More about Londonon a shoestring

Okay, I’ve now been here a week. Here’s what I’ve learned about getting around London and seeing stuff without blowing a fortune…

1/ Museums are all free. Not all of them are fabulous, and if you can spare a quid, do give them a donation, but the Imperial War Museum, the British Museum, Natural History, Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Victoria and Albert, and a host of others besides, are all free.

2/ Not everything else costs money. Walking through parks, hunting for statues and marveling at architecture from the outside is also free. Changing the Guard at Buckingham Palace, wandering through Whitehall and around the outside of Westminster, along the Thames and popping down to Speakers Corner at Hyde Park can all make for a cheap day out.

3/ Buses beat the Tube, hands down. A bus pass for the whole of London is only £3.50 a day (compared to £6 for a Zone 1-2 tube ticket, although it also gets you on buses). If you’re in a hurry, the Tube is faster, but for getting to know London, you can’t beat actually driving through streets rather than passing under them. For truly cheap thrills, sit upstairs and up front of a double decker bus, and marvel at how many pedestrians, streetsigns and other vehicles these crazy London bus drivers nearly wipe out on your way home…

4/ Benjys. These little sandwich bars are all over London and most of their sandwiches and rolls are under £1.50. Sure, they’re not the best sanger you’ll ever scoff, but they beat McFriedTakeaway hands down, and for a bargain priced lunch on the go, they do the job.

5/ Tap water and cordial. Okay, this is really gross, but when a drop of rain falls in the Thames catchment, by the time it reaches the sea, it will have been drunk by EIGHT PEOPLE. London still releases high quality treated water into the Thames, and gets much of its drinking supply from the same source (Sarah’s housemate Julia says that’s not true, but I read it on a government website…). Try not to think about that if you’re short on cash. Tap water tastes yucky compared to Melbourne or NZ tap water (hence the cordial – thanks for the tip Sheree!), but I haven’t gotten sick yet...

Things you DON’T do if you’re on a budget

Eat in restaurants (opt for pubs, even those in the centre of town often have dishes for under £5); go to the movies (£9 is the going rate at the cinema nearest here, that’s about $22!!); get taxis (I haven’t even tried!); go on the Eye (£13) or pay full price at the Tower of London (£20 to see all the exhibits – that’s almost $50!! Get a London Pass instead!!).

Those who have been here a while...

...also reckon it’s best to NOT keep converting stuff into Australian dollars, because otherwise you’ll never be able to justify the cost of anything, and just have a crap time. I’m trying to take their advice (although I’m having fun no matter how much I spend!) – by thinking in terms of a daily limit of X pounds per day for spending money. I suspect it will be easier to think in pounds once I start to EARN pounds…