When you visit London it’s essential that you have at least a zone 1 tube map. The underground is what you’ll mostly be using to get around London.
It’s also very important that if you’re arriving in London over the weekend that you check with London Transport what engineering works or disruptions there may be on the tube.
Do this a couple of days before you arrive here. If you don’t, here’s an example of what could happen to you.
As an example let’s say your hotel is in Kensington. But this could apply if your hotel is anywhere outside of zone 1.
You arrive at Heathrow on Saturday and find out there are engineering works on part of the Underground system.
The tube line is not running from Heathrow that weekend. You look on the London Underground map and decide you need to go to Paddington so you get the Heathrow Express to Paddington.
Problem is at Paddington you find out the Circle line is not stopping there so all the District Line tubes that arrive are crowded and you can’t get on. You eventually fight to get on one to Earls Court and then you find you have to wait ages for a tube to go to Kensington because it’s not a main line station.
Don’t arrive in London on weekends, there are often underground disruptions
The point of this story is to highlight something guidebooks and most websites about London never mention. The Underground at weekends can be a nightmare because of the engineering works currently going on.
The fact is these disruptions have been going on for years and are set to continue for a number of years more. For us Londoners we’re used to it but if you’re visiting and intend to use the tube it’s something you need to be aware of.
This is one of the reasons in our article about choosing a London hotel we say pick a centrally located hotel near an Underground line. When you look at a London Underground map look to see what Zone your hotel is in, you really want one in Zone 1.
My advice would be when planning your visit is to try to arrive in London on a weekday. You stand less chance of there being engineering work being done and as long as you do not arrive in the rush hour it will be less busy.
If you want more tips and advice to help you in London Click here. And if you’d like find out about things to do in London, read our London blog, 3 Guys on a London bus.
And finally if you click the London Underground map below you can print a map with Zone 1 to help you plan where to stay.
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