Study Abroad London: The Underground

The London Underground, or the Tube, is going to be absolutely necessary for those studying abroad in London. It might seem daunting at first but I promise you will quickly master the Tube and will be traveling all over London ‘til your hearts content.  Here are some tips that might help you adjust to transportation in London.

-        First thing you need to do is buy an Oyster card. My recommendation is for your first time you buy a 7 day travel card for zones 1 and 2.* This might not make a ton of sense now, but when you get to London find the nearest Tube station and it will all slowly make sense

-        Second tip is to go onto tfl.gov.uk.  Click plan a journey. Enter in your starting point and destination. This is going to help you figure out which Tube lines to take and which stations to transfer at. Whenever you’re going somewhere new this will help you not get lost or turned around on the Tube.

-        Third tip is that on the escalators make sure you stand to the right. The left side is for walking up. It’s not a confusing concept but people will get mad at you if you are standing on the left side.

-        Last thing you need to know is when you get off at a popular station (ex. Paddington) you will need to walk fast. The first time I made a transfer at this station I almost didn’t have enough time to read the signs the crowd of people were walking so quickly. London is a fast paced city and that speedy pace is seen in the Tube stations too. Walk fast are you might get trampled.

The Tube is great and it really will get you everywhere you need to go. Yes it’s crowded and hot and unfortunately not all lines run at night, but it really is the best mode of transportation around London.

*Zones 1&2 is really where everything you want to see is