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Using the extensive network of public transport is by far the easiest way to navigate your way around London.
There is no doubting that the capital is an enormous place, covering 659 square miles, and boasting the title of western Europe's largest city, it is no easy task to make it from one side to the other without regular and reliable transportation.
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Transport zones
To begin with it is important to understand how the transport system in London is divided up and what this means.
Transport for London has split the capital up into a total of nine different travel zones, each comprising different destinations in the city.
The most central of zones, Zone 1, includes the City, Westminster and various parts of some inner-city London boroughs, Zone 2 then forms a ring around Zone 1 and so on.
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Cost of London transport
The vast majority of Londoners use an Oyster Card routinely to pay for all their London transport needs.
To get hold of an Oyster, individuals will need to put down a deposit of around £5 which they can claim back once the card is no longer required.
For an adult travelling in London regularly, the Oyster Card will always be the cheapest option when it comes to transportation
However, for many shorter term visitors, the alternative travelcard scheme may be more attractive.
Costing just £7.20 (£5.60 off peak) for a day's unlimited use in zones 1-2, it acts as the perfect way for a traveller or visitor to London to get around at a minimum cost.
Alternatively, a travelcard covering zones 1-4 costs £10 (£6.30) and zones 1-6 £14.80 (£7.50).
Tube
London boasts the oldest underground train network in the world having first opened in 1863.
The Underground has 270 stations and around 250 miles of track, making it the second longest metro system in the world by route length.
It is made up of 11 different lines, all colour-coded and all named appropriately depending on the areas that they serve, these include the Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, and Waterloo and City lines.
Tickets for the tube can be bought at a ticket office from an underground station, at a self-service machine in an underground station, or by topping up your Oyster card at a touch-screen machine.
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London buses
London's world famous red buses run frequent routes around the capital and can be a great way for individuals to make their way around the city while taking in some of the sights.
The method of transport can be a cheap and rewarding way to get around in the capital although it can be a lot more complex than the tube to understand the various different routes.
For any late starters, or finishers, there are a large number of nightbuses serving the capital and running through the night.
Many of these pass through Trafalgar Square, so this can be a good place to catch one, if you've been out 'til the early hours enjoying some great London bars.
Tickets for buses can be bought by topping up your Oyster card in advance, by purchasing a single journey in cash on certain bus routes, or by using the roadside ticket machine at a bus stop on routes where cash is not accepted.
London overground
A favourite of London commuters, the London overground network connects the surrounding suburbs with the city.
Over the past few years, great strides have been taken to ensure that the stations served by the overground network all incorporate the Oyster Card ticketing system, although traditional tickets can still be bought at stations.
Docklands Light Railway (DLR)
The DLR has been designed to connect the City with the Docklands.
Services run from Bank and Tower Gateway all the way through to the Docklands and on to Stratford, Lewisham, Woolwich, Arsenal and Beckton.
The trains are driven on an automatic system and as such have no driver and instead are staffed simply by a Passenger Service Agent.
As with other methods of London transport, all DLR stations house ticket machines or can be utilised with an Oyster.
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National train network
The rail network from London radiates from a number of stations to all different parts of the UK.
Trains depart from Waterloo, Victoria, Liverpool Street, Kings Cross, St Pancras, Euston, Paddington and London Bridge.
Young people aged between 16 and 25 years are eligible for a discount railcard called the 16-25 card - formally known as the Young Person's Railcard.
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