How to get around London: from tubes and trains to bikes and buses

17.03.2024 - 16:29 / lonelyplanet.com / London

London is a sprawling city of over nine million people. With its combination of Roman walls, Victorian development, post-WWII rebuilding and pockets of ongoing regeneration, it's a jumble of roads, Tube and train lines, and definitely not the most intuitive city to navigate.

However, with apps, good mapping, signage and a bit of patience, it's possible to visit almost all of the city via public transport. From train companies to Transport for London, here's everything you need to know about each mode of transport and the all-important ticketing system.

The London Underground, or "the Tube," is the city's subway running across 11 different color-coded lines, with only about 45% of the Underground network actually operating underground. Despite the never-ending upgrades and engineering works requiring weekend closures and escalators out of action, the Tube is overall the quickest and easiest way of getting around the city. It is also usually the warmest place to wait for your transport in winter, except on those rare above-ground Tube stations. 

Be aware though: some stations, most famously Leicester Square and Covent Garden, are much closer in reality than they appear on the Tube map, and going underground to travel between them will take much longer than simply walking between them.

Tip for using the Tube for sight-seeing: The Piccadilly Line stops at some of London’s key sights and neighborhoods – Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Hyde Park Corner and Knightsbridge – and it runs from Heathrow's airport terminals. It's a good Tube line to base yourself near. 

The Tube runs roughly 5am to 1am, although when your last train departs does vary by line and the day of the week. 

Several lines (the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines) run all night on Friday and Saturday to get revelers home (on what is called the "Night Tube"), with trains every ten minutes or so (and off-peak fares). 

London's ubiquitous red double-decker buses afford great views of the city, but the going can be slow thanks to traffic jams and dozens of commuters getting on and off at every stop.

There are excellent bus maps at every stop detailing all routes and destinations served from that particular area (generally a few bus stops within a two- to three-minute walk, shown on a local map).

Bus services normally operate from 5am to 11:30pm. Many bus stops have LED displays listing bus arrival times, although downloading an app such as Citymapper to your smartphone is the most effective way to keep track of when your next bus is due. 

Top tip for taking the bus: Bus Route 15 is no longer served by heritage Routemaster buses but is still a useful route for tourists, connecting the Tower of London, St Paul's, the Strand and