Getting to London

London has good transport links to all major UK cities and is served by Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City airports.

By Air: If you are travelling to London from Heathrow, Gatwick or Stansted Airports, you can find detailed information about transport links and airport facilities from the BAA website . Information about London City Airport is on a separate website.

By Rail: The National Rail website allows you to plan your journey and will keep you up to date on service alterations. This site will also enable you to check prices and purchase your train tickets online. The nearest mainline station to the conference venue is Euston (about 5 minutes' walk). King's Cross is 10 minutes' walk away.

By Road: The RAC website will show you the most direct route to London from any UK and some European destinations. This site contains up to date traffic news.

Getting Around London

Underground trains: The nearest Underground stations to UCL's Bloomsbury campus are Euston, Euston Square and Russell Square. You can buy single tickets or travel cards in the stations. For route information and timetables, see The Tube.

Buses: Local buses run south along Gower and Street and north along Tottenham Court Road and all single journeys in London cost £1. If you want to purchase tickets in advance, books of bus tickets can be bought from most newsagents or you can purchase a bus pass or travel card for the duration of your stay. Information on London's buses is available on Transport for London .

Taxis: You can find a taxi at a rank or hail one in the street. The orange light at the front indicates that a taxi is for hire. Black taxi fares are regulated and you will be charged for the length of your journey and the time that it takes. You can see the price on the meter next to the driver (details of tariffs can found on the London Taxi website . We do not recommend that you use any unmarked minicabs during your stay in London, as there is no guarantee that these are registered or insured.


Local Information
 

An abundance of hotels, restaurants and local attractions ensure that London is a convenient and exciting location for conference delegates and, if you are travelling from outside of the European Union, you can take advantage of duty free shopping.

The conference will take place at UCL's main campus, situated in Bloomsbury. Because of our central location, you can walk to many of London's attractions from the conference venue and can get around the city by London Underground, by bus or by taxi.

Eating and Drinking

Bloomsbury and Fitzrovia, the areas around the university, offer a large selection of pubs, bars and restaurants. Also nearby are Soho, China Town, Covent Garden and Camden, all of which have a very wide variety of places to eat and drink and stay out late. One of the most pleasant places to spend the evening near the venue is Charlotte Street, which is lined with good restaurants and pubs. Available cuisine ranges from Indian, Chinese and Thai to Tapas, French and Italian so, whatever your taste, you are likely to find a restaurant that suits you.

Places of interest

The nearest major attraction to the conference venue is the British Museum . Access to its collections of art and antiquities from ancient and living cultures is free of charge. The new great court contains the old British Library reading room, which visitors can now look around. The new British Library next to St Pancras station is also worth a visit to see their exhibitions of highlights from the library's collection and to hear highlights from the British Sound Archive.

Some of the other nearby places you might like to visit are the National Gallery , the National Portrait Gallery , the Transport Museum and the Theatre Museum .

Information about tourist attractions can be found from the London Tourist Board .

Shopping

There is a selection of high street and designer clothes shops in the Covent Garden market and surrounding streets. Despite its less than salubrious image, Soho has various trendy clothes and music shops. Oxford Street is the best place for department stores, including John Lewis and Selfridges , and you will find a number of large book stores such as Waterstones and Borders nearby.


Currency

The United Kingdom has not yet joined the Euro but some stores do accept it, and there is a large number of banks and bureau de change outlets in London where you can cash travellers cheques and change currency.

Dialling codes

The UK international dialling code is +44 and the area code for London is (0)20.

Electricity

The UK has a 230-240 volt electricity supply.

Emergency services

To contact the police, fire brigade or ambulance service in an emergency, you can dial 999 free of charge from any public or private phone. In case of accident, most major hospitals have 24 hour accident and emergency departments.