Fran's guide to... LONDON on the cheap!

Lets get something clear first. London is NOT a cheap city. Even if you're earning pounds like I was on my last visit it's still 5 times more expensive than the rest of the country. One pint in London will probably buy you 3 up north.

HOWEVER, if you know where to go and what to do you can stretch your pounds (a little bit)

VITAL STATS FOR LONDON, ENGLAND
Population: 7,556,900 (as of July 07)

Area: 659 sq miles

Mayor: Boris Johnson

Time Zone: GMT

Accomodation:
Staying in London is pretty expensive, i'm lucky enough to have a couple of contacts there so I can pretty much always get free accomodation. Obviously, that isn't the case for everyone -but I would say, if you know of ANYONE that lives there -a distant cousin, friend of a friend... see if you can stay with them, even if only for part of your stay, you could save a decent amount of money. If you are dossing and the person you're staying with is in a shared flat/house it is etiquette to offer to put in at least a fiver per day -which is nothing in the scheme of things.

COUCHSURFING: Now, i've never done this whole couch surfing thing before... it just sounds a bit dodge to me but I did meet a guy up in Edinburgh who'd spent 2 months couchsurfing his way around the UK... so it's definately possible, and of course a great way to meet the locals and some new friends, especially if you're travelling solo! Find out more here: http://www.couchsurfing.com/
GUMTREE: While searching for a flat on gumtree, I came across heaps of people offering rooms in their flat/house for rent on a temporary basis. If you're travelling solo -this will probably be wayyy to expensive, however if you're travelling with a couple of people it would probably work out quite cheap. As well as holiday rentals, they also have couch surfing and home swap sections. http://www.gumtree.com/london (tip: as well as looking at holiday rentals, also try short term houses to let under the offered category)HOSTELS: And last but not least, the trusty old hostel. There are MILLIONS of hostels in London, all varying in price and dodgyness. If you're a solo traveller hostels are a fantastic place to meet people -i've met so many cool, fun people at the various hostels i've stayed at. Now, I would say the average for a single-sex six bed dorm would be about 19 pounds, but if you feel comfertable in a mixed dorm or don't mind sleeping in the huge 24 bed dorms then you could probably find one for under a tenner per night. Just remember, on friday and saturday and during special events (ie st patricks day) prices will soar!

Transport:

There are several main transport options for your stay in London.

The Tube (london underground)

The mainline train

Buses

Black cabs
and... walking!

The tube is by far the quickest way of getting around, but it is no way to get to know London which has so many important historical landmarks and some really stunning architecture! The tube also gets VERY busy, especially the Piccadilly, Central and Circle lines, so try to avoid them during rush hour!

The best way to see london is to either walk, or take a bus. If you've got quite a distance to travel, but no major time restrictions i'd take the bus -it's about 90p on an Oyster card and if you go to the top level at the front you get some great views of the city without having to pay 15 quid for one of the tourist busses! If you're right in the city, just walk! Touristy areas have MILLIONS of signs pointing to all the main attractions and it's practically impossible to get lost. Plus it burns calories, bonus!

And... I know this is all about staying in London on the cheap, but I really would travel in a black cab at least once, it's just SO iconic! I'm sorry but you can't go to London and NOT travel in a black cab... it's like going to Italy and not having Pizza!

If you're staying in London for more than 3 or 4 days i'd seriously consider getting an Oyster card to use on the tube and bus, they cost 5 pound, and you just top up at any tube station or oyster card stockist. You'll save a lot of money in the long run and it saves you buying tickets all the time!

Food:

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Food is expensive. Always will be. An unfortunately, while most of us can live without the gorgeous 150 quid topshop dress, we can't live without food. Like every other city, in every other country the most economical thing to do is to buy food from the supermarket and cook it yourself. For healthy food on the run, Food chain EAT does some really good healthy salads/sandwhiches/soups and cakes at reasonable prices. Other than that pub meals are usually pretty decent or you could go get some take away... McDonalds anyone?! (On a slightly whingy note PLEASE don't go to McDonalds/KFC/BK etc etc during a trip to London! There are so many other places to eat!!)

Attractions:

There are so many places to go in London, however, many cost an arm and a leg. So this section is dedicated to some pretty awesome FREE attractions.

MUSEUMS: News flash! Museums are free!! You heard me, FREE.

There are millions of museums in London covering nearly every subject possible, some privately owned museums may have a charge of some sort but all national ones are free to the public. My two favourites are the Natural History Museum and Tate Modern. I'm not going to talk about the Natural History Museum because i'm going to bask in the glory that is the Tate Modern. I LOVE THIS PLACE. It is incredible. You must go there, even if you're not a fan of modern art this building is worth a visit.

HYDE PARK: This park is gorgeous, especially nice during the summer. And right across the road from my beloved NZ War Memorial.

BUCKINGHAM PALACE: I think it speaks for itself really.... I mean the Queen lives there for crying out loud.

COVENT GARDEN: This is such a cool area, nice little stores and cafes, cool outdoor stores selling all sorts of interesting things. Some pretty spectacular buskers and a great vibe. Can get busy as HELL during the summer though. And it's right near Chinatown which is always worth a look.

BIG BEN/WESTMINSTER: Now, Westminster costs 12 pounds to look inside BUT if you go to a church service it's free! Even if you're not religious it's a great experience and hey... how many people can say they've been to church at Westminster Abbey??!

Shopping:

OXFORD ST: aka Tourist haven! If you're claustriphobic then avoid it like the plague! It's big, bolshy and completely and utterly mental. However, it is also home to a few flagship stores like Selfridges, Topshop and of course, stingy-person heaven, Primark!

WESTFIELD, SHEPARDS BUSH: Europes biggest shopping mall, worth a look just to check out the size. If you get there early (like 9/9:30) you'll avoid the crowds and it may even be quite pleasant :)

PORTOBELLO ROAD MARKET: This place is fantastic, The food part of the market is open all week. But the antiques/clothing section is only open during the weekends. Now, when I went I heard that the clothing section started closing at midday and that everything was buzzing by 8:30am. SO That's what I did, I was there by 8:30 and it was dead! Food stalls all set up and some antiques but everything else didn't really properly start rolling until about 9:30. So take your time! The antique section is fantastic, great costume jewellery. Some is quite pricey but you can find some good bargains, like any market though you have to be prepared to trawl!

CAMDEN MARKET: Another very popular market, I wasn't as taken by it. Most of the stalls had very similar stuff. But it's still worth a look.