Travel Tips: London
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Introduction to London
One of the truly great cities of the world, England's capital is a vibrant, sprawling metropolis, rich in contemporary and historical art, design and architecture. Yet despite its overwhelming size it maintains a friendly, welcoming soul in its patchwork of boroughs and neighbourhoods, each having their own distinctive atmosphere and charm. Where better to feed your creative tendencies than London's wealth of world-class museums from the National Gallery, Tate Modern and the British Museum to the cutting edge galleries of Clerkenwell, Shoreditch and Old Street?
London arrivals
London has two main airports at Heathrow and Gatwick where most long haul flights arrive, plus secondary airports at London City, Stansted and Luton where many of the low cost airlines to European destinations arrive and depart. Follow this link to find your way into the city from your airport of arrival. Airport express trains and buses provide fast access to the centre and are much cheaper than taxis.
www.visitlondon.com/travel/airport/
Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design: Location
Central Saint Martins main school building occupies a large new building behind King's Cross station and the Back Hill site in trendy Clerkenwell.
The Short Course Office
To easily locate our schools, check the "Maps" section of this website.
Travelling around London
London is a huge city. There are many different means for getting around, from the underground train system (known as the Tube) to river buses, over-ground trains and taxis. These links will help you choose your best routes and also the best travel cards to buy.
Useful Links about London
http://www.visitlondon.com is the official site for Visit Britain, the UK Tourist Authority. It has information in many languages on all aspects of short stays in the London. Other good guides to London are:
Check out
For some of the most interesting and best loved arts venues in London:
www.barbican.org.uk Arts centre in a modernist architectural site.
www.ica.org.uk The Institute of Contemporary Art
www.nationalgallery.org.uk The National Gallery houses one of thegreatest collections of european painting in the world.
www.tate.org.uk With sites at Millbank and Bankside, the Banksidegallery is the most visited tourist attraction in Britain.
www.vam.ac.uk The Victoria and Albert Museum includes an excellent costume museum, works from all over the world and a great shop and cafe.
Days, Evenings and Weekends Out
Browse some local London markets such as Portobello and Camden for ornaments and funky clothing, Columbia Road Sunday Flower Market for sights and smells or Borough Market for culinary delights and farm fresh foodstuffs. Then visit the epic shopping emporiums Fortnum and Masons and Liberty's both in the West End.
If night time is your right time, expect to be royally entertained by London's vast array of drinking and dancing dens, from trendy East End Shoreditch to wacky West End classics, see some options athttp://www.timeout.com/london/clubs/
London is less than an hour by express train to both the cosmopolitan seaside resort of Brighton or to the historic university city of Oxford. In just over two hours you can be in Paris via the high speed Eurostar train that zips through the English Channel tunnel:
www.eurostar.com/dctm/jsp/index.jsp
Cost of Living and Money Saving Tips
Money Saving Tips: London and Milan [PDF 304kb]