The City of London

01 Museums and Galleries

London is home to over 200 museums, twice as many as New York. Many of these are located amongst the squares and gardens of South Kensington, but many more are distributed throughout Central London and the surrounding areas.

Many of the best London museums and galleries are free to visit; here are some of the best:

The British Museum

One of the largest and most comprehensive museums in the world, with collections numbering 7 million objects, “illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its beginning to the present.” The British Museum is so vast that it is impossible to tour in its entirety in just one day.

The National Gallery

is Britain’s main national gallery, containing 2300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900 with an encyclopaedic scope – covering all major artistic movements “from Giotto to Cézanne.” Similarly the National Portrait Gallery contains 10,000 portraits of important British citizens.

The British Library

One of the largest libraries in the world, containing one copy of every book published in the United Kingdom, totally over 150 million items, including examples dating back to 300BC. Each year the library installs. It is an essential port of call for any student in London.

The Victoria and Albert Museum

The world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a vast collection of 4.5 million objects in 12.5 acres of gallery space, within an elegant and sprawling building whose architecture is as varied and interesting as its contents.

The Science Museum

Formed by a member of the Royal Society of Arts in 1857, the museum now contains over 300,000 items covering the history of science in Britain, including Stephenson’s Rocket, the first jet engine and an IMAX 3D cinema.

The Natural History Museum

Contains over 70 million items within five collections: botany, entomology, mineralogy, palaeontology and zoology, including original specimens collected by Darwin. 

02 Things to see and do

Parks

London boasts many beautiful parks. Regents Park and Primrose Hill are perfect for a stroll or picnic with friends. The popular Diana Memorial Walk crosses St James’ Park, Green park, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Or try St. James’ Park for a fantastic view of Buckingham Palace.

Changing of the Guard

The changing of the Queen’s Guard takes place outside Buckingham Palace every day at 11.30am in the summer and every other day in the winter. Get there early for a good view!

Art Galleries

London is home to many outstanding art galleries, which offer free entry, including the Tate Modern, the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery.

Street markets

Wander around many of London’s street markets, selling anything from food to flowers or vintage clothing and antiques. Popular markets include Borough, Portobello Road and Camden.

TV show

If you want to be in the audience for a TV show, you can sign up for free tickets. Visit www.bbc.co.uk/tickets or www.tvrecordings.com for details.

Speaker’s Corner

Every Sunday morning speakers and listeners gather on the corner of Park Lane and Cumberland Gate in Hyde Park to set the world to right. The main topics are politics and religion but there are usually some off-the-wall ideas too.

The Young Vic shows

The Young Vic shows present a wide variety of classics, new plays, forgotten works and music theatre. Residents of Lambeth and Southwark can see a Young Vic show for free. Get involved with 2 Boroughs.
www.youngvic.org/taking-part/two-boroughs

Southbank

Take a stroll along the Southbank for a first class view of some of London’s major landmarks including the London Eye, Big Ben and the fantastic skyline showing St Paul’s Cathedral.

Museums

London is home to some fantastic museums including the Victoria & Albert, the Science
Museum and the Natural History Museum – all free to enter.

Music

There are many places across the capital where you can regularly enjoy free music, recitals and entertainment, including the Southbank Centre, Trafalgar Square and the Royal Opera House.

03 transport

Being the UK’s main transport hub, London is extremely well-served by all forms of transport.

Thousands of buses, trains and ‘tubes’ (underground trains) run day and night, 364 days of the year. Students in London are well advised to get an oyster card (a discounted pre-pay system for London buses, tubes and most local over-ground services,) especially as students receive an additional 30% discount on fares. The closest tube station to ONCAMPUS London is ‘Euston’ and the area is well covered by several day and night buses.

As a student at ONCAMPUS London, you are eligible for an 18+ Student Oyster photocard. A Student Oyster photocard will entitle you to a 30% discount on adult Travelcards and bus and tram passes valid for seven days, one month or longer periods. You can use a Travelcard on all Tube services and the majority of London’s bus services in zones 1 – 6. If you use public transport frequently (eg. a few times a week, or daily), buying a Travelcard is much cheaper than buying single tickets.

Travelling further afield is just as easy. All UK mainline railways begin or terminate in London and the city is served by hundreds of other regional services.

The five London airports connect the city to the rest of the world, including Heathrow to the west which is the World’s busiest airport by international passenger numbers, with 170 destinations from 90 airlines.

Stansted, Luton and Gatwick airports mainly cater to the low-frills airlines, providing cheap flights to destinations all over Europe and Northern Africa.

04 Live Music

London is famed for its live music scene, with everyone from up-and-coming, unsigned bands and world famous musicians playing every night of the week.

The O2 Arena near the docklands is London’s largest music venue. Housed in the former Millennium Dome, along with restaurants, bars, cinema complex, museum and nightclub, the O2 plays host to some of the best known performers in the world, with recent star including Coldplay, Britney Spears, Madonna and Kanye West and is easily accessible by bus, car, tube, train or boat. 

05 Theatre, Opera, Concert Halls

Those seeking a more sedate location for a night out are similarly spoiled for choice. London is home to some fantastic orchestras and ballet and opera companies.

Popular venues include the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre, The Royal Opera House, The Barbican Centre and the Royal Albert Hall, where the proms take place each summer.

Visit timeout.com/london for up-to-date entertainment listings in London.

06 Shopping

From £60,000 jewel-encrusted shoes in Harrods to second hand books and furniture at Portobello Road market, London is a shopaholic’s dream.

The centre of the city’s retail industry is located around Oxford Street, with the highest concentration of shops in Europe. Visit New Bond Street for luxury brands and high fashion, Regents Street for more individual stores and Tottenham Court Road for electrical and high-tech items.

07 Food, Clubbing and Bars

Being such as cosmopolitan city, almost every type of cuisine from any country is represented in London.

There is a huge choice of restaurants throughout the city catering for every diet, taste and budget, from fast food chains, pubs, buffet restaurants and some of the most exclusive restaurants in the world. 

International students looking for more familiar food are usually able to find a taste of home in London. Foods from different nationalities tend to be found in clusters along with their ex-pat communities. For example:

• Chinatown in Soho for Chinese food
• Brick Lane in the East and Tooting in the south for Indian and Bangladeshi food
• Edgeware Road in Marylebone for Middle Eastern food.

For more information and reviews, visit: london-eating.co.uk

Generally, Central London venues are more pricey (especially those in the West End), but an increasing number of establishments are orientated towards students and a lower price bracket, especially the Wetherspoons and Scream chains.

Similarly, clubbing in London can be expensive for those unfamiliar with the best places to go. Many clubs will drop their prices during the week and clubs further away from the city centre and West End will be much cheaper.

Some of London’s biggest and most popular clubs include:

• Fabric – On Charterhouse Street, one of the UK’s biggest clubs, and arguably the world’s best dance music clubs.
• Chinawhite – On Piccadilly Circus, a regular haunt of celebrities and football players, with a notoriously strict door policy.
• Pacha - Originating from Ibiza, Spain, this club brings some of the World's top DJ talent to London.