you know which terminal you are flying from before you leave London: moving form one terminal to another might take time!

London – Heathrow by:

• Tube
• Bus
• Train
• Taxi
• Sleeping rough at the airport

Tube

As mentioned above, Heathrow is reached by the Piccadilly Line (the dark blue one) that runs across the whole city in a never-ending underground trip. It’s truly a bit of a long journey: from a central station such as Holborn or Covent Garden it takes up to one hour. But it’s also very comfortable as, if you manage to sit, you can dip in your book and relax, and it’s also the cheapest way to get there. Find out more in the getting around London guide:

• One way ticket: £5,50
• Oyster card fare (Monday-Friday,  06:30 – 0930 and 16:00 – 1900): £5,00
• Oyster card fare: (Off-peak) £3,00

Again, make sure you know which terminal to get off to. At the end of its line the tube splits in two and makes a loop. If you’re on the wrong train you can just get off ad Hounslow and change.

Bus

I never dared to take a bus – a proper London red bus not a coach – all the way to Heathrow, but few people I met working at the hostel did it. It’s only a realistic option very early in the morning: the line N9 will take you from Aldwych to the airport, with a hour-and-half long panoramic trip through the city.

This is the PDF map for the N9 line.

You can always opt for the National Express services (www.nationalexpress.co.uk), leaving from Victoria Coach Station. The coach has to wade through the London traffic so it might take one hour and a half during peak times.

Train

From Paddington station trains regularly leave westbound to Heathrow. It’s a very expensive way to reach the airport, but also the quickest: the Express only takes 15 minutes!

The standard train service comes for £9,50 (£19 return), you can find more info here: www.heathrowconnect.com

If you’re in a hurry try the Heathrow Express (www.heathrowexpress.com), the tickets cost from £20 (£34 return) up. Which makes more than £1 a minute for this trip!

Taxi

Taxi is obviously an option but, honestly, I don’t see the point, unless you have some heavy luggage and you need to limit the walking distances at a very minimum. It might be a quiet expensive option, and not too fast as it has, just like the bus, work its way through the London streets.

Sleeping rough in Heathrow

Early morning flights are always a pain in the neck but, oh coincidence, always the cheapest. Travelling in the weekend might cause you to miss the tube, as the service starts later than during the week. If you don’t want to take the N9 route, or any of the other option available then take the last tube the night before and have a sleep in the airport!

Terminal 5 is not too bed: padded seats and dim lights. Try to stay as far as possible from the café and the lifts, if you don’t want to be woken up by a noisy buzz and the familiar “doors opening… doors closing“.

If you’re going to spend few days in London, transport costs will take a good share of your budget. Find out how to optimize it at best!

In a previous article we’ve seen in details how the public transport in London works, but some of you might still wonder: what do I need to buy? Oyster Card or Travel Card? Pay as you go or weekly pass?

Well, let’s work it out. Mathematically.

If you ask me I’d say that the Oyster Card is always the best option. You will be charged a £5 deposit when you purchase it and both the deposit and unused credit (up to £10) will be refunded when you hand it back at any tube station before leaving London. Some people like to hold on it in case they’ll need it again, or as a souvenir… especially if you’re lucky enough to get a special edition.

From now on we will assume you won’t take the tube on rush hour. Don’t do that! Always travel off peak, it’ll save you money and stress. Moreover the rates I’m mentioning are for zones 1-2 which is pretty much all you’ll need. Unless you go, for instance, to Wimbledon or Heathrow.

Pay as you go

The Oyster Card works on a “pay as you go” basis, where the amount of the ticket gets deducted every trip and you will stop getting charged when you reach the daily pass capping.

• You will be charged £2.30 for each tube trip until you reach the daily capping of £6.40, which is less than 3 trips and it’s £2 less than the previous year!
• You will be charged £1.50 for each bus trip until you reach the daily capping of £4.40, which is just 5p more than 3 trips.

This solution is ideal for a few days visit as it gives you maximum freedom. Top up your card and use is without stress.

Travel Card

The only travel card options available are for 7 days or 1 month, and they can both topped up on your Oyster Card

• The 7 days travel card for the tube is £32.10, which is roughly 5 full days on the tube or less than 15 tube trips.
• The 7 days bus pass is £21.00, which is less than 5 full days on the bus or less than 14 bus trips.

As you can see the 7 days travel card or pass is worth considering if you’re staying at least 5 days in London, and you’re planning to travel a lot.

Refunding an Oyster Card

Now it’s easy to have a refund if you’re no longer going to use your Oyster. Touch the card on the yellow reader of the ticket machines you’ll find in any tube station, tap on “Oyster refund” and follow the instructions. You will receive up to £10 of your pay as you go credit and the £5 deposit in cash. After getting this refund you won’t be able to use your Oyster again.

Buying from abroad

If you’re meticulous and want to avoid any possible inconvenience upon arrival you can order your oyster card in advance, using this link. I never tried so if you do please let me know how it goes!

I always recommend to take the bus rather than the tube, to be able to look around, and to walk as much as possible, but obviously London is big and if you have a busy agenda you might have to take the tube, especially if going through the city centre.

I hope now it all looks less complicated, but each trip is different so feel free to ask for tailored suggestions!

Finding the best pizza in London is probably the Sacred Graal of the new Italian community here. Most non-Italian Londoners are obviously interested in the outcome of this research but it’s us who took on the quest with religious commitment.

Me and my friends are very far from having explored all the pizzerias in London, but so far our research came with these results.

Santa Maria

15 Saint Mary’s Road, W5 5RA. Ealing Broadway (Central, District Line), South Ealing (Piccadilly Line)
020 8579 1462 (no reservations)
Website | Menu

When my friends talked to me about this place I couldn’t believe they did seriously consider going there. I’m talking about Acton/Ealing, West London zone 3. I’ve been west of the Parliament only on the tube going to Heathrow, but never dared to actually go there.
So one day I got on the tube for this never ending journey, topped by a good 10/15 minutes walking. The place is nice and cozy, so very authentic to look almost out of place, but it’s only when I gave the first bit that I understood why people go all the way there. The pizza here is made following the traditional neapolitan tradition, leaving the dough to rise for nearly 24 hours. That means that if you get there late they might have ran out of dough, so make sure you don’t make the trip in vain!

Franco Manca

Brixton, Market Row, SW9 8LD. Brixton (Victoria Line)
020 7738 3021 (no reservations)
See the website for more info and other branches.

I’ll start this list with a classic. Loved and well known amongst both the Italians and the rest of London, Franco Manca gained notoriety thanks to the simplicity and quality of its pizza.
Baked in the traditional Neapolitan way, pizzas are topped with natural ingredients and seasonal vegetables. Only 5-6 types of pizza are listed and, frankly, there’s never have been the need for more. The drinks are organic and the coffee is the real thing (when I say coffee in an Italian environment I only mean espresso).
They opened a few more branches but I only visited the original one, at the entrance of the covered part of Brixton Market, coming from Electric Lane. I like the way it’s split in two by the market lane, with little tables crammed along the whitewashed brick walls, but you’re very likely to find long queues if you don’t go there early enough. But hey, that’s a good sign.

Pappagone

131 Stroud Green Rd, N4 3PX. Finsbury Park (Piccadilly / Victoria Line), Crouch Hill (Overground).
020 7263 2114. Website | Menu
Mon – Fri 10am – 3pm / 6pm – Midnight. All day Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays

This is a place where I really feel home. The pizza is great, and so are the main courses but the main reason I go there regularly is because it’s the cheapest and quickest way to go back to Italy. The staff is entirely Italian and they loudly talk with each across the tables, creating a very characteristic and traditional “pizzeria atmosphere”. One of these dudes is at the door and greets you with a great smile. There are few stages of being a regular customer:

• big smile (this comes for free, for everyone)
• hand shake (after a few visits in a row)
• hand shake and manly pat on the shoulder (for regular weekly visitors)
• all of the above and calling you by first name (for those who gave up cooking at home)

When I was living around there I managed to reach stage n.3, let’s see if you can do better! My favourite pizzas here are Valtellina or Parmigiana.
A good place to visit, maybe after an afternoon in Crouch End or few pints ad the Falthering Fullback.

Santore

59 – 61 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QL
Farringdon (Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City Line), Kings Cross (Northern, Victoria, Piccadilly, Circle, Metropolitan, Hammersmith & City Line)
020 7812 1488

Quality Pizza in Exmouth market, in the area – Clerkenwell – that roughly a century ago until recent time was home to the Italian community in London. This area became recently a foodie paradise, and Santore is the place that set the quality threshold, being one of the first to open amongst those who are now shaping the area.
I usually recommend this place for groups, at least 4 people, as its main characteristic is the possibility to order pizza by the meter. A long, long pizza is placed in the middle of the table and each one can take slices of different toppings. Great fun and great pizza, but don’t get involved in competitions on who can eat the longest…
Usually one meter is good for 4 people but whenever we stick to this rule we always order a “dessert pizza” to share at the end. Also conveniently located next to Café Kick, great for warm up drinks or for after dinner tipples.

Pizza East (Kentish Town)

79 Highgate Rd, London NW5 1TL
Mon – Thu 12:00 pm – 12:00 am / Friday 12:00 pm – 1:00 am/ Saturday 9:00 am – 1:00 am / Sunday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
020 3310 2000 | Website

This little chain, started in Shoreditch, is quickly expanding. I’ve tried this successful joint in Kentish Town mainly because of a 20% I got with the ticket for a gig the same night at the Kentish Forum (sometimes it’s really worth reading the small print!). The atmosphere is not that traditional, but I appreciate their radical approach. Dim lights and a buzzing room with just the right amount of noise to have a private conversation without shouting. The pizza is really good: thick crust, crispy and well cooked, baked in wooden fire oven. However it’s a bit pricey: £8 for a margherita up to £13 for a more elaborate pizza.

Sartori

15-18 Great Newport Street, WC2H 7JE. Leicester Square (Northern, Piccadilly Line).
Daily 12:00pm – 11:00pm
 020 7836 6308 | Website

The pizza here is good, the atmosphere is a bit more posh than in the restaurants mentioned above but, considering we are in Leicester Square / Covent Garden area, they’re still doing well in terms of vibe.

The quality of the dough and topping is high (my favourite is the Siciliana, with aubergines and parmesan cheese) and surely is one of the best options for eating in an area plagued by soul-less chains as Covent Garden.

Each time people ask me “how does the public transport in London work?” a shiver runs down my spine. It’s actually more complicated to explain than it is to understand. I reckon it’s a very clever system, a bit expensive, but efficient.

During your stay you’ll either use the tube or the bus and, according to the length of your stay you might go for single tickets or passes, either in paper form or on a Oyster Card. Let’s see in details how it works and what suits you better.

What’s best for a few days in London? Found your best Oyster deal on our special post.

Tube, Bus, Overground

With the exception of the Thames clipper and the Greenwich cable car, these are the means of transport that will carry you around London:

The Tube

The oldest underground system and probably the most famous with its iconic “mind the gap”, the Tube has recently turned 150 years old and survived the millions of Olympic visitors. You can take the Tube to the most famous places, including Heathrow airport.

It’s the quickest way to get across the city, but also the most expensive. If you’re in London for a visit you’ll probably be limited to the zones 1-2 in case you were wondering what that means when you try to buy a ticket or a pass.

The Bus

The world famous double decker buses are one of the most representative symbols of London, and they can be found in key-rings and on fridges all over the world.

They recently retired the good ol’ routemaster and replaced it with a brand new one, with a futuristic design, that can be found on the routes 38, 9, 11 and 24.

A ticket or a bus pass will cover all the 6 zones, with no time limit, but if you have to change don’t forget that you will be charged (in case you have a pay-as-you-go oyster) a fare on each bus.

In the unlikely event the weather is rough, you just missed your bus, and you want to know if you have time for one more drink before the next bus, check this very accurate website: countdown.tfl.gov.uk

Follow this link for a full bus map.

Night bus

Technically there’s nothing different from the above buses but these are real life-savers. Some lines run on 24 hours, some they just slightly change the route and add a ‘N’ before the number. Wherever you’re going to spend your night the night buses will take you home (unless you fall asleep and wake up in a deposit or in the middle  of nowhere).

Overground

A urban train network, the Overground is often underestimated. However it’s very useful to cross the city west-east. It’s been recently extended to cover many areas where the Tube doesn’t go, especially where the “east line” were supposed to be, crossing the east end and connecting popular areas such as Hoxton and Shoreditch. The Overground trains are not included in the TFL passes and you will be charged on your pay-as-you-go money.

Tickets and Passes

Single ticket

The memories of my first visit in London will always start with me arriving in Stratford (way before the Olympics, it was still pretty rough), getting the tube to St. Paul’s and being charged £4. Five stops, nearly £1 per stop. Lesson learned: never buy a single ticket unless you can’t really avoid that. To know how much is a tube ride from A to B click here. It might happen to buy a single ticket for a bus, you can usually do that on board or at the automatic machines that can be found at some stops. The bus ticket is £2.50 and can only be paid via contactless, no cash accepted.

Daily pass

If you seek peace of mind and you want to take any necessary mean of transport without worrying about the maths, the daily pass is your choice (unless you stay for more than 4-5 days):

• Daily travelcard tube + bus: £12.00 (zone 1-4)
• Bus daily pass: £5.00 (travel the day of purchase up to 4.29am the following day)

Oyster Card

If you’re staying for longer than a weekend and you want to make your life even easier, or you want one more souvenir to take back home, then go for an Oyster Card. It can be obtained at any tube station and requires a £5 deposit that you will get back once you won’t need it any more. You’ll need to top it up, and you have pretty much two options:

Pay as you go

If you have a laid back approach and no schedule, if you don’t know whether you’re going to barely take a bus a day or if you’re going to spend more time on a tube than actually at ground level, this is your option.

Top your Oyster up and touch it on the reader each time you get in the tube or on a bus. Each access will deduct a single fare, that’s way cheaper than buying tickets:

• Single access to Tube with Oyster: £2.30 (£2.90 peak: 6.30-9.30 / 16.00-19.00 Mon-Fri)
• Single trip on bus with Oyster: £1.50

What if you take the Tube 100 times in one day? You won’t be charged £230, as there is a limit, that equals the cost of a daily pass:

• Price cap tube + bus: £6.40 (£2 cheaper than in 2014!)
• Price cap bus: £4,40

To know the exact amount of each fare you can use this this service.

Weekly and Monthly pass

On your Oyster you can also put a weekly or monthly pass, available for tube+bus or just bus. At this stage you can be considered an advanced user, so you can read the price tables easily:

• Travel Card prices (PDF)
• Bus & Tram Pass prices

Many people don’t know that pass and pay-as-you-go can be on the same Oyster at the same time, which is the beauty of this system. For instance you can have a bus pass some credit, so that when you take your occasional tube or overground train, which are not covered from that pass, money will be deducted from your allowance. If you really want to know more enjoy the TFL website: www.tfl.gov.uk

Gatwick airport is located nearly 28 miles south of London and it’s well linked to the city. It is conveniently located if you’re staying in the south-western area (around Victoria station, which is where most of the hotels are), but the airport is not always the main criterium to select a flight, is it? If your low cost plane flies to and/or from Gatwick, chances are that it will be at some inconvenient time, so it’s better to be ready for the city transfer in order to avoid some last minute panic (eventually ending with a costly cab ride).

London – Gatwick connection by:

• Train
• Bus
• Taxi
• Sleeping rough at the Airport

Train

The train station is inside the airport, in the South terminal. To get to and from the North terminal there is a shuttle train.

Gatwick Express

If you want to get to London as quick as possible, cutting the airport transfer time, your best solution is Gatwick Express (www.gatwickexpress.com) high speed train that links Victoria Station in London to the airport in just half an hour. It’s more convenient to book it online as it’s cheaper and it would avoid you the queues at the vending machines at the airport. Getting a return ticket helps reducing the price even further.

One-wat ticket: £19.90 (at the desk), £17.75 (online)
Return ticket: £34.90 (at the desk), £31.05 (online)

National Rail

A solution which is slower (even if with a narrow margin sometimes) but definitely cheaper, is the local train. If it stops at every station it might take up to a hour, but it also costs half the Gatwick Express. If you check the National Rail website (nationalrail.co.uk) you might find special rates, even on trains nearly as fast as the Express. The rates fluctuate according to many factors such as the season, the day of the week, the hour, and go from roughly £8 to £20 each way. Overnight trains serve Gatwick airport every half hour from St Pancras and Black Friars, slightly less frequently from Victoria and London Bridge.

To know more about the best ways to save money read the article about getting around Britain on the cheap.

Bus

If your flight is at some ridiculous time of the night (which might as well be the case if you’re flying low cost), or if value money over time (same as previous parenthetic), then you might want to opt for the bus. The national company (called, with a certain lack of imagination, National Express, www.nationalexpress.com), as well as other private companies such Terravision and Easybus, provide this service at any time of the day or the night. The price is usually between £5 and £9 each way, but EasyBus, if booked in advance, might be even cheaper. Consider though that their drop-off and pick-up point is near the West Brompton tube station.

Important: Since I’ve seen too many people getting this wrong, I need to point out that the bus terminal is Victoria Coach Station, at the junction between Buckingham Palace Road and Elizabeth Street, 5 minutes walk (10 if you’re loaded with luggage) from the tube station.  If you’re getting here by taxi make sure that the cab driver is informed before you get in the car (or when you make the phone reservation) and that he’s aware of the difference: you need to go at the Coach Station, not at the tube or bus station. This is the map and post code, to avoid any misunderstanding: Victoria Coach Station, SW1W 9TP

Taxi

If you are staying in a central-south-west area of London, or you’re travelling in a group of 3-4 people, the cab is an option to be seriously considered. Especially if you’re travelling late night or early morning. The wisest thing to do is to ask the reception or whoever is hosting you, for the best local taxi companies.

Sleeping rough in Gatwick

If you have a early morning flight and none of the options above are appealing or feasible, then the benches in the airport are your only choice left! I’ve only checked the South Terminal and it offers an area suitable for overnight stays: lounge chairs and seat that, despite not being able to provide the most comfortable sleep of your life, are better than the average. The area, next to cafe nero, is quite bright so an eye mask might help.

Anyone tried the North Terminal?

England, or more generally and correctly speaking, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, is famed to be a very expensive country. Nowadays this is no longer true, especially for people coming from Europe. However for some aspects and services, prices are still above the average.
Having a look at the trains and hotels rates should would give you an idea of what I’m talking about. Fortunately though, in Britain is relatively easy to save money on special deals, as long as you carefully follow a few tips.

Let’s the best ways to travel around Britain and how to save money in the process:

Bus

The bus services, mainly operated by the national company (National Express) cover the whole country and it’s usually the cheapest way to travel. Booking with few days in advance, an off-peak bus trip across the country might cost £5.

Other companies offer local services, some of them are the low-cost company in the bus world: Megabus might take you from London to Bristol for just £1! Although it’s quite unlikely to find the £1 fare, you can easily find the cheapest tickets on the market.

Train

If you don’t have time to cruise around on a bus, the train is your option. Very efficient and nearly always on schedule (but I’m from Italy so the standards I’m used to are quite low…), they’re fast as a bullet: London-Manchester in 2 hours and few minutes, but also very expensive.

Don’t be scared of the standard rates, as there are many ways to save money.
First thing: book in advance. I know it’s not always possible, but this will help you saving money. Second: travel off-peak, this will save you not just money but also the discomfort of travelling on a train packed with unhappy commuters.

Your bargain research should start from the National Rail website, if nothing can be found here  you can use one of those rate comparison websites (like Skyscanner for trains). I usually go to these:

www.thetrainline.com
www.mytrainticket.co.uk

It’s also worth checking the Virgin trains website looking for special offers: www.virgintrains.co.uk

Car Hire

When travelling off the rail tracks, or for a wild ride in the countryside, hiring a car can be a good option. Car rentals are very affordable in the UK. With Enterprise I usually rent one for little more than £30 a day, or about £60 for the whole weekend. A small car runs on a £13-15 per 100 miles, so if travelling in a party of 3-5 people can be very convenient.

Airport

With no doubts the most complicated city in the UK, in terms of airport transfers, is London.

Which airport are you flying to and from? What’s the best way to get there, bus, train, tube, taxi…? To avoid getting lost in the maze of airports and options check the guides to London airports:

Located north of Finsbury Park, Harringay has for long time been placed on the fringes of the explorable part of London. Thanks to its turkish-cypriot restaurants has been then discovered by the Time Out and, following a regeneration project put in place by the council, the area has smoothed its rough edges and polished up shop-fronts and pavements. Some of the charm have been lost in the process but, passing the Overground bridge is like stepping in a different place, a city within a city.

Some of the restaurants have pushed a bit the limit splashing money on some rather tacky decorations, but if people keep coming here is because they can find some of the best turkish food in town. Here are my favourite restaurants in Green Lanes, in reverse order.

Hala

Green Lanes, London N4 1LG | Google Maps
Phone: 020 8802 4883 | Menu

It was once little more than a glorified kebab shop with 4 tables at the back, now they expanded to match up their neighbours’ grandeur, however I wasn’t too impressed with their Yogurtlu Adana. They are masters of grilled meat and still my favourite take-away: their wraps and stews (coming with bread, salad and rice) to go are still the best in the area.

Antepliler

46 Green Lanes, London N4 1AG | Google Maps
Phone 020 8802 5588

The guys working here made their best to spoil the reputation of their restaurant by being smug and rude. Now they even opened four places back to back, each catering different food, making it rather confusing. Make sure you enter the one with a wooden-fired oven to get a lahmacun or a pide, the typical turkish pizza. They lost all their peculiarity swapping the quirky low chairs in carved wood with bland modern furniture but their baked products are unmatched.

Gökyüzü

26-27 Grand Parade, Green Lanes London, N4 1LG | Google Maps
Phone: 020 8211 8406 | Menu

Its large dining room, polished yet informal, makes Gökyüzü ideal for a group meal or a dinner date. During one of those not-quite-romantic dinners, me and my mate celebrated my departure from Green Lanes with a mix grill for two: a mountain of rice and cous-cous covered in layers of meat, every kind of meat they offer is there. Despite being famously voracious we struggled to finish it, despite what’s written on the menu it’s better shared in 3-4 people.

Diyarkabir

Grand Parade, 69 Green Lanes, Haringey, London N4 1DU | Google Maps
Phone: 020 8809 2777

I will never, ever remember how to spell the name of this restaurant. This, and the uninviting the shop sign contributed to the fact that this was the last restaurant I visited in the area. But after my first dinner here I made up the lost time coming back at every chance. Now they opened another larger flashier restaurant but this one is still the best, as confirmed by the locals crowding it.
The quality of the meat is superb and the starters are superior: not only you get salad and warm bread, but also a trio of dips, including one made with aubergine and tomato sauce… mouth watering!

Glossary

• Lahmacun is like a thin small pizza. The topping is minimal but tasty: tomato, minced lamb, parsley and onion or garlic. Can be wrapped up and filled with salad to make a great snack on the go.
• Pide is the turkish pizza, it looks like a calzone opened on top.
• Shish is the skewer.
• Adana is the typical sausage made with lamb mince and red peppers.
• Ayran is a yogurt-based drink slightly salted. Its flavour is quite unusual but I love to drink it with meat as it also helps soothing the effect of spices and hot peppers.