Monday, March 30, 2009

London - A City Fantastique!

I Love London!
Yes, the capital city of The Great Britain is a phenomenol place to be in. London has so much to see and do that even 15 days in London may seem short. Hence I have divided my visit to London into many blog posts, first of which is this.

Small Introduction of London - even for those who are familiar with the city!

London, the capital of England or Great Britain is a city whose foundation dates back a long time. With a very rich history combined with all modern amenities of a developed city, London is the heartthrob of its nation. Its a very diverse city which people from different parts of the world have made their home.

Right from theatres to river cruises to cathedrals to famous bridges to historical buildings, palaces, museums, sport centres like Lords and Wimbledon to its pub culture, London has practically everything for everyone thus making it world’s most vibrant, lively and exciting city to be in. Therefore it is not surprising that London is visited by more than 15 million tourists’ year on year.

You can reach London via one of the many flights connecting the world's busiest airport - Heathrow to various destinations or via EuroStar trai which connects London with mainland Europe.

We had taken a flight from Grenoble (France) to Stansted Airport, London and then from the airport we took a bus to the city. But here is the detail of various airports of London and different ways to travel to and fro from the city.

To and Fro Airport

Gatwick Airportwww.gatwickexpress.com from Airport to Victoria Station every 15 minutes, from 5 AM early morning to 1:30 AM past midnight. One way adult ticket is £16.90 and a return ticket is £28.80. Children ticket (5 -15 years) is just half of these prices.

Heathrow Airportwww.heathrowexpress.com from Airport to Paddington Station every 15 minutes, from 5 AM early morning to 12 AM midnight daily. One way adult ticket is £14 and a return ticket is £26. Children ticket is half these prices. This is a high-speed but costly option. Cheaper option from Heathrow is to take the London Underground, also known as ‘Tube’. You can take the Piccadilly line to central London or change lines at appropriate stations to reach your final destination. Tube takes much longer (at least an hour) but is very convenient and easy to navigate if you have a tube map. You also have the option of taking a bus to central London from Heathrow. www.nationalexpress.com connects Heathrow with London and other destinations. I suggest you to check out their website before your travel for latest fares and discount schemes on offer. You can also book your ticket online in case you get a nice discount otherwise for the sake of flexibility, you can always take the tickets once you land at the airport.

Stansted Airportwww.stanstedexpress.com is a train from Airport to Liverpool street will cost you about £24 for a return ticket. Children (5-15 years of age) go at half the price. The trains depart every 15 minutes from 5:30 AM early morning to 12:30 AM past midnight. Apart from this National Express buses connect Stansted to various parts of London and other destinations. You can check out the latest fares, discount schemes and timings from their website www.nationalexpress.com

I am tired now... will tell you more about the fabulous and most convenient transport system in London... in the next post.

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