How to plan a trip to London, UK

London is a beautiful city, full of wonderful attractions

London, the capital of England, is an enormous and beautiful city. It requires a bit of advance planning if you are hoping to visit it, as there is too much to see, and most people usually only spend one to two weeks there.

Instructions

1. First of all... how are you arriving? You could go directly to London by plane, or spend a few days in Paris and go by train. You could also take a train from Brussels and you could go from The Netherlands by boat overnight.
   This will all depend on what your plans for the overall trip are.
   I find it is best to fly into Paris, spend a couple of days there, and then take the train to London. There, you arrive at King's Cross St. Pancras station, which has a very central location, and you can take a bus (or the subway--tube as the locals call it)pretty much anywhere.

2. As I have previously mentioned, London is a huge city, so make sure you are equipped with a proper map that shows the underground lines, and know where you have to leave. If possible, find out about bus routes to and from where you want to go, as it is usually cheaper.

3. Talking about transportation... plan on doing lots and lots of walking. Many of the city's sights are within walking distance from one another, and it is cheaper and faster to get to one place from another on foot.

4. When you get to London, purchase an Oyster card. When you add pay as you go credit, there is a deposit of 3 British Pounds, and you can put credit in multiples of five. The Oyster gives you discounts on transportation, and it is also more convenient than carrying a standard ticket.

   If you will stay for a month and will do lots of traveling, get a Zone 1-2 (or 1-6) travelcard. Zone 1-6 costs 170 British Pounds, but it gives you even further discounts than the pay as you go Oyster. But it's really only worth it if you will be traveling a lot, as the maximum daily fare on pay as you go is 4.50 British Pounds.

5. Places that you must visit:

   - Piccadilly Circus (and Regent Street). The best thing to do is to leave at Green Park station (Piccadilly and Bakerloo Lines) and walk to the Buckingham Palace, then walk to Piccadilly Circus, and from there walk down Regent Street all the way to Oxford Street (this is better done during a week day, as weekends are extremely crowded).

   - Trafalgar Square. Again, you can walk from Piccadilly there. It is quite a stretch, but very possible, and the sights along the way are great.

   - The London Eye. You don't need to go on it necessarily, but the area around it is nice. You have the London Aquarium, the Dali museum, and the Movieum.

   - Camden. The market is great, and it's very easy to get there. You can take the C2 bus from Regent Street. Also note that on the way back, the bus passes the London Zoo if you are planning to see that as well.

   - Soho. Again within walking distance from Piccadilly and Regent Street. It's is especially fun at night, when all the pubs are full of people. Has great restaurants.

6. Places to avoid: EAST LONDON. If you see that a post code starts with SE or E (except for E1 and SE1 which are the business areas, and even so, never go at night) ABSOLUTELY AVOID IT!
   It is dangerous and knife crime is rampant.

7. If you have time, you can take a day in your vacation to visit the Stonehenge in the nearby Salisbury. From Waterloo station it is only a 2.5 hour train ride, and it is entirely worth it. Once in Salisbury, take the bus tour to the Stonehenge.

Tips & Warnings

• As with any big city, always exercise common sense. Never walk alone in alleys at night, never leave your purse, gabs or luggage unattended and do not flash money around.