Yes, you read that correctly.
London is notorious for being one of the most expensive destinations in the world.
I don’t like to generalize but I find that people who hold this view are generally of a certain variety. You know the type. They generally fly into Heathrow, transfer to their 4 star hotel, spend the next day at the Tower of London (after viewing the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace of course), followed by an overpriced hop-on hop-off bus ride to the London Eye, then a 3-course pre-theatre dinner at a West End restaurant catering to tourists before ending their evening attending the Lion King on the West End stage.
Not that there’s anything wrong with this itinerary…but a day like this could easily cost upwards of £300 (or almost $500). Even if they switch to a cheaper hotel, it’s still quite pricey. But more important than the inflated cost of their vacation, is the fact that, tragically, these people leave London without ever actually seeing London.
There’s a world of difference between the occasional tourist and the seasoned traveler. The occasional tourist comes to see the sights and then leaves. The seasoned traveler wants to hang out with the locals and hear their stories over a pint of ale or a cup of tea.
The British are the most hilarious group of people that could ever be stranded on an island together. You will have a rewarding trip just by sitting back and listening to people as they go about their daily lives. I don’t think I’ve ever had a single dull conversation in the almost two years that I lived in the UK.
Sunbathing on the Thames
A couple of guys dressed as the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister having tea
But alas, there’s that traveling bit. You didn’t come to London to sit in a pub all evening (or did you?)
The truth is, London is a reasonably priced city with many cheap and free things to do. You can easily experience London for under £5 a day if you know how to budget properly. I did it for over a year and never felt like I was missing out. There were days where I splurged and days when I came in under budget but for the most part, £5 per day was average.
Disclaimer: I’m not a big drinker (which is rare in London). Alcohol can set you way back in this city but there are ways to get around this as well. Keep reading.
Getting Around:
Cheap:
Public transport in London is pricey but there are ways to reduce costs.
Click here for everything you need to know about saving money on the bus and tube:
Another popular option for getting around is to rent a Barclays bicycle, locally known as a “Boris Bike” after the colorful mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Bikes can be rented by the hour, day, week, or year. The best thing about these is that you can rent them at one location and return them to another. You will need a chip and pin credit/debit card (most European, Australian, and New Zealand issued credit/debit cards are chip and pin, most US credit/debit cards are not). The cost is £2 for a 24-hour period, £10 for the week. Hourly prices are much more dynamic with the first 30 minutes being free, the next 30 minutes costing £1 and a total of 1.5 hours will cost you £4 so it’s better to purchase the day pass.
Free:
London is a lot of fun to experience on foot but you’ll be doing a lot of walking. Unless it’s freezing or pouring rain, this shouldn’t bother you at all. You’ll get lost a few times on the way to anywhere but that’s part of the adventure. London has so many neighborhoods built over many centuries that it pays for you to just wander around for a few days, admire the architecture, and figure things out for yourself. Map-averse as I am, it took me a full month to figure this city out before I was able to comfortably release my hold on the Thames as a security blanket and venture inland. (Part of this came about when I discovered that the Thames doesn’t flow in a straight line but I’ll leave that story for another blog post.) The point is…don’t do what I did – use a map!
Don’t forget to wander to places outside of the tourist center. Neighborhoods such as Belsize Park, Hampstead, Shepherd’s Bush, Hammersmith, Shoreditch, Butler’s Wharf, and Brixton are all worth spending time in.
Like every city, London has its fair share of crime. Pickpocketing is an issue so keep your wallet hidden and keep your wits about you and you’ll be fine. I used to walk through Southwark at 2 AM and I never felt unsafe (although I grew up in New York so maybe that’s why).
Activities:
If this is your first time in London or you only have a few days to spend in this great city, don’t hold back on anything you really want to do, no matter how nerdy it is or how much it will set you back budget-wise. You will regret it later.
However, be reasonable. First decide what are must-sees and what are maybe-sees.
For example, if you’re a history buff and have been dreaming about the Tower of London since you were 9, then by all means spend the £21.45 on admission (£18.15 if you’re a student with a valid ID). But try to cut costs on other activities to even it out. I personally think that the London Eye is a rip off. The only time I would actually pay to ride that ferris wheel is at 11:59 PM on December 31st because music and fire works will erupt from it 60 seconds later (for the record: the London Eye closes at 3PM on New Years Eve so that fantasy will have to wait).
The point is, there are so many free things to do in London. There is no reason why you should be splurging every day in order to have fun.
Cheap:
1. Shakespeare’s Globe
I still can’t figure out why anyone would want to go see Mamma Mia when they can see Hamlet in the exact (ok, replica) setting that it was performed 400 years ago for only £5. Even if you’re not a Shakespeare fan, you have to do this once, just for the experience of standing room only Elizabethan theatre (you can pay a bit more and actually sit in one of the box seats up on the balcony but where’s the fun in that?)
Hamlet at Shakespeare’s Globe
Tip: You don’t need to book online (there’s a service fee of £2.50) but you should book in advance by going to the box office as soon as you know what you want to see and when you want to see it.
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/box-office/globe-theatre-seating-plan-ticket-prices
2. Greenwich
Take a walk on the Prime Meridian…
Greenwich is a great day trip if you want to get out of the city centre for a bit. Most people take the boat down the Thames but you can do this by public transport for a fraction of the price. There’s no tube station (the closest is North Greenwich on the Jubilee Line) but you can take bus #188 from Russell Square or Waterloo Bridge. You can also take the Docklands Light Railway to spice it up a bit (it’s the same price as the tube). The entrance fee to the Royal Observatory is £7 (£5.50 with a valid student ID) but there’s plenty to do in the area for free. Walk around the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College and the National Maritime Museum (or go inside, they’re both free). The Greenwich Market is worth a visit as well. There’s also a beautiful park where you can relax if the weather is good. Whatever you decide, be sure to walk to the top of the hill for the view.
http://www.rmg.co.uk/visit/times-and-admission/
Free:
1. Walking Tours
First time in London? Need to get oriented? No problem. Sandemans has a free walking tour. I’ve never actually been on the London one but I’ve used Sandemans in several other cities and it’s been consistently informative and an excellent way to get to know the city before you go off and explore on your own. While the walking tour is free, bear in mind that the tour guides rely on tips for their salary.
2. Museums
Most museums across London are free. Exhibitions are usually not. Given that Britain is blessed with more precipitation than many other countries combined, plan to spend at least one or two rainy afternoons admiring the insides of these buildings. The absolute musts are the British Museum (Bloomsbury) – the mummy room is my absolute favorite but you should probably also see the Rosetta Stone while you’re there; the V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington) – one of the most unique museums in the world; the Tate Modern (Southwark) – because it’s the Tate Modern; and the National Gallery (Trafalgar Square) – because it’s the National Gallery. A word of caution on the National Gallery…it can get really crowded and has an overwhelming amount of good art in very close proximity (kind of like the Louvre) so do your homework beforehand, go in with a plan of what you want to see, and get out as soon as you start to feel stressed. You can always go back the next day (it will probably be raining again).
The British Museum
Mummies!
If you have time after the V&A, the Natural History Museum (literally next door) is also worth a visit if only to see the incredible architecture. In the winter there is an ice skating rink outside which adds to the ambience.
The Museum of Natural History
The Museum of London (not far from St Paul’s Cathedral) is also worthwhile if you’re in the area. It recounts the entire history of London from prehistoric times until the present and gives you a lot of background information that is useful if you’re trying to place all the British events that your tour guide’s been throwing at you all morning into some semblance of chronological order.
I personally also love the Tate Britain (down the road from Parliament between the Lambeth and Vauxhall bridges), but if you’re short on time, I would say focus your attention elsewhere…unless it’s raining.
3. Parks
The Royal Parks and Gardens are beautiful all year round but are especially beautiful in autumn and spring. They may be a bit dead in winter but are still worth a trip, particularly in the snow. Hyde Park even has a Winter Wonderland amusement park specifically for the season. In the summer, Londoners practically live in the parks so good luck getting one of those beach chairs.
The musts are St James’s Park (in between Buckingham Palace and Big Ben), Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens (they’re adjacent), Regents Park (there’s a zoo), Hampstead Heath (north of the city centre in a lovely neighborhood which you should also check out), and Primrose Hill (north of Regents Park).
St James’s Park after a rain shower
St James’s Park in spring
Directions in St James’s Park
4. The Changing of the Guards
Fine. I’m going to add this to the list just because it’s free. But beware of tourists.
Tip: I’ve never actually seen the Changing of the Guards so don’t kill me if I’m wrong but if you want to just see “the guards” and don’t mind missing the actual “changing” you’re best off standing on the Mall close to St James Palace as opposed to anywhere near Buckingham Palace. I got this picture purely by accident.
5. The Houses of Parliament
You would think that this would be equally cheesy but it’s actually not. First of all, the building itself is remarkable (I have thousands of pictures and I’m not exaggerating). If you’re an architecture fan, you will probably spend hours wandering around the outside before you even go in (assuming the police don’t stop you to ask you what you’re doing). Getting in is free and relatively painless. You walk through a metal detector and they take away your mobile phone before you enter the “Strangers Gallery” (don’t worry, you get it back at the end). You can sit in on sessions/debates in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Lords is a bit useless but it’s a lot prettier so don’t skip it. The busiest time to visit is on Wednesdays, during Prime Minister’s Questions. Tickets are reserved for UK residents who have contacted their MPs or Lords to request them. You can still queue, but chances of getting in are slim. You can watch it on the Beebs (BBC) instead. Please note that you aren’t allowed to take pictures on the inside of the building.
http://www.parliament.uk/visiting/visiting-and-tours/watch-committees-and-debates/debates/
6. Tower Bridge
There is a Tower Bridge Exhibit for £8, which I’ve never tried so I can’t comment on, but walking across the bridge itself is enough to make you want to move here. Another stunning piece of architecture that often graces postcards and has been an icon in the London skyline since 1894.
All dressed up for the Olympics
View of Tower Bridge from Butler’s Wharf
The London Bridge is one bridge over (to the west) and is rather unremarkable as anything other than an artery by which people commute between the financial centre (“the City”) and the London Bridge tube and railway station. The original London Bridge was actually quite beautiful but it fell down.
7. City Views
If you want to get a great view of London and don’t want to spend £30 on the London Eye or the Shard, you have several options. You can get great free panoramic views of London from Primrose Hill, brilliant pictures from the many bridges across the Thames (Waterloo and Westminster are my favorites, especially at sunset), or head to the Tate Modern Restaurant or the Royal Festival Hall, order an Earl Grey or English Breakfast tea and enjoy the view.
Sunset view from the Waterloo Bridge
Did I mention I’m obsessed with this building?
Waterloo Bridge facing east
4. Markets
I’m a big fan of markets and surprisingly, London markets are some of the best I’ve seen.
The three musts are: Portobello Market (Notting Hill) – go on Saturdays or Sundays (it’s dead during the week and you won’t enjoy it); Borough Market (Southwark) – go during the week as it gets crowded on weekends; and Camden Market (Camden Town). Each market is unique and you could spend hours just walking around without even buying anything.
On the same note, Southbank Centre (south bank of the Thames between the Waterloo and Westminster Bridges) usually has a lot going on. I once strolled through there on a Saturday morning and was delighted to discover that I was in the midst of a Chocolate Festival.
Other notable mentions: Brick Lane Market, Covent Garden Market, and Leadenhall Market (Bishopsgate, The City). The latter was used as “Diagon Alley” in the Harry Potter films and is best viewed during the week at lunchtime (great for people watching).
Leadenhall Market
People Watching at Leadenhall Market
Speaking of markets, at some point you’ll need to eat, right?
Food:
The UK gets a bad rep for its food but British cuisine has changed immensely in recent years, partly due to the rise of celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, and partly due to immigration. London’s Indian food is arguably the best in the world. In a recent survey, the #1 British dish was not fish and chips, but chicken tikka masala. You can also find a variety of other cuisines from Argentinian to Ethiopian to Vietnamese. London is more health conscious than most US cities and you’ll find that eating healthy is usually easy and can be cheap as well. British fast food chains aren’t limited to junk food but generally have sandwiches, salads, soup, and fruit juice on their menus. You will also find that London portion sizes are smaller than what you’re used to (even compared to the rest of the UK).
Cheap:
1. Supermarkets
There’s a hierarchy to the generic supermarket brands in the UK: Tesco is at the bottom, followed by Sainsbury’s, and then it’s debatable whether Waitrose or Marks & Spencer are #1. The truth is, British supermarkets can get expensive if you don’t know how to shop in one. A good rule of thumb is: never buy anything that’s full price. You can get a lot of food for under £3 if you only look for the items that are on sale and ignore everything else. Ready-made meals are a big thing in this country and you could get proper Indian food for £2.50 (or more accurately 2 for £5, buying 1 is slightly more expensive). Better yet, because so much food is pouring into the supermarkets every day and a good portion of it will expire within a week or 10 days and can’t be sold afterwards, that means that on the last day before expiration, prices are reduced by 30-90%! There is usually a special section where you can find all the reduced (“yellow sticker”) food in one place. You can even get some ready made meals for less than £1. I once bought an entire pineapple at Tesco for £0.20! Tesco may be the cheapest overall but that doesn’t mean that you should overlook M&S and Waitrose – you may actually find that sale items and reduced sections in Waitrose work out to be cheaper than Tesco’s. M&S usually reduces their baked goods an hour before closing time (they close quite early) and you can sometimes find delicious lemon muffins for a mere 10p. You’re best off shopping around first. If you stick to these guidelines, you should never be spending more than £10 on any single trip to the supermarket, and that food should last you a few days.
2. Sandwiches
Sandwiches are ubiquitous in London. You can find them in supermarkets, pharmacies, fast food chains, cafes, etc. Supermarkets and pharmacies usually have “meal deals” where you can purchase a sandwich, a snack (this could include fruits or vegetables as well as crisps – AKA potato chips – and candy bars), and a drink from a pre-selected menu for £3-4 depending on the chain. These are pretty good if you’re going to buy all three anyway but if you were just buying a sandwich (particularly a vegetarian sandwich), you’re better off just buying the sandwich as you won’t be saving much on the meal deal. Fast food chains such as Pret A Manger, Eat, and the like, are a bit more expensive but also have better sandwiches. If you want to really splurge on a good sandwich, try Paul’s bakery. At around £3-4 per sandwich, it may be more than your sandwich-budget allows for but it’s well worth it for the artisan French bread and excellent fillings. The cheapest way to eat a sandwich is to make one at home with bread and ingredients you bought on sale at Sainsbury’s the day before.
3. Street Food
If you’re sick of supermarkets (which you will be after your tenth trip to Sainsbury’s) and sandwiches (same goes for Pret A Manger) head to one of the outdoor markets mentioned above. Markets are more expensive when it comes to buying fresh produce but you’ll also find a lot of great, cheap street food. £4 is average for a meal unless you’re really splurging. There’s a huge variety of cuisines and many of the vendors will let you sample before you buy. You can actually eat an entire meal at Borough Market just by sampling. If you go at the end of the day, you might even be able to score some price reductions.
Tip: Buying food at rail stations will save you a lot of money. You can get Cornish Pasties for £2-3 at pretty much every station in this country. Another good rail station option is Upper Crust (but now we’re back to sandwiches).
4. Student Food
Generally, if you find a university campus, there should be cheap places to eat around it, as students generally don’t have that much money. For instance, there’s a place right on the LSE campus called “Wrights Bar” where you could get coffee for £0.60 and a proper sandwiches for £1.35 (much better than what you’d be buying in the supermarket for that price). I lived on Wrights Bar sandwiches and coffee for a year and I would definitely still be eating there if I still lived in London.
Tip: Beware of the long queues at lunchtime (come before 11 or after 2 unless you want to hear about Hayek and Keynes for 45 minutes).
5. Lunch Specials
If you want to go out for some real food once in a while, and don’t mind eating early, look for lunch specials. You can get a 2-course meal for under £10 in many places and under £7 in many others. Pub lunches are good options as well. Wetherspoons is probably the cheapest in this category. They are a ubiquitous pub chain so it won’t be hard to find one. They’re a bit too commercial for my taste but this is London – everything is a franchise.
Free:
Back at the LSE campus, there’s a Hare Krishna guy with a vending cart who gives out free hot meals to students every day at lunchtime. Don’t worry, he won’t make you chant anything – there are no strings attached (I don’t even think he asks for a student ID first). Look out for him outside the Economists’ Bookshop on the corner of Clare Market and Portugal Street.
Alcohol:
Ok, this is what’s going to push you over the edge so pay attention.
Cheap:
Learn to pre-drink
You can easily blow £20 in a pub just on beer or have an equally entertaining evening drinking with fellow travellers back at your hostel for a fraction of that cost (and then perhaps head to the pub later for a drink or two). I spent a month living in a London hostel where we used to mix a drink called “snake bite.” I still don’t know what was in it but it cost next to nothing and got several people incredibly drunk. You learn these things quickly when you live with Aussies.
Free:
Don’t drink.
Accommodations:
Cheap:
Hostels not only save you money on accommodation costs but they are a guaranteed way to meet people while you travel. They generally include breakfast and have kitchen facilities where you can cook the remaining two meals (another great way to save money). London hostels are not as good as hostels in other cities, so if it’s your first time staying in a hostel, keep that in mind as you climb those triple-decker bunk beds. Most hostels offer activities such as free walking tours and pub crawls, which are really helpful when you first arrive and don’t know where to start. Hostels are usually safe but you should take precautions anyway (i.e. don’t leave your MacBook Pro lying around while you go site seeing as there’s a good chance it won’t be there when you get back). Lockers are generally available but check the hostel website or booking site to make sure. You may need to bring a padlock or buy one when you get here.
Tips: If you’re staying a while, ask about weekly rates.
Free:
1. Work in a hostel
If you’re staying for more than a couple of weeks, some hostels will allow you to work for 2 hours a day in return for free accommodation. The work is quite easy and I got by for almost 4 months doing this in Scotland and Wales. This isn’t as readily available in London as it is elsewhere in the UK and you may need to verify that you’re allowed to do this (if you’re on a Tier 4 student or Tier 5 youth mobility visa, you’re ok). It’s a great way to save money and linger in London a bit longer.
2. Couch surfing
Couch surfing scared me at first but it’s actually a great option for people who are only in London for a short trip and want to keep costs down as well as meet the locals. Couch surfing is one of those things that either turns out really well or really not. There’s no middle ground here so be prepared. The cool thing about this is you get a local perspective on the city and you’ll probably end up in places you wouldn’t have otherwise. And the British are lovely…once you get past the language barrier. See my post on the “Special Relationship” for tips on what to do when your host starts “taking the piss out of you”: https://thrifttripping.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/in-search-of-the-special-relationship/
Tips: Make sure to Google your host’s location before you accept. London is very big and spread out. You don’t want to be spending half your trip just getting to the city centre and back. While most places will have public transport links, you’ll probably want to be near a tube station, especially if you’re in zones 3-6.
Other tips:
1. Free wifi
Free wifi is more widespread than you may initially think. First of all, Starbucks and McDonald’s are ubiquitous and offer free wifi, which you can probably log on to without even buying anything. You’ll have to purchase something at Costa to get the wifi password but it’s usually the branch’s phone number (shhh, don’t tell anyone I told you that). The same could be said of various other franchises. It took me a while to figure out that “The Cloud” was actually a network I didn’t need to pay for. This is one of the more widespread wifi networks in London – you can walk down the entire Fleet Street and stay connected the entire time. You will need to first stop by a Pizza Express restaurant (or any other franchise that uses The Cloud – just keep searching your wifi networks until you see it), create a username and password and poof! You’re wired.
2. Cheap Books
This is going to sound so dodgy but there’s a really great place under the Waterloo Bridge where you could find second hand books for £1-2. If you stroll along the south side of the Thames, you’ll find it under the bridge in between the National Theatre and the Royal Festival Hall. They also have out of print books and Victorian era maps that will make you laugh at how much the world changed since then. Another great option is Charing Cross Road. This street on the edge of Soho is practically dedicated to bookshops and you’ll find quite a few bargains if you shop around a bit.
Bargain hunting under the Waterloo Bridge
Resources:
For up to date information on cheap/free local events, grab a copy of Time Out London, or go to their website: http://www.timeout.com/london
The Idiot’s Guide to Thrift Tripping 