Fiona MacLeod on the practical realities of visiting a city that is larger, older, and stranger than you expect
By Fiona MacLeod
London is not one city. It is about thirty cities that happen to share a tube network and a mayor, and understanding this is the most useful piece of information you can have before you arrive. The London of Westminster and Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London is one London. The London of Brixton Market and the Ritzy Cinema is another. The London of the City and Canary Wharf is a third. They are all London. They do not resemble each other. A tourist who sees only the first is seeing a real London that contains almost nothing of how Londoners actually live.
I tell visitors this not to be contrary but because the experience of London is substantially better for people who understand that the postcard version is a starting point rather than a destination. Start at the postcard. Walk away from it. The city gets more interesting the further you walk.
The Practical Things Nobody Mentions
The Oyster card or contactless bank card is the only way to travel that makes sense. Cash on the tube has not been accepted since 2014 and anyone who tells you otherwise is working from outdated information. The zones matter: a Zone 1-2 travel card covers most tourist destinations but not Heathrow (Zone 6) or many residential neighbourhoods that are worth visiting. Standing on the right on escalators is not a suggestion. It is a social contract with enforcement consequences that escalate from sighing to direct verbal address depending on the time of day and the Londoner’s morning.
The weather is not as bad as the reputation and not as good as a travel brochure. It is grey with intervals of unexpected brightness that feel, after several grey days, disproportionately wonderful. Pack a light waterproof. You will not need it every day. You will need it on the day you leave it at the hotel.
What to Prioritise if You Have a Week
Two days on the standard tourist circuit — Westminster, Tower of London, Borough Market, the South Bank — because these things are famous for reasons that hold up to scrutiny. Two days in neighbourhoods that are not on the standard circuit: Brixton, Bermondsey, Notting Hill on a non-Saturday. One day entirely without a plan, following whatever looks interesting from wherever you are. The best things I have shown visitors in twenty years of living in this city have come from unplanned afternoons. The Visit London official guide covers the standard circuit comprehensively. The Time Out London listings cover what is currently worth doing. Fiona MacLeod writes about London travel at prat.uk.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com
