If you are traveling to London and looking for the most affordable and efficient means of transportation, then you should consider the London Underground. Also affectionately known as “The Tube”, London’s public transport system is the oldest underground railway system in the world. The Tube serves all of the most popular destinations throughout London. The Government London Underground site will help.
In fact if you have just got or thinking of flights to London, you needn’t have to pay for an overpriced taxi ride. You can simply take one of the Tube lines. the Piccadilly Line from Heathrow to the heart of London.
There are 11 color-coded lines in which to determine your destination from one Underground station to another. It may seem imposing for the first time traveler but remarkably, the Tube lines and map really are quite easy to understand. The sheer scale of the London Underground is immense, in fact if you were to buy shares you would do extremely well!
Let’s pick a relatively easy destination and then challenge you with a slightly more complicated journey. From Heathrow, say you want to take the Tube to Piccadilly Circus. Well voila, all you have to do is take the Piccadilly Line and ride it all the way to the Piccadilly Circus station! Pretty simple, isn’t it? The ride will take at least 45 minutes but you wont have to wait long for the Tube at Heathrow because they run approximately every 10 minutes into the city.
Ok, so what about fare? The London Underground operates through zones. Heathrow is in Zone 6 and the heart of London is primarily in Zones 1 and 2. Thus by checking the fare, a single ride into Piccadilly Circus from Heathrow is just a cash fare of £5.00! If you are staying multiple days, then consider getting an Oyster card or Travelcard.
And finally, to challenge you in your knowledge of getting around London, say you want to go to Westminster Abbey. By looking at the Tub map, the best way to go is by taking a Tube heading towards Heathrow but stopping at the very first station after leaving Piccadilly, at Green Park. From there, you transfer to another Tube line known as the Jubilee line heading in the direction of Stratford. From Green Park, the first stop is at Westminster!
But how do you determine direction? Ah well that is the last part of the puzzle. When you are looking at the Tube map and you find a destination, you have to see what name the very last station is on that line and head in that direction.
Easy enough? I think so and when you visit London, it should be a breeze in figuring out how to get around on the Tube. But don’t forget when you are waiting for the Tube, Mind the Gap and if you can’t, then get yourself some life insurance first!