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London Essentials – Travel to London
London, being one of the largest cities in the world, is easy to get to from virtually any destination, near or far.
One of the great things about modern transport is how cheap it can be, particularly if you are flexible about what time of year or what time of day you can come to the capital.
Budget airlines can sell tickets from Europe for less than £100, while travellers from further afield can get a 'bargain' price if they buy their plane ticket during a sale.
It doesn't have to be expensive to travel to London and you can find accommodation from only £9.17 per person
Travel to London from northern Europe
The Eurostar is the easiest way to get to London if you are near one of its stops.
A return ticket to London from Paris, Lille or Brussels can be as little as £69 if you book ahead or are flexible with your dates.
From Lille, the Eurostar takes just one hour and 20 minutes, while a journey from Paris takes two hours and 15 minutes.
Those coming in from the European headquarters of Brussels can reach London in one hour and 51 minutes.
All trains come into London St Pancras.
Find cheap hotels close to the Eurostar in Kings Cross from just £9.17 per person
Travel to London from Ireland
You could always fly from an airport in Ireland or Northern Ireland, but taking a ferry is often a cheaper option, particularly when you take a bus from the English port.
From Belfast, Stena Line ferries are £25 each way and arrive in Stranraer in just under two-and-a-half hours.
Dublin travellers can also take Stena Line ferries into Holyhead for £26 each way.
These trips take around three hours and 15 minutes.
Other lines running this route include Irish Ferries, which has tickets from £25 for on-foot passengers.
Another option is to sail from Rosslare to Fishguard in south-west Wales on Stena Line ferries. This is a similar price to other routes, but takes longer at three-and-a-half hours.
Travel to London from Scotland
Flights from Scotland can be costly. However, a Megabus from Glasgow can cost as little as £22, although it does take about nine hours to get into London Victoria Coach Station.
Coaches from Edinburgh are a little cheaper at £14 and take a similar length of time.
Booking ahead can usually guarantee great deals on the train and if you are younger than 26, you can buy a 16-25 Railcard for £26, which is quickly redeemed through getting one-third off all national rail travel within 12 months.
Trains from Glasgow arrive in London Euston, right in the heart of the capital and take around four-and-a-half hours.
Fares start at around £35 from Virgin Trains if you book far enough in advance.
People travelling to London from the east of Scotland can catch the East Coast trains, which arrive into London Kings Cross regularly.
The journey takes around four-and-a-half hours and single fares start from £35.
Travel to London from England and Wales
The north
People heading to London from the north of England can hop onto any of the trains coming in from Scotland.
Journeys from Manchester or York take around two hours and fares start at £11 for an advance single ticket.
It is worth checking to see if there are any deals on when you are coming in from far away.
Midlands
Trains from Birmingham run constantly and arrive in London Euston in less than 90 minutes. A single fare costs about £10 off-peak.
Wales
Those coming from Cardiff can travel in around two hours on First Great Western, which gets into London Paddington from £15 per adult on a single fare.
Travelling into Paddington Station for your London trip? Book a nearby hotel from £9.17
The south-east
If you're coming in from the south-east, Southeastern Rail runs a number of high-speed trains or slightly cheaper slower ones.
These go throughout the day and a return journey can cost around £25.
The south-west
From south-west destinations, most trains operate through South West Trains and tend to arrive into London Waterloo.
You can get to London from Southampton for around £30.
If you want to travel to London on a shoe-string, you can book a coach through a company such as National Express for as little as £1 if it is booked far enough in advance.
These operate from thousands of destinations across the country, so it is worth checking the internet for the best deals.
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