LONDON

Introduction to London

London used to be the world's largest metropolis and although it has ceded that title to the sprawling cities of the southern hemisphere, it's still a huge bewildering place if it's your first visit. Even if you speak English fluently you can only learn how to pronounce place names like' Greenwich' 'Leicester Square' and 'Chomondeley Place' by example. Many visitors waste large amounts of money simply because they don't know the tips and wrinkles that Londoners have picked up intuitively. So in this section, we assume that it's your first visit to our shores - some of the information here you'll probably already know, but it's worth reading it all at your leisure (print off this page and take it to bed with a cup of cocoa) - you'll certainly save time and money if you do.

Planning your trip to London

There's one hell of a lot to do in London some basic planning will avoid unnecessary trapsing around on foot or irritating waiting for public transport. It's best to plan a day out so as to maximise the number of things you can see - and to go for variety. Below are a few mornings, afternoons and whole days out we've arranged for visitors - time permitting, we can offer advice by Email if there's anything you particularly want to see. Our Walks and itineraries link points of interest - see the separate page.

Planning by length of stay - if you're only in London for a day, a weekend or a week use our SHORT STAY pages where we show you how to cram as much into your days as possible.

Weather - likely to make or break your visit. Although there are plenty of things to do in London in the rain, a week of low slate-grey skies and constant rain is not condusive to having a good time. The best season to come weatherwise is Late Summer or Autumn - latterly we've been having Indian Summers from mid-September to the end of October with clear blue skies and 20 degree temperatures. Eventually the weather breaks as the storm fronts move in off the Atlantic, then clears up for Christmas. February - April can be dire, and the heights of summer are very unpredictable. Consult the Meterological office here for facts and figures but beware predictions - they are so often wrong.
When it's raining there are plenty of museums and galleries to visit - and the tube system is generally very good outside of rush hour. What you'll miss out on is strolling through London and seeing the many unique pleasures by the wayside.