A First Timer’s Guide to Getting Around London
Landing in London for the first time can feel like being handed a puzzle with a thousand pieces. The Tube map alone looks intimidating, all those coloured lines crossing over each other, but once you’ve ridden it a few times it clicks into place faster than you’d expect. This is the sort of guide I wish someone had handed me before my own first trip, because most of what trips people up isn’t the big stuff, it’s the small habits locals take for granted without ever thinking about them.
Getting your bearings on public transport
Buy a contactless card or use your bank card directly rather than fumbling with paper tickets, since the fares cap automatically once you’ve spent enough in a day. Stand on the right on escalators, always, because Londoners genuinely get grumpy about this one small rule and it’s the fastest way to blend in. Buses are slower than the Tube but they’re a brilliant way to see the city for the price of a normal fare, so if you’ve got time to spare, hop on the top deck and just watch the streets go by.
It also helps to download a journey planning app before you land rather than relying purely on station maps, since it will factor in closures and delays that the printed map can’t show you. Rush hour runs roughly from eight to half nine in the morning and five to half six in the evening, and if you can shift your travel outside those windows you’ll have a noticeably calmer ride with room to actually sit down.
Walking is underrated
Central London is far more compact than people assume. Covent Garden to Soho to Leicester Square is a fifteen minute stroll, not a Tube journey, and you’ll see far more of the city’s character on foot than underground. Bring comfortable shoes and don’t be afraid to just wander down a side street that looks interesting. Some of the best finds, a quiet courtyard, an old pub tucked behind a church, only reveal themselves when you’re not rushing between stations.
Timing your visit around the crowds
Weekday mornings before ten are calmer at most attractions, and locals tend to avoid the West End on Saturday afternoons entirely because it’s simply too busy. If you can shift your sightseeing to early starts, you’ll dodge both the queues and the price surges that hit weekends. Museums here are largely free too, which surprises a lot of visitors, so there’s no need to cram everything into one packed day when you can spread it out and actually enjoy it. Give yourself permission to arrive somewhere, decide it’s not for you, and simply leave. Nobody is grading your itinerary, and the freedom to change plans on the fly is one of the underrated joys of a first visit.
For more inspiration, take a look at our guide to London in August: The Quiet Month Worth Staying For.
Still deciding where to go next? Our guide to How to Enjoy London’s Social Scene as a Visitor might help.
