ORIENTATION TO LONDON - London 2015 - page 41

Route #24: Pimlico to Victoria Station to Westminster Abbey to Trafalgar
Square to Euston Square, then all the way north to Camden Town (Camden Lock
Market) and Hampstead Heath.
Route #38: Victoria Station to Hyde Park Corner to Piccadilly Circus to British
Museum.
Route #RV1 (a scenic South Bank joyride): Tower of London to Tower Bridge
to Southwark Street (five-minute walk behind Tate Modern/Shakespeare's Globe)
to London Eye/Waterloo Station, then over Waterloo Bridge to Aldwych and
Covent Garden.
Route #148: Westminster Abbey to Victoria Station to Notting Hill and
Bayswater (by way of the east end of Hyde Park and Marble Arch).
Check the bus stop closest to your hotel—it might be convenient to your sight-
seeing plans.
Connecting downtown sights is quick and easy, and will cost you about £ 6-10 (for ex-
ample, St. Paul's to the Tower of London, or between the two Tate museums). For a short
ride, three adults in a cab generally travel at close to Tube prices—and groups of four or
five adults should taxi everywhere. All cabs can carry five passengers, and some take six,
for the same cost as a single traveler.
Don't worry about meter cheating. Licensed British cab meters come with a sealed
computer chip and clock that ensures you'll get the correct tariff. The only way a cabbie
can cheat you is by taking a needlessly long route. One serious pitfall, however, is taking
a cab when traffic is bad to a destination efficiently served by the Tube. On one trip to
London, I hopped in a taxi at South Kensington for Waterloo Station and hit bad traffic.
Rather than spending 20 minutes and £ 2 on the Tube, I spent 40 minutes and £ 16 in a taxi.
If you overdrink and ride in a taxi, be warned: Taxis charge £ 40 for “soiling” (a.k.a.,
pub puke).
If you forget this topic in a taxi, call the Lost Property office and hope for the best
(tel. [phone]).
By Bike
London is keeping up its push to become more bike-friendly. It operates a citywide bike-
rental program similar to ones in other major European cities, and new bike lanes are still
cropping up around town.