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Rick Steves' London

Updates since the 2010 edition:

Free audio tours of the Westminster Walk, British Museum, the British Library, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the City of London and are now available.

Orientation

Getting Around London

Visitors to London should expect frequent disruptions to Tube service, especially on weekends, as the city prepares for the 2012 Olympics. Notifications of disruptions and closures are frequently posted here.

Pay-as-you-go Oyster Cards now give you a 10 percent discount on all river services operated by Thames Clippers (including the Tate-to-Tate museum boat and the O2 Express). Other companies may soon offer a similar discount, so it's always smart to ask. But Travelcards (either the paper type or those loaded onto an Oyster card) continue to get a better deal: 33 percent off the price of just about any river journey.

London transport has instituted new prices and policies for 2010:

On the Tube, the cost of using an Oyster card has increased slightly per ride, and the cash fare between Zone 6 (Heathrow) and Zone 1 (city center) is now £4.50. The Three-Day Travelcard has been discontinued, and the "Kid for a Quid" promotion is no longer offered. A paying adult can still take up to four kids, aged 10 and under, for free any time of day. Families with older kids can consider the Oyster "Zip" card, which allows kids ages 11–15 to travel all day for £1 on the Tube and for free on buses. The "Zip" card must be ordered online three weeks in advance and requires a £5 deposit and digital photo (pick card up on arrival, details at www.tfl.gov.uk/zip).

On buses, cash fares remain £2, but the Oyster card price is now £1.20 per ride, with a daily cap of £3.90. The Seven-Day bus pass are now £16.60, and the One-Day bus pass has been discontinued.

Sights

Westminster Abbey is indeed open late on Wednesdays (current hours: Mon–Fri 9:30–16:30, Wed until 19:00, Sat 9:30–14:30, last entry one hour before closing, closed Sun to sightseers but open for services.)

Kew Gardens does not have an ice rink this year. However, you can still skate at Somerset House, Hampton Court Palace, the Tower of London, and the Natural History Museum.

Entertainment

The tkts half-price ticket booth on Leicester Square is now open 11:00–16:00 on Sundays (still 10:00–19:00 Mon–Sat).

Connections

Dot2Dot no longer runs a transfer service from Heathrow to London hotels. However, a new service, SkyShuttle, operates shuttles about every half hour between Heathrow and hotels in central London (£21.50/person one-way, £34.40/person round-trip, for reservations, call 0845-481-0960 between 6:00-22:00 or email reservations@skyshuttle.co.uk, www.skyshuttle.co.uk).

Day Trips in England: Greenwich, Windsor, Cambridge, Bath

See the updates page for our England book.

Day Trip to Paris

See the updates page for our Paris book.